A Damp and Dreary Day

Wow! It's been a long lay-off for me. I've been whale watching, and writing a book about it. That takes up some active time and all my computer energy.

But what better to do on this cold, damp, dreary Monday than to go up to the corner on my bike and be met by a white Mustang Convertible?!

I had to go down to the eye doctor to get some new glasses. While I was waiting, I took a cruise down Newport and saw the newly renovated Ocean Beach International Backpacker's Hostel. This has been a "destination" for travelers from all over the world (and other astral planes, as well).

And I was very amused by the skull and crutches spare tire cover on this Jeep.

And by another white Mustang Convertible, parked right in front of the cheesy apartment I briefly inhabited back some 40 years ago.

I left OB and headed towards the San Diego River.

Before I reached it, I saw another Orange Bike installation. I have seen this bike now in 4 locations around our part of town. It's always chained to a safe place, then when its removed, a little orange paint is left on the post as a reminder. Here's the answer to what's going on with the bikes.

I finally got to the river, where I rode a couple miles westward to the end. The fence. We've been to this jetty and fence before on the blog. In this episode from May, and this one from March.

I only saw one cat but I smelled more than one dog (Dog Beach is to the south 100 yards)

I watched the Privateer whale boat come in, then rode over and talked with the crew. No whales today, but 20+ White-Sided Dolphin - the first of the season.

I found today's Boat on the Street. The bottoms of the hulls are seriously delaminating! And covered with marine organisms. A good speed brake, I'd say, for the sailboat.

Returning to my own neighborhood, I took a look at the water control access pipe which is still sticking up in the street, posing a target (or hazard) to drivers and riders.

I know the valve in this access shaft ties right into the main water supply, because a few days ago they were flushing clean water through the system and out through this pipe.

I went to the grocery store, bought food for dinner (narrowly escaping the purchase of a 5 pound bag of bread flour, when I remembered I was on my bike!). I'll close with this enigmatic bumper sticker:

Sunday in the Sity

I

The road crew filled up the hole in our street. Sort of. There are pipes sticking up, open at the top - so they threw a sandbag in each hole so small 

children and dogs wouldn't fall in. 

It's a nice day but the marine layer is lurking out there to remind us that moisture is in the air. 

I saw this old house being renovated:

Looks like the builders might have had a couple (cases of) Coronas before they started work in the entry steps. Is it me, or did they miss the doorway?

Here's today's boat on the street. 

Right down the street is the best lawn in the neighborhood ...

And a trailer I'd love to own. 

Seeing The Unexpected

Sometimes things don't go the way you expect. 

That was my experience yesterday while riding. For example, this spare tire hanging from the outside of a roof rack, on the rattiest Volvo wagon I've ever seen. You've got to wonder, "What if he hits a bump? Or hits a bump while going around a right-hand bend?"  Whoever is following him will be toast if the tire careens into them.

If you are not blinded by the sun, you'll see that this shot shows sewer-replacement workers at the park. I know to expect them there. But I didn't think that they would have the whole intersection closed up while they dug a trench diagonally across the convergence of 3 streets. When I first saw the 12-foot mound of dirt and asphalt, I was followed by several irritated and in-a-hurry drivers, so I couldn't get a photo. In this shot they are filling in the hole. The mess is mostly gone.

Luckily, on a bicycle one can get around almost any blockage - by taking to the sidewalks, lawns or gutters and leaving the drivers behind.

As I rode down this nearby street, a bright blue sky framed a distance view of hills across town. This view has "always been here" but I've seldom gone down this street in this direction, and never noticed the panorama before. This photo doesn't really do it justice

At the very bottom, at a cul-de-sac, I got an even nicer look at the skies, and an even more distant view of another part of town. I also noticed a street crew tearing up the roadway below (and a stack of covered sewer pipes too).

Everywhere I rode it was beautiful - which I should (but didn't) expect. I was thinking about a doctor appointment I had scheduled for later in the afternoon.

After my ride, and successful discussion with the doctor, I made another little excursion on the ocean. It was beautiful there too.

Using the Crosswalk

I rode to the store today. In the early afternoon. I took a highly unusual route (for me), too. Down the hill, around the corner, up the sidewalk, then off the bike and trot down some steps. Back on the bike for another mile or two ...

The road surface quality was ok, and the 35-50 mph traffic only moderately terrifying. I mean it. 

After locking up the bike, entering the store and doing my shopping, I headed home. At the worst point (seen above) I took the coward's way out and waited for a signal change to cross "in the crosswalk". I made it, injury-free, and that's the main thing. 

On the way back, I saw a moderately scruffy Mustang Convertible. A new one for my photo records. "But wait (I hear you say), haven't you given up tracking MCs?" Yes. This Mustang photo is a fluke. 

No, not that kind of fluke (which belongs to a blue whale I saw on Friday), but an aberation, an accident, an addiction ... thus it might happen again. 

And again.

Speaking of water, I did spot a BOAT ON THE STREET as well, including two personal watercraft on a trailer in the driveway at the same house. 

I went home a different route to avoid gusty winds. It involved riding on gravel and dirty, walking through deep sand, getting accosted by two large dogs, and pulling about a dozen thorns from my tires.  Not much of a savings -- next time I'll probably brave those windy streets. 

Car Day by the Bay

It's British Car Day today, and we rode our bike down to the car show rather than drive a Lotus. And it's not even a British bike. Oh well.

We did have a nice time seeing a mixture of "Autumn is coming" alongside the sunshine and clear, sparkling water.

In fact, for San Diego novices, I must point out that this time of the year is when we have the most clear, sunny days. Our sunniest month is November. So if you want to be a happy tourist, come on down.

Apparently our sun-loving Canadian neighbors have gotten the word, and a couple ship-loads of Canucks stopped in while they were on a joint- maneuvers training voyage.

We saw a car we used to own (I'm embarassed to admit)  - the Triumph Herald.

And one I would like to have someday. The Ariel Atom.

On the way out of the show on the bike, we saw a McLaren coming in to check things out. It's the first one I've seen in San Diego.

But we only had time for a quick photo of it, then we were on our way again, uphill and into the wind, home for a cold drink (a blog) and a nap.

After a Storm

There are always good things about a rainstorm: clean streets, happy plants, water table rising, etc.

Here is one of those clean streets. All the dirt washed away, but now you can see the scars left behind by the sewer replacement project. Since they rarely leave those metal plates for long, we are hopeful that the street will soon be repaved.

Along with the general washing-down, there are some drawbacks. Like 5-months-worth of pollen and dirt from our trees ending up on the hood of my car, which was clean yesterday.

I headed down to the docks this morning to talk with a friend. The road shoulders and bike lane were already pretty dry.

And it was absolutely calm and beautiful on the water.

Nice, eh?

I would have taken more pictures but my phone locked up just after snapping this shot of a BOAT ON THE STREET (right in front is a No Parking sign). Judging from the debris under the tires, it's been there more than one day.

I Certainly Didn't Plan This

Today I used my bike out of necessity. I hate that. I prefer to ride with no purpose at all (click to read about the use of a bike as a beast of burden).

It started like this - I was cleaning out my office. I took a bunch of huge, heavy, virtually-unloved and unwanted shop manuals to the Goodwill. I've been saving them for 30 years. Why? Because I wrote some of these books. But they are now worth less than nothing - and they take up space. So I loaded up 500 lbs worth of stuff to give away.

But then the car wouldn't start. And the battery is under all the stuff, in the back. So I charged the car for a while, started it up, and dropped all the books at the charity shop.

Then I drove by the store, returned some bottles, bought some dinner and went out to the car, which wouldn't start. Oh baloney! It was 1:16 pm. I started walking, and was home in half an hour.

It's supposed to start raining. That's nothing in most parts of the world, but here we haven't had measurable rain since May. No rain on my walk home, thankfully.

I got in my other car, with an ice chest in hand, and drove down and rescued my frozen food and milk. Food safely taken care of, whew!

I headed for the local Costco to buy a new battery. This was the second "failure to stay charged" and I'd already confirmed the alternator was working. So an hour later I was back at the grocery store parking lot, putting in the battery.

Here's the old one. Dead. But it still looks nice, as it's spent its whole life in a nice clean trunk.

I drove my good car home, put it away, put the food away, and so on. But my second car was back at the mall. Did I want to walk? Chance the rain? No. 

I hopped on my bike for a purposeful ride back to get my car. Actually it was a nice little ride, as I got to do a section on nice smooth asphalt.

I carefully squeezed my bike into the back of my little truck, and headed for home. Mission accomplished. It was 3:16 pm. Elapsed time? Two hours. Expense to take those books to the Goodwill? $144.71 plus 20 miles worth of fuel. Convenience of having a bicycle? Priceless.

It's now 4:16 pm and it's pouring rain... and I'm enjoying a bit of Glenfiddich.