I haven't gotten much riding in lately at all. If I don't get this turned around soon I am gonna go nuts.

BTW NoRacer, I was almost about to try some Tufo's, but reading about your bad luck lately I am hesitant to try now.

-D

Well, here's some food for thought. I attribute the problem to the valve extender that I need to use with my American Classic wheels, not the tires. I could've continued on if I wouldn't have broken the extender. Also, I ride these same tires day in and day out during my bike commutes to work. I've had less flat problems with them, on the dirty, filthy streets of Baltimore county, then with the Michelin Pro 2s I started with.

Extracted from: http://www.baltobikeclub.org/index.pl/schedulea

----
Saturday - June 2

CASUAL – 10 am - 28 miles
START: NCM - North Central Trail at Monkton - Directions: I-695 to Exit 24 I-83 North to Exit 27. Bear Right on Mt. Carmel Rd. Right at traffic light on York Rd. Go one block, then Left on Monkton Rd. Go 3 miles, then park along Mt. Carmel Rd. Meet in the parking lot at Monkton Station. Trail ride to New Freedom for lunch/snack. Restaurant to be chosen by the group.

10/12 MPH - 10 am - 33/27 miles
START: MSM - Marley Station Mall
Ride to the Beach. Come bike along the B & A Trail (and other roads), to a beach on the bay in Sandy Point State Park. Be prepared to go for a swim if the weather turns hot and you really want to cool off on the middle of the ride. See great views of the Bay Bridge. Easy for a 33 mile ride! Enough stops for drinks even if it is a really hot day. Anyone who wants to do the shorter 27 mile version of this ride should meet us at Earleigh Heights Ranger station (along the trail, not ride start EHP) about 20-45 minutes after the ride start.

13/15 MPH - 9 am - 42 miles
START: HFP - Hammonds Ferry Park & Ride
John's Tri-County Loop visits Anne Arundel, Baltimore and Howard counties. Mostly rolling on lightly traveled roads with a couple good hills thrown in to make it interesting. Some of this ride is on the BWI trail.

15/17 MPH - 8:30 am – 103 miles
START: TCP - Thurmont Community Park
Civil War Century, all 103 miles of it. Try it for free, without the crowds (or the SAG support, or the plentiful food, or the cheerful volunteers). Rest stops at about 28 miles, 43 miles (early lunch in Boonsboro), and 70 miles.

18 MPH - 9:30 am - 84 miles
START: Rising Sun-Banquet Hall/Firehouse (1 mile outside town-R on the Main street & go 1 mile-On right)
Break the same old, same old ride syndrome! Georges annual $10 dollar ride. He bought a book for $10 of bike rides & the rides were only 20-30 miles each. He pieced 3 rides together. Ride is not too hilly but always seems to be demanding. Rides through the Heinz Estate is kinda neat!

Sunday - June 3
CASUAL - 10am - 15 (approx.) miles
START: MSC - Manor Shopping Center
Join the Instructional Riders for a scenic tour of northern Baltimore County.

10/12 MPH - 8:30 am - 30+/- miles
START: NCW - North Central Trail at Whitehall.
White Hall to Glen Rock for snacks. This is a trail ride.

13/15 MPH - 9:30 am - 42 miles
START: RVS - Riverside Shopping Center – Directions: I-695 to Exit 33, I-95N; then take Exit 80, turn right at end of ramp - 1/2 miles to shopping ctr. on left, park out from supermarket.Ride to Havre de Grace & Susquehanna St. Park (mix of flat, rolling, 2 long climbs) with lunch/snack options.

15/17 MPH - 9:30 am – 49 miles
START: RUN - Runneymede Elem. School
Tour of Thurmont Lite. A classic Carol and Walt Russell ride to Thurmont. Lunch stop at mile 24.

18 MPH - 9:30 am - 69 miles
START: CMP - Carroll Manor Park
Rocks, Slate, River. Phil Manger's scenic ride through Harford County. I've heard that this is wonderful and never had a chance to do it.

TANDEM - 10 am - 35/45 miles
START: MSC - Manor Shopping Center
Ride from Jacksonville. Come early and have breakfast at the Bagelmeister before the ride. Beautiful rolling ride in horse country to Rocks State Park.

That's true. The main interest in those tires for me is their at least theoretical ability to stay on the rim in a flat.

I am not going to buy tubular rims etc for day to day, but out here in CC, it is hilly. Every ride I have several downhills where I am easily getting speeds in the 35-50mph range. Every time I have in the back of my mind what would happen if I had a blowout and my clincher came flying off the rim. Given that the tubular clinchers are supposedly able to stay on even flat it would be a nice extra safety measure.

-D

+1000000

Re: Tufos, if you do get a flat, is it repairable or do you just toss the tire?

Small leaks (< 2mm) can be mitigated with sealant (to a point--you won't be able to run them at high pressures.)

The Tufo C S3 Lite tires I've been running are ok about flats. I think I had better results with the Tufo C S33 tires, but the shape of those tires aren't the best for racing, thus the S3s.

Commuting, I run the tires at 90-100 psi. Racing, I run the front at 150 psi and the rear at 160 psi. If I flat during a race, then the race is over, but that would be the same even if I were running clinchers.

My understanding (and I am only going off what I have read, since I have never used tubulars of any kind) is that they generally are repairable. But it entails getting the outer cover off to expose the inner tube that can then be patched. This process is generally thought of as annoying so people tend to junk them after a bad puncture.

-D

Tufos aren't repairable, at least not the clincher versions. I thought that I read that the "normal" tubs were built in such a way that they aren't repairable either. You'd need to get "real" sew-ups.

Here's how to fix a true sew-up tubular:

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/tubular-repair.html

Yeah back when I was racing like 13 years ago I used sew-ups and made many a PITA repair. I've had good luck with my Serfas and flats, but the thought of the tire coming off the wheel at 30+MPH is scary.

So wait,

We have a "RacerMike" who doesn't race anymore, and a "NoRacer" who is now a racer. Shame there isn't a "change name" feature on the forums:D :D :D

-D

What's more is, I'm the Med Tent moderator for Coolrunning.com where I'm NoRacer and don't run road races anymore (at this time), but at one time I was NoRacer at coolrunning and did race.

That just hurt my brain.

But not as bad as this call I have been on for 2 HOURS with Blackberry enterprise support.

RIM sucks!

-D

I won't take advantage of the crass remark I could make about the current "job" you're working on.

p.s., time to get on the bike and pedal home. L8tr, doodz!

Actually RacerMike comes from my other hobby.

Is anyone doing Tour dem Parks? I am thinking about the 20 mile route. Considering picking up a pair of semi slicks for the mtb.

I'm in Lake Tahoe. We arrived yesterday after a very long journey, but it is beautiful here and makes up for the long flight. We went out for a short twenty mile ride this morning and it was great to get out on the bike. Tomorow morning we leave at 0600 for the 100 mile century around the lake and up to Trukee.

There are 31 riders from Maryland and about 70 or so from the National Capitol Group. I think there are around 1,600 Team in Trainin Riders and around the same number of regular registered riders. There are cyclists all over this town today!!!

Pretty Cool!!!

Well you have been busy. I wish I could have made it to Bike Jam.

Yup, and today I did the Civil War Century with a few members of the bike club.

Bummer about the knee. I've had issues like that in the past. I found seat height and distance from the bars were the culprit. depends where the knee pain is located. Where's your pain? definitely take it easy on the hills.

I’ll be working the registration table and I will probably be sweeping a route which means I’ll probably only get to say hi when you check in. But I encourage everyone to come out we do some cool park/bike things with the money we raise.

I have no idea how to describe the pain in my knee but I suspect it is a poorly placed cleat. I’m going to try and dig out what seems like cement inside the hex bolt today and get that cleat in a better position ether that or I am going to have to buy new shoes. I took a real easy 80 miler yesterday and I my knee feels 95% better. It starts to hurt if I don’t ride and hurts when I ride too hard.

PG County, Laurel, MD to be exact. Living in DC now, closer to the job in Oxon Hill, MD.

Do you know about:

http://www.ohbike.org/

?

What time should I arrive for my free t-shirt? I hope the weather holds out for this..

What is the route? I am thinking of doing it with my single speed (43x17), but am a bit apprehensive.
Barry, what is your survey of the hills?

-Bob

If you are after a t-shirt the earlier you get there the better. Previous years they still had T’s at 9:00. As far as hills, I think the route is flat for Baltimore (which does not say a whole lot I know.) The worst is the climb up to Patterson Park, challenging but doable on a single speed and there is a nice rest stop in the park so you have something to look forward to.

The route:
http://tourdemparks.org/images/tourdemparks07.jpg

Ok Baltimorians. I am in need of some advice again. I am going to the Orioles/Nats game on tuesday with some friends (If anyone wants to go let me know. My friend bought like 14 tickets and then everyone backed out). I was planning on biking to work tuesday, and then getting a ride with someone to the game, keeping my bike in their trunk. And then either biking home or metro/bike.

1. I need to get to the Reisterstown area. I am likely thinking metro+ bike will be the best since it will already be kinda late. But I am wondering about the safety of biking to the lexington market area at 11pm at night to catch the train. OR should I consider biking to an alternate metro stop?

2. If I were to bike home, what would be a decent/safe route for the middle of the night.

3. I guess I could also take the light rail north to a certain point and hop off to ride the rest of the way home as well.

Thoughts?

Thanks

-D

So I finally sucked it up and commuted to work on Friday. Many thanks to Derath for the great route. My plan was to commute home as well but with temperatures in the mid-90s and the horrible AQI I decided to hitch a ride with my neighbor. I must have been riding on some wicked adrenaline because this was the fastest ride I've ever done, solo or with a group. Pretty uneventful ride aside from the damn school buses that refused to give me more than 1-2 feet of room as they passed. Most everyone else gave me plenty of room, but the bus drivers were the absolute worst.

A+ ride; would do again. In fact, Derath may join me on Monday and hopefully we'll get to do the round trip this time. Unfortunately, my time is limited to be able to commute; supposed to start on a new contract next week that will make a commute all but impossible.

Here is my MB ride data. Please ignore the fact that my heart rate suggests I should be dead.

Mike

This is a hard one to answer. I’m a bike advocate because I have really given up on mass transit around here. And from my limited experience the city is really a mess after a game, too many cars and too many people taking mass transit. So in the central business core being on a bike would be the fastest way to get around. And I don’t think you could get your bike on a train till it got a little less crowded anyhow. So you could bike the Gwynns Falls trail to Dickeyville and take Hillsdale, Elderon, Rogers Ave to the Rogers Ave Metro Station (I have never seen anyone on the trail late at night which means it is either safe or scary depending on your POV.) Or bike Calvert, University, Roland, Lake to the Falls Rd light rail stop or just continue on Falls Rd to home.