Kay was off to exercise Monday morning at 8:30 AM while I walked around the RV resort. Warmed up, we joined Van and Bonnie for a long ride to HEB so they could buy groceries. They are opting use their bicycles much of their winter stay here in the RGV for transportation to and from the grocery store rather than drive—mainly for the fitness benefits. Two years ago, their truck was in the shop here in the RGV for over a month and Van did all their shopping via bicycle, making rides of more than 40 miles. And, just this past summer, they rode 1000 kilometers for Bonnie’s rehabilitation from knee surgery; she rode the 600 miles with a loose staple, suffering pain on every pedaling stroke! Today, our ride took us to the Road Runner Trail (Mission Nature Park), across Military Highway to multiple intercity and subdivision roads and streets to near Walmart where Kay and I stopped while Van and Bonnie traveled the short distance to HEB for groceries. As Kay and I waited, I pulled a thorn out of the front tire, but no immediate flat. Van and Bonnie returned and we began our return journey. Along the way, the front tire began to feel a little soft, and when we stopped for a water break at the Mission Nature Park pavilion, the tire was too low to continue—a full blown flat. Unfortunately, I did not have a spare tube nor a pump, but fortunately Van pedaled back to the RV resort, transferred to his truck, and returned via truck to carry the bike and me home. Bonnie and Kay continued pedaling to the resort, resulting in Kay completing her longest ride yet—16 miles. Back at home, Kay and I took the tire to BikeMasters in Mission for a new tube, including a liner to prevent more thorn and sticker flats. Back at the RV resort, I installed the tire, and rode the bike a short distance noticing a significant wobble in the rear wheel. It was so bad, we loaded the bicycle on the rack behind the Honda, and took it back to BikeMasters where they found a broken spoke—no riding tomorrow! We wrapped up a full and busy day playing Court Whist at the Activities Center, and having a blast in the process.
Another beautiful day loomed on the horizon Tuesday morning, with a brilliant sunrise. Kay and I did our two-mile walk around the RV resort, had a bit of breakfast, and Kay drove into town for a pedicure. We were both hungry for Mexican food, and Kay had picked up a restaurant recommendation while grocery shopping. We ate at Danny’s, an authentic Mexican restaurant, and were the only gringos in the place; the food was good, but I like Diaz’s better. A call to BikeMasters indicated that the spoke replacement would not be ready until about 4:00 PM, so we returned home and Kay enjoyed a long nap. Near 4:00 o’clock, I slipped out, drove to the bike shop, and picked up the bicycle; it was good to have the new “friend” back.
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