Burnin' Rubber

I've burned through an incredulous number of tires this summer. A couple Vittoria Open Corsas and a Bontrager 29" ACX... all prematurely toasted. One Open Corsa lasted 4 races (in a span of two weekends)... at the Cobblestone Crit my hub flange disentergrated in the first turn of the first lap. In the short stretch between the turn and the wheel pit, my chainstay managed to bald the tire.

A week later, I was sporting a new Open Corsa on the PowerTap wheel. It was the day after the Tour de Ports crit, and I was too lazy to swap tires. Sure enough on a wet ride in Williamsburg, I sliced the heck out of the tire and casing coasting down Diascund Reservoir Rd. I don't usually do training rides on race tires. Lesson learned.

This past Sunday I managed to tear a 1.5" gash into the sidewall of my rear 29er tire. Bummer. It was only the second ride. While not the finesse rider of a decade ago... I'm certainly not a basher. The sharp rocks of the mountain service road at Carvin's Cove got me again. No lesson learned here... just frustrated. On a positive note, it's motivation to run my old Stan's NoTubes system on the 29er. Worked great with 26 inches... I'll know by the Douthat race if I dig it or not.

No real point to the post... just ranting!