Dandy San Diego

These days, we never sleep well when Trusty & Steed are not with us. But we will have to get used to it for a few nights as the boys have gone in for their overhaul, and will not be back until the weekend. For the cyclists out there, they are having their Groupset replaced: bottom brackets, cranks, shifters, derailleurs, sprockets, chains etc etc, as well as having new rear hub bearings, brake pads and the like. They will then have Shimano Ultegra triples, which is going to make life on the West coast much more comfortable. For those in our midst who do not understand bike mechanics, all of the moving parts at the bottom of the bike (apart from the wheels) are being changed, we will have more gears to choose from, and they will work more efficiently…oh, and those dreadful noises we keep hearing as we pedal along should be gone. Yay for Trusty & Steed!

So, this morning, we went across town to one bike shop to pick up all of the parts that we had ordered (where we got a particularly good price), and took them and the bikes over to another bike shop nearer to our hotel, where the bikes will be rebuilt. We LOVE the neighbourhood where we are staying. It’s called Hillcrest, and seems to be the “Greenwich Village of San Diego”. We can walk everywhere, and have the most amazing choice of restaurants, bars, shops etc. We have already eaten sushi and Indian food, and it has all been delicious. We may take a stroll tomorrow to the local Whole Foods, which is only a couple of blocks away. We may eat Chez Antoine tomorrow night!

After all the activity of the morning, we were very pleased to meet Bob (a family friend of Kat’s) and spend the afternoon with him sitting by the bay, sipping chilled white wine, eating chips and dip and chatting away. Bob then whisked us off to see the Pacific at Ocean Beach, and the shore just down from Point Loma. It was a rare treat to speed up the hills in Bob’s car and to cover so much ground in a couple of hours, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. We were sad that Janet, Bob’s wife, was unable to come as we were really looking forward to meeting her, but hopefully we may be able to catch up with them both later in the week. Thanks to Bob and Janet for their support, and for the very thoughtful gift: a lightweight, portable and flexible tripod for the camera, which will hopefully help us in future with some of those self-timer snaps…

Tomorrow, we will have a lazy day…or at least that is our aim anyway. Due to the bike overhaul schedule, we’re planning to be here until Saturday, and to head out up the coast on Sunday morning. We’ll be changing hotels on Thursday, as there is no availability here, but we’re just going to be at the other end of Hillcrest, and saving a few dollars too, so we’re happy!

Us x