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Today October 2022

Also, I was at the port, a common turnaround point, about 10:30 yesterday. It was windy, and barely spitting rain. Then later my wife asked if I knew about this:

 
I now have access to an air compressor at work so I was thinking I'd buy an adapter to be able to pump up tires with it. I have also been toying with the idea of going tubeless, and I understand a compressor makes seating tubeless tires a bit easier. The problem is that Amazon is so flooded with cheap products and fake reviews now that it's hard to know if I'm buying something that will last or not. There are about a zillion products like this that look like what I want but they all seem to have an alarming number of 1 star reviews saying the product was faulty out of the box. Does anyone have any recommendations for this kind of thing? I'm happy to not give my money to Amazon as well if I can get it elsewhere. Need to have a pressure guage and be able to pump up presta valves and whatever the valves mamacharis use as well (is that schraeder?).
 
I now have access to an air compressor at work so I was thinking I'd buy an adapter to be able to pump up tires with it. I have also been toying with the idea of going tubeless, and I understand a compressor makes seating tubeless tires a bit easier. The problem is that Amazon is so flooded with cheap products and fake reviews now that it's hard to know if I'm buying something that will last or not. There are about a zillion products like this that look like what I want but they all seem to have an alarming number of 1 star reviews saying the product was faulty out of the box. Does anyone have any recommendations for this kind of thing? I'm happy to not give my money to Amazon as well if I can get it elsewhere. Need to have a pressure guage and be able to pump up presta valves and whatever the valves mamacharis use as well (is that schraeder?).
Dunlop = English = mamachari.
Presta = French valve = most road bikes
Schrader = cars, motorbikes, most MTB

Yes, a compressor will help with seating tubeless tires as a lot of air will leak until the bead is seated so the more airflow, the better the chance to get it done. Personally I have not found tubeless worth the hassle and therefore reverted to tubes.
 
Dunlop! I knew it but I couldn't think of the name for it. I'm still on the fence about tubeless. I have some friends set up that way and they have found it hassle free, but I know that's not everyone's experience.
 
Usually, I prefer Schrader valves — this way, I could pump up my tires at gas stations. But I think MTBs are going for Presta valves because AFAIK when you set up your tires tubeless, you need a Presta valve.

@DanBell
Don't be. I haven't had tubeless since getting my new mountain bike this year. I had had to replace the sealant once, and it was dead easy. I didn't need a compressor or anything. Perhaps I could have made do without soap water, too.
 
Tyre rim fit is luck of the draw. As for presta those schrader-presta adaptors are cheap.
 
Tyre rim fit is luck of the draw.
I am not sure how widespread that is anymore, though. On the road side tubeless is still not universally adopted whereas on the mountain bike side, I think having tubes is quite uncommon these days. The model of my (mountain bike) rims literally has NoTubes in it, so I reckon that might have something to do with it, too.
Tyre rim fit is luck of the draw. As for presta those schrader-presta adaptors are cheap.
Yes, but it is an adapter you have to remind yourself to carry. Plus, Presta valves are much more annoying: they allow for less air flow/give more resistance to airflow, it is very easy to accidentally release air when putting on your pump and they require you to screw down the valve manually. If it weren't for tubeless, I don't see any advantages.
 
If it weren't for tubeless, I don't see any advantages.
Presta valves make do with smaller valve holes in the rim. Admittedly more of an issue with a narrow rim for 25mm road tires than for something wider.

Presta valves don't really need a valve cap to stay clean. With Schrader valves unless you fit a cap you may end up with dirt in the valve that could cause issues with slow leaks in the future.
 
So out this morning I got onto the cycle path just as another regular was coming along. There was a little 'traffic' initially, some runners, other oncoming bikes, and so on. I passed him, but then about five minutes later he passed me and I let him lead, trying to keep up. Not too hard, but a little faster than I'd've been going without him, and then at one of the wider sections I pedaled up and said hi.

He said he rides 50km every day, even into the winter (tho I didn't ask about rain/snow). He was on something only slightly better than a mama-chari (some kind of v-brakes), with fenders and a basket on the front, just tennis shoes on some kind of basic pedals. He did have a helmet on, some kind of cap underneath. He's 78.

I let him go on first, but I had to push a little to keep up with him, and ~4km later was about 100m back when we got to my normal turnaround point, a bridge at the port. He stopped, we talked for a few minutes, mentioned the tornado last week (above), then he started on, and I turned around to head home.

78, on a mama, riding farther/harder than I do... :ashamed:
 
this bird had a challenging October for sure. look at the average speed and total distance, and only 5 month old... talk about endurance

"All hail the Bar-tailed Godwit!

This bird is a champion flyer and once again an individual has broken the world record for the longest continual flight.

This week a juvenile godwit just 5 months old landed in Ansons Bay in northeast Tasmania. It had been tagged in Alaska and departed there on October 13, 2022 before flying non-stop to Tasmania.

Godwits are regular visitors to Tasmania so it's likely that many undertake a similar flight but it's the first time a tagged bird has flown between Alaska and Tasmania.

This bird flew a minimum of 13,560 km in 11 days 1 hour, that's an average of over 51kmh continually for those 11 days. And don't forgot there will be no eating, drinking or sleeping during that journey!

Simply unbelievable!"

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Went out for another ride this weekend, but this time kept it "local" and went down to the Baird Beer event, the Harvest Festival. The original plan was to go up and over Hakone way, but a friend of mine suggested going via Ito and the Hiekawa Pass.
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Getting up at 4am to walk our dog made things a bit easier getting out the door. It was a bit chilly - around 9c or so in Yokohama - so decided to wrap up warm just in case but cycling along the Sakaigawa at this time of day is really worth it. With it under going resurfacing, it's a lot smoother in some places so I hope they continue on doing that.
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Arriving at Chigasaki Southern Beach at 6:30 - bang on time to meet my friend and the beach was already starting to fill up with surfers, fishermen, and people milling around the area. I decided to take my gravel bike for the ride today - knew there were some climbs coming up and this has a 32T on the rear sprocket. There was to be no cycling home as beer was going to be consumed so I had brought with me some extras. There are plenty of things I will change with this bike, but the first is the 38 tyres - no need for that size I think and kind of slowed me down a bit with the extra weight. Perhaps some 34 or maybe even 32?
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First time to ride south from Odawara and along the eastern coast of Izu. It's a bit hairy at times with trucks, but most people gave us plenty of room. The random wankers in BMWs though didn't so deliberately kept wide at times when we noticed them. The sun had come out, was on our backs, and definitely warming us up.
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Arriving at the top of the Hiekawa pass - a nice steady climb of around 350m over 5km. It's not a tough climb by any means and while I didn't drop down to the 32T, there were times that it was close enough to get me thinking. The bike did feel a bit heavy at times, with the tyres and the backend a bit wobbly, so definitely think about changing those out at some point to Continentals all weather tyres. I might even splash the cash and buy another set of rims, cassette, and so on. It was all downhill from hill to the destination.
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A cold beer at Baird was followed up by several more until late into the evening. After 125 km of cycling, it was well earnt and definitely a fun adventure with a good group of cyclists. No rush to get to the event, but knowing that it was on was our reward.

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Got to Shuzenji station later than I would have liked as I had to wait for a taxi and with the train about to leave, I knew I didn't have time to pack the bag properly if I was going to get the train. The station officer was kind enough to let me get on the train though under the condition that I was at the back and packed the bike on the train. Reminder that packing a bike when you've been drinking, and a bike without a lever on the through axle, is a pain. Trying to find the 5mm thread on the bike tool, and then undoing the axle on a moving train, while needing the toilet, is not recommended.
 
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