I rode a marathon today...

March 22, 2022

... but I planned to ride farther

IT HAPPENED AGAIN today: a plan for a longer ride got cut short because of a flat tire. This time, the glueless patch (several years old) failed to adhere adequately to the tube so I resorted to my backup tube (always, ALWAYS carry a spare tube!). As with the apology spare tires issued with cars, my mini pump is really only good for "get me home" emergency pressure so I did what I could and curtailed the plan in favor of a more direct route back home.

This is the second ride I've cut short after flatting. In both cases the flat occurred not long after I traversed a section of grass. You'd think I'd learn my lesson...

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It was too bad, too, because I was looking forward to the longer route and enjoying the mild and sunnier-than-forecast spring afternoon.

My route choice was driven by my curiosity to follow up on the odd structures I saw several weeks ago, which have subsequently been identified by readers and Google image search as "juniper-apple rust" or "cedar-apple rust".

This is the "gall" form of the fungus. This particular example is about the size of my thumbnail.

This fungus has an incredible life cycle: it forms "galls" like the one pictured above in cedar or juniper trees and then, after a warm spring rain, sprouts incredible, extravagant structures that look like the tentacles of a sea anemone:

These fingers release the fungus' spores. If the spores land on some varieties of apple tree, they form a "rust" (hence the name) on the leaves and fruit. It doesn't kill the apple tree but it certainly makes the fruit unappealing.

We haven't really had a "warm spring rain" yet this year, and it's possible the galls I'm seeing are leftovers from prior years, but I was curious. I guess I'll have to keep riding this route, and passing that stand of trees, every now and again to see if I can catch the other form.

When I returned to the bike after hunting for the galls, I found the rear tire flat. Okay, no big deal, or so I thought. But sadly, it seems my record of failure was destined to remain intact: it took multiple removals of the tire before I could get back on the road.

The rest is the same old story you already know: boy gets flat tire, boy mends flat tire, boy mends flat tire again, and again... boy finally rides home.

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