This...'n' that...

A few weeks ago, in (goat's head) thorn season here in Denver, I got two flats on a 30-mile bike ride, then discovered the next morning that I'd had three. I got (unfairly) disgusted with my Bike Friday and its 20-inch, seemingly vulnerable tires.

I ride clunky, heavy, armor-plated Specialized Armadillo tires on my big-wheel bikes but, alas, you can't buy them in Friday sizes.

I went to nearby Turin Bikes and complained about flats, stinking flats. The guys there told me that they get away (even in thorn season) with riding ultra-light, ultra-fragile tubular tires, sew-ups as we used to call them, by injecting them with a sealant called Stan's.

Stan's is intended for the new tubeless mountain bike tires, but it seems to work miracles of flat-proofing in TUFO tubulars - new-tech, old-school tires that aren't "fixable" and must be injected with sealer through a presta valve with a removable tip.

In thirty years of riding, I'd never tried sealant, and I confess I felt it was ineffective and dorky, a rabbit's foot for people who could not fix a flat. Was I right? Maybe.

This new stuff, I'm told, is a thinner liquid; it does not clump up and cause wheel imbalances. How does it work? You pull the thorn out of your tire and keep riding. Though not necessarily recommended by the manufacturer for tubed road tires, it seems to work...gulp...so far.

If it does work, it will allow us to ride lighter, better-riding, more responsive tires - and not get nearly so many flats. I sure hope it works. I'll let you know.

AND: I read articles about the bicycle-friendliness of this city or that one; the articles mention awards given to cities by some board of bike-friendliness experts.

I remember the southwestern city where Tamar and I lived not long ago. It was a gold-medal city, a marvel of bike-friendliness - according to those sage evaluators.

As I mentioned above, I've been riding for 30-plus years. I had never hung up my bike while uninjured except in that city. I feel that cycling there, despite the undoubted health and longevity benefits, was not good for me. The emotional toll outweighed any physical gains.

Who knows how these things are decided, which city will emerge with a gold or platinum (only Davis, California) and which will wear a lead medallion. We cannot trust the numbered lists of "Best Small Cities to Retire To" or "Most Walkable Cities." Too many seem to be in Arkansas or ultra-expensive Santa Barbara County. Or the judges rave about Las Vegas. Not credible.

We suspect, Tamar and I, that many of these bike-friendliness determinations are made over expensive dinners in exclusive restaurants. The chats do not include input from the rider-in-the-street, whose opinion, we fear, carries all the weight of the popular vote in the 2000 presidential election.

I love off-street bike trails. I am sure that the more the city or town forces you to ride with motor vehicle traffic, the less bicycle-friendly it is. Riding with traffic mile after mile is scary today and mentally poisonous over time.

We love Denver's bike trail network. We can ride a big loop or ride to destinations all over the city and 'burbs. From the bike trails, you can hear traffic on the streets - sirens and honking horns, screeching brakes and occasional crashes. Priests and rabbis cursing the mental health caregivers who just cut them off.

You want to buy beers for the guys who built and maintain the trails. They enable you to ride in peace, safety and calmness - a feeling your motorist neighbors will stubbornly deny you.

AND, finally: Tamar and I attended Scott Moninger's retirement party in Boulder a few days ago. We were thrilled, I'd say, to be present in that restaurant, Tokyo Joe's, with maybe 75 people whose love for cycling and involvement in the sport has spanned decades.

As you may know, Scott Moninger lived through a suspension of his racing license after unknowingly ingesting a tainted sports supplement. Do I believe Scott cheated? I flat do not. There's nothing devious or desperate about him. He's a master tactician and an artist of the minimal, perfectly timed move. He'll be a great asset to his new team as a manager.

As we were about to leave Tokyo Joe's, I recognized a racer I hadn't seen for a few years. I've missed him and his soft-spoken, gentle style, and the feeling I get from him that what he says is what he feels. No coyness, no agenda. Tamar and I talked with him for a few moments and said our goodbyes. What a great guy, I thought.

Tamar could not get over how sweet the fellow was, and how nice he was to say good things about me. Who is that guy, she asked. He sure looks familiar. That was Tyler Hamilton, I said, one of the nicest guys I've met around racing or anywhere. Wow, she said... that was Tyler...

Scott, Tyler...and Floyd. Something's going on here, as the fellow said, and we don't know what it is. Do we?