My Morning Commute

[creadinger]

So I had a bit of a ‘mare this morning. Got a flat tire on Anacostia River Rd so I stopped to fix it in the light rain.

1) I noticed that my tire has WAY too many miles on it and the kevlar threads are showing through over most of it and they’re the only thing holding it together in others. Oops! I have a couple of replacements at home.
2) Put in a new tube and ride a mile then hear the familiar hissing sound again. I take everything apart again but cannot find what the hell the problem is. So I patch that tube, expecting it will go again, if only I can make it another mile or two I’ll be close enough to walk to work.
3)Yup, there it is. The hissing sound as I crest Mass Ave SE and pull over at the intersection with Alabama SE. This time, I skip the stupid patch and just pump some air into it to ride it for a mile flat, then I can walk up the hill.

I got to work wet, and about 45 minutes late but the worst part of my day will still be dealing with the GODDAMN government travel system!

[bentbike33]

@creadinger 164198 wrote:

I noticed that my tire has WAY too many miles on it and the kevlar threads are showing through over most of it and they’re the only thing holding it together in others. Oops! I have a couple of replacements at home.

You must run fenders (so tire wear is not apparent until you turn the bike upside down).

I’m guessing somewhere in that tire is a hole through which a small bit of the tube herniates and then pops.

[Mario20136]

@KWL 163786 wrote:

…was a little eventful. I figured I would need to clean up and dry off when I got to the office but I didn’t count on needing to walk the last 4 miles to work pushing a bike with a blown out front rim. It became clear the tire trashing about made things worse so I removed it and clattered up the MVT on the rim. I was tempted to ride in the grass, but my bike handling skills aren’t all that great in the best circumstances. I took CaBi home and will transport an extra 26″ front wheel to my crippled XO-1 tomorrow. Note to self: Be more diligent in checking rim wear.

Wow! If I may ask, what’s the mileage on that rim? I have never seen a rim blow-out in all the years that I have cycled.

[creadinger]

@bentbike33 164201 wrote:

You must run fenders (so tire wear is not apparent until you turn the bike upside down).

I’m guessing somewhere in that tire is a hole through which a small bit of the tube herniates and then pops.

Absolutely right on count #1…

As for the cause, you may be right. The 2nd time I made sure to pump the tire much lower pressure than usual and it still went. Although, that may also have been from a shitty patch. Either way, the tire and I’m sure the tube are shredded, so I’ll replace them both.

[Steve O]

@creadinger 164206 wrote:

Absolutely right on count #1…

Fenders FTW!!

(this was from June)

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[bentbike33]

@Steve O 164212 wrote:

Fenders FTW!!

(this was from June)

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Were these the tubeless tires in which the sealant was no longer working? Or was that someone else?

[hozn]

@bentbike33 164218 wrote:

Were these the tubeless tires in which the sealant was no longer working? Or was that someone else?

I think that was me. Mine werent so far gone, but threads were showing through so the sealant leaking mystery was solved!

[Steve O]

@hozn 164221 wrote:

I think that was me. Mine werent so far gone, but threads were showing through so the sealant leaking mystery was solved!

Yeah, hozn replaces his when there’s a good 10-15 miles left on ’em.

[KWL]

There seems to be a thing about walking the final few miles to work these days…

[DCAKen]

@Steve O 164212 wrote:

Fenders FTW!!

(this was from June)

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I also realized in June I needed to check under the fenders more often

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[VA2DC]

N Rhodes St bridge and upper Arlington Blvd to N Meade were blocked off to cars this morning, but I was able to bike through there. Not sure what the closure was about.

[Tania]

@VA2DC 164290 wrote:

N Rhodes St bridge and upper Arlington Blvd to N Meade were blocked off to cars this morning, but I was able to bike through there. Not sure what the closure was about.

https://www.arlnow.com/2017/08/17/developing-police-situation-in-fort-myer-heights/

[Subby]

On my way in, riding down Eads St, I witnessed KNOWN MONSTER Steve-O as he sweepsplained a poor streetsweeper. I did not stick around, so said streetsweeper may have swept said street with Steve-O.

[Steve O]

@Subby 164487 wrote:

On my way in, riding down Eads St, I witnessed KNOWN MONSTER Steve-O as he sweepsplained a poor streetsweeper. I did not stick around, so said streetsweeper may have swept said street with Steve-O.

His name is Chuck:
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And here he is in action. Arlington bought two of these mini street sweepers in order to sweep the PBLs and other places that are too small for the full-sized sweepers.
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I told him to chase down Subby, but this streetsweeper is not known for speed.

[ShawnoftheDread]

@Subby 164487 wrote:

On my way in, riding down Eads St, I witnessed KNOWN MONSTER Steve-O as he sweepsplained a poor streetsweeper. I did not stick around, so said streetsweeper may have swept said street with Steve-O.

Did you just admit to going around Arlington Ridge? Slacker.

[Author]

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