Santa Monica to Santa Barbara and back - double century

Last weekend I had the privilege of riding with Shifting Gears on their fully supported ride from Santa Monica, CA to Santa Barbara, CA. This was the first time I had ridden 100 miles and I did it two days in a row! It just goes to show that you can do a lot more than you think you can if you just try. Like the old saying goes, "90% of success is just showing up". <- enter any percent over 75% and the saying will be just as accurate...

The route looks something like this: (Image courtesy of Anna Krasnyanskaya)



The shifting gears crew and their sponsors did an absolutely wonderful job of supporting the riders. There were about six pit stops a long the way where the riders could eat and drink all they could stand and also get a massage or stretch performed by professionals at each location. I stopped for a stretch during lunch on the way up and on the way back and thoroughly enjoyed it! They also had a full maintenance crew to perform some tweaks here and there as well as change out tubes / tires. The cost this year was ~$150 and this included everything (including lodging) except for the dinner on Saturday evening. At no time did I feel hungry or thirsty. Shifting Gears had these areas covered ten fold.

We had an insane headwind on the way up the coast to Santa Barbara but luckily the wind pattern stayed the same into the next day which provided a nice tail wind when we were all tired on the way home. I guess I should speak for myself... I was really tired!

If you live in the area you will be interested to know that Shifting Gears holds this ride annually so keep an eye out on their website for the date of next year's ride.

http://www.shiftinggearscycling.com

How much air pressure for road bike tires?

I've seen a few posts here and there talking about the pressure run on road bike tires. Some tires are rated for higher pressure than others, but predominantly road bike tires are rated at 120 PSI. Personally, I only inflate my tires to 100 PSI. However, I recall a conversation I had with someone who was riding in a century race shortly after I had just bought my rode bike and they said that they had a blow out on a smooth road. The ambient temperature was near 100 degrees and the road surface was asphalt and blacktop. I'm curious by nature, so I decided to get all scientific about this. Granted, he could have had a defect in his tube, rim, or tire, but I'm going to assume that all was perfectly normal with his gear. Instead, I'm going to focus on the amount of pressure he had in his tire. It's a scientific fact that as the temperature of the gas rises and the volume stays constant, the pressure increases. How much is what I wanted to know. So, I calculated a scenario with one assumption; the internal temperature of the air in the tube. I believe during a hot summer's day here in California, the temperature of the asphalt on a road can be well over 120 degrees Fahrenheit. So I estimate that the internal temp of the road bike tire to be around 105 degrees Fahrenheit in my calculations.



I assume that the tire is inflated in the home at a temperature of 75 degrees Fahrenheit to a pressure of 115 PSI. Like I said, I personally do not exceed 100 to 105 PSI. But, if a person inflated their tire to 115 PSI and the internal temperature rose to 105 degrees Fahrenheit, the pressure would increase to over 121 PSI. This exceeds the rated pressure for the tire. If the pressure was originally at 120 PSI at 75 degrees Fahrenheit the pressure would rise to 127 PSI at 105 degrees Fahrenheit. This could contribute to the blow out scenario. If the temperature exceeds 105 degrees Fahrenheit, which it probably could, the pressure would be even higher.

So, be mindful of the tire pressure you use and the temp outside / potential temp of the asphalt.

New Tires for the Road Bike

As I was hanging my bike on the bike rack yesterday after coming home from work, I could hear air rushing out of my rear tire. I zeroed in on the hole as I spun the tire around and found it was a tiny hole about the size of a needle. This is my first road bike, so I'm not too familiar with how long a set of tires should last on a road bike. I run about 100 psi in a set of Maxxis "Fuse" (23-622 / 700 X 23G) which are rated at a max 120 psi. I've had the bike for 9 months and I've ridden about 2,000 miles. Not sure how long a set of tires of this type should last, but they have a distinct wear pattern. Meaning, they are pretty much bald at the contact point. At this point, I'm not sure if I should go ahead and buy a new set of tires, or just patch the one I have and re-tube it.

What tires should I go with as a commuter / century racer combo? How many miles should a set of tires last? I assume it depends on the rubber compound that the tire is composed of. I used to have good luck with Michelin tires on my mountain bikes. So, it looks like I have my homework cut out for me, but in the meantime, I need to get my tire ready to roll for my next commute (tomorrow).