Wow, what an amazing adventure you had! I only now "discovered" this journal, not sure how I missed it earlier - it would have been good for me to read before my Great Rivers South ride 1 year after you. Still I recognized many of the photos you took and rekindled memories of many of the places you visited - but your lodging experiences were so much more adventurous than mine! I definitely didn't enjoy the traffic on the Trace approaching Jackson and especially didn't enjoy it as I neared Tupelo - otherwise it was good. Thanks for a great read

This is in the comments from the yesterday's post. I'm not sure why I didn't put it here instead of there, especially since this is the post in which everyone wants to know what happened. It's from over a year ago:

I never really figured out what happened with the tire, at least not to my satisfaction. When I got back I took it to my bike mechanic. He was pretty excited since it was something new for him and he started asking a bunch of questions trying to determine the issue. It was like a physician taking a good medical history.

Eventually, we determined that there were at least two problems, but I'm still not convinced there wasn't something else. The first is the patches. I'll never use the ones with adhesive already on them again, except maybe to tape up temporary birthday decorations or something. The second is that when I replaced a tube there was no air in it when I initially put it in. He suggested having at least a little bit, 2-3 psi, to prevent it from folding. I've always seated the tubes (put the tube/tire on, partially pump it up, deflate it, then pump it up all the way) to prevent folds, but he said that if you just leave a little air in it when it goes in then that isn't necessary. All of that makes sense, but it seems odd that when the traveling bike mechanic put in a new rim strip, tube, and tire, it STILL went flat. I checked for a spoke (or anything) stabbing through the rim strip, as did the bike mechanic on my trip, as did my local bike mechanic, and none of us found anything. And when I say "checked," I mean that I went over it like it was going to cause rectal cancer if I missed it. Whatever the cause, he put on another rim strip and a different tube and it's remained inflated since the end of October, so that's good. However, I still haven't ridden on it, so that's not good.

So what was the cause of the flats?

I plan on riding. Plan is starting in Seattle: RAGBRAI, Michigan, Canada, Erie Canal, Finger Lakes, Baltimore, Home on Delmarva. We will see. Dealing with an old age medical issue first. You’re welcome to come along. I’d be interested to see your route from Finger Lakes to Baltimore though I suspect things have changed since you rode that way.

Cool! I saw they just announced the route for the 50th anniversary (!) of RAGBRAI. Will you be riding?

Ate at the Bel Piatto restaurant also. Stayed at a very interesting BnB called Peddle Inn just up the road. Owner is the wife of a MD/Cyclist killed while riding the trace. She SAGS for a team of racers on the Trace 444 race. When we stayed there the race was underway so we were alone at her home. She gave us the keys to her car to use at our discretion. Trail angel!

Stayed at an old restored Plantation in Port Gibson when I did the Trace with a blind buddy of mine. Rode an 8 geared 80lb recumbent trike pulling gear on a trailer- well over 500 lbs all up including us. The Platation was interesting as it sat up on a hill with a drive that at one time had to be a spectacular entrance but now was just a gravel road running through the towns septic plant with some of the poorest shanties I have ever seen. The roads in town were in terrible repair. I guess the main down town area had some beautiful homes but I was too busy trying not to get killed on the busy roads to notice.

That is my favorite RAGBRAI jersey. Did you know that (at least up to a few years ago) teams that had been with RAGBRAI since the beginning qualified to have the name of the team printed on the sleeve of the jerseys? I wore this jersey for several years before even noticing Rockford Cycling on the sleeve!

The answers: Yes, and (per consensus) yes. :-)

Hmm. I have ridden a tandem bike twice. Would I bike faster if I were on the same bike with someone else or would we hate each other by the end of the first day?

I am the kid that hits people in parking lots.

I’ve been to Trader Joe’s and purchased four different BarBell bars to try. The check out girl assured me one of my choices tastes like a Snickets! I’m trying that one first!

My email is: kelly.iniguez at gmail dot com

I eat quite a few bars myself, I'm always happy to hear of tasty bars that aren't repurposed candy bars! Quest bars are my current favorite, with low sugar, and high protein.

We are in Tucson at the moment. There is a Trader Joe's here. The information says they carry Bar Bells. I can give them a try!

Thanks

I never really figured out what happened with the tire, at least not to my satisfaction. When I got back I took it to my bike mechanic. He was pretty excited since it was something new for him and he started asking a bunch of questions trying to determine the issue. It was like a physician taking a good medical history.

Eventually, we determined that there were at least two problems, but I'm still not convinced there wasn't something else. The first is the patches. I'll never use the ones with adhesive already on them again, except maybe to tape up temporary birthday decorations or something. The second is that when I replaced a tube there was no air in it when I initially put it in. He suggested having at least a little bit, 2-3 psi, to prevent it from folding. I've always seated the tubes (put the tube/tire on, partially pump it up, deflate it, then pump it up all the way) to prevent folds, but he said that if you just leave a little air in it when it goes in then that isn't necessary. All of that makes sense, but it seems odd that when the traveling bike mechanic put in a new rim strip, tube, and tire, it STILL went flat. I checked for a spoke (or anything) stabbing through the rim strip, as did the bike mechanic on my trip, as did my local bike mechanic, and none of us found anything. And when I say "checked," I mean that I went over it like it was going to cause rectal cancer if I missed it. Whatever the cause, he put on another rim strip and a different tube and it's remained inflated since the end of October, so that's good. However, I still haven't ridden on it, so that's not good.

I've been trying to figure out a way to share the information with you (it's a google doc) but haven't found out how to PM you.

I will tell you this: By far, head and shoulders above the rest of the pack, is Barebells. I've only tried four of the flavors, and although some are better than others, they're easily my favorite.
https://barebells.com/us/products/ If you know how I can share the google doc, let me know.