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 :)

Clujul pedaleaza - Cluj is pedaling

Sunday I went racing to Cluj. Cluj is at about a 2 hour car ride (about 100 km) but I had a rough time getting there. The day before I changed my tires but I didn't pay attention when I bought the tubes and I got a 20 inch tube. So I had to go back to the store and change the tube. The next morning my phone didn't wake me up, it didn't ring. Next the car didn't want to start. After some help from a few taxi drivers and a lot of lost time it finally started, as I found out in the evening the battery died. My bad luck didn't stop there... I got to Cluj almost in time but I still had to hurry to get my race number. I didn't go on the first route my gps suggested so I had to go under a pole and disaster... I was kind of lucky that the driver behind me wasn't too close and that my Thule bike carrier is kind of idiot proof. The seat of the bike is a bit torn and one peace of plastic is broken so I was kind of lucky. The car stopped and I couldn't start it again so I had to run up the hill to get my number...

Before the race started I had to wait because the kid and beginner races were first. When the race started I was tired and cold. The first two laps were very hard, I was struggling to keep up and find my rhythm. I don't really enjoy these fast races. At the end of the second lap the rear wheel slipped and my left gastrocnemius contracted and it was hurting. I couldn't pedal for a while so I was running. I got back on the bike and started to find my rhythm. I was in about the 20th place at the end of lap three. Slowly I started to get back in the race and I started to have some fun to. My Nobby Nics were awesome, I had so much grip on every surface (mud and ice) that I was very happy that I bought them.

I finished the race in 15th place, I was covered in mud and I had really bad muscles cramps in my legs. After three days my legs still hurt. It was a great race, I had a lot of fun, I am happy that I was able to race although I had a lot of problems, I even won a Garmin t-shirt :D

Some pics from the race:

new tires on the bike, clean clothes on me (before the race)

race time

before the cramps

go go go

it started to snow

pushing hard

Merida rulz

Merida flags again

getting dirty

on the finish line

dirty and tired after the race

dirty after the race

muddy

going home

Stats:
    - time: 53:07
    - distance: 11,91km
    - average speed: 12,5 km/h
    - max speed 23,4 km/h

All the pics here.

New tires

As  I wrote earlier I bought new mud tires. I bought a set of Schwalbe Nobby Nic, two new tubes and a bottle of Slime. I was thinking of trying some tire sealant that helps prevent and repair flat tires and with the new tires it was time to test the green stuff. Here is what I have on my wheels right now:

It was very easy to put the sealant in the tire, just unscrew the valve and put in half a bottle. I hope this will help me run flat free for two years. In my first season of hard riding I had no flats, in the second season I had a lot of flats. This is my third season and I will ride without flats ;)

I tested this setup last Sunday in a short race so a review is coming soon you here you can find out that these tires are just great!

Smoking tires

Last weekend I was home again. I wanted to film the smoking tires of the aircraft when it hits the ground and I was lucky to sit in the back of the plain so I could make a short movie:

Yesterday I went for a ride to test my new tires on the tarmac. I knew they are fast (as I said here) but I wanted to see how fast they really are. I went for a ride to Acatari, about 20 kilometers with two climbs. The tires are very fast, my average speed was 27 km/h and the maximum speed was just above 60 km/h.

Before the last climb I saw two bikers folowed by a yellow car with a LIVESTRONG logo on the trunk. I think this is what you can call riding with style :)

New tires

I bought a pair of Continental Race King tires for the race tomorrow.

They say that the track is wet, but there are a lot of country roads, some roads on grass and even some paved roads in the race so I hope I've made the right choice. I will test them today on some bad paved road when I will go home to Tarnaveni.

How to fix a flat when you don't have a spare tube

Via freerider.