Friday started out like most days here at Towerpoint RV Resort – Donna and I walked to the pickleball courts at the Sports Complex. We arrived right at 8am and were surprised at the number of people already there. We partnered for a couple of games then split up as the groups mixed. Two hours later, it was time for the 3.5 level round robin.
The guy running the round robin format invited me to stay and play. I had already played at least half a dozen games, but I decided to stay. I was happy to hear that he considered me a 3.5 level player. I think I’m at that level most of the time, but I need to improve my consistency. A couple of other players who wanted to stay weren’t allowed into the mix because their level of play wasn’t proficient enough to be competitive.
The round robin had 16 players. Everyone is assigned a number, then the numbers are assigned to a court. With 16 players, we used all four courts. We would play six games and each game is played with a different partner. It was fun but by the end I was exhausted.
I came home just before noon and had a quick lunch and shower. I wanted to put the new front tires on the Spyder. When I bought the Spyder, I could see the tread on the front tires looked good but I also saw they were the original tires. They had Department of Transportation (DOT) date codes showing 0309 – this means they were manufactured calendar week three of 2009.
DOT code 0309
DOT codes are a federal requirement. The first two digits are the calendar week and the second two digits are the year. If you have tires with a three-digit date code, they were manufactured before 2000 and need immediate replacement! Most experts agree that tire failure rate rises exponentially when the tires reach seven years after the date of manufacture. They don’t need to be used for seven years – they age in storage as well as in use. This link contains a presentation on tire age at a National Transportation Safety Board symposium.
I rode the Spyder over to Mike Hall’s shop. Mike and Jodi are away for a long weekend in California. Mike left me the keys to his shop and also keys to his Jeep. I used a floor jack to raise the front of the Spyder and removed the wheels. With the wheels in the back of the Jeep, I locked everything up and drove away. I stopped at our site and loaded up the new tires I had delivered, then continued on down Main Street to Steve’s Cycle shop. They were busy so I had to wait for nearly an hour to get the tires mounted and balanced.
The Spyder original equipment tires are Chinese made Kenda 165/65R14 tires. Bombardier Recreational Products (BRP), the parent company of Can Am who makes the Spyder, markets these tires and tries to scare us into believing they are the only tire that should be used on these three-wheeled vehicles. They charge high prices for tires that perform below average.
The vehicle dynamics of the Can Am Spyder aren’t any different than that of an automobile. It certainly doesn’t require a motorcycle tire as the vehicle isn’t steered by leaning into a turn. The front wheels steer exactly as a car would and the double wishbone suspension is similar to many cars.
The tire size 165/65R14 is an odd size. Bridgestone makes a tire this size. So does Dunlop. The Bridgestones aren’t rated very high for traction and the Dunlop is over-priced in my opinion. The 175/65R14 size is more popular and has a number of tires to choose from. Many Can Am Spyder owners have replaced the original equipment with this size. The diameter of the tire is about half an inch larger – only about a 2% difference. It doesn’t affect the ABS or electronic vehicle stability program at all. I went with Kumho Solus TA11 tires.
The Spyder front fenders are fitted very close to the tire. I had to remove the mudguards and carefully get the new tires in place. It wasn’t easy.
Tight fitting front fenders
The new tires have very positive reviews and seem to grip really well. Looking at the deep grooves in the tread, I think they’ll perform very well on wet roads.
Deep grooves to channel water and prevent aqua-planing
By the time I finished mounting the tires and locking up the shop, it was past 3:30pm. I rode over to Red, White and Brew for a cold one. It was about 90 degrees out and a cold beer sounded really fine.
I came home just in time for Donna to remind me we were going to a pizza dinner at the tennis center. A member of the Alpine Coach Association organized the dinner for Alpine Coach owners at Towerpoint and in parks throughout the area. She had pizza delivered from Papa John’s and provided salad, paper plates and plastic utensils. You meet the nicest people with Alpine Coaches.
Alpine Coach pizza dinner
We sat and told each other stories of our travels and experiences with our Alpine Coaches. It was fun, but after about an hour and half, I needed to put my feet up. All the pickleball action in the morning and running around in the afternoon had me foot sore. My S Health app on my Samsung Galaxy recorded over 20,500 steps!
That’s a lot of steps
The hot weather will continue – it’ll be another 90-degree day. That’s about 15 degrees above average for this time of year. We have a minimalist group meet-up that Donna organized later this morning. Other than that, today will be a rest and recuperation day.