Tempting fate

Tempted fate one too many times.  Since 2009 when I put these Marthon Plus tires on till now, i've had three flat with them.  One in 2010 when chunk of sharpened bent steel went through everything woosh instant flat.  That left me walking, i'd gotten complacent and had a tube but had recently lost my seat bag with all the goodies inside.  

Second flat was a year ago or this summer.  Big hung of glass cut the sidewall nearly through and went into the tube a bit.  Posted pictures here IIRC.  I've been talking about the flat-proof nature of the Plus tires from Schwalbe a bit more than usually lately...  got my ass bit by the fates.

At some point one of the Marathon plus tires was so worn I put on an old cracked marathon tire from 2007.  Some tread left.  And I've been gingerly riding over the most dense seagull clam and mussel shell bombing ground I've ever seen on the bike path since commuting on it.

This morning.

Climbing the hill up to the parkway out of the saddle i looked down and the front looked squishy.  Fuck. Me.  Seriously? Yup.  Oh hey what's that bit of white stuck to the tire?

1cm dagger of clam shell had knifed the tube.

I have a full frame pump in the trailer and made quick work of the flat change.  NBD.  It wasn't the marathon plus.  I normally ride on the left side, upwind, fewer shells, I was on the right side.  No problem.

Heading home...  I get through the shell minefield and notice a guy walking his bike up ahead.  I run the glove over the front tire and knock the shells off, nothing stuck in, good.  Drag my toe under the BB (full coverage fender) and feel a tick, tick, tick...  something isn't brushing off.  Oh fuck.

I stop.

2 CM dagger burried in there. 

Hsssssssss.  Of course it is wet so i get a visual with the bubbles to go along with the sound.  I ride up over to a spot that is out of the wind and grab my last tube and make the change.

Three flats.  2009-2013 15-20k miles.

Not really all that bad.  I guess i gotta get a hold of Schwalbe spend some money on a new set of Marathon Plus tires.  These are nearly blue there is so little carbon rubber down the center.  Not that I have money to spend but I can easily amortize the cost out over the years right?  Value for those tires is off the chart.  Without question the best money spent on tires. The Racing Ralph tubulars i bought? Probably the worst tire/value money spent.  Win some lose some but I'd be silly to fuck around with anything else.

Time to place an order.

I did manage to grab the final section of white birch that was hanging out over the side of the path on the way in.  On the way home I grabbed a 4-5' section of black locust.  That shit takes forEVER to cut through even with a super sharp pruning saw designed for the job.  But the nice thing about a 5' section is it hangs back enough behind the trailer's axle that it balances a bit and there's not so much tongue weight.  More firewood.

For next year.

Too green.

Maybe this snow we're forecast to get will drop me some more firewood, i mean training logs.  With the 40 mph headwinds for the ride in tomorrow, i might leave the trailer at home.

Time to make some dinner.

Heddwch
G