Sierra_rider

Probably closer than I am...I can retire in 17 years at the earliest, 24 if I want to max out my retirement. I'm not counting down the years at all lol.

rsbob 

Three mile dog walk followed by 26 miles with 1K climb. An amazing sunny day around 50*.

Sierra_rider

My last ride of the month, I wanted to see if I could get to 50,000' of climbing for the month...just made it with today's ride. 58 miles and 7000' of elevation gain.

diphthong

22-spot. santa ana winds kicking and cleared everything out...til the inevitable wildfires.

rsbob 

Damn. Way to get after it.

Was in Forest Hill a couple of days ago. Only saw a couple of cyclists out there. Lots of gain.

Sierra_rider

I'm not too far from Foresthill, they have some really good MTBing out that way. IMO, there are some epic cycling roads all along the west slope of the Sierras, and most of the cyclists in Sacramento never make the 1 hour drive to check it out.

rsbob 

Even though it was a weekday, there were quite a few MTBs out there. Since it takes a bit to get out there, I was really surprised. Driving those roads, its no wonder you get so much gain,

Today, 44 miles, 1,700’ at 16.6 Ave. Could be the last good day for quite a while.

diphthong

46-spot with the santa ana winds. temps in the 75f-80f range.

rsbob 

Did my own flatish 28 mile time trial with an average speed of 19.6MPH with only 500’ of climbing. My new aerobars certainly helped. Love them.

XxHaimBondxX

My first 30 mile! Ditched the car and rode straight to the bike path from my house which added extra 10 miles round trip, plus quite a few hills, so I'm really feeling it right now.

jaxgtr

Took the Checkpoint out do some bridge loops to see what the gearing is like with the 46 tooth up front and doing some steep angles. This bridge is not long, but starts out at 8% for about 1/4 mile and reduces to about 5% to the peak. The return trip based on which road you take can be 6.5% or 5% neither of which give me issues, but the 6.5 is longer at 1/2 mile. I decided to come back on the 5% side and on my way down the bridge, I hear a pop and then the spraying of tubeless fluid. I was starting to slide around on the back so I stood and leaned a little forward while applying steady breaking. I did not want to crash at 34 mph. I bring the bike to a stop and tire was pretty loose on the rim. The Orange Seal would not seal it, but then I realized there was nothing left. I walk back up the bridge a little and see a trail of latex. I walk down to the base of the bridge to put a tube in, and then it was then that I realized I was screwed. I did not have my little storage pack in the downtube, it was on my work bench in the garage.



So I make the call to my wife. Get home, then start to clean the bike and look at the tire. I had 5 holes in my tire and one of them was quite sizable. I am not sure what I hit, but it has the pattern of carpet tack board but I do not remember seeing anything like that on the bridge, but you never know. I plugged the largest hole, but the others are pretty small so I dropped some super glue in them. I think for interim, I am going to run tubes on this bike which will give me the ability to run smooth tires for road or switch to more off road when I do that. Good thing is that the tubes will fit whatever tire I run. I might have to look into the TPU, since I am seeing people are quite happy with them and they seem to have a little more stretch which help reduce flatting.

So I got in 22.5 miles, 834 ft of climbing the bridges

rsbob 

Congratulations! ‘Well done

rsbob 

Rotten luck. When I screw up, I call that, paying the stupid tax. Running tubes sounds like a good idea. Better days to you.

Troul 

86 miles. Was cooking the wet pavement without much effort it seemed. The intent was to do a moderate distance before the clouds blew in, which happened later than forecasted. The last dozen miles I ended up soaked in the 51°F "heat" .
trying to proactively get ahead of the upcoming gobble day indulgeindulgence.

jaxgtr

Nothing worse than getting wet in that kind of heat

jaxgtr

You know, I generally have the outlook that most things have a reason for happening even though we don't see it at the time. Some long time friends of my wife came over for dinner tonight and I have ridden with one of the husbands here and there. I was showing him my new bike and told him of my adventure today and the lack of an emergency tube. He called me a rookie and I could not disagree with him. I mentioned that my tire look like I ran over some carpet tack board and decided to switch back to tubes for now. He asked if I was going to stick with the gravel tires or was I looking to buy some more road like. I told him I was thinking about it, but I wanted something 35mm or larger which really limits the options. He walked out to his car and hands me a box which has pair of Cinturato Velo 35mm that he was going to return to Amazon as they mounted just a bit too wide for his bike and the rear was rubbing the front derailleur. I took them off his hands, so win win for everyone. .

Troul 

That is a great random "happen" ! those tires are pretty supple based on my experience.

jaxgtr

Yea they review very well and I know dude that has been riding them for the last couple of years I think in a 32. He speaks highly of them.

Troul 

When it comes to tires, it's hard for me to stay with one type/kind. I find myself trying out new designs/compounds.... thankfully that habit hasnt crossed over into whole new bicycles as that might make financial recoveries very difficult.

rsbob 

Stormy weather in the PNW. Managed to squeak in a 2.5 mile dog walk between showers and 17 leisurely fake miles on ZWIFT using the Orbea.

On the Bianchi, mounted risers on the aerobars regain access to the bar tops. It’s all good.

rsbob 

Dragged out the vintage steel with fenders due to wet roads and threatening rain.

With its mighty 39x26 7 speed gearing, I managed 35 miles and 2600’ climbing at a whopping 14.2 MPH. Did I mention the bike weighs 25 lbs? Good ole Columbus tubing. Yeesh - can’t believe I rode that beast for 20 years. Two days ago I did 32 miles at 19.6 MPH average on my plastic bike.

jaxgtr

@rsbob, wonderful scenery with the red leaves. I got in a late evening 21 before the sun called it a day.

rsbob 

many thanks. Hope your ride was a good one.

jaxgtr

yea we might see the fall colors around the Middle or late Jan, LOL

diphthong

really doesn't seem to matter whether running tubeless or tubed...every so often, you're going to have a "i'm just done" ride. recall blowing through 6 (6?!?!) tubes in one ride (thorns-not goatheads-from hell) a few years ago (had 3 spares, begged for another from a passing rider) and ending up
riding (mostly) uphill for 11 miles in the dark with only rear blinkie lights. at least your wife picked you up. i was a 45 min drive from home, made the call of shame for the first time and the lady said "figure it out yourself." let's just say we didn't go out for dinner that night.