Pedaling GoaDies - Labor Day Weekend Wrap Up
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Swtdwy
Posts: 83 Member
Ok folks. Hope you got in lots of great riding! How was your weekend?
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Got some riding in although there was a lot more hiking, walking, and running.
Saturday was a short 6+ mile ride to support a point-to-point hike.
Monday was a longer "recovery" ride that got me 31 miles.
A few more rides and I will break 1,000 miles this year. I know that isn't much to most of you, but it will make my highest year since probably 2005. I wasn't logging miles back then but was doing some 1/2 Ironman distance triathlons in 2005.0 -
Didn't ride Saturday, but did a 61 miler with our group on Sunday (the route is about 55 miles but then there is to and from our house). Fun ride. I like the route because it's one of the few that doesn't start out going uphill for 20 miles. Gives me a chance to warm up a bit. The highlight of this ride is the climb up to Lake Piru. The main climb is just a mile or so, but that and the preceding 2 miles or so off the main highway are very scenic (for these parts). Was overall happy with how I rode.
https://ridewithgps.com/routes/7218692
The only negative about this ride is riding along Hwy 126 for about 10 miles both directions. There is a nice wide shoulder and the pavement isn't that bad. But there is a lot of debris that causes lots of flats. Between our 14 riders, we had 11 flats (one person had 5!) I only had one. DW had one, but it was a gash in her tubeless tires, so sealant gunk sprayed all over the place. Put a boot and a tube in there and she was fine. But this was the 2nd tubeless tire cut in a month. She's not too happy about that.
Did a short 23 miler yesterday with a couple friends. So overall, despite not riding Saturday, it was a pretty good week.
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Wow that sux Mark!! I often think I will have an entire flat free year with over 3000 miles anyway and there always seems to be one that gets my tubeless tires even with sealant.
I am getting better at doing the sealant. Some say you need to top the sealant off periodically and/or change it out. Also if not riding the bike some say spin the wheels around at least once a week. I do know that the sealant eventually poops out and doesn't work so well.
I remember my first puncture with tubeless. I felt a spray on my legs and thought I had run over a milk bottle until I realized the obvious. It did seal up on that occasion with about 50 PSI left in the tires which was plenty to ride home etc. I pumped them up with tire pump at home and the seal remained just fine. I am currently using orange seal which some local folks like a like. We'll see how it does.
I got out with DW on Sunday for a local spin including riding in the wetlands.
Labor Day I rode with friends to check out a new huge non-car bridge called the TIlikum Crossing. It has four cable towers and is 1,720 feet long. First bridge of its type in U.S. and is only for bikes,walkers, light rail, and buses. Extremely popular and well used bridge.
Fun fun fun.0 -
No riding this weekend. Walked/ran a half marathon and boy am I feeling it.
I thought my first tubeless flat a month or so ago was "so cool" the way it magically fixed itself!
Mark. That's some Bad News Bears riding.0 -
Talking about equipment failures is a good way to cause freak out among novice cyclists. Just saying. ;-)
I rode 29 miles yesterday. This was my longest ride in over a year. Great fun. Wish I could do it again today!0 -
Nice ride Bob and congrats on your 1/2 Lily. I love crossing bridges on my bike. Not sure why.0
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I love crossing this local pedestrian/bike bridge on my bike! Gorgeous river views and also it kind of sways. I also like practicing ratcheting and going around pedestrians and communicating with them and being a polite cyclist
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Oh me too Lily/Carmen I am sooooooo polite to the peds around me.1
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Calvin, nice ride! When I was a novice the thought of getting a flat in the middle of nowhere was very daunting. Now it's no big deal. Other mechanical issues I'm a little more concerned about. I'm sure Bob has some stories about those.
If you haven't done it already, I highly recommend practicing changing tubes. When you're just hanging, watching TV, take a wheel with a deflated tube and practice taking the tire "half off" and taking out the tube. Then put the tube back in and reseat the tire. Repeat as necessary!0 -
Nice rides everyone. I got 30 miles in on Sat, 15 miles with the family on Sunday and another 26 miles on Monday. Then it was back to the grind yesterday. Rained on the way to work this morning but I just put the gear on and pedaled on.0
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Calvin, nice ride! When I was a novice the thought of getting a flat in the middle of nowhere was very daunting. Now it's no big deal. Other mechanical issues I'm a little more concerned about. I'm sure Bob has some stories about those.
If you haven't done it already, I highly recommend practicing changing tubes. When you're just hanging, watching TV, take a wheel with a deflated tube and practice taking the tire "half off" and taking out the tube. Then put the tube back in and reseat the tire. Repeat as necessary!
Thanks, @Swtdwy. Do you ride with a pump and patch kit? I used to, now that I think about it, but that was 30 years ago. I'm sure the equipment is smaller and more easily portable now, right?0 -
Oh Mark reminds me of one of those rare mechanical incidents while riding. The pawls in my free wheel just quit without engaging. I could spin my legs but not move the bike at all as they were stuck in between. My buddy had a bungie cord with him and "towed" me home which was really less than 3-5 miles more or less. That was many many moons ago back in the day of 10 speed racing bikes.0
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I'm running tubeless on my MTB and CX bikes, which are primarily what I ride these days, but I usually carry a pump and extra tube for longer rides or ones that are out in the wilderness.
I usually ride *with* people who keep extra chain links and other tools.
Recently I had a cable error that wouldn't allow me to shift--i was stuck in my highest gear. We moved over to fire roads off the singletrack and I powered it out
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Calvin, I typically ride with a spare tube (maybe two on certain rides) and CO2 cartridges. I used to carry pumps but they either sucked or fell off and got lost. The Lezyne pump is supposed to be pretty good but even that one I found wanting. I do carry a patch kit as a backup to the backup, but I haven't had to use it yet. Also carry a boot in case the tire is cut too bad to hold a tube. I should carry a master chain link, but I wouldn't know what to do with it anyway. Make sure to get tire levers as well and a multi-tool.0
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Also carry a boot in case the tire is cut too bad to hold a tube.
What the heck is a boot? I was always told to carry a dollar bill as that would work to help out with a cut in the sidewall.
I always have 2 spare tubes plus the CO2 cartridges with me on my road bike. My "heavy" bike I just have the tubes plus a small pump that does a good enough job.
Both bikes have gotten flats this year while out riding so I was glad to have the necessary supplies with me.
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I have pumps on both my bikes. the Topeak roadmorph is a cross between a floor pump and a mini pump. Its light weight and it works well enough to get my hybrid tires pump up(road bike also has CO2 cartriges. I also carry a spare tube, a patched tube as a back up and a patch kit. Make sure you keep an eye on the glue for the patch kits. I have had them dry out even in a never opened tube. As for the boot. I always have dollar bill and a mylar candy wrapper will work in a pinch also. so don't throw away your energy bar wrapper until you are back home.1
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A boot is basically a piece of plastic that does the same thing as a dollar bill. Usually just a little cleaner.
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@Swtdwy - Thanks for the explanation. Being cheap, I'll just continue carrying around a dollar bill with my tools in my seatpack.
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