Below are some tips for pre-season maintenance checks,
 curtesy of LAB (the Leagues of American Bicyclists)

The best plan for riding right now is to go out, ride solo or with a small group of trusted people, enjoy the outdoors in open areas, and try timing your rides for when you know your route will be less crowded.

         Should I wear a mask out on solo or small group rides?

CDC Guidelines have recently been updated to recommend “people wear masks in public settings and when around people who don’t live in your household, especially when other social distancing measures are difficult to maintain.” (Guidelines are rapidly evolving.)

Before those updates, some state governments began suggesting that everyone wear cloth face coverings when they go out in public for essential activities in order to help prevent those that are asymptomatic from spreading the disease. Most businesses will now require masks to enter.

What these announcements should mean to athletes, and to everyone, is that the situation we are in is very serious. We all need to consider the consequences of our individual actions on the community around us.

The Pennsylvania guidelines state that masks “should not be worn damp or when wet from spit or mucus,” and in a press conference on April 3, Rachel Levine, M.D., Pennsylvania’s secretary of health, suggested that cloth face coverings may not be necessary when out for solo exercise if you will be in a place you won’t encounter anyone else. There is no advantage to wearing a face covering if you are not going to be near people at all. But it’s best to bring one along in case of an emergency such as a crash or you need to stop in to a store for a drink.

Face coverings do two possible things: They contain spread from the ill and prevent inhalation in the healthy. The purpose of the mask is not to protect you, but to protect other people from you.

       Riding in groups

Before meeting up with others for a ride, if you have any symptoms, including a fever and a cough, or have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, you should not be going for a ride, as you risk spreading it to others. Wearing a mask at gathering points (the lot and break areas) can help cut down on transmission of the virus.

       How dangerous is spitting while cycling right now?

Spreading COVID-19 via spit is very possible. COVID-19 is spread by respiratory droplets when a person coughs or sneezes, and transmission may occur when these droplets enter the mouths, noses, or eyes of people who are nearby. You do the math!

How to Prevent a Flat Tire on Your Next Ride

An ounce of prevention is worth 100 psi of cure when it comes to your tires and their lifespan.
Unfortunately, flats are part of riding and bound to happen to every cyclist at some point—but
there are precautions you can take to reduce their likelihood.

Here are some expert tips to prevent a flat tire from slowing you down on your next ride.

Use Talcum Powder

Liberally dusting a new inner tube with talcum powder before installation reduces chafing on the tube’s rubber surface. This keeps the tire and tube from sticking to each other and lessens friction that can possibly wear a hole in the tube.

“I have always had a quart-sized zip-lock bag with the talc in it and simply dropped the tube in and given it a good shaking,” says Matt Eames, a World Cup downhill mechanic for Giant Bicycles. “It seems to keep the mess to a minimum as well as not wasting unnecessary talc.”

Watch Your PSI

Keeping your tires inflated within the correct psi range will help keep flats at bay, specifically what’s known as a “pinch flat.” A pinch flat occurs when the tire compresses and pinches the tube against the wheel rim. It’s often caused by an under-inflated tire or a hard impact against an obstacle, like a curb, manhole cover, or pothole. You can identify a pinch flat by the two, side-by-side holes it creates in the tube.The recommended psi range for your tires will be printed on their sidewall.

Get Sturdier Tires

Not all tires are created equal. If you find yourself the victim of frequent puncture flats, perhaps due to debris-laden roads, try using a more durable tire. (we can’t advertise, but you know the better brands!)

Go Tubeless

It can be a bit more expensive than some other options, and it depends on your bike and rims, but buying a tubeless conversion kit or switching to Universal System Tubeless (UST) tires altogether can be very effective ways to bring down your number of flats and improve a bike’s overall control. With no tubes, pinch flats become a non-issue, and less air pressure is required to inflate your tire, allowing for better shock absorption on rough terrain. The sealant used in tubeless tires will also prevent flats from minor punctures.

If you can’t bring yourself to get rid of your tubes, you can still try using tire sealant. When looking for a sealant, be sure to check if the inner tube requires a certain type, and how long it lasts before it needs to be replaced. Tires and tubes can be purchased with sealant already in them.

Add Extra Protection

Both rim strips and tire liners guard the sides of the tube from its neighbors, the rim and the tire. As the name implies, rim strips protect the tube from the holes in the rim, and the ends of the spokes. These are as simple as a rubber strip or a cloth tape and fit inside the rim bed. Tire liners are similar to rim strips in their function but protect from objects attempting to penetrate from the outside. Both are inexpensive to purchase, making them cheap insurance against flats.

Eames says you should pay close attention to the overlap of the liner when it is installed; otherwise, it can prove ineffective and may cause more flats than it prevents. “Take care during installation that the liner stays center relative to the tire’s tread,” he says. “You can end up with a really protected sidewall and little help under the tread.”

Replace Your Tires Regularly

While it’s tempting to get the most mileage that you can out of your tires, pushing the limits of their lifespan will inevitably end in a flat. Mileage can range from 1,000 to 5,000 miles and varies by tire type. Even if you don’t track your mileage, you should replace a tire if it has dry rot or if the threads are visible.