Two tired, too tired

Not all days on the bike are glorious, even in San Diego. Some rides just end in a melt down. Yesterday was such a day.

Somewhere on the paths around Mission Bay, but most likely right along the canal by the mobile home park I had a flat. This is a narrow path with high fences on both sides, so a really useless spot for fixing a bike. I had to walk it to where the Mission bay Park picks up again.

I pulled of the back wheel, stripped out the inner tube and inspect the tire. It had been breached by one tiny tiny tiny, and I mean small, thorn! I could not believe that an organic thorn that small could get the leverage to puncture the tire, but it had.

I pulled out my replacement inner tube and my tire patching kit fell out of the bag. So I thought, lets give it a try since it was a new sort of glueless patch. I roughed up the surface and the patch seemed to adhere fine. Put it all back together, pumped up the tire and off I went. And everything was good for eight miles.

Coming in along Nimitz I decided to go over Point Loma Blvd and stop at the bike ship and get a new back tire and some inner tubes. Seemed like a smart decision.

Next sensation I have is that I am riding in melting asphalt. So I stop and check the back tire and it seems ok, then I check the front and it is flat! Two tires. Lo and behold it was another thorn! Now I did not have a 20" inner tube so I had to use the glueless patches again. It held the air ok but then........ the back tire was flat again. This time I walked into a gas station and put the replacement tube in.... no more messing with glueless patches!

I got to the bicycle shop just fine and bought a new tire and some inner tubes and when I came out the front tire was flat again. At this point I was too tired to mess with it. So I pumped the tire up and it held and rode home.

This evening I have to take them both off, replace the front tube and the back tire and make sure none of those wicked little thorns are anywhere to be seen.

How many faces does Mt. Soledad have?

Before my bike trip along the Pacific Coast Mt. Soledad was the "challenge" of a local ride. I could not, in fact, make it up to the Cross at the top. To long and too steep a climb and not enough fortitude. After all, I didn't have to get over it to get home!

After the trip though, Soledad has become a regular part of my rides during the week. having built up some hill climbing capacity I am determined not to lose it. And in fact, it is now a friendly and doable ride.

But lo and behold, Soledad has more than one way up! From the top I can count at least four different routes. Two from Pacific Beach and two from LaJolla. So now I am thinking that I should be climbing all four faces and maybe even on the same day! I have done the two face from pacific Beach and today I road down one into south Lajolla (see the Mission Bay picture).

There is one more that I can see just as I leave the monument, which I think heads to what is now called LaJolla Parkway. I will do my next descent along it to see where in LaJolla it brings me out.

I have picked up a wonder long distance bicycling book called "Medal Cowboy: Tales from the Path less pedalled" It is a delight series of stories of people this rider has encountered as he has Forrest Gumped his way around the US and the world on his bicycle.

Looking back along the hill to Mt. Soledad.

A great, though humid view of LaJolla and Mission Bay as I descend along LaJolla Scenic Drive.

One mesa viewed from another as I ride up Mt. Soledad.