? I have a handle on it, sort of. | Main | Plans ?
April 25, 2005
My day in the rain
It wasn’t raining when I left the house this morning but I got a little wet riding in to work. I had a rain jacket on so my upper body was fine but the tops of my legs got a little wet. After I got inside it took about an hour for my pants to dry completely. It’s a good thing I didn’t have a meeting this morning. But then again, If I did, I would have put the whole rain suit on or packed a dry change of clothes to put on when I arrived. Oh well, I didn’t melt and the ride was very pleasant. Oh that reminds me... I didn’t put my Kool-Stop brakes on yet and that laziness made my commute a little less safe in the rain.
At lunch time I decided to go to the bike shop to get two new tubes for that bike I found. Both tires had slow leaks and this morning I found them both flat. I saw the problem was that both tubes were installed improperly and holes developed on the sides of the stems. This created a slow leak, so that’s why they didn’t go flat while I rode it the first time. Also whoever installed these tubes had them twisted and folding over themselves.
Attention all bicycle owners: Changing an innertube is a good skill to know how to do! It can save a lot of grief later down the road.
After hanging out at the bike shop during my lunch hour, I was out of time to eat. It was fun though. After work I went outside and changed the tubes in that bike. Now they are in good shape to ride on. All I have to do is clean it up. It’s kind of dirty. Then I think I will put this 3 speed near a busy bus stop with a “Free” sign on it. Or park it by the homeless shelter, or something. It’s a good little bike and rides nicely.
After I fixed those tires, I began my ride home on my Schwinn 5-speed. I had installed a new headlight on my helmet and some kid was making fun of it as I rode by him. I just laughed and kept riding. I looked in the mirror when I got home and I do kind of look like a miner with that thing on! Then I laughed too. On the way home my five-speed all of a sudden wouldn’t shift into the lowest gear for the big hill. So I stopped and adjusted the rear derrailluer so it shifted properly. I wondered how it got out of whack. All I’ve been doing is riding it to and from work. Must be like a Harley where parts vibrate loose as it’s been ridden or in this case, vibrate out of adjustment.
When I got home I didn’t feel like working on anything so I read some blogs, made a couple of comments, talked to my brother on the phone, talked to my mom on the phone, sent some email replies and sat down to write this. And here I am. It was a rainy day but somehow it didn’t seem like that mattered. I still got a lot done and I still rode my bicycle to and from work.
Did I mention that I also had a motorcycle? Last week I gave it away. And next week my Jeep will be gone. It won’t matter though, because I’ve already been riding my bike almost everywhere I go. For some events like the Iron Crotch bike ride I did in Stillwater on Sunday, I’ll have to ride my bike to or find a different way to get there, or not go to things like this. I’m with Jim in not wanting to drive to events. It might make some bike races interesting. How much energy does a person need? My activities will probably get moved closer to home starting next week or I’ll have more interesting adventures to talk about. Either way it’s a win-win situation for me. It is because of the car that we have become so spread out and spread thin. I remember driving my children all over the cities to play with their friends or take music lessons or go to gymnastics or soccer practice. Nothing was done in our own neighborhood it seems.
One more week until I cut the dependency on my motorized vehicles. Of course my wife and daughter will still have their cars but I think I’ll not ask them to give me rides unless we are going somewhere as a family and they have a reason to go themselves.
Another rainy day that turned out nicely.
Posted by carl1236 at April 25, 2005 10:20 PM | Attitude
Comments
How exciting to move towards even more bicycle-dependency. As one of my college teachers used to say before every test: Good luck and have fun! :)
If you have a quick-release on your rear wheel, it could be your wheel is shifting slightly in the frame causing the cogs to be slightly misaligned with the derailer.
Posted by: nathan at April 26, 2005 02:23 PM
Haha, just to make sure I can still walk on two legs I went out for a run today. And yesterday I walked to the bike shop instead of riding my bike, hehe. Anything can be a dependency if our minds think there is no other option, you are right. I might have to have my bike surgically removed though after this month! ;-)
Thanks for the tip on the derailer. It's not quick realease on that 1971 Schwinn Suburban 5-speed, but I have not checked the alignment of the wheel. I'll do that.
Posted by: John at April 26, 2005 03:24 PM
I'm glad I went to the BB and headset class. Nice to see you again, John. Now I just need about $80 of tools and I can overhaul my own BB and headset!
Posted by: Dan at April 26, 2005 10:24 PM
Or ride your bike to the community bike shop and do it there! That's one of the features of a community bike shop.
Posted by: John at April 27, 2005 05:51 AM