So I have had some issues with my bike tires lately. Bike tire, actually; just the back. I got a flat tire right before we left San Diego, so when we got back to Phoenix, I changed it. Turned out it was a nightmare to change. It was so hard to get the tire off the rim that I seriously thought I was going to have to take it to a professional! I did finally get it off, changed, and back on, but the process took close to an hour! This was in the morning right before my scheduled 85 mile ride. It takes me about 7 minutes to change the tire on my Cannondale, start to finish, so this difficulty was not normal, and it definitely worried me. I have to be prepared to change a flat (or multiple flats) during Ironman, without it taking so long that it puts me out of the race. This had not been a concern for me, because I am fast at tire changing, but this new wrinkle changed everything. Anyway, once I had the tire changed I went in to get dressed and sunblocked, and when I went to get on the bike, the back tire was flat as a pancake.
Thus began my second tire change in less than an hour. This one was slightly faster, but still a nightmare. Finally I was on my way, 2 hours behind schedule. That was the day I rode 87 miles.
Last Monday I planned a 90-mile ride. 23 miles in...you guessed it! Flat again! Same tire! I actually wasn't too upset, because I obviously need practice with changing this tire before the race, but in my attempt to get the tire off the rim, my tire levers (plastic tools that loosen tire from rim) snapped in half! Thus I was completely unable to even change the tire! I called Karin, who was getting off work in 45 minutes, to tell her I needed a ride.
We went to Performance Bike to get the tire changed, so that they could check it and hopefully figure out why it kept flatting. I never had that problem with my other bikes. He checked it out and decided the rim tape had been shifted (I believe when I was struggling so hard to loosen the tire), exposing the end of a spoke, which punctured the tire. So he re-taped it, replaced the tube, and I was on my way.
Unfortunately that was my only day off that week, so I never got in my 90 miler. The next day I worked in the afternoon, so I rode as far as I could before work, which turned out to be 50 miles. Great ride, though very hot! It was 108 when I finished my transition run! But no tire issues! I left my bike in the car while I was at work, and when I came back, BOTH tires were flat; I assumed it was the excessive heat that had caused it.
So I changed both tires. The front one took about 10 minutes, the back one took about 30. What is up with that tire?! I have to get it switched before Ironman, or one flat will end my race! But I changed both tires successfully and did the rest of my scheduled rides on the trainer that week.
Then, this past Monday, I was scheduled to do my first 100 mile ride! 23 miles in, flat again! This time it took 25 minutes start to finish. Getting faster! 40 miles later...FLAT. AGAIN. SAME. TIRE. WHAT WAS GOING ON HERE?????
Now I was out of tubes, but I changed it one more time (15 minutes!) putting the old tube back in, hoping it would at least hold so I could get somewhere. It didn't even last till I put away my tools!
Karin to the rescue, again!
This time we went straight to Performance, a different location in the area closest to where I flatted, and I told them what was happening. Karin insisted on speaking to a manager (I am surprisingly ineffective at being assertive in these situations) and the end result is that they changed the rim tape and the tire itself (for free!), to a different type; the same type I have on my Cannondale, so I know I can change that!
In the end, based on the evidence, I have concluded that the cause of this crazy series of flats was as follows:
The first flat, in San Diego, was a legitimate, regular flat from running over something on the road. In the process of struggling to get the tire off to change that flat I shifted the rim tape, thus exposing a spoke, causing the next flat. Then both tires popped from the heat, and every subsequent flat after that was likely caused by minute punctures from my tool as I struggled to get the tire back on each time.
If my conclusion is accurate, I shouldn't get another flat for a while. And when I do, it should be easier to change, which should avoid further damage to the tubes from struggling with the tire.
The worst part of all this is that I haven't gotten in a ride longer than 62 miles in weeks! By now I should have done a 90 mile ride and a 100 mile ride, and I have done neither! I am way behind! So I hope my tire problems are behind me, because I don't have time for any more!
Speaking of which, it is now...
LESS THAN 8 WEEKS TILL IRONMAN!!!
The next 5 weeks will be the peakest of peak training, with up to 20 hours per week of working out! Then the last 3 weeks before the race are the taper, when I gradually reduce the volume of my training to be rested for Ironman. Basically I have 5 weeks to build my fitness as much as humanly possible, then 3 weeks dedicated solely to not screwing it up!
Am I getting nervous? Hell yeah! But also very, very excited!
It is highly unlikely that during the next 5 weeks, I will engage in any activities, conversations, or thoughts that do not have to do with Ironman!
Thus began my second tire change in less than an hour. This one was slightly faster, but still a nightmare. Finally I was on my way, 2 hours behind schedule. That was the day I rode 87 miles.
Last Monday I planned a 90-mile ride. 23 miles in...you guessed it! Flat again! Same tire! I actually wasn't too upset, because I obviously need practice with changing this tire before the race, but in my attempt to get the tire off the rim, my tire levers (plastic tools that loosen tire from rim) snapped in half! Thus I was completely unable to even change the tire! I called Karin, who was getting off work in 45 minutes, to tell her I needed a ride.
We went to Performance Bike to get the tire changed, so that they could check it and hopefully figure out why it kept flatting. I never had that problem with my other bikes. He checked it out and decided the rim tape had been shifted (I believe when I was struggling so hard to loosen the tire), exposing the end of a spoke, which punctured the tire. So he re-taped it, replaced the tube, and I was on my way.
Unfortunately that was my only day off that week, so I never got in my 90 miler. The next day I worked in the afternoon, so I rode as far as I could before work, which turned out to be 50 miles. Great ride, though very hot! It was 108 when I finished my transition run! But no tire issues! I left my bike in the car while I was at work, and when I came back, BOTH tires were flat; I assumed it was the excessive heat that had caused it.
So I changed both tires. The front one took about 10 minutes, the back one took about 30. What is up with that tire?! I have to get it switched before Ironman, or one flat will end my race! But I changed both tires successfully and did the rest of my scheduled rides on the trainer that week.
Then, this past Monday, I was scheduled to do my first 100 mile ride! 23 miles in, flat again! This time it took 25 minutes start to finish. Getting faster! 40 miles later...FLAT. AGAIN. SAME. TIRE. WHAT WAS GOING ON HERE?????
Now I was out of tubes, but I changed it one more time (15 minutes!) putting the old tube back in, hoping it would at least hold so I could get somewhere. It didn't even last till I put away my tools!
Karin to the rescue, again!
This time we went straight to Performance, a different location in the area closest to where I flatted, and I told them what was happening. Karin insisted on speaking to a manager (I am surprisingly ineffective at being assertive in these situations) and the end result is that they changed the rim tape and the tire itself (for free!), to a different type; the same type I have on my Cannondale, so I know I can change that!
In the end, based on the evidence, I have concluded that the cause of this crazy series of flats was as follows:
The first flat, in San Diego, was a legitimate, regular flat from running over something on the road. In the process of struggling to get the tire off to change that flat I shifted the rim tape, thus exposing a spoke, causing the next flat. Then both tires popped from the heat, and every subsequent flat after that was likely caused by minute punctures from my tool as I struggled to get the tire back on each time.
If my conclusion is accurate, I shouldn't get another flat for a while. And when I do, it should be easier to change, which should avoid further damage to the tubes from struggling with the tire.
The worst part of all this is that I haven't gotten in a ride longer than 62 miles in weeks! By now I should have done a 90 mile ride and a 100 mile ride, and I have done neither! I am way behind! So I hope my tire problems are behind me, because I don't have time for any more!
Speaking of which, it is now...
LESS THAN 8 WEEKS TILL IRONMAN!!!
The next 5 weeks will be the peakest of peak training, with up to 20 hours per week of working out! Then the last 3 weeks before the race are the taper, when I gradually reduce the volume of my training to be rested for Ironman. Basically I have 5 weeks to build my fitness as much as humanly possible, then 3 weeks dedicated solely to not screwing it up!
Am I getting nervous? Hell yeah! But also very, very excited!
It is highly unlikely that during the next 5 weeks, I will engage in any activities, conversations, or thoughts that do not have to do with Ironman!
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