We’re back at Dad’s place right now. Ian’s nearly comatose and I’m not much better. 😊 We managed to be organized enough to successfully participate in the ride (much anticipated, delayed from 2020).

I was up at 5 and got ready for the start of the 140 km distance at 7:30 am. To my extreme disappointment, when I got outside with my gear and my bike, it was raining. I looked at the forecast and nothing was indicating rain, so I girded my loins and drove down to the start. By the time I got there, the rain had stopped and I didn’t see any more rain for the day. The weather got better as the day wore on.

My ride was uneventful. I kept with the leaders up to Wale Road on the Old Island Highway but then dropped back along the Lagoon and out into Metchosin. I was mostly solo once I started climbing Humpback Road so I took my time and stopped to give Stephanie a hug in Langford and stopped in at aid stations. It’s so hard to rein in the tendency to go hard when I’m on my own. I finished in five hours and 13 minutes.

Ian rode the 45 km route for the first time, and Dad dropped him off at the start. Ian had time to take some nice photos of the scenery as he was waiting for the start.

He killed it, doing the 45 km in less than two hours. He had lots to say about it in the car on the way home, from the older man in front of him yelling at some oblivious pedestrians to the extra hills he had to climb to the 45 turnaround not being what he expected. He also didn’t think much of the meal afterwards.

Here is some video of Ian crossing the line.

After our long, long day in the car yesterday, Ian and I got a chance to decompress a bit today. We managed to get some good sleep on the air mattress (despite Ian being a bed hog 🐷). We cleaned and lubed the bike chains first. Then while Dad went to have coffee, Ian and I got haircuts at Danny’s and then stopped by Jackson’s new store just down the road from Dad’s.

A lunch with Dad and then Ian and I headed downtown. We parked near the Harbour Air docks and then went to Murchies and walked over to the registration check in at the Trek bike store. It’s a lovely day in Victoria today. Let’s hope it’s as nice tomorrow.

When we were back, we pinned the numbers on our jerseys and bikes and then checked them out in the parking lot. We’re pretty much ready to go for tomorrow’s ride.

Tonight we are going over to Jasmine’s restaurant for dins with Steph and the gang.

Updated

Here’s a picture of the group at the restaurant.

But even better was the van outside decorated with Totoro.

Tubeless bike tires are an innovation in cycling that started in mountain biking and has percolated towards higher-pressure road tires. Right now, most road cyclists still use a traditional inner tube to hold in the air inside the tire that provides structure and tread. Myself, I mostly use tubes, but when I needed to replace my Roubaix’s tires before the Badlands Gran Fondo, I elected to try tubeless again. Tubeless promises:

• Fewer flats since the sealant inside will fill small punctures,
• Eliminating “pinch flats” caused by hitting a sharp edge and pinching the inner tube, and
• Being able to run at lower pressures which is more comfortable on the road.

The start of the 2021 season was full of punctures for me. I think I had 5 or 6 over the first month of the season. And it was even worse, thanks to the bike parts shortage from COVID. I found myself patching tubes instead of replacing them. But since late July, I’ve been riding a set of Specialized 2Bliss tires and I’ve not had any punctures.

That’s the good part. The bad part is that my tires have been going flat overnight. They leak enough air slowly that they go softer over the course of a ride and are down to about 10 PSI in the morning. It seemed like it was getting worse, too. I went for a 4-hour ride to Bragg Creek yesterday. I started at 95 PSI and ended at 50 PSI. With the Tour de Victoria coming up, I am worried that my tires might be effectively flat before I finish the ride.

I am in the middle of trying to solve the problem right now. The short version: I don’t think I added enough sealant to my tires the first time around, and the sealant dries out over time (making the problem worse, as observed). I’m embarrassed to admit it, but I only put 20 mL of sealant in each tire originally. I added 20 mL more last night, inflated to 80 PSI and then left them for 2 hours. After 2 hours, they were down to 40 PSI. 😭 I did some research and I did a “bubble-test” in the bathtub this morning. To my surprise, it looked like the bubbles were forming on the sidewalls. I expected them along the bead or maybe at the spokes or valve. A little more research found that some tubeless tires have a thin sidewall and air can escape. The solution: more sealant, applied properly.

I have added 40 mL more to each tire and made sure to coat the insides well. In an hour and a half, we’ll see if I was successful. 🤞

Updated

I think that was successful. I’m doing a longer test now, but the pressure in the tires was much higher after 2 hours than it was previously. My way to measure isn’t very accurate, but I think it was only a drop from 80 to 70 PSI. I’m doing a five-hour test now.

We’re only two weeks away from the Tour de Victoria (assuming all goes well with COVID) and Ian’s been good about ramping up his riding. He’s been riding with me and also on Zwift once or twice per week.

Today was a test: he and I rode to downtown and back: 43 km. He did great, so he should be fine for the 45 km Tour de Victoria distance. We took time to go and look up at the Suncor and Bow buildings.