Ripped and shredded tire on the road. Tip o' the day

You don't want this to happen to you. Tricia didn't either. Her tire had less than 150 miles on it, but sometimes you hit a sharp rock or a piece of glass and your new tire just gets sliced. Then of course, the tube pushes through and dramatically explodes. It isn't pretty.

Then what do you do?

Here's the tip part: Carry Park Tool TB-2 Emergency Tire Boots. These little thick plastic stickers go inside and keep the tube from pushing through. You still get a bump, but it beats sitting on the roadside. Sure, a dollar bill or Cliff Bar wrapper might work, but these Park things are the perfect size, they are thick enough to hold up better, and the sticky side helps keep them in place. I've used bills and wrappers in the past and had the tube push them out of the rip to the point the tube ripped again. That doesn't happen with these stickers.

We had to make use of two of these little suckers during our two-week tour and we were ever so glad to have them. If you ride roads out of cell range, or far from high use roads  (think Calaveras Road) you need these in your seat bag. Really.

Totally completely positively 100% all white Maxis Re-Fuse tires

I had black tires. Then I got a set of nice Schwalbe Ultremo tires with a subtle ivory stripe. They were swell tires, but when Michelin came out with white wall Service Course 4 tires I couldn't resist.

Then I saw these totally white Maxis Re-Fuse tires, on sale no less. I couldn't pass them up. I still use the Michelins on my Power-Tap wheels, but I think these look swell on my Roval Fusée wheels with their several ornamental white spokes.

A responsible person might ask if white tires are a good idea, and if they'll stay white. That person wouldn't be me. I have a black saddle and black bar tape. That's as sensible as I'm willing to be.  But if an excuse is required, I'm going with this: I'm a really white guy, and all the white on the bike makes me look more tan. Yeah, that's it, more tan. And I'm pretty sure these tires will stay white for at least 50 yards or so.