Tips For Tire Removal

Can't get that stubborn road tire off your wheel? Here's a list of what doesn't work:

1. Swearing
2. Baby Powder
3. Forcing the second tire lever on once the first is already in
4. Swearing in a foreign language
5. Stretching the tire out over and over in the same place
6. Swearing very loudly in both English and a foreign language while sweat pours down your forehead and onto your wheel.

Here's what does work:

1. Utility knife to the sidewalls
or
2. Give up and wait for husband to come home

I very nearly chose option #1 but I managed to find my quiet place (see all those stupid yoga classes were good for something) and waited for Jonny to return. If nothing else I was hoping he couldn't remove it either so I wouldn't feel so stupid. I change tires all the time and felt pretty pathetic not being able to manage this one. It was a struggle for him too but finally he managed to get it off by putting both tire levers on the bead and pushing them down at the same time. I decided the tire was crap because I got it out of the bargain bin at Performance's House of Crap. I tried putting one of his tires on the wheel and got it on no problem but once again couldn't get it off, even with the 2 tire lever method. Once again it was Jonny to the rescue and once again he got it off with the 2 tire levers very close together (closer than spoke to spoke distance). So now I'm on a mission to find a tire that'll fit properly. The one that was on there came off no problem but it has a split in the sidewall and of course they don't make them anymore.

Oh yeah, and I have a race on Sunday. My bad knee is sore at the moment and I haven't put in nearly as much training as I wanted because of the disruption and ensuing fatigue of a 3 day agility trial and the 3 weeks of nausea/fatigue I went through trying to adjust to some prescription drugs. The lack of a front tire is the least of my worries at this point.