Unusually pleasant weather this past Saturday morning: sunny and warm (If you call upper 30s warm) with a light southwest breeze. Usually an early-season bluebird day is cold and windy.
Couldn't let this kind of a gift day get away, so I bundled up and headed north to visit Grandma at the assisted living center at St. Benedict, about five miles away. A mostly pleasant run down Bailey and Wehrli Roads. The paved trails running along Wehrli were still snow-covered, however, so I stuck to the streets.
During my visit with Grandma, Mary texted and asked if I wanted to hit Joy Yee for lunch. I was halfway there anyway, so I just continued up to Ogden Ave. Bonehead mistake was to take Naper Boulevard. The street has no bike lane or sidewalk, and there's an underpass. North of the underpass, there's a curve as well, so the four-wheelers can't see you as you chug your way up the incline. Should have taken a bit longer and found a backstreet route.
But I survived the ride and had a wonderful lunch of Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce and fish-ball soup with glass noodles. Joy Yee's food is mostly middling, but Mary loves the mile-long menu and the Asian-style noise and bustle of the place. Portions are plentiful enough so that dinner is taken care of.
Sunday dawned sunny and warmish as well. Rain was predicted (and did) move in by mid-morning, so I bundled up for a quick ride. Only made it 10 feet down the driveway: rear tire was flat.
I seem to remember going *years* between flat tires. Now I've had three in the last 300 miles. Are tires getting thinner, or am I just putting more miles on 'em than I used to?
My wife and I ride many of same the places you do and always enjoy reading your posts.
ReplyDeleteAs for tire life, I've found huge differences between brands and styles. My current tires have given me over 4000 miles (and really need replacing); the previous set wore out in under 2000.
And I don't remember ever replacing the tires on the bike I had in my teens and twenties..
Thanks for the kind words!
ReplyDeleteThis last flat was apparently caused by a thin piece of wire about a quarter-inch long. I guess I should count myself lucky that I wasn't five miles from home.