300 Mile Milestone !!

Today I rode 9.8 miles at Marsh Creek State Park and reached the 300 mile mark on the Motobecane Fantom 29. Again the Fantom 29 performed flawlessly.

It was chilly this morning-- about 42 degrees F. So I put on the balaclava.





Pretty scary!










And Bradley, you are right. These are Hedge Apple Trees. This website actually sells them for $24 per dozen. They are sold as insect repellents.

Cornog Quarry

Today I rode 11.1 miles at Marsh Creek State Park. The Fantom 29 performed flawlessly. I took my usual route and took the trail toward Cornog Quarry. I had never actually seen the quarry so I decided to slip through the hole in the fence and take a peek.

It is STUNNING!

But I can see why it is blocked off. The sides of the quarry are very steep and I am sure the water is very deep. There was a plan by Aqua America (the current owner) to use it to supply a water system but that was killed a number of years ago.

Hey, does anyone know what kind of tree has a huge pod like this?

They are all over the Blue Trail.

Replacement Tubes

I did some research on tubes that would be flat resistant and decided to order some Slime Smart Tubes at PricePoint. They are only $5.98, so only $2 more than regular tubes. I think the slime would stop the types of leaks I had so far. The only downside seems to be the extra weight which is not much of a concern to me.



On October 05 I ordered the tubes. They arrived October 10. I won't install them preemptive, rather I will wait until I get another flat. Both tires now have PricePoint regular tubes so I will see how they hold up.

285 Mile FLAT REAR TIRE!

This is my third flat tire, the first on the rear. It is way too many flat tires. To put it in perspective, I have over 2100 miles on my Raleigh Grand Prix road bike and have not had a flat.


When you fix a flat you need to determine what caused the flat or it will just happen again. Also I usually just replace the tube rather than do a repair since tubes are inexpensive ($5).I carefully removed the tube from the tire then investigated the possible causes. Here are my findings :


1.) Leaking valve : with some pressure in the tube I placed the tube in a bucket of water. No bubbles were coming from the valve. This was not the cause. There was several bubbles per seconds coming from the tube just a few inches from the valve stem location.



2.) An external object punctured the tire and tube: At the location of the leak there were no objects on or in the tire. I also checked the entire inner and outer surface of the tire, there were no objects. The defect was a very small "pin prick". I guess if there were a small speck of something it could eventually wear a hole in the tube. The defect was on the outer surface adjacent to the tread This is a possible cause.



3.) A sharp point on the rim or a spoke poking through the rim tape punctured the tube: The rim tape was intact. There were no sharp points on the rim. This was not the cause.



4.) A tube manufacturer's defect: The defect was not on the seam. It was a very small "pin prick". This could be the cause but it seems unlikely for a manufacturing defect to develop after 8 months but maybe so. The tube was a Cheng Shin 700 x 52/47 mm tube made in Taiwan with serial number 19097734. It also says "thin" on it. Perhaps these were put in to minimize weight. I replaced it with a CST 29 x 2.1- 2.55 tube that I bought a PricePoint. It is made in China with number 03127111 on it.

Because this is my third flat in under 300 miles, I will start buying better quality tubes. I will do some research a report out on my findings.

Springton Surprises

I had a couple of surprises at Springton Manor Farm. I rode 6.8 miles--- well actually I rode about 4.8 miles and pushed the Fantom 29 about 2 miles but that is one of the surprises.

First, I rode up to Springton and was having a good ride and also enjoying the farm Halloween decorations. When I got into the woods on the Bartol Trail I heard this loud noise. It was a periodic very loud roaring sound. It was so loud that I could hear dogs for miles around barking between the roars.

As it turns out it was a Hot Air Balloon on take off.

As I was admiring the Hot Air Balloon, I noticed my second surprise --- a rear tire that was going flat fast.

I do have all the equipment needed to fix the flat, but I decided to walk home instead so I could take my time and find out what the cause was. I will report on the repair in my next post.

As I was walking home I met Ralph who was picking up trash along Fairview Road. We got to talking. Ralph is retired army, grew up in the area and moved back. He frequently picks up trash along the road to give back to the community. His family is one of the "original" families that farmed the area before it has become more suburban. He had some interesting local stories. That's one of the good things about bike riding, it gets you out and interacting with the world rather than just passing through it.