Bicycles, Blossoms, and Geriatric Cats

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We had appointments in Adelaide so I took the opportunity to take my bike in to the original point of sale and ask them about the finer points of getting the tyres on and off.  Technically the bike shop was closed to customers on a Monday but they very graciously made an exception for me.

"It just needs patience and persistence," said Dave the bike shop man, as he coaxed my tyre to do the right thing. It all looked so easy when someone knew what they were doing. In no time at all I had new thorn resistant tubes all filled up with puncture sealing goop and I had even put the last tyre on myself and gotten it seated properly in the bead too. Which just goes to show that it's not necessarily easy but definitely do-able when you know the knack.

In the course of all this bike maintenance I discovered that the last bike shop must have broken a tyre lever while working on my bike, and had left the sharp little snapped-off pieces of plastic in the tyre to roll around and threaten the tube. In addition to which they installed the tyre on backwards which is quite difficult to do given there's an arrow on said tyre to ensure it's pointed in the right direction. Bad form, last bike shop!

I rode my newly puncture-proofed bike down to leafy North Adelaide for a leisurely lunch catching up with family and then off I went for an afternoon of errands some of which involved walking through the grounds of Adelaide University, which was all dressed up in its purple jacaranda'd best.

Errand Distraction #1: the beautiful wall arches in an inner-city bookstore.

Errand Distraction #2: Central sitting spot in Adelaide Arcade.

Errand Distraction #3: Jacarandas in bloom in the grounds of Adelaide University.

Errand Distraction #4: Wall mural, Adelaide University.  As at Queensland University, which I graced with my presence back in the dark ages, the jacaranda blooming coincides with university exams.
 

We were home by sunset to find three cats lined up expecting their food, and Grandma grizzling bitterly about the day-long lack of laps to sit on.  Oh well, sometimes the laps are just busy and old cats have to miss out.

It's a tough life being a geriatric cat.

Just dozing in the sun, waiting for a lap to sit on.


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