The world isn't flat!

Let's recap my last half dozen mountain bike rides. SIUE, flat tire. Greensfelder, flat tire. Castlewood, 2 flat tires. Queeny Park hill intervals, no flats. Al Foster with my son, flat tire (no spares and rode the rim for 4 miles.) Cape race, NO FLATS!!!

What is the trick? Who knows? maybe it was just bad karma. I don't really know. I do know that I pinch flatted 3 times, had a valve stem tear off on another, punctured a tire and tube, too. All in, only the pinch flats seems avoidable. Seeking the wisdom from the 'net, I tried a couple of experiments. I added more pressure to my tires and I also tossed in a little talc between the tire and the tube. The theory in this is that the talc allows the tube to not rub as tightly against the inside of the tire wall. I don't know if it really serves that purpose, but I didn't flat at Cape, so the feedback is positive so far. And besides, it smells nice and who doesn't want their tires smelling nice??

I've also been running the Kenda Karma 1.9's on the Gunnar. In preparation for the rocky terrain of Greensfelder, yesterday I tossed on a Maxxis Ignitor on the front and a Schwalbe Little Albert on the back. Mikey from the shop is running the same set-up and he seems to like it. Earlier this summer, I was running the Ignitor in front with a NanoRaptor on the rear and I think that set-up was killer. I chose the Little Albert this time because it has a slightly beefier tread pattern and I think the Greensfelder course will be perfect for that design. For the season finale at Spanish Lake, I've heard that I should consider road tires, as the course is fairly devoid of the technical parts. I've always wondered about running a set of 'cross tires on the Gunnar for a race. Maybe I should?? Although with my luck, I'd most likely discover the world is flat!