Does watching the Tour count as training?

With less than two weeks before RAGBRAI, the quality and amount of my training has dwindled down to nearly nothing.

I blame the Tour de France. (It’s always something else, and never me, apparently.)

In one of the cruelest twists of the bicycling universe, the Tour and RAGBRAI are always happening at the same time. In the very cruelest twist, RAGBRAI happens on the last week of the Tour. You know, when all the really important stuff happens?

It wasn’t as much of a problem last year, since Lance Armstrong was more likely to be seen cruising the roads of Iowa with RAGBRAI instead of rocketing along the roads of France. But this year, Lance is back in the Tour, and so far it’s been a great one to watch. As of this writing, he’s tied for first place. And on Friday, July 10, the Tour hits its first mountaintop finish this year.

WHAT?!? That’s supposed to be my next big training day! On Thursday I have to work a day shift, but I’m working on Friday night, so that was supposed to be a chance for me to try and fit in some miles!

You’d think that with a DVR and endless replays of the Tour on Versus, I could just go ride and then watch it later. But no, I want to watch it when it happens. And by the time the race is over I’m often too wiped out to get on my bike. (Michelle’s lucky; she doesn’t have Versus, so she’s not as distracted from training as I am.)

I’m just hoping that the riding I’ve done collectively over the past few months has helped prepare me for the major increase in miles that RAGBRAI will bring. Other things I’m foolishly hoping will help are new tires and the proper wearing of my bike shorts.

This weekend also will help. Michelle, I and other members of Team Whiskey Riders will be participating in the Tour de Brew on Saturday. I must admit, being able to ride with friends makes it much easier to skip watching the Tour de France than when I’m riding on my own. (That, and having a DVR.)

-DAVE

Tires can make a big difference

The new tires on my bike. Now I'm sportin' an all-black look!

After hearing stories about how fast Team Whiskey Rider member Michon now is, and seeing how paper-thin and cracked my cyclocross tires have become, I decided this past weekend to invest in a new set of tires for the bike I’ll be using for RAGBRAI – some road slicks.

For some purists, this might be considered sacrilege because my RAGBRAI steed is my cyclocross bike (I’m lookin’ at you, Michelle). And I’m pretty sure there will be RAGBRAI riders using pure mountain bikes with full-on knobby tires; much respect to them!

But one of the big reasons I bought a cyclocross bike is its versatility. And at the moment, I felt like going with more of a road-bike feel.

The tires aren’t dedicated road slicks. They’re Michelin City tires, a puncture-proof tire with relatively deep treads that should still be able to handle gravel roads with ease. And they’re 28 mm wide, quite a bit less than my 35 mm ‘cross tires.

I bought them in Madison, Wis., where I spent the weekend with Megan. Madison is a cycling-crazy town if there ever was one (there’s at least a dozen bike shops there, and several hole-in-the-wall bike companies). I had three goals there for the weekend: enjoy the Rhythm and Booms fireworks show (check), enjoy some really good food (check), and get some new tires (check).

That's a lot of cracks in the old tire. Too risky for a multiday bike ride, if you ask me.

I was hoping to find tires similar to what I had but even narrower, but after searching through several stores’ offerings, a 32mm cyclocross tire with a smooth-rolling center tire wasn’t available at this time of year. So I went with the Michelins. (I had been considering a set of Panasonic tires that were lighter, but they cost a lot more and weren’t puncture-resistant. And, as Megan observed, Michelin is all about tires, whereas Panasonic is known more for its electronics. If you’re screaming down a road at 40+ mph, whose tire are you gonna trust with your life in the balance?)

I’ll say one thing for sure: those flimsy Panasonics likely would have been easier to put on! It took over an hour and a lot of sweat to get those Michelins on my wheels, and my hands were killing me when I was done. I hope they keep my tubes from popping for a long time, because I do NOT want to have to pull those off anytime soon!

The new tire width also meant I had to reset my bike computer, so my odometer is back to zero. And seeing how it was July 1, with RAGBRAI three weeks away, now I’ll know exactly how many miles of training I’ll be putting in from here on.

The first test ride was a short one, and I could definitely feel a difference. The ride might be a little harsher because of the stiffer tire and stiffer sidewalls, but it definitely felt faster. Coasting down a hill, I felt like I was accelerating much faster than with my old tires. And at the end of my ride, I saw my max speed was 35 mph. I don’t even know what part of my ride hit that speed! But I guess that’s a good sign of how fast these tires roll.

They’ll definitely come in handy three weeks from now.

Puncture problems

First flat tire of the season.

It was my full intention to ride my bike to work on Thursday. I was all geared up and ready to go when, as I rolled away from my garage, I noticed an odd friction coming from the rear of the bike. I turned to discover my back tire was flat. Aargh! I had to roll it back into the garage, de-gear from my bike commuting getup and find my car keys — one more car on the road.

FROM LEFT: Tire lever, air pump, tubes.

This afternoon I set out to fix my flat. I removed the back wheel from the bike frame, grabbed my tire lever (I didn’t know these existed until Dave gave me his extra set — very handy) and peeled the tire from the rim. I pulled out the punctured tube and set it aside. I wasn’t sure what had caused the flat so I inspected the tire carefully until I came across a nail-like pin about half an inch long that was embedded into the tire. Who knows where I picked this up, I’m just thankful it didn’t happen on last weekend’s long ride. I pulled the nail out of the tire and covered the hole with some duct tape. I remembered reading somewhere that this is a good method for saving a tire. I replaced the old tube with a new one, pumped in some air with my floor pump and put the tire back on the rim.

Good as new! Well almost… Some time during my reattachment of the back wheel to the frame, I must have misaligned the chain and derailing system. I took the bike for a ride this afternoon and now the chain is slipping. I’m thinking it’s time for the bike shop to look at it. My bike repair skills don’t go much further than replacing a flat.

In the photos I’ve posted one is of my graveyard, wall-hanging of punctured bike tubes. Some are torn at the seams and others have small holes in them. I can’t bring myself to just toss them out, but I’m not sure what I should do with them or if there’s some way to repurpose them. If anyone has some ideas on what can be done with old bike tubes, I’d love to hear them. — MICHELLE