A reminder for newbies--change your tire!

I'm still a newbie myself, but newbies are always asking what to be sure they do before their first race. I know this has been mentioned but I haven't seen it that often. I went to a seminar last fall on bike maintenence. They demonstrated how to change a flat and I swore I would take my wheel apart before my first race. Never got around to it. As I pulled my bike out this spring I said again that I would do it. Raced last Saturday, still hadn't done it.

Yesterday was my first time on the bike since my race. I pumped the tires up in the morning, threw her on the rack and headed to work. Later I took her down and started riding. I'm not even out of the parking lot and I can't figure out what that squeaking noise is! Finally I check my back tire and it's flat. My first flat!

So I spent half an hour changing the flat, taking my time to be sure I did it correctly. There was a small tear at the base of the valve which must have occurred while I was filling the tires that morning. How easily it could have happened during my race! I would have been flustered and stressed and it could have ruined my race, particularly since it was the rear tire.

So....just be sure you take your wheel apart even if you haven't had a flat--you'll be much more confident if it happens during a race!

(And also check your tires/brakes/cables etc. before you start to ride--ironically I ALWAYS do this, but didn't yesterday!)