How to avoid a flat tire

Last year I had a lot of flat tires so this year I decided to do something about it. This spring when I was preparing for the first race I've put some Slime in my tires. This year I had only one flat tire but it was a snake bite and it was my fault because I wasn't using the right tire.

One time I was saved by the Slime but I didn't even notice, because this sealant is so good. When I was changing my tires before a race I was inspecting the tire (I always inspect the tires when I change them) I noticed a spike in the tire.

I always check the tires with my hands and I didn't even notice the slime in the tire and on the tube (I was a bit bored and wasn't paying attention)

I removed the spike and I changed the tire. After inflation I heard the flat tire sound so I rotated the tire a few times and it stopped. The next time when I changed the tire I fixed the tube.

I highly recommend Slime if you hate flat tires :)

Song of the week #48

A short ride in the forest

Today I went on a short ride in the forest. I was looking at the forest from my window for a few days and it is just beautiful.

The weather was nice, the sun was shining but it was a bit cold especially where the forest was thicker. From the edge of the forest it looked like a normal autumn day but as I got deeper there was more and more snow.

I fell down two times, first I was looking for the trail and the front tire slipped and I felt down on my right side. The second fall was nasty, I had too much speed in a tight corner between the trees and the bike went sideways and I felt down hard and I hit my left hand which is a bit swollen now.

I didn't know exactly where I wanted to go, my first tough was to ride on a longer trail but it was a little cold for that so I headed for Terebici, one of my favorite destinations, probably because my first ride had the same destination.

It seems like the lens of my camera got steamy again and I had to delete some of the pictures :(

After a short brake and a failed photo shooting I turned back. For the descent I chose another route to the other side of the city where I found a lot of snow, because the sun wasn't shining there.

Stats:

 - distance: 20,68 km

 - average speed: 13,1 kph

 - maximum speed: 33,4 kph

 - time: 1:34:31

Although it was short and I have a few bruises it was a cool ride and I hope I can repeat it soon :)

Song of the week #47

And a bonus club song:

A ride to Saca Mare

Last Saturday I was on one of the coolest and coldest rides ever. The idea was to do ride on this route but we soon realized it was to much for an autumn day. It was a bit cold but it wasn't so bad. The big problem is that it gets dark at about 5 pm.

I woke up early and packed everything.

After a short car ride we arrived to the starting point.

We got our gear and started the ride. After a few kilometers we already had to take off some of the clothes although it was pretty cold.

It was cold but nature is very beautiful in the cold to.

Soon we hit some ice on the road.

Then even more ice, where I had to jump off the bike for the first time.

Soon the water in my bottle started to freeze like the creek.

At the first food break we fixed a tire.

At the second break my chocolate was frozen :))

After that we stopped and took a look at some interesting rock called the Table Rocks.

The trees were beautiful, they remind me of Christmas.

We found some snow.

The view was...

The stats for the end of the climb:

 - distance: 26,11km

 - average speed: 9,3 kph

 - maximum speed: 33,1 kph

 - time: 2:47:42

The climb was very long and hard and the last few kilometers are very steep. Because of my lack of training and the cold I had some cramps :(

The view at above 1700 meters is breathtaking.

Because of the cold the battery from my camera died on the descent. The descent was long and cold and very hard because of the rocks. We decided to descend off road parallel with the paved road. After a few flat tires and some getting lost we got down to Sovata in the dark. After a short and painful ride I got to the car. The stats for the ride:

 - distance: 54,57km

 - average speed: 11,6 kph

 - maximum speed: 48,7 kph

 - time: 4:40:51