Wet Roads=Flat Tires

July 7, 2008

Stage 3 of the Tour is underway and the roads are wet.

What this means for cyclists – if you’re just reading this because you like sports on TV – is that there will likely be more flats during the day.

This happens because water will make the tires wet (duh) and debris on the road will then stick to the water and therefore stick to the tire. Then, after riding on that tire with the debris on it, the debris will start to work its way into the rubber and eventually through the tire causing a flat or a blowout.

It makes rainy stages a little more sketchy.

One thing I do know from being a Tour spectator in person is that the roads they ride on are in very nice shape. Wherever possible the Tour organizers have gotten local municipalities to resurface the roads on which the Tour will travel.

Some older and more character-rich roads don’t get the same treatment.

Shortly I’ll add some posts about today’s stage.