Lisa and I are heading back up to Orting-Buckley again today. This time I’ll be on tough, brand new tires. I’m eager to try them out.
They’re Hemisphere Armadillo Reflect tires, “a modern, versatile, and durable trekking tire with tough puncture protection and bold tread that delivers control on loose surfaces.” Its “serial center blocks roll easily on paved surfaces while providing off-road traction by featuring wide-spaced shoulder blocks that bite into soft ground. And with maximum flat protection plus reflective accents that increase visibility to motorists in low-light conditions.” Great for streets and bike pathways.
They cost $50 each, plus installation, for a total of about $145 (as I recall).
I got the same diameter tires because larger ones won’t go on my bike frame, but they’re slimmer and should be easier to push. (The wider the tire, the harder the pedaling unless you get motorized assistance, which I don’t have on my bike.) My hope is it’ll be easier to keep up with Lisa on this tire for that reason. (My tires are an inch smaller in diameter than Lisa’s, which makes a big difference! My old tires were almost twice as wide as hers, which made keeping up harder, too.)
I have to check to see what the maximum PSI should be on this new tire. My old maximum PSI was 65. Lisa’s is 75. That also makes a difference. Hers is a true touring bike; mine is a hybrid mountain bike. Hers looks and rides like a racer. (Except for the seat — you know all about that, now!) it rides like a breeze, compared to mine… Mine should be noticeably better now — and a lot less likely to get a flat than Lisa’s, too. But her tires are in good shape; mine had gone waaaayyyyy over 2K miles before they gave me a problem.
I keep using this image of me on the trail because it’s the best image I’ve seen of myself in 25 years. (I don’t look 70, do I?) Lisa did a great job of capturing me during a candid moment so it doesn’t look like a posed shot. I love it a lot! I had to crop it to take out my belly apron, but I won’t have to do that for much longer, with my panniculectomy surgery scheduled for June 9th! I’m looking forward to going shirtless after I get that surgery by some time this fall (not on the trail, but in my back yard, wearing swim trunks). I may not be buff but I’ll look a heckuva lot better than I do right now “in the buff”!!!
Super excited for that!
UPDATE: The ride was terrific. The new tires made the trek a wee bit easier.
ASTOUNDING Fact Our 28-mile RT excursion is like riding from where Lisa lives in South Tacoma on I-5 to North Olympia, turning around and traveling almost halfway back to Lisa’s. (And one way, it’s all uphill!) Dang!!! And we do this three days a week, weather permitting!!!
