Monday madness

Where did the traffic go? Drivers inspired by the school of thought that created the demolition derby? Or inspired by molasses on a cold northern Wisconsin winter day? My bike ride down Paseo del Norte was desolate and eerily evocative of the day after the apocalypse.

So, the other day I decided to put air in my tires. It wasn’t a shock to see that my tires were inflated at 25 psi. I felt their squishiness on my ride home the other day. What made me gasp was the suggested maximum psi on my Michelin City Tires, aka: City Bombers: 87 psi. Talk about rock hard riding! So, I started pumping and pumping, and pumping. By the time I got to 70 psi I feared my tires would explode so I stopped (I just read a review at REI.com... somebody just said that at 87 psi City Tire sidewalls blow out! Dang!). What a difference in the way my bike handled this morning. I felt like I was riding an entirely different bike.

This warrants a Gear Review:

Michelin City Tires: Want to turn that old mountain bike into a commuter? Tired of the slowing effect of mountain bike tires? Want to roll fast and smooth (and I don’t mean in a bar on lady’s night)? Tired of flat tires? Get a set of Michelin City Tires today. The Michelin City Tire is fast and quiet. The supper protected anti-puncture strip in the tires will make riding through Gaza during an Israeli bombardment a walk in the park. IED’s? Not a problem for these tires. They are that tough. The only down side to the Michelin City Tire is the weight. When I smacked these slicks on my bike I added another 10 to 12 pounds. But, hey, you’re commuting – not racing in the Tour de France. I’ve ridden over broken bottles, fields of bullhead thorns, strange metal scraps, and I’ve not had a flat tire that can be attributed to the aforementioned war zone(s). I did have a flat…but that’s because the cheap inner-tube valve-stem wore through because of the super sharp edge of the rim’s valve hole. Traction is excellent while riding on pavement or sidewalks. It gets a little sketchy when you hit the dirt. So, if you’re hauling booty on a paved surface/side walk and then hit a dirt trail… slow the hell down because you’ll be tempting the Wipeout Gods and, like Santa, they’ll know when you’re being foolish. 9 points out of 10 (-1 point because of weight).