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11-22-02, 05:01 PM
Okay, I know I haven't seen it all, but I still am amazed by the things that can jump up and bite you in the @$$.
Short days and (much needed) rainy weather have kept me trainer bound for the last couple of weeks. Again, this morning, roads were wet, it was foggy and misty, and the report called for showers. So I drove, rather than rode (I know, I'm a wimp), to work. By 10:00, it had cleared off and the sun was peeping out at times. Sez me, 'Long lunch! @11:30, I'm goin' for a ride.'
But first some background. I'm new to the trainer thing, but had heard, and seen, that trainers do a number on your back tire. So I think, 'this is my chance to get some use out of some of these seedy old tires I've got laying around that are too bad to use, but I'm to cheap to toss.' So I had mounted an old $15.00 Conti SuperSonic that had been sitting around for, I dunno, 3 years? So far, so good. Worked great on the trainer.
Back to the present. Ride prep... pump up the tires. Ye olde Conti will be fine for a short lunch-time ride. Wrong! About 5 miles from home, the wheel starts "thump! thump! thump!" every revolution. 'Hmm', methinks, 'I must have put a big-@$$ patch on the tube at some point. Why didn't I notice it on the trainer.' A couple more miles, and POW!, thunk-thunk-thunk. The tire had separated from the wire bead, the tube had come out the side. The rubber sidewalls were hard and rotten (I knew that), but I didn't realize the rubber had come off the bead, leaving the threads exposed. And the threads were dry and rotten, too. So, the sidewall just pulled off the bead. The tube was hopeless (a good Michelin, no less), but I had a spare. Now, where's all the litter when I need a good boot? All I can say is a wet piece of cardboard does not make a good boot. I got maybe a mile on my minimally inflated tire 'til the second tube blew.
Long story short, it was only 4 miles home taking the shortcut, following the railroad tracks. The good thing about SPD-Rs is you can walk on the cleats. What the heck, I've been wanting to explore along the tracks for a long time. I'll make up the work time this week-end. :(
Short days and (much needed) rainy weather have kept me trainer bound for the last couple of weeks. Again, this morning, roads were wet, it was foggy and misty, and the report called for showers. So I drove, rather than rode (I know, I'm a wimp), to work. By 10:00, it had cleared off and the sun was peeping out at times. Sez me, 'Long lunch! @11:30, I'm goin' for a ride.'
But first some background. I'm new to the trainer thing, but had heard, and seen, that trainers do a number on your back tire. So I think, 'this is my chance to get some use out of some of these seedy old tires I've got laying around that are too bad to use, but I'm to cheap to toss.' So I had mounted an old $15.00 Conti SuperSonic that had been sitting around for, I dunno, 3 years? So far, so good. Worked great on the trainer.
Back to the present. Ride prep... pump up the tires. Ye olde Conti will be fine for a short lunch-time ride. Wrong! About 5 miles from home, the wheel starts "thump! thump! thump!" every revolution. 'Hmm', methinks, 'I must have put a big-@$$ patch on the tube at some point. Why didn't I notice it on the trainer.' A couple more miles, and POW!, thunk-thunk-thunk. The tire had separated from the wire bead, the tube had come out the side. The rubber sidewalls were hard and rotten (I knew that), but I didn't realize the rubber had come off the bead, leaving the threads exposed. And the threads were dry and rotten, too. So, the sidewall just pulled off the bead. The tube was hopeless (a good Michelin, no less), but I had a spare. Now, where's all the litter when I need a good boot? All I can say is a wet piece of cardboard does not make a good boot. I got maybe a mile on my minimally inflated tire 'til the second tube blew.
Long story short, it was only 4 miles home taking the shortcut, following the railroad tracks. The good thing about SPD-Rs is you can walk on the cleats. What the heck, I've been wanting to explore along the tracks for a long time. I'll make up the work time this week-end. :(