Gluing 1.1

Gluing v Tubeless 1.1

So I did my 1^st race of the cross season.  The 1^st race in the twilight race series in Eugene, and a great little place, we all know called Camp Harlow. These are great races for the “race into shape” mentality, as well as a good place to tune the bike and due to the rocky and sometimes thorny course, a good place to check the new tires.  Last year (2012-2013 season) I flatted out of the 1^st two races, including a flat in warm ups, so a series of three early flats for the year.  These early flats allowed me to dial in my tire pressure and tubeless set up, to win a few in town races, and keep me from future flats on the bigger stage of the Cross Crusades, which allowed me to win a few of those ultimately giving me an upgrade into the B’s.  Hopefully I have the same luck…

Yes that’s the long way to say I flatted…  And it was the Tufo Prestige.  It was supposed to be the flat proof one.  I was really worried about the rear challenge with all the rocks I was hitting.  I felt myself bottoming out a few times in a few places, but they held up just fine.  I really enjoyed the back file tread and didn’t feel like I was loosing any traction, well any more than I would with any tire going around 180 turns on gravel.  There was no mud, and plenty of flat stuff for long hard rolling so the file tread of the Challenge xs, did awesome.

(I swear it looks like someone stabbed a knife into my tire)

Anyway to the race; I started of a little week.  I had a few people ahead of me that I should have charged past right at the beginning.  Ian too the lead, and pretty much just disappeared instantly… leaving about 5 or 6 of us to battle for 2^nd place.  There wasn’t a lot of passing in the 1^st few turns or straits, but coming up a gravel hill, and going into a series of s turns, I decided to make a move.  I’m terrible in the soft corners, so I knew I would lose ground on these people if I were in the back.  I surged, and passed 3 people and turned into the 1^st corner…  wipe out… back to my spot no worse for the wear, just a little more tired.  I held on to their wheels, and managed to pass them again on a different long strait.  I caught up to David Wells, and road his wheel for a while, but he wiped just before he went into the single track, so I was in the LEAD!  behind Ian… well Ian rolled a Tubular, and had had enough time to get off his bike, find a way to re roll it on, and be getting on is bike to take off again.  So I was in the LEAD!  Dave, and I switched off from time to time, with Ian limping along behind afraid to corner due to his mechanical, and 2 more unbeknownced to me close behind.  Not a lot happened for a while Dave slowly gapped me. Then I got passed by this little guy, John Crandall (I had to look it up), like I was standing still… I fought to stay on his wheel, and would yoyo off the back of him.  I passed him once coming out of a technical, and then going into another one, but as soon as there was another strait stretch, he blew past me again.  We connected back in with David after he tried to bunny hop the barrier, and got hung up.  Pretty soon after that Nick Alden caught up to us, and I got pissed…  I couldn’t believe I let so many people back into the race.  We came out of the s turn again and I was getting ready to burry myself to pass everyone on the final stretch (or hopefully I was)…  and I heard the dreaded PSSSSsssssstttt… tire went flat.  So I had a hard race, a good work out, and an ok jog/run in for the last 3^rd of the last lap…  what’s the point of DNFing on the last lap?

(Not as pretty, but only $22 on eBay)

I got home, found the flat, no repairing that, ripped it off the wheel, time to restart.  The flat was bad enough, I doubt that any tire that didn’t have some sort of anti flat Kevlar in it would have made it through.  I’m still not sold on Tubulars, so I’ll glue up a new front one (there’s no repairing the Prestige), and be ready to keep on racing.  Next front tire, Challenge Grifo… we will see how that goes.

(pretty sure it was this guy with a knife hiding in the corn feild, teaches me to invade someone elses habitat)