Things that Matter to Me: Intro and Bike Tires

Thinking back to my week in DC…wait, did I not mention that I was in DC last week and that that was why there were no posts? Oops.

So, I spent last week in DC (Alexandria, Va actually) visiting my little sister. I would love to regail you with stories of all the cool sites I saw using the amazing DC Bikeshare system…however I sorta melt in humidity and DC in June is a great place to be to experience that. I did end up taking several self guided walking tours to various coffee shops, hit a couple of museums, and spent a fair bit of time standing in front of her A/C vents drying myself off…but the one thing I did not do was spend a lot of time online.

I was on vacation and knew that I’d be spending an inordinate amount of time there upon my return seeing as how one of my classes this summer is online only.

So there you have that, now on to todays post:

While I was away, I thought a lot about how I’m structuring my life here in Seattle. Meaning that as a 30-something returning to school, how was I going to make the most of my time, get the most out of life, and how on earth was I going to pay for school?!?! More on that last one as soon as I figure something out. I did come to a couple of important realizations, the first of which being that since I don’t own a car and really really don’t like the Metro system here, I’d be riding my bike ALOT.

Now, I don’t have a fancy bike – sidenote, I dream of building up a one-quiver style Surly or some-such one day, but until then – I ride a $100 Craigslist special. I lucked into finding this little gem:

That’s a Kona Dew from a couple of years ago…with an astounding amout of dings and scratches…hence the great price. Now, why would I buy such a steed? Simple, I’m locking it up in a not-so-hot neighborhood everyday while I’m in class and it’s never a good idea to be the shiniest bike on the rack.

I’ve added a couple of things – come to think of it, I’ve put more than double the price into it – new tires, ergon grips, rack, some beefy platform pedals, a bottle cage that fits my Kleen Kanteen…and I invested in a set of Ortlieb panniers (will review them after I log more miles). I want to focus on just one of this upgrades for today, the tires.

As anyone who racks up miles in an urban setting will tell you, tires can make or break your commute. The Dew has 700c wheels and an aluminum frame, leading to a ride that can lean toward the harsh. I went looking for a reasonably economical (remember my distinct lack of a job) tire that wouldn’t bow to the pressure of repeated thrashings going up and down Capital Hill every day. What I found is the Michelin Pilot City, in a 32cm width that fits perfectly inside the permanently installed Planet Bike fenders (this is Seattle after all, and this is intended to be a year-round commuter).

This tire is proving itself quite nicely, mind you I’ve only put ~50 miles on them so far, but the results so far are encouraging. They’ve got what Michelin calls ProTek, which basically means they’re beefed up, with extra material where it counts for flat protection. What I also like is the tread:

That’s my thumb on the right reflecting the flash, sorry, still working on using the iPhone camera effectively. If you can see around the glare, the tread consists of angled grooves intended to siphon water off to the sides. They also mean that when I encounter road construction (in Seattle?!?! Never…) or a gravel stretch I don’t have to worry, they don’t get squirrely.

I’ll post an updated review when I have some more miles on them, which shouldn’t take too long as I’m determined to not borrow the car whenever possible, meaning at least my daily 5 mile commute, + weekly trips to the farmers market and grocery store meaning a weekly total of somewhere in the 30-40 mile range before any recreational riding.

I’m also planning on this “things that matter to me” becoming a regular thing, I may even add a third category to make them easier to find. Considering myself a minimalist, but not wanting to use that label (see this previous post for details), the few things I do have tend to matter more. That’s the whole idea of purging your life of extraneous STUFF, right? To keep only what matters, only what’s important to YOU. There’s my little moral for today, I’m going to go get ready for class…if I could only figure out a way to not sweat riding up the hill before class, I’d be golden.

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