qcpmsame 

Nothing like passing a kidney stone, mind you, but I passed a small personal milestone yesterday on my ride. When I got home and was checking my bicycle over I noted that the rear tire was missing a quarter sized patch of the tread, worn to the casing's threads. It had apparently skinned off somewhere as I rode, fortunately no flat resulted. I knew that the tire was getting close from watching the wear indicators during each pre-ride inspection.

Its been a few years since my health had allowed me steady riding of any kind, It was right at 4500 miles on our really abrasive roads to wear through the casing, I'm sure my weight had something to do with the rate of wear. I am at 196 right now, and was much heavier when I put the Gatorskin on. Not a complaint about the Contis at all, they have been very good riding tires for me, I put one of my extra Gatorskin stocks (another 700X25) on when I got changed out of my kit. I'm keeping this carcass as a reminder of how good getting back to riding has felt so far.

Bill

CrankyFranky

That's a lot of miles Bill. I hope you have many more milestones like this!

Ursa Minor

Congrats Bill. Your story and determination to overcome your many health problems inspires me.

Charlie

Gerryattrick

Good news, now go get another 4500 miles on the new tyres.

BluesDawg

Riding enough to wear stuff out is a good milestone.

OldsCOOL

Wear them out rather than the other way around. Glad you passed that stone. Ride on.

Dudelsack 

There's something very gratifying to have to replace a bike part because you just flat wore it out. Well done, sir. I felt great when I had to replace the entire drivetrain of my MTB a few years back.

on2wheelsks

You are right Bill, better a milestone than a kidney stone. Both help you pray more, just for different reasons. Ride on, sir.
Pat

KenshiBiker

I wholeheartedly agree with these statements. I take great delight in wearing something out, even if it's just the cartridge in my roller ball pen.

Congrats on the accomplishment, and has been said already - now go and wear out the new tires.

Cougrrcj

I haven't worn a tire out in years. When I was riding like a mad fool back in the '70s, I'd wear a rear tire out in two-three months, and fronts would last twice as long. That was about when I was averaging 300-400 miles/week so 3000-4500 miles. Now I usually end up with a cut, tear or some other failure in the sidewall at less than two thousand miles. Tubes get replaced at tire changes just because, and if they have more than one patch. Sometimes I can't even find out where the tire is punctured because those pesky car steel belt wires are tough to spot! If I can't find the wire sliver even knowing where the tube was punctured, I toss the tire. I get more flats with those than glass. We didn't have so many cars with steel-belted radials back in the '70s!

NOS88

Interesting way to define milestones. I do, however, see why it would work as one. I agree with the others who have using it until you wear it out is a good thing. Let's hope this is just one of many milestones for you, Bill.

OldTryGuy

Awesome!

choteau

Mile stones are GOOD, kidney stones suck. Congrats on wearing out the tire!

leob1

Nothin' wrong with wearing something out by using it. Most of my tires die by cuts.
Report back when you wear out the rim side walls.

Rick@OCRR

Congratulations on wearing out a GatorSkin! My favorite tire , yes heavy but very dependable and long lasting. An important milestone indeed .

Rick / OCRR

John_V 

Way to go on your milestone, Bill. I replace my Gatorskins once a year, in January, and have averaged well over 5,000 miles on them. Last year's set lasted me 9,000 miles. I'm not as heavy as you are so that may/may not make a difference. I love those tires and will probably not ride on anything else unless Conti quits making them.

qcpmsame 

I learned to take my victories from the little things over the last 14 years.

Started wearing the new tires out this afternoon, fresh bar tape went on after I got back. These feel like a new bike, almost (I am really easy to make happy) The front is now a spare for any dire circumstances that may come my way.

Thanks for all the nice, supportive replies, they are greatly appreciated.

Bill

Rowan

I like the way you measure your milestones on the bike, Bill. And every one of them is well-deserved.

JimF22003

When your hair goes gray is that a sign that you're wearing out your brain?

Nice milestone! I've noticed that the nubs on my shifter hoods are wearing down. That took about 25K miles, by my calculation.

I once had to cut short a planned two-day ride on the BRP when I noticed after the first day's ride that I had worn down the rear tires to the cords pretty badly. There was no place to buy a tire early enough on Sunday morning. Since then I carry a new tire in my car at all times along with some other emergency out-of-town supplies.