In New Mexico

Bike tube weary -- 9/23/2015

It's a long story that I am not very interested in telling and it is a boring story. But I guess it needs telling Those goathead thorns that I neglected to acknowledge have caused me grief. Grief in terms of now having been to a bike shop three (that's THREE) times to deal with my rear flat tire.

1. Fort Collins put in the wrong size tube and pinched the tube to cause a slit in the tube and the flat I did not know about until the morning after whren we were in Colorado Springs. After a couple of phone calls they are refunding my money.

2. Santa Fe found the cause of my flat (the slit tube) and after much trouble (no presta tire my size in the store, etc.) patched a tube that Fort Collins was going to toss (my old one) but I took from them, just in case.

3. Santa Fe again (same shop) when my tire was flat by the time I returned to our hotel. They found a second hole in that tube and a guy drove to a different store to pick up presta 20" tubes. Wrong size tubes again which had been the problem Fort Collins had by stuffing that one into the tire and causing the pinch flat. Repair the second hole and add "slime" (tru goo in this case) to that tube for resisting goathead (which are prolific around here) punctures.

So far my tire is not flat! But, it's early. If this holds, I may take in my front tire to have a tube infused with tru goo. I will try to find a goathead plant and thorns to take a picture to post, and try to get a photo of the nice mechanic who worked on my last fix. He kept apologizing that I have had such a bad time. He says that around here they say that the state flower is the Goathead, and the state bird is the pop bottle (that flies out of cars).

 

You know you are in New Mexico when...

With my flat tire this morning we did not get our ride in Colorado so will do one on the trip home. Our only longish stop was for lunch -- where the cowboys eat -- so not much in photos today.

Our inn (El Rey) here in Santa Fe is very nice but it is hard to get a photo of it. Here is the best I got...

 

Several rooms in kind of clumps around a courtyard

 

Our front door

 

A garden in the center of the courtyard

Bette-Ann has been such a great support in more ways than one through my tube ordeal. It has been as much an ordeal for her as for me as she has been my transport to these shops and my encouragement that things will be just fine and all will be fixed and well. I'm trying to not be skeptical about that..

 

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