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09-05-09, 10:33 PM
I was all suited up and ready to walk out the door with my bike to do my usual training ride this morning, a ride that involves busting down lots of very steep winding mountainous roads at 45mph for prolonged stretches, when something on my back tire suddenly caught my eye. What can I say, I have a very keen eye, and am quite the stickler about maintining my ride. Any time something looks the least bit amiss, I'm all over it.
At first glance, it looked like it could have been signs of wear. However, since I have a dirt driveway, I thought it could just as likely be a line of brown dirt running along the center portion of the tire. So I went and got a moistened paper towel to see if it would wipe off. It didn't.
So, as you can see from the pic's, I got my money's worth out of that tire. :o
In any event, not to be denied my ride, as I was already suited up, and wasn't about to waste the $2 worth of chamois butter I had slathered on my giblets and buttcrack, I decided to take the ole Bianchi instead of the Trek; it has fairly new rubber on it.
I got through 40 miles of my normal 43 mile training ride loop, and was trucking up a pretty steep hill, when all the sudden I heard a strange metalic sound. Moments later, I came to a screaching halt. One of my rear spokes, those flat sapim bladed type, broke. It got all wound up in my rear cassette.
In such a hurry was I to unass the bike and see what was the matter, that I clipped out on my left side at the same moment I came to a halt........but I was leaning to the right. Down I went, like a tree falling in the woods. At least I fell into a ditch and not on the pavement. I'm going to have a nice bruise on my right buttock and hip, come tomorrow.
Still, when I think about busting down through those sharp turns at breakneck speeds.......with the tire that was on the Trek, and what could, or very likely would, have been the result, I consider myself lucky.
So, in that light, it was a good day.
At first glance, it looked like it could have been signs of wear. However, since I have a dirt driveway, I thought it could just as likely be a line of brown dirt running along the center portion of the tire. So I went and got a moistened paper towel to see if it would wipe off. It didn't.
So, as you can see from the pic's, I got my money's worth out of that tire. :o
In any event, not to be denied my ride, as I was already suited up, and wasn't about to waste the $2 worth of chamois butter I had slathered on my giblets and buttcrack, I decided to take the ole Bianchi instead of the Trek; it has fairly new rubber on it.
I got through 40 miles of my normal 43 mile training ride loop, and was trucking up a pretty steep hill, when all the sudden I heard a strange metalic sound. Moments later, I came to a screaching halt. One of my rear spokes, those flat sapim bladed type, broke. It got all wound up in my rear cassette.
In such a hurry was I to unass the bike and see what was the matter, that I clipped out on my left side at the same moment I came to a halt........but I was leaning to the right. Down I went, like a tree falling in the woods. At least I fell into a ditch and not on the pavement. I'm going to have a nice bruise on my right buttock and hip, come tomorrow.
Still, when I think about busting down through those sharp turns at breakneck speeds.......with the tire that was on the Trek, and what could, or very likely would, have been the result, I consider myself lucky.
So, in that light, it was a good day.