Let the Air Out
I’ve written about my affinity for tires and my son’s diehard convictions of who makes the best tire. As part of my daily routine, nearly as common as a shower or breakfast, is the checking of some tire and its pressure. There’s a lot of tires rolling around this place!
In the garage I check the vehicle tires. Proper pressure gets long life and handles loads safely. Then there’s my bike tires; those get a quick shot of air before swinging a leg over the bike. Theres 4-wheeler tires, which always need air due to the shenanigans that the boys do on them. Hook up a trailer? Check the tires!
With all of that tire checking there’s always that thought that I should just chuck a bunch of air in the tire so I don’t have to deal with it again. Pump it to the max and forget it! If it’s as hard as a rock you won’t notice the loss of a little bit of air. More is more better!
Back in the day that was the recipe for speed in bike racing. Buy a tire with super-high capacity and pump it up to the maximum. The more it felt like a brick the better and faster it would go! It was pretty common to hear exploding tires before races!
What I’ve learned about pressure is that it’s important to adapt. The amount of pressure precisely predicts one’s ability to progress! Say that 10 times fast! More pressure doesn’t mean that it will be able to tackle the terrain ahead successfully. Some situations don’t call for maximum pressure.
When we take our Jeep into the woods I actually let air out of the tires. Its daily driven pressure is far too much for rocks, roots, and mud. I drop the pressure down to 10 pounds in order for the tire to conform to the rocks, grip the roots, and increase the tires contact patch. Letting air out actually makes the Jeep more stable and surefooted. It’s amazing what letting go of something can do to allow us to creep forward down the trail.
On the two-wheeled side I can relay a similar message. With modern wheels engineers have found out that lowering a tires pressure can provide a smoother ride and increase efficiency. Its seems like absorbing road vibration is actually faster than pumping our tires up to the max and barreling down the road. As an added benefit I get far, far fewer flat tires with the wider wheels and lower tire pressures. And if I do get a flat it’s not nearly as loud or catastrophic as those early bike racing days.
Pressure. You and I have felt it! It’s woven into our lives; get up, drink coffee and go out and crush the day! When we feel tired listen to something, dig a little deeper, and pound an energy drink! Go hard and fast because that’s what we perceive works. Work harder than anyone else and success and our desired outcome will come. A day without pressure is no day at all in America! The more we push the better we’ll be in the end, right? Right?!
Maybe it’s time to lower the pressure. Be more supple. More flexible. More absorbent and less harsh. Harder is one way to go but is it the best way to go? Maybe the way forward is to adapt and be moldable. Instead of pounding things into submission maybe we are to take a page from a 4-wheeling Jeep. Slow down, get flexible, moldable, and spread out. I’d even say to not lose your grip on the road and the driver that’s taking you! High pressure is more common but it doesn’t mean it’s the best way to go down the road.
I will no-doubt be challenged on this very theory tomorrow. I bet you will too. Will we let a little pressure out? Can we try to go with a little less harsh and a little more “give”? Or will we go with the maximum pressure to bounce, grind, and crush the day and ourselves? Let’s see if less is more!
