Knob by night and day

Tuesday this past week Noah and I went for a night hike at the Knob.  There were no bikes involved but it was a fun adventure in the dark.  Well, it was not as dark as it could have been due to the nearly full moon.  At times we turned our light off because the moonlight was sufficient to see.

Noah had a new Fenix flashlight that put out some very usable light.  I had my Cygolite bike light strapped to my helmet, which I've never done before, and a smaller Fenix flashlight.  It took us 2 hours to hike the trail from start to the top of the Furnace.  It made me realize a night ride on a mountain bike, with the right light, would not be as deathly as I had thought.  I'd want to know the trail for sure, but a bright night and bright head mounted light made riding look fun.



All that hiking in the dark made me want to ride, a not-so-suprising result of walking a mountain bike trail I suppose.  This afternoon I went to the knob again, this time with bike.  Yet another Saturday of perfect weather.  It was 54 degrees when I was driving, very nice for mid November.

I had a very enjoyable ride, taking my time, scanning the scenery, and breathing the fresh air.  Towards the end of the first lap I thought the bike was handling funny.  Is that wind pushing me around?  (It was gusty, especially outside the protection of the woods.)  No, that would be a front tire with about 0.75 psi in it.  I stopped to change out the tube.  I really did not spend much time trying to identify what kind of flat it was.

 I really do not do this often enough to

think about tubeless, but I'm thinking

about tubeless.

Back to the car after the first lap I pumped so more air into the front tire.  A single 12g CO2 cartridge lets you inflate and ride but it leaves you babying it until you can get more air.  Hmmm... ride more?  I'd like to, but no spare tube to carry.  Note to self: I should keep a couple spare tubes in the car.

I started a second lap hoping to not experience a second flat or I'd be walking or using a patch kit trailside.  The day was getting late and I still wanted to do yard work at home, so I figured I'd bail out at an access road crossing.  Well, I was having too much fun so I kept riding.

 The Cradle.

About 25 pedal strokes before emerging from the wood onto the furnace I once again wondered why the bike was handling funny.  Wow, the front tire is really noisy on the trail.  Yeah, it was flat again.  At the last tire change I had swept the inside of the tire looking for debris but never found it. 

So, I finished my ride the same way Noah and I finished our night hike, with a walk up the Furnace and back to the car.