August 2nd group ride

Good turnout today with 10 riders for the Greensburg group ride. We rode the 20 mile loop. After the group trip I rode the Adams loop.

Trip distance: 35.56 miles

Adams loop

In route bike maintenance:
Some of you may wonder what happens if I am 50 miles from home and the bike breaks down. It would be a long walk if I wasn't able to repair the bike on the spot. Most In route problems are centered on the tires or tubes. I carry some tools with me at all times, carried in a bag attached to the seat back. They include pliers, tire tools (for removing the tire off the rim), intertube patch repair kit (yes I actually repair flat tires during rides), spare intertubes (patches don't always work), wire ties, wire cutters, allen wrenches, tire patch and of course a bicycle pump to air up the repaired tires. If every thing else fails I also carry my cell phone as a last resort.

I used to have intertubes that had over five separate repair patches before replacing them with new tubes. I was amazed to see that most of the group don't carry at least a tire pump. When I asked I found that most of them carry their cell phones as their first resort, when I use it as a last resort in case of problems.

It's also important to make sure your tires are pumped up to the proper pressure. If the tire pressure is too low, it takes a lot more leg work to make the bike move forward. If they are pumped too high the tires may pop. Most tires have the recommended tire pressure listed on the side of the tire. Most high end tires handle 100 - 120 PSI (car tires are usually around 32 PSI), which means you need a special tire gauge to measure the pressure. Car tire gauges typically won't measure that high.