Ireland day 1388. Thursday 17 July 2025- Tyreing

Today’s summary	Went to the gym first thing – usual cycle/swim workout. Val went running. After light lunch, took Val to the airport for a short trip to London. On return to Malahide discovered rear tyre on the Yaris was going flat. Managed to get it repaired quickly before it went completely flat. Went on a walk over the hill and back on the coast to relax afterwards. Pop pop Spag Bol for dinner with YouTube travel videos in the evening.
Today’s weather	Overcast with some sun and occasional light showers. Moderate southerly wind. Appx 20c

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The blue line shows where I walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Hill and Coast after Airport and Tyre

Commentary

Today started uneventfully enough. I went to the gym (30 mins each cycle and swim) while Val went running. Afterwards – very much as per our current norm – we had a light lunch and coffee.

Following lunch, we branched slightly off the beaten path and drove out to the airport. Val is off to London for a couple of days, and had a mid-afternoon flight. I was back at our flats by 3pm. So far so good. But after I got out of the car in the basement garage, something – I don’t know what – made me glance down at the tyres. While doing this semi-subconscious check, I noticed that the rear tyre on the drivers side looked distinctly soggy. Hmm. I was pretty sure that when I set off to the airport it had been ok, so I concluded that it must be deflating pretty fast.

That meant I would either have to take it off and put the spare on, or get it to a tyre garage within the next few minutes, so I could drive there while there was still some air left in it (OK yes I know I could have called out a mobile tyre repair service, but that would have been hassle and expensive). So I dashed upstairs, did a bit of phoning around and, after ascertaining what the tyre size was, I managed to find a nearby garage that could fit me in straight away.

So I jumped back in the car and coaxed it round to Malahide Tyre, in the Feltrim Business Park. Luckily I got there just before it went completely flat. They recommended repairing the tyre with an (internal) Kevlar patch which at €20 was considerably cheaper than replacing both back tyres for €250 (I am told you have to replace both so you the different tread depths on the new and old tyres on opposite sides don’t cause wear on the rear differential). The job was done in 5 minutes flat and much to my relief the tyre was still fully inflated when I got back to Malahide. Let’s see how we get on. The proof of the repair will be in its state of inflation in a few months time.

After all this excitement, I felt in need of a cup of tea and a piece of cake. I told myself it was well earned. And then, to clear my head once again, I headed off and did my usual “Hill and Coast Walk” circuit. As it started raining when I got to Portmanock I just had to go into the Spar shop and pick up a cup of coffee and a croissant (they were selling them off half price as it was the end of the day). I enjoyed them in the swimming shelter down on the beach, while the shower passed.

Once back in the flat afterwards, for dinner I took the path of least resistance and de-frosted a pop pop Spaghetti Bolognaise that I’d got half price from Tesco a couple of days ago. And now I think it’s time for a cool beer and a few travel videos on YouTube. That’s what happens when I am left to my own devices. Everything goes to pot!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Tea and cake. The perfect remedy for any trauma	New houses being built in a vacant plot on Seamount Road. These ones seem to be being constructed entirely out of polystyrene

On the newly mown path to the top of Paddy’s Hill. Who could resist going up?!	Scabious on the top of the hill. My mum always used to say they were a sign that the summer was ending. Thanks Mum!

Seeking refuge from a passing shower in the Portmarnock bathing shelter. I did have a cup of coffee and a croissant to keep me company	Ireland’s Eye hazily hanging on the horizon

Soggy. That’s not a good look for a tyre. And it was rapidly soggying further. Emergency trip to Malahide Tyre called for, before it went completely flat. Running flat on the rim is not a Good Thing, apparently