A couple of days ago I noticed the rear tire of my bike was completely flat. I finally decided to fix it, because, you never know when the urge to go riding will come over you, and then you don’t want to have to wait to fix the tube.

I found the hole and patched it – the usual pinhole from a thorn or cactus spin. I even found the tiny thorn still embedded in the tire. After inflating it part way it looked a bit funny. It still needed more air, which I started adding, and was rewarded with a startling “POP”. I pulled the tube out and parts of it were shredded! Oh well, it was the fourth patch after all. I tossed the tube and installed a new one. Not a big deal, just that when I patch the tire, especially in the back, I can do it without taking off the wheel. Unfortunately, you can’t replace the inner tube without removing the wheel.

After all that, I really needed to go for a ride. The sun was settling behind the trees so I quickly changed clothes and headed out for a short run on the trails beside the local greenbelt pathway. As I left the paved path and started along the gravel in a stream bed, I had the impression that it looked a lot smoother than it felt. That’s when I realized that I left the house without changing my indoor computer glasses for my outdoor ones.

Oh well, that did make things a bit more exiting, but no less enjoyable. The sun was setting, lighting only the tips of the trees above me. Lots of deer were out foraging, most just glancing at me as I pedaled by. Ignoring the sound of nearby traffic, it was easy to imagine being somewhere quite far away…

I did make it back without picking up any new thorns or spines. As I left the greenbelt, I encountered a group of young ladies, settled comfortably on a blanket in a patch of grass, hand-feeding some young deer, while their elders (of the deer!) stood off a ways and watched.