Two Wheel Blogs

I have been playing around again with tires (it is sort of an ongoing story of my life).

I went out for a short ride yesterday (basically a 45 minute sprint/hammer session on the MTB). I wanted to try to test the limits of my tires, and possibly destroy them.

Some of you will recall that I do this sort of thing EVERY year. I put on some semi-slicks and start playing around with tires and formulate plans for the rest of the year.

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I managed to get on the bike for a bit today. I went to the usual place for some single track and some tech riding.

I had no idea that it *would* have been a good idea to put on some sun block. Turns out that our 90+ degree weather has some UV rays attached...go figure. Perhaps there is something to this global warming?

Two-old came over this weekend for some riding and such. We went out on two great rides and for some reason, I am really feeling the sort of deep down tired a body gets after a couple of fun rides.

For the event, I prepared by installing a faster and lighter rear tire (it also provides more chainstay/tire clearance). I have had my problems with the Michelin ATs in the past as you may recall, but I like the performance so much that I was willing to risk some of the durability issues.

You may recall from the last line of this post, that I was eager to learn something new.

Well, my wish was granted in the form of a bad landing, a tubeless tire burp, and a tree in my way. It seemed that tire just did not want to stay on the rim, and that skin just did not want to stay on my arm.

I really can not report what it was that I learned...somewhere in the deep end of my brain (probably fairly shallow there too) lies the answer. Next time perhaps that tid-bit of knowledge will kick in and result in that oak tree staying out of my way.

So, I finally got back on the trails today for a ride. Everything seemed fine and well. I stopped several times to move dead-fall from the trail. I also stopped to let this guy pass....

This black snake was looking good. It must have shed its skin very recently because it was positively radiating color. I wish they made a paint like this snakes skin....It would be nice to have something painted this color so I could enjoy it any time I like...may be that is what makes it so nice (you encounter it so infrequently, it is hard to take for granted).

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Last night Peat, Switzerland, and I met up for a lap around Binder for what we thought would be a hot but otherwise uneventful ride.

Now some of you may recall the last time that this group got together for a ride. Yes, it has been a long time since the three of us have ridden together, and it seems that the results were similar...

As I commented in my last post, we had a few problems. This entry gives the full story.