Going Tubeless

In early May of this year I decided to sign up for a season opener by doing the Battle at Burlingame 6 hour solo.  I had been fat biking and cross country skiing all winter and I wanted to see where my fitness stood at the end of a busy, but fun winter, and to gauge the effectiveness of training this way for future seasons. 



Road rash from blowing out on a sandy corner

So I showed up ready to give it my all on a course I knew nothing about, and  I was destined to have a literal blast at this race.  The Battle features a 14 mile lap that includes the last 2 or 3 miles of the XC course and a whole other beast of single track that laps around the lake at Burlingame.  There were a few sandy road sections in the very beginning that I managed to completed wipe out on, but other then that the single track was really nice: certainly challenging and sweet. 

I remember 2 sections in particular, one was the rocky outcrop that actually turned into a trials ride for a few sections and the other was the winding bridge section that raced us over a swamp and at one point through a gazebo! 

It was on my 3rd and final lap, however that I was to have the biggest blast, which occurred when I cleared a log obstacle, only to proceed to experience a completely flat front tire.  So I did what any racer would do, which was to pull over, quickly unscrew my front wheel, take it off, remove the tire, and the tube, and feel for thorns in the tire tread.  But, in my race-haste I did not search diligently enough (which would be the cause for my demise).  After installing the new tube, I proceeded to pump it up, only to terrifyingly witness my only spare tube deflate!  "Oh crap!" was my immediate thought, followed by, "how the hell am I going to finish this thing without a DNF with 5 miles to go on a fully flat front tire?"

I began to run my bike, but that was a disaster as I couldn't get out of the way in time for other racers to pass me and my bike shoes were giving me horrible blisters, plus my fitness wasn't there for me to run a bike out of the woods for 5 miles.  So I decided to carry my bike on my back like a wounded soldier, but that was even worse and the frame was digging into my back and starting to hurt and I couldn't maneuver through the tight turns of the single track. 

I allowed myself to get very upset and curse profusely for about 5 minutes (enough to make any sailor proud), and then I told myself that I would not DNF; and that the only way I would get out of the woods was to do the unthinkable and ride my bike on a flat tire. 

This was a lot tougher then I initially thought but actually hysterical.  I was to navigate some fairly hardcore single track on a bike rim cushioned by a mere few millimeters of rubber, but surprisingly I was able to ride.  Down hills and turns were a disaster though, but somehow the tire stayed on the rim.  I did finish the race within the 6 hour time frame, and I also finished laughing at myself for the less then ideal predicament. 

I proceeded straight to the local bike shop tent that was supporting the race, explained what happened and asked them to inspect what I believed would be my destroyed bike rim (I had hit some rocks pretty hard while on my way out of the woods).  To my astonishment there was nothing wrong with the rim, and it didn't even need to be trued!  On my way home I drove straight to my bike shop and asked for a conversion to tubeless so that a thorn would never have the chance to ruin my race ever again! 

It took me awhile to convert to tubeless, but now that I have I haven't suffered any pinch or thorn flats and that's alright in my book!

See Race Results