But I'm kind of sick of my page layout and color scheme, so I'll probably be mixing it up a bit over the next few days before I ditch the "Winter Edition" look.
I took it pretty easy on the homeward, just savored it. Ever since Southwest Boulevard got re-surfaced from Rosedale to the WY/JO County Line, I've found it to be a lot more relaxing to ride on. Prior to this, it was like navigating a moonscape -- juggling your attention between the pavement and the traffic to make sure you don't swerve in front of a car whilst avoiding a pot-hole.
I only managed to get one picture on the ride home:
This is David. He was stranded on Southwest Boulevard with a flat. His "slime" tires didn't help anything. They just made fixing the flat even messier. He had some rudimentary tire patches and a hand pump but no way to affix the patches. I gave him the last of my Park Tool glueless patches (I had 4, but used one on his tire) and sent him on his way.
Most of the tools and supplies I carry in my seat wedge pack get used on other peoples' bikes, but that's okay with me. Watch, I just jinxed myself into a double-flat I'm not prepared to fix by giving my patches away. That's okay, talking about flats is a sure-fire way to get a flat, too. Perhaps these will cancel each other out.
I think I have some more park patches in the wedge on my mountain bike... If not, I suppose I could break out the old vulcanized rubber cement patches.
Random Tunage:
Bam Bam - Where Is Your Child
Paul van Dyk - Vega (Starecase Remix)
Thursday, April 16, 2009
I think spring is actually back
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7 comments:
I hate the slime stuff. It is a mess to put in if you don’t do it right and worse when it comes out between your tire and tube. The last tire I changed with that stuff in the tube left my hands sticky and dirty which rubbed off on to my grips and clothes. Now I just use the CO2 cartridges which are quick, clean and cold.
Keep thinking of the good karma for helping another and you'll be Okay.
Way to keep that "help other cyclists" vibe alive, man.
I don't like those Park glueless patches much, they have failed me before. Have you ever used one yourself, or just helped others with them?
I have four of them on my current bike. Three in back and one in front. The oldest one is almost 18 months old.
A few things, though... I actually run 28mm tubes in my 25mm tires. They work great. The only thing is you need to be more careful to not pinch them into the bead. I'd imagine if you're running 20-25mm tubes in 25mm tires (or any other combination where you're near the top-end of the tube's size and stretching the tube out, you will probably trash park glueless patches pretty easily.
I started running 28mm tubes when my LBS didn't have any 25s. I noticed that the 28mm fit just fine, and since they didn't baloon out to fill the tire casing, they were a lot more resistant to flats and held air pressure for longer periods of time. With the one exception of the NAIL OF DOOM the flats all happened with my old Bonti Select tires and were due to things like large chunks of glass and staples.
I haven't had a flat in a long time either, but I also haven't been riding slicks for a long time either. We'll have to see what happens when I finally get around to putting them back on. :)
Interesting about the tube sizes, but it definitely makes sense.
I've had pretty good luck with flats over the last couple of years (knock rubber), but I may try that larger tube thing next time.
I only had the one patch fail... perhaps user error?
Anyway, I'm liking your blog. I ride year-round too, in London Ontario Canada.
Your in the clear Noah. I got a flat on the way home from work Friday.
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