From Chicks and Bikes
There’s bunches of pelotons forming up in the mornings as blokes and lilies dust off the road bike that’s been sitting in the garage all winter, spring, summer and fall… Lilies as in lasses with lily white legs—contrasted with the grimy tan legs of the commuter.
Some fellows are friendly and will chat—but mostly when you catch them they squirm, scowl and speed up. Some are actually quite fit, even though they haven’t been on the bike. Others tire out quickly after trying to break away—but the ones that just smile and relax and chat for a moment are the best.
And then there’s a few good-hearted men I know now that when they see me, will slow so we can meet and chat—then they’re off again and I’m amazed at the speed they can fly.
The commute this week has been good, and riding the Trek 2.3 has made for a few minutes cut off here and there getting to the office and then home. Mostly it has been hot and over 100 degrees—but the winds have been calm.
Thursday morning I was about a mile from the Desert San, when the rear tire flatted. A quick inspection saw a large heavy-duty staple had embedded through the thick Kevlar, and then through the thorn resistant tube.
Rather than pull out the staple, because the tube was still holding some air, I opted to pump it up with the hand pump, and then ride a quarter mile or so—and then repeat. You can do this with slow leaks if you’re close to home or close to the finish of your ride. This is what I tried anyway. Once I got closer to the campus of the San I walked.
It was much easier patching the tube and doing all that in the AC of my office. After work I rode over to see Phil and Judy to have more of what Phil jokes as “fast air” put in the tire. Also it appears that the bottom bracket from the LeMond was going out and will have to be replaced. Phil had told me about that but I thought I’d wait a bit longer. Turns out I have waited too long.
I can ride okay but I need to have him fix it—with Little Egypt still unemployed, we have to stretch every dollar. It will be back to the Raleigh until a bit of extra money can be spared.
Cheers!
Bruce
1 comment:
There are worse fates than riding the Raleigh.
When I was waiting for my bike shop to get Shimano certified so they could get paid to replace my death cranks, I commuted on the Marathon for about 3 months. It was time to get back to the Nishiki when it was finally ready, but I did enjoy my time on the Raleigh.
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