Last night we rode the Ash Creek trail. This used to be one of our favorite trails before the Waterfall Fire of 2004, but sadly the fire destroyed it. The good news is that the trail is back and better than before! The trail snakes through the high grass, thick bushes, and lots of trees. It makes you feel like you are far away from the city.As devastating as the Waterfall Fire was, I think it has actually improved this area. Before the fire, the brush was too thick for a good route through the canyon. The area is a bit more open now, and there are many natural obstacles that provide challenges along the way.
Jeff P. and I rode the trail once, and then we ran into Keith and Josh. We rode back up and did the trail again! We had planned to hit the Ride of Silence in downtown Carson City after the ride, but a couple mechanical problems tied us up for a bit. Josh suffered a broken chain, and I had a flat tire. It was also the first time I got to run the Postal Route. I didn't want the guys to come back up the hill looking for me after I had my flat, so I ran down the trail to what is sometimes a checkpoint on the trail. Unfortunately, the guys had ridden down the whole trail, and didn't know what had become of me. They were riding back up the trail just as I was finishing my tube change. Oh well...they got to ride the Jackrabbit trail again. I don't feel too sorry for them!
8 comments:
Are you in a flat cycle? Go for months and then get 2 in one week.
That trail looks rad
Scott, I may be. Both flats were not your typical flat. Last night's was a catastrophic failure. All the air came out in less than 5 seconds. It looked like a little cut in the tube. And I don't recall hitting anything that would've caused it. I bought a bunch of tubes sometime last year. Maybe I need to check the expiration date!
Marcus...wanna ride it today at lunch?
Hey Scott...thanks for the curse buddy! Got another flat on the Ash Creek trail today! Time to stock up on tubes...
that trail totally looks rad.
looks like some nice single track.
Jeff- Its not a curse, its a fact. Flats happen 3 times in a row. you have one more coming and then you will be good for awhile. The small slit sounds like a pinch flat. Usually there is another one right next to it. Another name is a snakebite. Its from underinflation. The tire bottoms out on the rim and pinches the tube in two places and all the air comes out at once, wreaking havok on your ability to steer or making the back end wash out real fast. If you have recently changed tires, it is possible that the sidewalls on the new ones are not as sturdy as the one you removed, and you need to pump it up a little more.
I've gotten a few snakebites in my day...back before I had a pressure gauge on my pump. I really don't get pinch flats with the high volume tires I run these days. I think I may have had some rim tape peeled back, and the spoke hole cut it...the slit was in that area...not in the pinch flat zone. That was the case on the El Dorado ride. I still need to do post mortems on the one from last night and today. I'm pretty sure today's was a spine puncture from the abundant flora in Ash Canyon.
So that's three right there. I'm not getting a flat on the road bike tomorrow, so there.
Thats 3. yer done.
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