Up agin it

Saturday, as I rolled out of the driveway on my tarck bike, I remembered that I signed up for a hundie this summer... and then I remembered, I'm actually signed up for two.  How did I let that happen?

I know I'm getting ahead of myself when I worry about something months away when I already have enough on my plate in the next month to contend with.

The Trans-Sylvania Epic is in less than a month now.  This year, I'm really scratching my head about whether or not I'm doing myself a disservice racing back-to-back Pisgah 111k/55.5k just six days before the start this year.  I really don't want the burnt-out/swan song feeling three (or was it four) days in this year.   I was just so tired...

Seven days on a bike in central PA is tough, no doubt.  Perhaps some feel it's a bit much and would never think about it.  Well, don't forget there's a three day option for those that just want to get their fingers wet.  You get an extended 1st day (compared to the seven day racers), the mega Coopers Gap day (I thought it was going to kill me last year), and the Enduro™ day (no racing up, just down).  That's it.  Considering this is a Sunday, Memorial Day, Tuesday thing... the timing is perfect for those with less time off and a lower interest in killing themselves with a bike between their legs for a week.

Other things.

I've been trying some new things since February.

The ESI Fit Grips.

Sadly, they did not work out for me.  I loved the flange, couldn't work with the thickness.  I don't see how little Emily Batty can run them... must be her gargantuan hands.

Oh well.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.  I still love my ESI Racer's Edge grips, so going back to what I know is fine with me.

The TruckerCo brake pads.  I've been running the semi-metallic pads on my XTR brakes for a couple months.  No complaints.  No noise.  PMBAR will be the big test.  We'll see...

TruckerCo tire sealant.  I've been running it since I installed new tires back in March.  I've always said "How do you know if your sealant actually works unless you see it happen?"

Well, the other day I was swapping the Ikon for an Ardent.  I pulled off the Ikon and was pleased to see very little build up of material inside the tire and some very clean (reusable) sealant inside as well.  It was only a little over a month's use, so there is that.

As I'm syringing out the remaining tiny pool of sealant, I saw a booger clinging to the inside of the tire.

So I check the outside of the tire...

A wet spot and a decent tear.  Don't even have a clue as to when it happened.  Doesn't matter.  All I know is that the TruckerCo sealant worked and that's good enough for me.

Buy it.