Flexus followup

I got some Stan's sealant and put it into my flat Tufo Flexus tire. I put in 1 ounce. When I pumped it up quite a bit came out before it sealed. I let it sit overnight and then pumped it up again. Only a little came out this time. I let it sit all day and then, this afternoon, went for a ride on a gravel road. I took a frame pump along. I lost pressure pretty quickly and pumped it up. I eventually lost pressure and pumped it up a couple more times. One time it went completely flat. I came home, put in another ounce of Stan's and pumped it up to 40 psi. A tiny amount came out and it seems to be holding. I don't think I'll trust it to race this weekend though. I'll race on the Dugast Rhinos. They're mounted on Velocity Deep Vee Elite rims. I built them for use in mud but, I guess I'll use them for dry conditions too. My clincher wheels with Geax Blade tires will be my pit wheels. Should I put some Stan's in my Dugasts in case I puncture them?

In my last post I mentioned an old guy from Portland who had come down to race in Grants Pass. I looked him up on the OBRA site and found that he is the BAR points leader in the masters category. His wife is the leader in the BAR female masters. Kick Ass couple. He has raced 57 times this year.

Tufo Flexus Tires Suck

I raced today in Grants Pass. I used my wheels with Mavic Reflex rims and Tufo Flexus tires. This is the second time this year that I've raced on these wheels. For the second time I flatted. I hit a rock but I was running 40 psi and the tires should have been able to handle the hit. Now I have $190 worth of brand new tires that are worthless. They can't be repaired. I ordered some Stan's sealant to see if that will fix the leak. I'll let you know if it works.

The race was fun, though. I ran about a quarter of a mile to the pit and switched to my other wheel so I was able to finish the race. There was a fast old guy from Portland and a guy from Yreka who has beaten me in the past in mountain bike races. So I probably would have been third in my age group without flatting. Maybe next week will be better.

The highlight of the day was that I won this gift basket in the raffle. I would have preferred the Garmin Edge GPS but Susan was happy with what I won.










Overall it was a very pleasant day. The weather was beautiful, especially for southern Oregon in late October. That reminds me. It rained like hell one day last week and the river came up 17 feet in 8 hours. Amazing.

Big Race Weekend

I picked up a cool jersey this weekend. Yeah, that's right, I'm the Short Track Cross Country Male Beginner State Champion. Before you send congratulations, I have to confess that I didn't have to beat anybody for the title. Just show up and race. I do deserve something though. STXC is brutal. Especially for an old, out of shape, overweight guy who doesn't train and has limited technical skills. I raced STXC four times in Northern California and four times in Southern Oregon. Isn't it cool? Champion of the whole state of California. That's way better than champion of someplace like, say, Wisconsin.







I hooked up my trailer Friday afternoon, loaded my bikes and stuff with one dog, Jake, and headed for Yreka. I almost didn't go because there had been a wind advisory for 80 mph gusts on Siskiyou summit in the morning. By mid afternoon there was only light winds so I took off. I stayed in an RV park in Yreka and was ready early to race cyclocross, my first race of the season. It was a good race. Nice course in a park. Some grass, some single track, some mud and some shitty, rocky stuff that was totally unnecessary, some barriers and a couple of steep runups. They only have A and B races in this series so I race as a B 50+. There were 37 racers in my race. I lined up near the rear so I would be out of the way of the young, fast guys. It was really slow at the start and I thought "this feels pretty good". I was the only 50+ so I decided I didn't need to push it. I just took it easy. I passed a few people who tried to ride what I considered a run up early in the race and then, late in the race, I started passing people who had run out of steam. I passed a guy on the last lap that I have never beaten before. I felt good at the end. Maybe next race I'll try harder.
It was muddy in spots.













After the race was over and the raffle was done I headed for Weaverville on Hwy 3 through Scott Valley and over the Marble Mountains. It was very scenic, lots of color. I passed a sign at one point that said "Steep curvy road 7 miles ahead autos with trailers not advised". I figured since I had a truck, not an auto, I'd be okay. I was. I just took it easy going down the other side of the mountain.











I stayed in another RV park in Weaverville. Not as nice as the one in Yreka, lousy cable TV and no Wifi.











The STXC race was uneventful once I realized that I was the winner by default. The course was pretty boring. A muddy, rutted road, a long rutted, muddy uphill section, and then a steep downhill drop in to the finish. Four laps for us beginners. Hardly worth the effort except that now I'm the State Champion.

Next weekend is in Grants Pass. It's the second race of the Outlaw Cyclocross series. I'll be there since I'm the points leader in the B 50+. Maybe I'll have some actual competition.

Sunday Morning Ride

I rode this morning up the South Fork of the Smith River from Hwy 199 to Big Flat. Went with Susan Roberts, Don Olsen, Michael Saberr, Gordon Pfeffer, and Tom and Nan Latimer on their tandem. 33.2 miles lots of hills. It's beautiful this time of year.






















Here's the beautiful South Fork of the Smith River.






































Somethings wrong with my road bike. When I pedal hard it sounds like something rubs. Tom thinks the hub is slipping. Chris King hubs are supposed to be bullet proof. I'm going to have to figure it out. It's been bugging me for a long time.

My first post

I've finally decided to try this. I don't know how long this will last but, I guess we'll find out. I'm not sure what I'm going to write about. I guess it will just be what I'm doing. I'll just jump in.

I just got back from riding my cross bike. My first race of the season is next weekend Oct. 20 in Yreka. Then on Sunday I'm racing the last of the STXC Norcal series in Weaverville. I have the Northern California Beginner Over 40 title locked up. I'm hoping that nobody in the Beginner Over 40 class show up for this race. If so I could be the State Champion. I've been riding out at the Cadra Ranch lately for cross training. I'll try to figure out how to post some pictures.
This is how the ride starts out. Gravel road.















Then it changes to two ruts. Is that called double track. It's so pretty that, when you're actually there you don't notice the power lines.

The trail goes out to a point next to Lakes Earl and Tolowa.













This is the trail coming back from the point.

















Then it loops back a different route to a Spruce forest.














It finishes through the forest. I usually do two laps.

Okay. That's my first post. I'll try to learn how to improve.