Wednesday, September 27

Centennial Cone

Just Bill and I tonight and we banged out Centennial Cone in an hour and twenty minutes before dark set in. It was a really fun ride. The leaves were turning and the trail was nearly deserted. Just Bill and I with the deer and 2 other riders the whole time. No one else even in the parking lot. I should have stopped to take some scenery pictures but we were in a hurry and only stopped a couple times to admire it as it was. Plus Marni had pizza and cake waiting for both of us at home which was awesome. Yum.
Just as we got to the end of the ride I was flying down the outside of the doubletrack when I hit something that I didn't see very hard. The huge *wham* would have instantly resulted in a pinch flat on a tubed tire. I am running tubeless on the singlespeed though and couldn't believe it didn't instantly flat. I kept riding almost all the way back to the car before the tire leaked enough air to make it totally flat and I had to walk. I could have thrown a tube in but the car was 200 yards away and I didn't think I cut the tire. Sure enough, when I got home I popped one side of the bead and all my sealant was dry. Added another 2 ounces and hit it with the compressor and it aired right back up. Score another one for DIY tubeless. That's the *first* flat I've had since I sealed that wheel up with a 2.25" Nobby Nic in a few hundred miles (or more I can't remember. sealed it at the beginning of June) of hard mountain biking. Plus I can run 30 psi in the rear now and had there been sealant in there I probably wouldn't have even flatted today. Guess I should check the level every month or two. Well didn't mean that to be a tubeless rant. In my mind when setup with appropriate tires and totally sealed it's at least as good as a tube and usually better. That's good enough for me to keep using it most of the time.
Mileage is a little below where I wanted it by today since I missed my lunch ride but oh well. Such is life. It was really great to ride with Bill. He is getting really strong. I can't wait to see what a winter and spring of base work do for him racing next year. Clydes or sports, he's going to put the hurt on a few people. Plus he took a cool timer shot today. If it came out light enough I'll post it up here. Well time for bed again. Not looking forward to tomorrow but I can't wait for the ride on Saturday.

2 comments:

FixieDave said...

Still wont see me on tubeless =)

nice flat shot! anyho can't wait for moab

Anonymous said...

Thanks Chris for the kind words, it was indeed a fine ride. My pics did not come out very good at all. On the camera it was pretty funny, the bright yellow of the CU jersey seemed to float by itself in the darkness. Cent Cone seems epic every time.