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.