Saturday Tandy Hill Hiking Thinking About Real Cascade Hiking Litter & Flat Tires

Today is Saturday. My go to Saturday hiking location is usually the Tandy Hills, weather permitting.

Today the weather was very permitting, so it was to the Tandy Hills I ventured for some salubrious high speed hill hiking.

No, that is not a picture of me laying down on one of the Tandy Hills you are looking at here.

The picture you are looking at here was taken  some time late in the previous century. I am taking a rest atop the peak upon which the Hidden Lake lookout looks out on the North Cascades. That patch of blue is Hidden Lake. We are looking east at what is part of what is known as the Sea of Peaks. When you hike high enough in the North Cascades, you see the ridge of peaks extending north and south, as far as the eye can see, looking like big crashing ocean waves. Hence Sea of Peaks.

To go mountain hiking in the North Cascades I drove a few miles east from my home in Mount Vernon. To go hill hiking in Texas I drive a few miles west from my home in East Fort Worth. Somehow the scenery I see when I hike the Tandy Hills does not quite reach the spectacular scenery level seen when hiking the North Cascades.

In the above photo we are looking west up a semi-steep trail which leads to the new Tandy Hills Outdoor Classroom. I do not know what it was about today that got me thinking how pitiful my current hiking venues are, compared to what I now think of as my Glory Days of Hiking in the Cascades, Olympic and Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Maybe it was seeing the un-scenic scene below what got me thinking about how pitiful my current hiking venues are.

This pile of litter was located at the original Tandy Hills Outdoor Classroom. Why would someone haul all this junk to this location and leave it there? Prior to seeing this mess I came upon an abandoned raincoat and what looked like a DVR.

There was no Town Talk visit today. Even if I had planned to go to Town Talk, a post-hike trouble would have thwarted a Town Talk visit.

At the end of today's hike, when my vehicle came into view on the summit of Mount Tandy I instantly saw something was wrong, due to the vehicle tilting.

Flat tire.

Another flat tire.

Earlier in the week it was the left front tire. Today it was the right front tire.

I had not yet replaced the spare that I used to get out of the previous flat tire mess. Today required some ingenuity to alleviate the flat dilemma. An hour later I was on my way to the tire doctor where something called a plug fixed the problem.

Previous to the past seven days I believe my last flat tire incident occurred in October of 1994, in Death Valley, about 5 miles from Stovepipe Wells.

How could I go over 20 years without a flat tire and now have two flat tires within one week?

The tire doctor said today's flat was caused by driving over something very sharp which sliced the tire, which is why it was rendered flat within an hour, and not fixable with a plug or patch. I have been driving to the summit of Mount Tandy for years, without a flat tire. I won't be returning to that location, due to me thinking it has become a flat hazard.

I have to say, flat tires do seem to turn into a bit of an adventure. The Death Valley flat tire was particularly adventurous....

Apparently A Flat Tire Is Like A Bad Attitude

I saw that which you see here this morning on Facebook, expressing a sentiment which is currently somewhat accurate, pertaining to me.

Except I don't have a single flat tire. I have two flat tires.

But it is not accurate to say that due to these two flat tires I can't go anywhere, because all eight tires on my motorized mechanized transport devices are not flat.

It is on my bike I will not be going anywhere til the duo of flat tires is fixed.

My bike's tires had grown a bit threadbare, tread-wise, but I thought it not too big a deal until I flattened out in the rear three miles in on Monday, trying to bike with the Village Creek Indian Ghosts.

The wheel woes began on Saturday, worsened on Sunday, turned catastrophic on Monday, like I just said in the previous paragraph.

So, Amazon is sending me two new tires, 29" x 1.95", and two 29" inch slime filled tubes. This should arrive soon and soon thereafter I should be back rolling my wheels, barring any additional mechanical ineptness on my part....

A Long Hot Walk With Arlington's Indian Ghosts While Strangling My Handlebars

Why am I gripping the throat of my handlebars you are sitting there wondering?

Well.

Around noon I headed to Arlington to the Village Creek Natural  Historical Area for my regularly scheduled Monday bike ride with the Indian Ghosts.

All was going well as I rolled merrily along.

And then as I was almost at my turn around point, that being the furthest from the motorized vehicle which brought me and my bike to Arlington, as I braked slightly going down the dip that goes under the Green Oaks Boulevard bridge over Village Creek, I knew I was in bike  malfunction mode.

I came to a stop, got off the bike, poked the front tire, no problem, poked the rear tire, big problem.

Flat tire in the making.

So, I began the long walk back to air-conditioned comfort. An almost three mile walk, with about half out in the open, with no shade.

I don't know how many gallons of water I leaked as I walked along, but I was dripping profusely. The bike's water bottle holds 30 ounces, I think. The backup bottle back in my vehicle holds 40 ounces. All gone by the time I got back to a tap water source of hydrating.

I have not yet done a forensic exam on the failed bike tire to determine the cause. I'll likely put that off til tomorrow.

It has been a long time since I had to walk an injured bike a long distance. If I remember correctly the previous incident occurred way back in 2005 or 6. I was at the 6 mile mark on the River Legacy Park paved trail, which put me about 4 miles from the nearest road. It  was extremely HOT. I did not have much water. I called for help, which had a rescue team rescuing me at where the trail intersects Collins Street.

Today I did not feel like calling for help. First off because three miles isn't all that far, even when pushing a broken bike.  And second off, I would have had trouble directing any of the directionally challenged people whom I might call to drive to Interlochen to find me on the Bob Findlay Linear Park trail.

Maybe I need to consider finding a new source of endorphin inducing aerobic stimulation. Returning to roller blading perhaps?

Feeling Flat Had Me At Town Talk Early Finding Lobster Bisque

That would be the front tire of my bike you are looking at, sitting on the patio overlooking the swimming pool where I had myself a mighty fine time this morning.

After that mighty fine time early this morning the time following that has not been so fine.

Around 11 this morning I rolled my mechanized wheels to Gateway Park hoping to roll my human mechanized wheels a couple loops around the mountain bike trail.

All was going well until I discovered the aforementioned front tire was flat.

One would think I would keep a patch kit on the bike, or in the bike transporting vehicle, but I never remember to do so. Maybe I will remember after this incident.

So, with the bike ride aborted by a flat I was off to Town Talk much earlier than the Saturday norm. I had no problem finding a parking spot at Town Talk today, unlike recent Saturdays.

Today my Town Talk treasure hunting yieldied a big bag of apples from Yakima. Yakima is a town in Eastern Washington. In addition to the apples I got a package of 100% pure beef hamburger patties, flour tortillas, extra sharp white cheddar cheese, red onions, organic milk, smoked sausage and lobster bisque.

I have had lobster a time or two, but never in its bisque format.

I guess I will go fix a flat now....

Allergy Woes Whilst Hunting For Inner Tubes In Texas

You are looking at the September 18 early afternoon view from my patio viewing portal on the outer world.

I had a rough night, last night. Allergy misery. I managed to have a bout or two of actually sleeping.

Soon after the sun was up, so was I. I thought a dip in that turquoise water you see in the picture might be a good thing.

It was.

The allergy woes, currently, seem to be a low ebb. I've not felt the urge to medicate for hours.

Changing the subject from one type of feeling flat, to another type of feeling flat.

Several days ago I found that the front tire on my bike had gone flat. I was at Super Walmart that very day and found Super Walmart not being too super. All sorts of tire tubes were available, many in obscure sizes I'd not seen before. But none in the 26" mountain bike size, which is usually the size there is the largest supply of, likely due to there being the biggest demand for that size.

This morning I went to the store on the opposite side of the I-30 freeway from Walmart, a store called Target, to return a failed bike bag and to see if Target had a bike tire they wanted to sell me.

Target had way fewer tube choices than Walmart. There were a couple of the Schwinn variety with the slimed, no flat feature. I put one of those slimed no flat tubes on my bike's rear tire when the new tube went flat the day after I bought the bike. It was really difficult to stick the slimed tube in the tire. I did not want to go that route again.

After the Target tube disappointment I drove to the other side of the I-30 freeway to go to the aforementioned Walmart because I needed a jalapeno for the re-fried beans I was slow cooking, and some other stuff.

Upon entering Walmart I headed first to the tire tube area. There was a fresh supply of tubes. Many still in obscure sizes, plus many with the slime, no flat feature.

Then I noticed all the tubes boxes said "Schrader Valve" on them. Does Walmart sell any bikes with tubes using a Schrader Valve? My bikes have always used Presta Valves. My only experience with a Schrader Valve was on someone else's bike, with the person having a lot of woes with his tire tubes.

As I stood forlornly looking at Walmart's tube selection I saw there was one non-Schrader Valve choice. A  Bell brand tube, which was the correct 26" size, Presta Valve. But with that annoying supposed flat preventing slime in the tube.

I decided to buck it up and not risk this being my only chance to ever find a replacement tube that works and and so I got myself a new slimed tire tube that I am dreading installing.

I think I will drag my bike into air-conditioned comfort to perform the operation. But not right now.

Mechanical Bike Dysfunction & A Walk Around The Green Slime Of Fosdic Lake

The Growing Green Slime On Fosdic Lake

I am not a mechanically inclined individual. This fact was freshly made clear to me this morning when I tasked myself with replacing an inner tube in a bike's rear tire.

The wheel came easily off the bike. The flat inner tube came easily off out of the tire.

And then the fun started.

I had trouble getting the new inner tube around the rim. Eventually I managed that. And then I started having trouble getting the tire to seat around the rim.

Eventually I overheated and hauled the vexing tire to an indoor location with air-conditioning. At that location I also had Internet access, so I Googled "mountain bike tube installation" and got myself some directions. From that point on it was only a half hour or so til I had the wheel back on the bike.

One thing I learned during this morning's ordeal was that working on a tire is aerobic exercise when one is an inept bike mechanic.

By the noon time I needed some peaceful walking time, so I went to Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdic Lake.

The green algae Fosdic Lake covering has grown larger since my last visit. And the duck population has decreased to just a few ducks from the 10 or 11 ducks I saw on my last visit. And I saw no turtles in Fosdic Lake today.

The Fish Consumption Advisory signs around Fosdic Lake currently seem a bit unnecessary. Would anyone eat a fish caught in this currently ever greener lake?

Suffering In Texas With A Flat Tire And Other Possible Ailments

That is my bike in pieces you are looking at. My therapist, Dr. L.C., insisted I take a break from being a webpage making machine.

I decided to take my doctor's advice and go pedal the mountain bike trail at River Legacy Park. I knew a bike teeter totter has been added since I last biked there.

I saw the bike teeter totter, clearly visible from the mountain bike parking lot. But I did not bike over it. Nor did I bike out of the mountain bike parking lot.

When I pulled my bike out of my vehicle it was quickly obvious that the front tire was totally flat. Flat front tires are easy to fix. Usually I have at least one spare tube. Today I had none.

So, the River Legacy Park Mountain Bike Trail Ride was aborted.

On my way back here I dropped in at my neighborhood Wal-Mart Supercenter to get a couple inner tubes. Among the tubes was a new one, that for $19.99 a tube, guaranteed the tube to be flat-proof. I've fallen for that before. But not this time.

When I got back here I quickly switched out the tubes. It was one of those goathead thorns that had killed my tube.

After getting the tire with the new tube back on the bike, my next calamity was my tire pump broke. The part of the pump that pushes in the valve, ceased pushing.

So, a new pump must be acquired before I am back in ride mode again.

I found out a few minutes ago that I likely will be quite sick soon. One of the Washingtonians, who I had lunch with on Tuesday, is now in American Falls, Idaho, deathly sick. On Tuesday there were 2 hugging instances, once upon arrival, once upon departure. There was also some fairly close talking in the restaurant.

My throat is already a little sore. But that may be from the green tea I'm drinking right now.

I can not remember the last time I've been sick with anything, so I am way past due. I don't know what happened to me on Tuesday that caused me to drop my usual aversion to germ-spreading unnecessary hugging.

Near Death Experiences

There are bad days. And then there are even worse days. Today fell into the latter category. As in Near Death Trauma type bad day. Combined with having to go to the airport to get a militant Puerto Rican.

I don't know if I'm going to muster the energy to stay up til 8 to watch El Presidente give his last State of the Union speech. Last based on assuming, of course, that he does not stage a coup near the end of his term and declare himself President for Life.

So, I needed to be at the airport by 2 to get the aforementioned Puerto Rican. About 11am I decided to go back to Oakland Park. It's about 3 miles from here. I was driving, singing along with Pink about what I could do with my hand tonight, when suddenly my van started making a horrible noise. And shuddering. I quickly pulled off the road into a parking lot.

Flat tire.

No problem. I've had a flat tire before. In Death Valley, back in 1994. Same vehicle. I really hate to shop for cars. I recollect the same problem that time. As in we could not figure out how to get the spare tire loose from the thing that held it to the underside of the van. Luckily that time I was traveling with a group of 6, two of whom were in another van. Their spare fit mine. So, no problem, we drove the 5 miles to where we were staying that night, Stovepipe Wells, and then the next day got the tire fixed in Bishop, California, where Lulu found us a great place to have lunch. Yes. Lulu was along on this trip.

So, what to do. I'm stranded, I can't get my spare. But I did have my bike. So, I got the bike out and head back here where I could get another car. The only route back to here is through this zone called Boca Raton. Boca Raton being an extreme high crime area with gangs and random murders. The pedaling was being real difficult and then I realized my rear bike tire was low. I pedaled now in fear of an eminent bike tire flat. I make it back here to find the other car would not start. After fiddling with the ignition it finally ignited. Then I drove back to the van and took off the tire.

I was running out of time to get to the airport. I called one of the Puerto Rican's other friends to see if she could run to the airport. She couldn't.

So, I get to the tire store. Bought 2 new tires. The tire guy put the new tire on the rim. I headed back to the van, certain it would be stripped to total nakedness due to the bad area it was stranded in. But it wasn't.

I got the new tire back on the van. Now I had a new problem. I had 2 vehicles. I did not want to leave one behind. I called for help and got another driver. It was now coming up on 2pm. I'd not had lunch. I was dirty. I had grease on my hands. I should have been at the airport.

And then the phone rang. It was the Puerto Rican, already on the ground, waiting. I told her it would be a half hour. She didn't seem too annoyed. And she seemed relatively sober.

I was finally on my way to the airport, had dodged the possible much worse outcome of having a tire blow out at freeway speeds where I could easily have lost control and ended up toasted in a fiery multi-car accident. Little did I know, as I drove onto the airport property, that I was heading towards an even bigger, toasty, fiery, blowout.

I got to Terminal C, drove to Arrivals, easily parked and saw the Puerto Rican standing on the sidewalk waiting to be picked up, talking on her phone.

So, I'm thinking this has all worked out well. I walk across the street, certain she has seen me. I walk up to her. She pays no attention to me. Her luggage with wheels is sitting next to her. So, I wheel off with it and head to the van. Certain she'd see me. I look back after I cross the street and she is still just talking away.

I put her luggage in the van and as I slam the door shut I hear an eruption of screaming "help, police, I've been robbed". A couple of women next to her were laughing and pointing at me. And that's when the Puerto Rican got real loud. And it was all in Spanish.

She got mad at Arnold Swarzenegger once for saying that Puerto Rican's were angry people with bad tempers. I told her, uh, you are angry people with bad tempers. And she goes, well, that may be true but he shouldn't be saying it.

Anyway, those were the two explosive events in my day in Texas this fine January day, both violent, both life threatening and both likely preventable with better maintenance and attention to details.