Encapsulate

September 27, 2014

I went on the Saturday group ride that I normally do on Saturday's.  There is no way I am riding by myself again without knowing how to change a flat.  I had looked at my front tire earlier in the week and it was looking very worn so I was taking a chance even riding with the group with that tire.  If I had a flat...hopefully it wouldn't be so bad that the tire was unable to be repaired .  I prayed a lot today.

As it turned out one of the other guys, Tom Donahue, had the misfortune of not one but two flats.  His back tire was as bad as my front tire.  He had every intention of getting the tire replaced at the bike store at the end of the ride.  However, his misfortune was my gain.  We had a flat changing clinic right on the ride with the guy who is the professional mechanic, John,  for Team Garmin as well as some other professional teams.

We lost a lot of time, though, with that flat clinic and the pace of the ride picked up dramatically.  We lost  the fast group so John suggested we try encapsulating.   What the heck is that I asked?  It is when the riders in a pace line quickly move off the front and keep a constant rotation at the front of the line to keep the riders legs fresh and the pace quick.  As soon as you are at the head of the pace line you pull off. It creates a slipstream  when the ride rotates towards the back of the pace line which helps to save energy and your legs.   Clever.  I knew I was on that ride for a reason.  Seems I always learn something from this mechanic.  This encapsulation really does work and did pick up the speed of the pace line and saved my legs too.    I felt the best that I have felt at the end of the ride.   We averaged 17.2 mph for 36 miles.   Not bad.

John had agreed earlier ( before Tom has his first flat) that he would show me how to change out the front tire when we got back to the store parking lot.   Lucky for me that my tire held up.  It was definitely dry rotted and worn and when we took off the tire it had a patch in it from months ago.  It definitely needed to be trashed and a new tire on the front.  I had several to choose from and he picked the Bontrager C2.  Tires don't last as long in Florida due to the hot asphalt surface wearing the tire down at a faster rate.

John graciously showed me how to not only change the tire but how to change a flat and look for hazards as well as make sure that there are no pinch flats.  I took about 15 minutes but I feel as though I have a better understanding and possibly change a flat without assistance...front or back tire.

Sorry Laura.......   I asked him about metal tire levels.  He said that metal tire levers are used only in extreme circumstances.  He doesn't even use tire levers.  He has changed so many tires in his career...guess he has strong hands.

Tomorrow the group goes out on their own and will do 60 miles out to Fort Myers Beach bridge.  Yep....a Florida hill.    I plan to go with the group and hope I don't get dropped!!