@echappist At least here the Specialized dealers all have a bin by the service desk where you can deposit old tires and tubes. Metal stuff like chains and rims, most shops have a dedicated dumpster or pile that gets taken every so often for recycling. Some places you can even put it in your own bin or set it out for the scrappers to collect.

I meant that mostly in jest - it's still a thrifty habit.

Truth be told I didn't do it in college either unless I needed to in order to get home :D

I love continental, I have their bike tires, extreme contact on my car, their snow tires for my car, and eco something on my wife's crossover. But they've all been louder than I'd like. I keep buying them, because my car is loud anyway, but I'm not sure I'll get them again for my wife.

Yeah, I pretty much trust whatever tire rack says, they know their stuff.

My job is unlike any I've had before. Boss comes to me about 3 today. There's a bit of an emergency, can you go to a substation Sunday? And also Monday. And maybe another on Thursday?

At least he's giving me Friday off if I work Sunday. And we get extra pay when we're out in the field in the heat and cold and working long hours around dangerous electricity. This will be the first time I'm in a 500kV station I think. So that's fun.

I never patch, I just replace tires with a bit more tread remaining than most and it makes a huge difference.

I thought engineers just did math and the electricians did all the dangerous stuff.

I generally don't touch anything or do any work. I visually check low voltage wiring. But I'm in the station directing commissioning and stuff. When you're working on 500kV transformers and breakers there's always danger.

Damn dude! I think I'd pass on that one too.

I'm guessing you didn't dust yourself off and walk away from that one??

I had those on my Audi. May have been 225.
I only buy the bridgestone turanza serenity plus for everything.

If I wanted a kid racer car (again) I wouldn't.

I had to climb back up to the trail, (bike stayed on the trail) and ride 2 hours back to the car. Tore rotator cuff for the second time, compression fractures on 2 vertebrae, bumps and bruises, face-planted on the trail before I went over the side, broke helmet.
I was between the fast guys and the other 5, so nobody saw me fall. When they got there they saw my bike lying on the trail and they yelled down to ask me "Wtf are you doing down there?" I told them I fell and they didn't believe me at first.
I've been crowing about doing more mtb rides lately, so I got no mercy when I declined today's ride. *****, putz, etc.
Think I'll go do a club road ride.

That's insane. I don't think I'd ride there either. I like mountain biking when the penalty for failure is a few feet, not 40.

It's definitely a function of where you live. For example - when I lived in west Texas, it was not uncommon to get multiple flats on one ride due to bad roads, debris, and the generally spiky things that live in the desert (goatheads and such). I remember one ride I got 4 flats before I finally gave up and called a friend to give me a ride. Since I moved to North Carolina 1.5 yrs ago - not a single flat during a ride. Not one. I'm gonna go knock on all the wood now.

thanks!
sorry for making that snarky comment :o

Where in West Texas? I lived in Lubbock for awhile. I don't recall getting many road flats, but MTB, I had to run Slime tubes.

About 3 years ago we picked up the travel to races. I also had the tire distributor I ordered from move, and not let me know, so many races were done on tires that used to be fine locally, and were happy to lose air for about 4 races in a row. It was a bad deal. Since then junior just got one flat recently from some gutter riding. It takes time to figure it out and know the roads.

no worries haha. I felt slightly classist about my comment - although it's true routes lie in laziness :)

on that note im getting back to work. yeah I know it's saturday. my review is within 6 weeks and I want there to be no doubt as to whether or not I was worth it. I almost left with another offer about a year ago and worked out a big raise, bonus and three year fixed salary plan.

Monza has been by far a better race than LBL today.

LBL hasn't been exciting for a long time; ugh

i want my hour back

The damn thing was less interesting than Milan San Remo

Blooming hillside in N Tecolote Canyon on my casual mtb ride this morning:

https://scontent-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.net...32&oe=59951CDE

did the days' of our lives thread go away?

I'm like inches from putting away bikes and finding a new hobby. Scarponi with his kids in his final tweet basically put into image the concerns I've had for some time. Getting brushed by a car the week before, and having a number of local guys hospitalized, and one in a coma, after a group-ride crash on Friday are all contributing to my inability to ignore what I kind of feel is my better judgment.

Geez, when it rains, it pours! Keep your head in this troubled times @Ygduf - I'm sure whatever you decide will be the right choice for you.

Ride Palomar more.
Having kids and age does affect the brain a bit. I got knocked around a few times by cars in my early 20s. By early 30s one more little (big crash, little impact to me) race crash and having more important things just did me in. I was no where near as talented as you, so that made things easier.