Category Archives: Bicycle

Seaport Village

Donna and I played pickleball at the Pacific Beach Recreation Center (PBRC) on Thursday afternoon. I won’t be able to play again for a few weeks. PBRC has pickleball on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Next Tuesday I’ll be at the Mission Valley Surgery Center to have a minor procedure on my right hand. I developed another trigger finger on the middle (long) finger of my right hand. It’s painful and my finger gets stuck when I close my fist. It flared up at the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta where I did a lot of heavy lifting and pulling on ropes. This is the third finger to do this. I had surgery on my left middle finger in 2002, then I had surgery on my right ring finger last year.

On Friday morning, Donna went for a bike ride with her friend Johanna. They rode up the Rose Canyon bike path and up Gilman Drive to Torrey Pines (map). I’ve biked that route – it’s a nice ride. They stopped for breakfast at The Farmer and The Seahorse, a new restaurant with a nice outdoor patio. They were surprised to find an Airstream indoors that is kitted out as a private meeting room.

I mentioned before that our DHS Mobile Theatre amplifier blew. I did some research, but all I could find was a used replacement on eBay that was being sold “as is” with no guarantee it even worked. I called the original supplier, RiverPark, to see if they had any suggestions for replacing it. They didn’t show any availability online, but I thought they might know of a suitable alternative.

When I talked to their technical support guy, he told me they had a replacement unit in stock! I ordered the new unit and it arrived Friday night.

DHS Mobile Theatre System amp

I installed the unit Saturday morning and we have five-channel surround sound again.

The weather here has been unbeatable – clear skies with the temperature near 80 degrees in the afternoon. The nights cool quickly and the temperature drops to the upper 50s overnight.

Sunset over Mission Bay from the west end of the RV park

Saturday was the warmest day – it reached the upper 80s. Donna and I went out on the scooter in the late morning and rode to Seaport Village. Seaport Village is a touristy area on the waterfront west of downtown San Diego. It’s filled with quirky shops and restaurants. On Saturdays, they have an open air fish market at the Tuna Harbor pier. Local fisherman sell their fresh catch. We walked along the pier to see what was on offer.

Donna at Tuna Harbor

They had fresh dorado, big eye tuna, blue fin tuna, live black cod and a long nose skate. We also saw a stand with live sea urchins. They prepared the live urchins and made sushi to order.

Big eye tuna

Black cod and long nose skate

Live sea urchins

We didn’t buy any fish but we may in the future. We’ll have to see if we can come up with a method of cooking a whole fish – that’s how they sell them there.

The walk along the pier with the breeze coming off San Diego Bay was refreshing. Boats passed by and I was wishing I was out on one of them.

Boats passing by the pier

Off in the distance, we saw tents set up on the south end of Seaport Village. It was the San Diego Wine and Food Festival. We took a walk down there but decided not to buy tickets. Wine on a hot afternoon didn’t sound appealing.

Wine and Food Festival in the distance – Coronado Bridge on the right

As we walked back through Seaport Village, we looked in some of the shops. We also passed a carousel with kids riding the horses.

This kid doesn’t look as happy as his mother

We scootered over to Cedar Street for the Little Italy farmers’ market. We found a stand selling hard (dry) sausage and couldn’t resist the sopressata. They also had raw sausage that we might cook today – we bought a three-pack of smoked gouda sausage. The guy selling it recommended cooking it by placing the sausage in a pot of water – you can add beer or seasoning and bring it to a boil. Once it boils, turn the heat off and let it sit for seven or eight minutes. Then grill the sausage. I’m going to try his method.

After we left the farmers’ market, we dropped off the sausages at home and rode to the Pacific Beach boardwalk. It was like a summer day – warm and sunny and lots of people on the beach. We wanted to stop for a cold one, but all of the places along the boardwalk were crowded. We ended up stopping at Amplified Ale Works a block off the boardwalk. We took a seat at their patio, but it was too warm to sit in the direct sun, so we headed home.

Last night, I prepared chicken leg quarters – I used a rub I recently ordered from Amazon called Lambert’s Sweet Rub-O-Mine.

Dry rubbed chicken quarters on the Traeger

Our friends Bud and Mona joined us for dinner. We dined outside at the picnic table. It was dark by then, but Mona is allergic to cats, so dining inside with Ozark wasn’t an option. The Lambert’s rub is a keeper – sweet and salty with a kick of chili pepper.

Dry rubbed chicken with Morroccan quinoa and green beans

Dry rubbed chicken with Moroccan quinoa and green beans

We sat outside until about 9pm before we walked Bud and Mona out to their car. The air was still and the bay was like glass. I shot a photo of lights from houses on the mesa to the east reflected on the black, glassy water.

Today we expect another sunny day with the temperature reaching 80 degrees. The forecast calls for a cooling trend starting on Wednesday. I’ll be watching football today.

*Just so you know, if you follow one of my links to Amazon and decide to make a purchase, you pay the same price as usual and I’ll earn a few pennies for the referral. It’ll go into the beer fund. Thanks!

Kramer’s Best

Donna met a new friend, Johanna, playing pickleball at the Pacific Beach Recreation Center (PBRC). They’re planning to ride their bicycles up to Torrey Pines on Friday. So fixing her bicycle became a priority – the shifter cable for the rear derailleur broke on her last ride.

Donna had an appointment for her annual check up Wednesday morning so I scootered her up to Washington Street. After her appointment, we went to Lanna Thai on Mission Bay Drive (map) for lunch. Pad Thai is a favorite for both Donna and me – they make a good Pad Thai there.

After lunch, I got to work on Donna’s bike. I set up my Cycle Pro bike stand outside the cargo trailer and mounted Donna’s bike on it. Her bike is equipped with Shimano Ultegra brakes and derailleurs. The brake lever applies the brakes when you pull the lever toward the handlebar. If you push the lever toward the center of the bike, it works as a shifter. It does this by applying tension or releasing tension on cable through a ratcheting drum mechanism inside the brake lever hood.

New shift cable

I removed the old cable and threaded the new cable in place. I cut the cable to size, allowing a few spare inches. Then I tried the shifter. Oops! It didn’t work. I looked at the drum again and realized the cable wasn’t connected to the drum properly. In fact, the drum was stuck and wouldn’t return to the spring-loaded rest position so I could thread the cable through the drum properly.

I had to remove the new cable and start over. After poking and prodding around, I finally saw a few strands of wire. Part of the old cable was stuck in the drum, wedging it in place. This was why the drum wouldn’t return to the spring-loaded rest position. I spent the next 20 minutes trying to get the piece of stuck cable out. I was eventually able to grip the barely visible wire strands with a small hemostat and work it free. Once the old cable end was out, the drum rotated from the internal spring pressure to the stop. Now I could thread the cable through the drum and route it back to the derailleur.

I was glad I left a few extra inches of cable when I cut it so I had something to work with as I tensioned the cable and adjusted the shifter. Donna’s bike is back in business. The 15 to 20 minute job took me over an hour!

With that job done, we scootered over to the new Trader Joe’s location on Garnet Avenue in Pacific Beach, one block west of Vons. The new store is brighter and airier than the old location was.

After shopping at Trader Joe’s, I was ready for a cold one and went to the Offshore Tavern and Grill. I was hoping to run into Butch there. Butch won the football pool last week. Traditionally, the winner of the pool buys a round for the other pool entrants – usually on Tuesday night. Butch didn’t show up Tuesday and he wasn’t there Wednesday either. I hope he’s okay.

Around 6pm, UPS delivered a package. It was something I needed for another project. Somewhere on the web I read about a wood refinishing product – I don’t remember where I heard about it or the exact story I read. The gist of it was this – a couple had a motorhome and the cabinets were in need of refinishing. They had a friend who was a cabinet maker. They invited him over to look at their cabinets. The proposed a trade. They would give him stereo equipment worth several hundred dollars if he would repair the finish on their cabinets. He agreed to the barter.

Later, he came over and went to work. He spent all of half an hour wiping the cabinets with a special product, then rubbing them dry with a cloth. The people were amazed – the cabinets looked like new. The magic product is called Kramer’s Best Antique Improver.

Kramer’s Best Antique Improver

We have a cabinet that had something spilled on it and I thought the finish was ruined. I don’t remember how it happened, but I wanted to repair it. The Kramer’s product isn’t cheap, but I thought it was worth a try so I ordered it online. This morning, I wiped the damaged wood on the cabinet door with Kramer’s on a square of cotton cloth from an old T-shirt Donna’s been after me to quit wearing. After I applied the Kramer’s, I used a fresh, clean cotton cloth and rubbed it dry. I didn’t spend more than five minutes on it. Here are the results:

Damaged finish on wood cabinet door

Rub on, rub off with Kramer’s and it’s job done

I don’t have any affiliation with Kramer’s in any way. But this stuff is amazing and I wanted to share the results. I’ll tackle our dining table and chairs next and touch up a few other cabinets.

The weather continues to be agreeable. We should see mid to upper 70s today and through the weekend. Overnight lows have been in the 50s – perfect sleeping weather. I need to scooter over to Costco this morning, then Donna and I will go to the PBRC for more pickleball action this afternoon.

Another One Bites the Dust

Our stay here at Fiesta Grande RV Resort has flown by (map). Tonight will be our sixth night of a seven night stay. The weather has been changeable. We went from temperatures in the 90s on Thursday followed by a heavy thunderstorm Thursday afternoon, then a high of only 73 degrees on Friday with a passing shower or two.

I’ve been a pickleball glutton since we arrived. I’ve been on the court for about three hours a day. Donna played most days except on Friday when she went for a bike ride with an avid cyclist named Terry that she met here in the RV park. The shifter cable for the rear derailleur on her bike broke during their ride. I need to find a bike shop and buy a replacement cable.

I managed to get one project done. When we were in Mesa, I searched hardware stores for tie-down anchors without finding what I wanted. I needed to add more anchor points to keep things from shifting in the trailer. Lately, my ladders have been falling onto the scooter and scuffing it up. I don’t know what changed – I use bungees to secure the ladders and that’s worked just fine for two years. Maybe the bungees are worn.

When we arrived here, I ordered tie-down anchors from Amazon and they arrived in two days with my Prime account. So on Friday, I installed the anchors with #10 one-inch self-drilling screws. From now on I’ll strap the ladders to the wall. I ordered eight tie-down anchors and installed four. I’ll keep the rest on hand in case I need additional anchor points.

New tie down anchor installed

On Wednesday we had another Verizon Jetpack blow-up. The lithium-ion battery pack blew. I wrote about the last blow up in this post. This time the battery bulged and blew the back case cover off the Jetpack like the last one, but the Jetpack continued to work. I’m not sure how that happened. I ordered a new lithium-ion battery from Amazon and it arrived on Friday.

I think the battery issue is caused by overcharging. The thing is, we use the Jetpack all day long. I keep it plugged in because if I don’t have 120-volt AC power to it, the battery will run down in three or four hours. I’m not sure how I can avoid overcharging while running it 24 hours a day. Having the battery charging constantly makes the electrolyte form dendrites which eventually grow to a point of shorting the anode to the cathode. Apparently the Jetpack doesn’t have smart charging capability – it just keeps charging away until the battery fails.

We’ll pull out of Casa Grande on Monday and head down to Yuma for few days before we continue on to San Diego.

Polishing Headlights

Donna and I hit the pickleball courts Friday for the first time since we were in Santa Fe. The courts are on the west end of the RV park – our site is on the east end. As we were leaving the coach, Donna asked a woman passing by on her bicycle if she saw anyone on the pickleball courts. The woman said she hadn’t seen anyone doing much of anything in the RV park. No one came out for pickleball, so Donna and I played singles. It was fun and a good way to work on accuracy and positioning, but doubles is a better game. We played five or six games – about an hour.

After we came home and hung out for a while, I received a severe weather warning on my smartphone. Thunderstorms and a possibility of a severe dust storm (haboob) were in the forecast. I saw rain falling to the south of us and heard thunder. We had a couple of passing showers, but not enough rain to wet the roads.

At 4pm, hoping that the showers had passed, we hopped on the scooter to meet up with Mike and Jodi Hall at Lucky Lou’s. As we rode east on McKellips, we rode right into a rain shower. It rained on and off for more than an hour while we were at Lucky Lou’s and we rode home through showers on wet roads.

On Saturday morning, I rode the scooter down Main Street. The traffic was very light. Most of the RV parks are empty as it’s early for the snowbird season. I stopped at a motorcycle shop and ordered a new front tire for the scooter. Our front tire is worn and I didn’t like riding on a wet road the night before with a worn tire. It should arrive by Wednesday and I’ll have it installed then.

I made another stop at O’Reilly Auto Parts. I had a $10 gift card from the time I recycled our old batteries at O’Reilly in San Diego. I wanted to buy a headlight polishing kit. Our headlight covers are made from a polycarbonate material. When they’re manufactured, a coating is applied to prevent scratching and UV degradation (yellowing from sunlight). Over time it degrades – it’s a common problem on cars and trucks made in the ’90s and early 2000s. Our coach uses BMW E39 headlights. Ours are scratched and pitted from exposure.

After comparing a few products, I settled on Meguiars Heavy Duty Headlight Restoration Kit. The kit is complete with sanding discs, polishing compound and a polishing wheel designed to be used with an electric drill – it even includes a microfiber cloth for the application of the protectant formula once the lens is polished.

Scratched and pitted headlight cover with masking tape around it

I started by wet sanding with a 1000 grit sanding disc on a velcro sanding pad. Then I followed that with a 3000 grit disc. After sanding, I applied compound on the wool buffing pad with my cordless drill. It took about two hours – not including the half hour break while rain was falling – before I applied the protectant over the cover and declared it job done. It’s not perfect, but they are much better. When they degrade again, I think it’ll be time for replacement.

A couple of hours later they look much better

While I was working on the headlights, Donna had guests. She scheduled a meet-up through the local minimalist group to discuss downsizing and living on the road. Our friends, Lowell and Debi Hartvikson came and a woman named Cindy from the minimalist group also attended.

In college football action, the big game Saturday was the Michigan State University (MSU) Spartans against the University of Michigan (UM) Wolverines. The game was won as time expired in an improbable play by MSU. A local Michigan TV station, WZZM, apparently wanted to be the first to report on the game. Trouble was, they didn’t watch the final 10 seconds. They reported that UM defeated MSU for the Paul Bunyon trophy! That’s the problem with TV news coverage – being the first to report is more important then being accurate.

I grilled our favorite turkey burgers with special sauce for dinner, then we called it a day and watched a movie – Dallas Buyers Club. It’s based on the true story of Ron Woodruff.

Donna’s heading out for a bike ride this morning, I plan to spend the day watching NFL football.

In Search of Slime

A reader posted a question about me going back to work at a part-time consulting gig I wrote about in an earlier post. I have to catch up on Friday and Saturday’s activities before I go into that story – but I will tell the tale soon.

The plan for Friday was to scooter down to Old Town Albuquerque where Donna would meet her friend and professional organizing colleague, Hazel Thornton, so they could catch-up over lunch. I thought I would make a run to Costco. After studying the map, I knew where to take Donna, but Costco didn’t seem to make sense. Next Wednesday we’ll move to The Vineyard off Edith Boulevard (map) where Larry and Ruth live to begin our stint as volunteer crew for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. This happens to be only a few miles from Costco, so we can go then.

I scootered Donna to the Old Town Plaza where we met Hazel at the gazebo (map). From there, I went southeast to check out Robinson Park where the Downtown Growers’ Market is held on Saturday mornings. Here in Albuquerque, they call what is essentially a farmers’ market the growers’ market. Donna and I wanted to go on Saturday morning, so I thought a pre-run to check the area out was a good idea.

Donna enjoyed a long lunch with Hazel. Hazel dropped her off back at the RV park around 3:30pm. I was already back, having run a few errands.

On Saturday, we took off before 10am to hit the growers’ market. We like to visit farmers’ markets as we cruise around the country. There are always similarities, but each one has its own vibe and regional flavor. Albuquerque is a distinct case in point. The market covers the perimeter of the triangular-shaped Robinson Park with a diagonal path cutting through the triangle. There are a diverse range of vendors covering every step of the way.

Albuquerque growers’ market

Along the east side of the park, a large grassy area had a band and many people lounging on the grass.

Enjoying the weather and music on the grass

This is a relatively large market. Our intent was to meander around and see what it had to offer – not really shop. We ended up buying more than we thought we would. Local, fresh-baked green chile sourdough bread was irresistible plus some green chile sauce that we will add to pork tenderloin in the crockpot tomorrow. An apricot flan that was too delicious to walk away from. Peruvian purple fingerling potatoes, kumato (brown) tomatoes and some hand-crafted soaps. I bought Donna the cutest hat from a French woman who handmade them. I also had my share of free food samples!

We left the market and rode back to Old Town. We made a stop at the visitor’s center and then went to a shop that Hazel recommended to Donna. I bought a hot air balloon spinner ornament to hang from our coach’s side view mirror. Donna bought me a T-shirt with hot air balloons that changes color when exposed to sunlight.

Our next stop was up the road at The Bikesmith shop. We wanted to get Slime self-sealing inner tubes for Donna’s bike. I expected to have the Gatorskin tires I ordered delivered to the RV park by the time we returned. I wanted to set her up with self-sealing tubes and puncture-resistant tires to ride here in Albuquerque and throughout the southwest.

We found the bike shop but a sign in the window said they would be closed until Tuesday due to a big mountain bike event here this weekend. Another guy was looking at the sign and checking his cell phone. I asked him if he knew of another place nearby. He suggested REI several miles away. I looked at the map on my smart phone and found another bike shop four or five miles away. Off we went.

Along the way, Donna spotted a Cost Plus World Market. She knew that I was in need of my favorite martini garnish – Old South Tomolives – and Cost Plus is the place to buy them. I made a mental note of the location since I’ve been without tomolives for the past couple of months.

We found the next bike shop – Bikeworks – and it was closed with a similar sign about the mountain bike event. I looked at the map again and decided to move on to REI – it wasn’t that far now that we’d gone all the way to Bikeworks.

As we pulled off of Montano Drive heading to REI, I saw Performance Bike. They were open. They had the Slime self-sealing tubes we were after and I also bought Stan’s sealant for my mountain bike tires. The Stan’s sealant works really well, but it dries out over time and needs to be replenished and I’m probably overdue for resealing.

Slime self-sealing tube

The Performance Bike shop was about a block away from Costco – that’s how far we had come. But now we were loaded up from the growers’ market, Old Town shopping and bike shop, so a Costco run was out of the question. Since we were this far, we decided to call Larry and Ruth to see if they were available. The plan was to meet with them before we showed up in our motorhome so we could see where we would be parked. It’s always nice to preview a location when possible and decide on the best way to to enter.

They were home and invited us to drop by. It was only a few minutes away from the bike shop. Larry and Ruth welcomed us into their place and told us more of what to expect during the Balloon Fiesta. They’ve coordinated volunteer crews for the event for decades. They also showed us where we’ll be parked and took us on a tour of the clubhouse amenities we’ll have available. It will be a dry camping test – with the exception of 30-amp electric, we’ll be without hook-ups for about two weeks.

On the way back, we made a short detour to stop at Cost Plus for the tomolives. By then we were both hungry. It was well after 1pm and we hadn’t eaten since breakfast other than the food samples I had at the market.

We stopped at a combination Subway sandwich shop and Twisters. We weren’t familiar with Twisters. It turned out to be very good fast food Mexican fare and they’ll even customize a plate for you. Donna wanted a bowl – no tortilla – and they made a nice chicken chile bowl for her. Twisters, by the way, was the setting used for the Los Pollos Hermanos fast food scenes in the TV series Breaking Bad.

When we returned to the RV park, the new tires for Donna’s bike had been delivered. I broke out my bicycle mechanics stand and removed her wheels again. Mounting the new Gatorskin tires was a tough task. These tires are so stiff, I think they’re the toughest tire to mount I’ve ever encountered. I probably say that every time I mount brand new tires.

Donna’s Trek Madone on the bike stand

Gatorskin mounted

Once I had the tires mounted, Donna was raring for a ride. She headed out on Old Route 66. About 40 minutes later, my phone was ringing. It was Donna. I couldn’t believe it. She had a flat tire! She told me she picked up a nail in her tire. She pulled the nail and the tire went flat! I was thinking, when was the last time I picked up a nail in a bicycle tire? Short answer – never!

She was close to the park, so she walked her bike back. I’ll pull the wheel this morning and see if the tube is savable. Other than that, I have a full day of spectating. Formula One from Japan, Moto GP from Spain and NFL Football action. Donna is planning to scooter over to a regular Sunday morning event at the Railyards Market in Barelas where she will meet up with Centerforce Hoops to do some hoop dancing to live music.

Goatheads

We had a fairly quiet day at the High Desert RV Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico yesterday. It was windy in the morning, but Donna was determined to go out for a bicycle ride. Wind is the worst on a bicycle. It’s an invisible force that holds you back as you pedal into it. When you climb a hill, you know there’s a summit ahead. When you ride into the wind, it can feel like there’s no end in sight.

Around here, we have hills as well as wind. High Desert RV Park is just west of the city. Albuquerque sits in a valley – more like a basin actually. The Rio Grande River runs through the center of the city. Our location has us high above the Rio Grande. Most of the good bicycling roads run east from here, down into the valley. Of course that means the return trip is all uphill. At least Donna was riding downhill into the wind yesterday and had a tailwind component while climbing. That was the good news.

The bad news was that she got a flat about a mile away from our site. She decided to walk the distance back to our coach which meant pushing her bike uphill most of the way. When she reached our site, she told me her front tire was flat. I pulled the wheel and removed the tire. I found remnants of goathead thorns in the tire.

Goathead stickers (Google file photo)

Goatheads (tribulus terrestris) are a non-native invasive species that thrives in arid climates. The fruit of the plant drops in clusters of five nutlets or burrs. Each burr has two to four sharp spines. They are a hazard to bare feet and dog fur – and also bicycle tires.

I only felt one goathead spine penetrating the inside of the tire. I pulled all of the spines I could find from the tire. Then I patched the tube and pumped the tire up. Then I noticed her rear tire was flat as well. I found more goathead spines in the rear tire. I located the puncture and patched it after pulling all of the spines I could find from the rear tire. Then I noticed the front tire had deflated. I retrieved a bucket from the trailer and filled it with water. I inflated the freshly patched rear tube and dunked it in the water bucket. The patch didn’t leak but I saw a steady stream of air bubbles coming from two other holes in the tube. I wasn’t going to put three patches on, so I replaced the tube.

Then I removed the front tire again and pumped up the tube. When I dunked it, I had the same result – patch was good but two other holes streamed bubbles in the water. Luckily I had four new inner tubes on hand in the trailer. While I was inspecting her tires, I came to the conclusion that it was time to replace them. The tread surface is fine with lots of rubber left, but the sidewalls are looking thin and fragile with cord showing in places. These are handmade racing tires – not the most durable. Donna’s no longer racing and the liveliness and slight speed advantage these tires offer aren’t worth risking a blowout. I ordered two new Continental Gatorskin tires for her. These are durable tires resistant to punctures. With my Amazon Prime account, they’ll deliver here on Saturday.

Our site at High Desert RV Park

I set up the Traeger smoker/grill. Donna had the large mat under our awning with chairs out and the table cloth on the table. I roasted chicken thigh quarters that Donna seasoned with Stubbs dry rub. The Stubbs has become a go-to rub for us.

Chicken thigh quarters hot off the Traeger

Donna served the chicken with forbidden rice and bok choy braised in white wine, chicken broth, garlic, ginger and soy sauce. And it was ready just in time for the Thursday Night Football game.

Chicken thigh quarter with braised bok choy and forbidden rice

The New York Giants pulled off a win against the Washington Redkins, but neither team looks to be real threat.

We have pleasant weather today, no wind. The forecast calls for a high of 77 under clear, sunny skies. I’ll scooter Donna down to old town Albuquerque where she’ll meet up with her friend, Hazel Thornton, for lunch. After dropping her off, I’ll make a Costco run.

Sour Ale

Thursday was a pretty quiet day around here. My big deal for the day was servicing the scooter. I changed the engine oil and filter and also the gearbox lube. This is required every 3,000 miles. Donna went out for about an hour on her bicycle. Later she walked to the natural foods store half a mile from here. She was disappointed in the quality of their produce though. As usual, Ozark hung out and watched the birds outside.

Ozark keeping an eye on things

I went to the office and extended our stay here at Los Suenos de Santa Fe RV park through Monday. It’s a good thing I did it when I did – the place is sold out next week! The Thursday night NFL game was entertaining. It looked like it was heading to overtime when the Broncos stunned the Chiefs in the waning seconds to win 31-24.

On Friday morning, I rode the scooter over to the community center to play pickleball. Donna walked over about a half hour after I arrived. I played for nearly three hours. I was whipped by the time we were done! We were told about a new outdoor pickleball court that will open Saturday afternoon. I don’t know if my legs can take another day of pickleball at this point though.

On Friday afternoon, I repaired the windshield washer nozzle on the passenger side. I’ve been putting it off since we arrived here. The plastic housing where the hose attaches cracked and separated from the nozzle. After thinking about it, I decided to try gluing it back together with a contact adhesive called Goop. This stuff will adhere to almost anything. The trick is to pre-fit the parts so you know exactly how you want them positioned. I applied a thin bead on both parts and allowed it set for two minutes. Then I pressed the housing into place and held it for a few minutes. That’s all there was to it. By allowing the contact adhesive to set up first, when you press the parts together, they bond immediately. It looks like it will be a good repair – time will tell.

For happy hour, Donna and I went to Duel Brewing – a Belgian-style brewery and tap room (map). Duel isn’t your run-of-the-mill micro-brewery. They specialize in Belgian-style beers that are complex to brew and unique in taste and character. I had a Belgian pale sour ale. Sour ales are so different and can be very tasty. They are made sour by intentionally allowing wild yeasts or certain bacteria to enter the wort. Usually brewmasters do everything possible to keep a sterile environment and only allow specific brewers yeasts into the fermentation. Brewing sour beer is risky – if the wild yeast or bacteria get out of control, the brew is ruined. The sour ale I tried was out of this world! Donna had a Belgian witbier called Marcel – it’s brewed with coriander and bitter orange peel. She really liked it. We shared sardines and olive tapenade and cornichons with sliced baguette.

Belgian pale sour ale

We only had one beer each as we were on the scooter. When we returned to the RV park, it was filling up fast. I saw an unusual outfit in one of the sites. It was a tiny trailer that transforms into an elevated tent with a canvas room trailing behind. I wish I could have watched them put it up.

Small trailer transformed into this

Another unique RV pulled into the site next to us. It’s a medium-duty Freightliner truck with a long wheelbase and living quarters. It also has a gooseneck trailer hitch. I talked to the owners – a friendly couple from Minnesota. They use their RV to haul a horse trailer. They spend the summer in Minnesota, then haul their horses to Georgia in the winter. The truck is fairly new to them and they’re out for a few weeks of travel without the horse trailer.

Freightliner medium-duty truck – RV

Gooseneck hitch in back

On the other side of our site, we have two identical Newmar Dutch Stars. They’re traveling together – I don’t know if they’re related to each other. One has a Mississippi plate, the other Louisiana. Other than that, they are the same with a 4018 floorplan and exactly the same paint scheme. They even have similar name signs on the dashboard.

Today we’ll buy bus passes and head downtown. We’ll decide later if we want to play pickleball this afternoon.

Stay and Play in Santa Fe

Donna and I rode the scooter over to the community center yesterday. The Genoveva Chavez Community Center in Santa Fe houses swimming pools, an ice skating rink, workout rooms and a large gymnasium. They have a ton of scheduled activities, including pickleball on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Non-member visitors pay a $6 fee to use the facility.

I haven’t played pickleball since we were in Branson, Missouri at the end of June. I expected to be rusty but I actually played a decent first game. I thought I would improve after a few games, but I was wrong again. I slumped through games three and four but picked up my level of play again in my fifth and last game. Donna played well and we had a lot of fun. It’s a nice group of people there and we’ll probably go again tomorrow. Overall, the level of competition is somewhat lower than we found in Arizona and San Diego which was good for us getting back into the game.

We’ve worked out our travel schedule for the next few weeks. We’ll extend our stay here in Santa Fe and depart next Monday. Our next destination is Albuquerque. We plan to spend two nights dry-camped at a casino before checking into the High Desert RV Park there. We’ll stay in the RV park for a week before we meet up with Ruth and Larry for the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta. We met Ruth and Larry when we were in Mesa, Arizona earlier this year. They coordinate volunteers to crew for balloon teams. We’ll be dry-camped at their place while we crew at the balloon fiesta.

After the balloon fiesta, we plan to head to Arizona. We need to figure out where we’ll stay there and for how long. We’re thinking about boondocking at the Phon D Sutton Recreation Area in Mesa. We want to stop in Casa Grande and Yuma as well. From there, we’ll probably spend a night or two at our favorite boondock in the desert before heading back to San Diego. I’ve booked two months at Mission Bay RV Resort in San Diego beginning November 6th.

Last night, I enjoyed a bottle of Stone IPA while we watched the republican presidential debate. As always, the Stone was excellent. I won’t editorialize on the debate as I don’t want this blog to get mired in politics.

The good stuff

Nothing too exciting on the agenda today. I’ll service the scooter – change the engine oil and filter and change the gear box oil. Donna is going out for a bike ride. Tomorrow we’ll hit the pickleball courts again.

Vixens and Brisket

While Donna was out on her 28-mile bike ride yesterday, I saw a unique motorhome arrive near our site at Tom Sawyer’s Mississippi River RV Park (map). It was a 1986 Vixen. I’ve only seen this model coach once before. After they set up, I walked over to their site and asked if they minded me taking pictures of their unique coach. They were happy to have me take pictures and even gave a tour of the rig.

The owner’s name is Lester and he told me the engine was bad and not running when he bought the rig. The original engine was a turbocharged 2.2 liter BMW diesel. Lester says the coach is underpowered with that engine. He replaced it with a 3.9 liter Isuzu diesel. He says it has plenty of power now and it gets 22 miles per gallon. When I saw one of these in South Dakota, I didn’t realize the roof pops up. I said at that time that the low ceiling would be a deal breaker for me. These coaches were built from 1986 to 1989 in Pontiac, Michigan and were ahead of their time. The design was refined in a wind tunnel at the University of Michigan. This link has a complete description.

1986 Vixen with roof popped up

Lester’s 1986 Vixen

Lester is an active member of the Vixen owners’ club and attended their national rally in Frankenmuth, Michigan last year. He organized this year’s group rally which will take place beginning September 15th at Graceland in Memphis, Tennessee.

My big project yesterday was an attempt to smoke a Texas-style beef brisket. I looked at a lot of recipes and information online. It seemed like everyone has their own unique way of making a perfect brisket. A lot of the information was conflicting. I combined some of the common themes and adjusted a recipe. One of things I had to account for was the fact that I was cooking a three-and-a-half pound hunk of flat (HOF) brisket, not a whole packer brisket. This site will tell all you want know about brisket and more.

I started by placing the brisket on a rimmed cookie sheet and seasoned it with Stubb’s Bar-B-Q spice rub.

Dry-rubbed brisket

I let it sit for one hour, then I fired up the Traeger wood pellet fired smoker/grill. I had the Traeger set to the smoke setting and filled it with hickory pellets. The smoke setting is different from the thermostatically controlled temperature settings. The smoke setting is a timed release of the wood pellets. The auger feeds pellets for 15 seconds then stops for 65 seconds before it feeds pellets again. This creates smoke and the temperature runs about 200 degrees.

I left the brisket in the grill on the smoke setting for three hours. I made a mop baste by combining a cup of beer with two ounces of apple cider vinegar and a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. I put the baste in a spray bottle and sprayed the brisket every hour while it was smoking.

After three hours, I wrapped the brisket in foil, spraying it liberally with the mop baste before I sealed up the foil. I set the Traeger at 225 degrees and left the lid closed for the next three hours. After six hours of cooking time, I took the foil-wrapped brisket off the grill, rolled it up in an old towel and placed it in the microwave oven. I didn’t turn the oven on – I let the brisket rest in the oven. By wrapping it in a towel and confining it to the microwave, it continued to cook as it slowly cooled. After 30 minutes, I took it out of the oven and unwrapped it.

Brisket revealed with a nice, crusty bark

I sliced the tip off it and saw a quarter-inch smoke ring. It was very tender.

Nice, pink smoke ring

I cut the brisket across the grain into 1/4″ thick slices. Donna served it with garlic smashed red potatoes and steamed broccoli.

Tender, moist smoked brisket with garlic smashed potatoes and brocolli

Tender, moist, smoked brisket with garlic smashed potatoes and broccoli

The dinner was delicious – the brisket came out better than I imagined it would. Now I have a new favorite to grill up.

It was hot and humid out yesterday, so I spent most of the day indoors reading. Today we expect the temperature to reach 90 again with high humidity and thundershowers around noon. Hopefully it’ll cool off enough for me to get started on loading the trailer. We’ll continue heading west tomorrow.

Up and Running Again

I didn’t post to the blog yesterday because I didn’t do much on Tuesday. In my last post, I mentioned Donna’s bike ride on Monday when she rode past the Hudson Headwaters Health Center where I was. Her route also took her past the confluence where the Schroon River empties in the upper Hudson River (map). Here are a few photos she took on her ride.

Schroon River looking west

Schroon River looking east

She got to a point where she thought she might have a missed a turn and stopped for directions at the ticket office for the tour train that runs up the Hudson River. The train doesn’t run on Mondays, but there was an employee at the office who helped Donna find her way. It turned out that it was not the route Donna had planned, but very scenic anyway.

Boarding platform for the train

Train track along the Hudson River

On Tuesday evening, I made chicken leg quarters on the Traeger wood pellet fired grill again and they were absolutely delicious. This has become a favorite dish. After an hour on the grill, I basted them with a honey-maple glaze and cooked for another 10 minutes. At 99 cents a pound, this meal can’t be beat! Donna served it with sauteed zucchini and corn with red peppers.

Honey-maple glazed chicken

Earlier in the day, Donna borrowed Linda’s car and drove to Westport on Lake Champlain to meet up with her friend, Karen Dayan (map). They had lunch and spent the afternoon together.

Karen and Donna

Karen is a long-time Ironman participant. She recently finished third in her age group at the Lake Placid Ironman. She’s qualified to compete in the Ironman Hawaii event several times and is headed to the Half-Ironman World Championship in Austria in a few weeks.

While Karen and Donna were catching up, I followed doctors orders and hung out in the coach. I used antibiotic soap and a pail of water to cleanse my feet, then let them air out without shoes and read a book. It was raining, so I had nothing better to do. In the afternoon, Ozark climbed into her carrying crate and napped. She usually only goes in her crate when we’re traveling. Maybe she’s trying to tell us it’s time for a change in scenery. She’ll have to wait a few more days – we’ll pull out of here on Sunday.

Ozark catching a cat nap

Last week, Donna’s sister Linda told me their generator wasn’t working. They have a 1800-watt portable generator that they use when they dry camp or have a power outage at home. She told me it worked fine the last time they ran it, but then it sat unused for several months and now it won’t start. I figured the fuel in the carburetor evaporated and left varnish deposits gumming up the fuel passages.

Yesterday, I couldn’t stand another day of inactivity. I started my day by deep cleaning the Traeger grill. Then I put Linda and Tommy’s generator on our table and went to work on it. I removed the side cover and the air filter housing. I saw the housing was cracked where it mounts to the carburetor.

Cracked air filter housing

Side cover removed exposing carburetor

I removed the float bowl from the carburetor. The float bowl is the fuel reservoir that meters the fuel mixture into the carb venturi. I expected to find varnish deposits. What I found was worse. The bowl had rust deposits and scaly, dry white flakes in the bottom. The white flakes were some kind of mineral left behind. I don’t know if water had gotten into the float bowl or what the origin of these deposits was – I’ve never seen this in a carburetor before.

Rust and scale in the bottom of the float bowl

I cleaned the bowl with carburetor cleaner and scraped the deposits. Then I removed the main jet from the carb body and shot carburetor cleaner from an aerosol can through the fuel passages.

When I reassembled everything, I used room temperature vulcanizing silicone sealant on the cracked air filter housing. Meanwhile Tommy went out to buy a gas can and fresh gasoline for the generator. He had to go out twice because after buying the gas can, he got side-tracked when Donna texted him and asked him to pick up something at the store. He came home with the gas can, but forgot to buy the gas. This was okay as it allowed time for the silicone sealant to set up.

By then, Donna’s parents, Duke and Lorraine Connor, arrived to spend the afternoon with us. Tommy and I set the generator on the ground. I opened the fuel petcock, switched the ignition on and set the choke. On the third pull, it started. I opened the choke and the generator ran smoothly. I think Tommy was surprised to find it running like that. I fully expected that I would have it up and running again.

Donna and her mom set out snacks on the picnic table. Unfortunately, while I worked on the generator I spilled old stinky gasoline on the end of the table. I rinsed it as best as I could, but the odor lingered.

We had a couple of rain squalls kick up, so we moved the heavy table under our awning to wait them out. The rain passed quickly the few times it fell and it was a mostly sunny day.

Donna prepared pork tenderloin skewers spiced with cumin and hot sauce and added red onion, green pepper and pineapple chunks. I cooked them on the Traeger grill and then Donna brushed them with a pineapple-ginger glaze that she prepared earlier. I neglected to take a picture of the dinner plate – it was fine meal. We had potato salad and broccoli slaw on the side and lots of appetizers from the afternoon still on the table. For dessert, we had a silken tofu chocolate pie that Donna made – no one guessed that it was made with tofu! This was yet another excellent recipe that a fellow RVer, Karin Von Kay, shared with Donna.

Donna and her parents

Last night, we watched a Netflix movie at Tom and Linda’s RV – the movie was Homefront. I couldn’t give it more than 2.5 stars on a scale of five. The others were a little more generous with their ratings.

The weather looks good this morning. I plan to change the oil and filter on our generator this morning as scattered thundershowers are in the forecast this afternoon. Donna is headed out for another bike ride.

Flying The Koop

…from real estate to wheel estate and back again

Category Archives: Bicycle

Seaport Village

Kramer’s Best

Another One Bites the Dust

Polishing Headlights

In Search of Slime

Goatheads

Sour Ale

Stay and Play in Santa Fe

Vixens and Brisket

Up and Running Again

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