Some days you just have to avert your eyes and fuck off somewhere. The Abyss will still be there when you get back.
Yesterday I distracted myself with our regularly scheduled Geezer Ride. Afterward I put some new tires (Hutchinson Caracals) on an old bike (Soma Double Cross), and this morning I slipped out for a couple hours of “me time” on chip-seal and singletrack before the thermometer could come to a rolling boil, fanned by the wind.
Being a huge fan of the venerable Hutchinson Python I bought the Caracals from Rivendell the instant they started carrying the brand. And ever since I had been dithering about which bike to put ’em on.
When I flatted the DC’s rear Soma Cazadero, I suddenly had a candidate.
The 700×42 Cazadero (510g) is a great tire for the trails around here, but it can feel like overkill for the road, even our roads, especially with sealant-filled inner tubes. And one of the things I like most about the Double Cross — a 54cm frameset with a longish top tube — is that with the right tire it can be as frisky as a young pup.
The plump 700×35 Caracal (487g) felt both lively and cushy on pavement at 30/35psi, and it wasn’t too shabby on the Elena Gallegos trails, either — just knobby enough for the most part, hooking up nicely in everything save for deep sand, where it tended to swim a bit.
The Cazadero just floats over the soft stuff like a magic carpet. I can ride that tire uphill through a sandy wash, though it can overwhelm the front end in the twisty bits if you’re not paying close attention, which frequently I am not.
“I wanna go there!”
“AIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!”
Etc.
I might relocate the Caracals from the Double Cross to the New Albion Privateer, because I’ve been wanting to see how that rig fares on an occasional off-road adventure. It has a pair of Soma’s The Everwear in 700c38, a fine setup for the road (their Shikoro is even better) but slicker ’n’ snot on a doorknob, not exactly the ticket for when the going gets dirty and sharpish.
Then again, maybe I’ll buy a set of Caracals in 700×40 for the Privateer, see how the old pirate dances with French shoes.
Mad Blog Media 
I like the Panasonic Gravelking SKs. Running 700-38s and 700-32s on two sets of wheels, depending on the ride. Fast and fairly predictable, even with me on the bike. I guess they’ve now gone to 35 and 40 mm for the next set I buy, assuming I stay with them.
One of my favorites remains the Schwalbe Little Big Ben. Wire bead, armored, good on pavement, decent on dirt, stiff as a plank, heavy as hell, and apparently indestructible.
I notice Rivendell doesn’t carry them anymore. Maybe because once you buy a pair they’re good for the life of the bike? (Or the cyclist. …)
I’ve got several sets of Schwalbes, on bikes where I don’t want to fix a flat. But as you say, they are wire bead, armored, stiff, heavy, and probably the last tires you will ever need to buy.
You guys sound like a bunch of guitar players talking about what strings they use. Me? D’Addario XS for sure!
I remember when $70 would get you a decent car tire at Sears by jingo. And not too far back a set of Michelins for the Honda Element was $400.
You picked a perfect place to look to and experience again. I used to often ride into Brown Canyon from home. People would ask if I ever got tired of that ride. My answer was always no.
The ’Burque foothills are a great test track for bikes and components. In a couple hours I can get a couple thousand feet of vertical on everything from suburban asphalt to soft sand, rocky singletrack to lumpy bike path, even some nice wide debris-filled shoulder if riding next to a 50-mph highway where everyone’s doing 70 is your idea of a good time.
Great picture. The road goes on forever and the party never ends.
Man, I love that song. Thanks for bringing it up. I had a Neil Diamond earworm lodged in my skull and now it’s gone.