Getting Tired Before the Ride

Yessindeedy, as predicted, I'm back here doing my part to impart more hard-earned wisdom onto you people, free of charge.
Why?
Well, ain't it obvious?
Not only am I very bright and incredibly handsome and quite clever, I am also very generous with what I like and what I know.
Just for you.
Now, doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside?
You're welcome. :)

The above pic is the manufacturer's label for my new rear tire that's going onto my WR-250FY.
The Bridgestone M22 is a favorite of mine (I also have the matching M23 on the front) because it just plain works better than anything else I've tried on hard terrain, and where I'm going riding later, there's plenty of that.
Hard as in how hard the ground is, not how hard as in challenging or difficult.
These tires aren't some kind of new release from Bridgestone, either - they made their debut in 1981.


Here's the newbie ready for installation.
I guess in NASCAR, they'd say I was puttin' on a sticker taaarr.
You heard me - a sticker taaarr because the other one wuzz all tore up!
Hmmm, no wonder why I don't watch NASCAR.


Because I'm quite handy with the wrenches, removing the rear wheel from my bike is as easy as pie.
I wonder what flavor pie it is.
Hopefully, it's either blueberry or cherry.
Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.


Here's all I use to git 'er done:
Some spray soap like Fantastik, tire irons, a piece of cardboard to keep the sprocket from gettin' all tore up (damn NASCAR), and me.


The air is let out and the area where the tire meets the rim gets all soaped up to make things slippery.
My long tire iron starts the gig.


See what's going on here?
This is basically all there is to it:
The tire iron levers the tire bead over the rim a little bit at a time...


...until the whole enchilada is out like this.
Ain't that spiffy? :)


That old tire is a Bridgestone M604.
It's an Intermediate/Hard terrain tire, and you know what?
I thought it sucked for where I ride the bike.
I tried it as an experiment.
Results?
Fail.
I seems to like dirt you can actually sink a knob into, and there's precious little of that out in the Pachaug forest.


The new tire goes on basically in reverse order.
The tire iron levers the tire bead over the rim...


...a little bit at a time...

...until it's all on the side we need it on.

Inflate with air pressure to 25-30 psi (pounds per square inch) to seat the bead real nice, reduce pressure to 12 psi, and pat yourself on the back.

Time for this post's quizzy-poo.

What is this thing, and why is it colored blue?

You know, from this angle it kinda' looks like somebody's butt colored blue, don't it?

Well, don'nit? :)

Here's another of my sticker shrines.

I could tell you how every single one of those got there, you know.

Oooohh, YES I could.

You wanna' arm wrestle over it? :)

Some of you may be asking yourselves, "Why is this incredibly bright and handsome guy bringing his bike that has a license plate on the back of it to the riding spot in the back of his clammy Ranger? Why doesn't he just ride it there?"

Good question, and there are two reasons.

1) The pavement wears these tires down quickly, and riding the bike the 13 miles from home out to the riding spot and back again will wear them out much sooner.

Then, I'd need another sticker taaarr because it got all tore up!

Gaaaaah!

2) While the WR-250FY is a fire-breather off-road, on the road, it's a lousy street bike.

It's geared low for off-road riding where 50mph is going very fast, indeed.

On the street, 50mph ain't fast enough in a lot of places, and even though the bike will hit about 65mph, it's simply geared too low for anything other than short street jaunts, like when getting from one trail to the next.

See?

I thought you would.

Yeeaaaahh.

Here we are out on the Pachaug trail loop officially called E8.

It's about 65 miles all together.

Did your science teacher ever tell you there were lots of rock left behind from the glaciers of the last ice age?

Well, here's proof.

What you can't see too well from this pic is that this is actually a steep uphill, and to climb this means you need to be on your A game.

Pick your line, open the throttle, and don't stop.

Aaahh.

I like the pine needled forest sections.

You still have to watch out for those tricky tree roots, though, because they're always trying to take your front wheel out from under you, especially if you hit them from the wrong angle.

This looks like a nice place for Smokey the Bear to take a dump, doesn't it?

Hey, you know what bears do in the woods, don'cha'? :)

What's this guy want?

Oh, never mind.

It's just me.

Continue reading.
There's a bit of a story behind that shirt, and maybe one day I'll tell you. :)

Well, the ride lasted 35 miles, and the M22 performed just as it always does:

Fantastic.

The ride was fun, I gave myself a workout, and I came back in one piece.

Take two asprin. :)

-John