Day 25 – Carlsbad to San Diego – That Aught To About Do It

Day 25 – Carlsbad to San Diego – That Aught To About Do It

While it is a minor technicality, Carlsbad is not “San Diego”.  It is very near San Diego but it is not San Diego.  That and the fact that I wanted to ride through Encinitas and Del Mar caused me to hop back on the bike today.  I’ve never been to Old Town San Diego so that was my destination.  It was a nice 55 miles coastal ride with a couple of climbs.  All good unless I find myself on the bike tomorrow.  If that happens perhaps it is time for an intervention.

The stay with my sister and her family; Tom, Christian, and Gianna has been very nice.  It's been great to catch up with them and their kids again.  They have been very hospitable and sporting as that my arrival coincides with the arrival other guests in their home; Melissa and Nina, my brother's wife and daughter, and a friend of my sister's, Joanne.  They have a houseful.  

Here is a link to today’s ride:  http://www.movescount.com/moves/move36664370

Photos

First, let's start out with my youngest daughter, Mia's hummingbird.  She has been taking art classes and as you can see, she is the next Frida Kahlo.  Now, we just have to work on that eyebrow ;-)

Well, it finally happened.  A flat.  It was destined to happen today with the extra day of riding and how worn the rear tire was. 

I've been planning this for over 1400 miles.  Now, I get to show my friend, Meghan M how to change a flat.  

That nail was the culprit.  I ran over the head and it snapped up like a bottle cap into the bike.  In fact, because of the impact and sound at I thought the problem might be with my chain and derailleur 

The first thing to do is to take a deep breath, accept that you have a flat, and are going to be on your bike ride a little longer than anticipated.  If you are really good at changing tires and it is the front tire, it will take 5 minutes.  The whole job won't likely take more than 15.

The next thing is to do, if you have V brakes, is to disconnect the brake, get everything off the bike, and turn it upside down.  Take care to protect the resting points (brake handles, seat).  As you can see on the left side of the photo the chain is on the largest ring of the rear cassette.  You want to get that moved over to the to the small ring by shifting.

Like this.  Hard to see but make sure the chain is as far to the side of the bike frame as possible. 

Make sure you have the tools you will need.  Multi-tool pump, tire levers (Pedro's are nice), an inner tube (don't waste time patching on the road when you can just throw a new tube in and patch later), and latex gloves (you are going to get greasy)

Open the skewer (the skewer goes through the axle).  Closed

Open.

On the opposite side of the skewer is a nut. It is easier to turn that than the flat aluminum pc on the other side (Closed, Open shots).  It is hard to see but there is a black nut right under the silver circle (part of the derailleur). Turn it counter clockwise and it will loosen and so you can pull the wheel out. 

Place the levers between the rim and the tire

Leaving one in place and move the other around the rim to pop the tire off

In this case, I had to replace the tire at the same time.  Most times you won't need the tire, let alone have one with you.  I'm touring so I had one with me.  

If you are putting on a new tire, make sure you figure out which way the wheel should spin.  This one did not have a mark (usually an arrow on the side of the tire) so I figured it out from the tread pattern.

Place the new or existing tire back on the rim one side at a time, leaving one side open so you can insert the tube. 

Start the tube by placing the stem in the hole and loosely threading the nut on to hold it in place.  

Once you get the tube inside, start placing the tire into the rim.  This can be challenging at times but it really is pretty easy. 

Thread the pump head on to the threaded stem and fill the tube with air.  Most good portable pumps will do a good job filling the tube (Lezyne pumps are really good), it will just take a little while because of the size.  If you know of a bike shop nearby, you can fill it to firm and peddle over there to to finish off the job. 

When placing the wheel back in place pick up the chain and place the smallest cassette in front of the derailleur.  In this photo it is easy to see the black nut on skewer at the end of my two fingers.  

Don't forget to reconnect you brakes or you might have in a surprise on your next hill. 

All done and ready to go!

Joe M - Look it's Swami's.  Remember?  This time it would have been a lot easier to get out. 

Swami's!

Heading into Carmel Valley and then back up to Torrey Pines

Some cool sandstone formations at the hill in Torrey Pines

Old Town San Diego.  Feels a lot like San Antonio

The hotel

Nice little courtyard

The church

Look, Mia! Selena has a little jewelry store in San Diego.  I wonder if there are any cool things inside??

In addition to my flat today, I ripped my favorite riding shorts.  I've had them since I started riding.  I'm taking them home and gonna patch them up, good as new.

A photo of me crossing the finish line in 

Carlsbad.  Courtesy of my sister, Joanne.