Monthly Archives: June 2016

Bicycle Tire Plugs

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Got back late last night.  The drive from Denver to Topeka seemed to take a long time for some reason, even though it was just the same old 7 + hours.  We left kind of late because Vicent and I rode a 3 hour MTB ride serpentining Golden.

We were both a little out of sync.  Me climbing, Vincent descending .  His bike is messed up.  But Vincent out of sync descending is just about perfect speed for me to follow him.

Anyway, about half way down from the top of Lookout Mtn. I felt latex spraying on my legs.  I stopped and saw a white spot on the very top of my tire.  I put the cut down, trying to get the hole clogged up with glitter and latex.  But, it kept oozing.

I remembered I had a plug in my seat bag.  We’d just used it on Saturday before the Growler in Gunnison on Vincent’s tire.  It worked great.  So I got out a plug and put it into the hole.

Vincent had some left over Co2 and it was just enough to get the tire limping home pressure.

Anyway, the plug isn’t a permanent fix, but they seem to be good enough .  I was talking to Brian Jensen on the way home and told him he should carry some on Saturday in the Dirty Kanza, 200 mile gravel race.  The Flint Hills in Central Kansas have sharp rocks and once you flat and put in a tube, the day gets long.  Tubes and the Flint Hills don’t get along very well.

I always have a piece of Gorilla tape available too, for catastrophic sidewall cuts.  That and a couple pieces of Tyvek, which is just an old race number.  Sometimes the Gorilla tape won’t stick if you can’t get all the sealant off the rubber, then I use the race number with a tube for the boot.

Anyway, if you don’t have a plug kit, I suggest you get one.  It weighs nothing and will really help you out in a bind.   It is such a hassle putting in a tube with all the sealant.  The plug will most likely help you avoid that.

The whole kit.

The whole kit.

VIcent up on the top of Lookout.

VIcent up on the top of Lookout.

Trudi playing with Nikola, with Tucker and Jack hanging out.

Trudi playing with Nikola, with Tucker and Jack hanging out.

 

No Rest for the Weary

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No rest for the weary is an appropriate saying.  I’m kind of weary, or maybe just a little beat up. Trudi, on the other hand is just tired and jet lagged.

I am just tired from riding my MTB at altitude for 5 days.  My body wasn’t used the the jarring and it is telling me so.  My lower back hates me.

Trudi finished Tour of California, which was a sleep deprivation race for support, then flew to Winston-Salem to support Taylor and Brent from BMC.  The time trial started at 7 or 8, but the support had to get up at 4am to drive out to the course to set up.  So that was 1am California time, just about the same time that she was thinking about going to sleep a few days earlier.

She flew to Denver to hang for one day, then we drove from Denver to Topeka on Tuesday.  I then took her to the airport yesterday and she flew back to Belgium.  I just talked to her and she landed, took the train to the BMC service course, now is driving from Belgium to France to pick up some riders for the Critérium du Dauphiné, which starts on Sunday.   That is some pretty steady movement.

I have a press conference to go to this morning.  I’m getting inducted into the Shawnee County/Topeka Sports Hall of Fame in a few weeks and they are doing an announcement at the Chamber of Commerce this morning.

I’m not sure what I’m doing after that.  Tomorrow there is a NCC criterium, the Oklahoma Pro-Am in Oklahoma City.  But the race starts at 9pm and then the Tour of Kansas City is at 8 am on Saturday.  It is 5 hours from OKC to KC, so that would be hard to do.  I’ll have to mull that one over today.

Okay, just I should get cleaned up to be presentable this morning.

Trudi and Tucker walking before the flight yesterday. Tucker rolled around in a muddy puddle trying to cool off. He is pointing butterflies here.

Trudi and Tucker walking before the flight yesterday. Tucker rolled around in a muddy puddle trying to cool off. He is pointing butterflies here.

At the airport.

At the airport.

Newspaper clip about the Hall of Fame deal.

Newspaper clip about the Hall of Fame deal.