dreadedmonkeygod . net

I took another shot yesterday at climbing Johnson Fire Rd. I've been trying for a long, long, long time to get under 30:00. After riding well on Bulldog last week, I thought I had a shot.

Johnson Fire Rd.

I think two things went against me. The first would have been plenty: wind that in turns blew me off my line, slapped me in the face, and pushed me uphill. The second was a rear tire that was slowly leaking air, and was noticeably splashy by the time I got to the top.

And along the way, I realized how long it's been since I did any technical climbing. The last techy section was a disaster.

I finished about 1:10 behind my PR, which I feel okay about under the circumstances. Next time I'll pick a better day, and more reliable gear, and give it a real go.

It's time, I think, to acknowledge that my beloved Continental X-King RaceSport tires just aren't going to be 100% solid running tubeless. The tech originally said they were "super loose", and I've dumped 6oz of Stan's into each already. It's time to end this experiment and get some tires I can depend on. I have my eye on the Maxxis Ikon 3C/TR 29x2.2''.