20061101 Wednesday November 01, 2006

It's getting cold around here New Commuter - Giant FCR3 This week, I started riding my bike to work again. It figures that it just happens to be one of the coldest weeks in quite some time. This morning, when I was riding home, the thermometer read 27°F on the 7News sign. It's really not too bad once you start riding, but it is tough to get going in the morning. It's one of those things - if you dress for it, you're more than comfortable.

I've ridden my bike to work so much in the last year that I had to buy a new chain and rear cassette yesterday. My chain was so stretched that it was skipping, no matter what gear I was in. Of course, after spending a bunch of money getting everything fixed yesterday - I got a flat tire on my way to work this morning. It was the first flat I've gotten since I started working downtown a year and a half ago. I wasn't too far away though - it only took me a 1/2 hour to finish the commute on foot. I fixed the tire with slime this afternoon, so hopefully it'll be another year and a half before my next flat. Posted in General at Nov 01 2006, 09:18:58 PM MST 5 Comments

Comments:

Patch kits my friend! Patch kits! I never leave my house without a patch kit! I'm impressed/shocked/amazed that you've been riding that long without one, and it hasn't bitten you in the ass yet. But then again, the bike paths in Denver are some of the best in the US.

Posted by Avid Cyclist Programmer Dude on November 02, 2006 at 10:53 AM MST #

Yeah, I used to pack a full patch kit and pump when we lived out near the Foothills. I remember a couple of fun incidents: patching a tire in a hail storm and patching 3 flats on the same ride to work. That was the good ol' days - when I didn't have to pack a laptop with me to and from work. Then again, I didn't pack a change of clothes either. My co-workers loved that. ;-)

Posted by Matt Raible on November 02, 2006 at 10:57 AM MST #

Have you ever tried anti-flat liquid? It's put once inside the tire, and it stays there, filling small punctures as they happen. I've been using it for some years now and it's worked amazingly well: tire completely empty, fill tire with hand-pump, ride again. Sometimes, another air refill is needed, but that's all.

Posted by Another anon on November 02, 2006 at 11:02 AM MST #

Yep - I'm all lubed up with the anti-flat/slime stuff, so hopefully it'll be a couple more years before my next flat.

Posted by Matt Raible on November 02, 2006 at 11:07 AM MST #

If the tube's been punctured, I'd just swap it for a new one. Accidents on a bike aren't fun...no airbags..... :-P

Posted by Ken Yee on November 02, 2006 at 11:53 AM MST #

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Matt Raible is a Web Architecture Consultant specializing in open source frameworks.
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