Home ยป DC: Bringing people together to ride bikes.

DC: Bringing people together to ride bikes.

Posted on by
Facebooktwitterredditpinterestmailby feather

Last month I got an email from a DC reader, Russell from PA. He said he would be in Cincinnati during the Thanksgiving holiday and did I know of any good trails to ride. I responded that this time of year, the trails are usually closed due to rain. I told him I’d keep an eye on the weather and maybe we could hook up for a ride. We kept in touch the last few weeks and made plans to ride. It ended up being too muddy to ride trail. So we decided to ride knobbys on the road.

A few other guys met up with us – Zack, long time reader of DC (“since the porn days”), a Cincinnati native but lives in Chicago and is moving to Reno next week. Charles rode his CX bike. Ryan, who road his 9’er. And I rode the Raleigh CX bike. The weather was perfect.

I rode from my house and met up with them in Northside. We rode downtown across the bridge and up the hill into to Devou park. It’s a beautiful view of the city.

From there, we rode through the park and down the hill to the MTB trails. I was surprised to see cars in the parking lot. I assumed it was dry. Not the case. We headed up the DH trail and I couldn’t even pedal. Too much PSI for those conditions. Plus we didn’t want to fuck up the trails, so we left, bikes and shoes covered in mud.

We headed out onto route 8 and back across the bridge. Almost across the bridge, I was riding along next to Russell when his tubular blew. He was prepared though!

We pulled over and I got a lesson on tubulars. He sprayed some shit on the tire to see if he could get it working without putting a tube in. That didn’t work. So he pulled out a tube and got the tire off.

He pumped up the tube, and it had two holes in it. So he pulled out a patch kit. We waited for the patches to dry. Then he started to shove the tube into the wheel, only to find out it was a 26 inch tube and he was riding a 9’er. He shoved it in anyway, and well, that didn’t work.

Zack ended up giving him a CX tube. I had no idea a CX tube would fit a 9’er wheel! I was shocked. Yea, I have zero mechanical skillz. I can change a tube, and that’s about it, but this was the most educational tube change I had ever witnessed.

Finally, the tube held enough air for us to ride the rest of the way back to Northside and to the coffee shop I work at. We all had coffee and shot the shit for a while until it was time to leave.

It was a great ride, and I made a new friend, thanks to DC. Holla’ at me if you ever come to the ‘Nati and we will ride.

Facebooktwitterredditpinterestmailby feather

About Judi

Bicycles are my salvation. They are my way of life. If you don't like it, then you can go straight to hell. Cincinnati, Ohio, USA

21 Replies to “DC: Bringing people together to ride bikes.”

  4. When I started riding big-boy bikes a few years ago and there were few options for 29er tires and tubes, I used 26″ slime tubes and they actually worked well. It just took a few extra minutes of work and patience to get them in.

  5. I think you mean tubless, not tubulars (=sew-ups) which are glued onto the rim. You don’t typically do a field fix on a tubular. They are also extremely rare on mtb’s.

  7. el jefe, see? i can’t even get the terminology correct. you are right, i and i still don’t get the concept of either. i’d rather just ride with tubes.

  8. Delurking…

    …Yeah, back in the day DC had alcohol, bicycles, and porn–a trifecta! And now it has no porn and less alcohol than before. I’m no prude and I like to get my drink on but the site is better for it. The four peaks post and the TN post make me want to get my ride on. This Queen City post makes it It look like it is a great place to ride. And the founder’s posts on classic hard men keeps me coming back.

  11. Cincinnati is a fun ride with good people. I recommend it to anyone passing through. Judi and the gang are excellent company with strong legs and excellent spirits.

    Russell (from PA)

  12. I’ve driven thru Cincinnati a few times on my to Indiana. My late Daddy’s home state.

    I’ve never stopped.

    Next time I will.

  13. In a few more years I can see DC members having get-togethers to show off their “Since the Porn Days” badges ;) International organisation with chapters in every corner of the world….
    Good one Judi.

  14. Can someone please tell the dudes at Raleigh to get their shit together and fix the euro site? I cant even stand to look at it, not to mention finding a dealer on this side of the pond is… well, impossible is about right.

    Also, Anyone want to pay 2000 for a signed naked drawing of me? I’ll draw it in crayola and sign it in blood. That way I can afford to get a CX bike and start riding like I really want to.

  15. Raleigh US and Raleigh UK are two completely different companies. So you don’t want a Raleigh if you’re buying it in Europe, because they’re pretty crappy.

  17. I keep a ‘cross tube on my 9er….those big honkin’ 9er tubes are too big to fit in my underseat bike sack. We all know a 40MM tube isn’t optimum for a 55MM tire, but it works and gets me back home.

  18. @doug p. – i ride my voodoo with a tube wrapped up, and taped under my stem. it worked for the 12 hours i was on my bike for mohican. in fact, i think it’s still on there….

  21. I would LOVE to go for a ride with you sometime. Don’t know when I’ll ever make it to the Queen City but there’s still time.