Five Things Friday?

I guess I will do this too...


1. Even though the weather has been much nicer/cooler than it has been for quite awhile, I've been a lazy boob and haven't really taken advantage of it. I only feel slightly guilty about this.

2. Betty had her first flat tire last night. Not bad, considering its been about a year & a half since I bought her, and she's got quite a few miles on her. After the I Street Social Ride, I stopped at the local watering hole for a few beers, and when I came out her rear tire was completely flat. Oh no! And despite my own advice, I had never attempted to figure out how to remove her rear tire (it's a little different since she has a 3-gear internal hub & coaster brake). I walked her home and decided that 2am while slightly tipsy was as good a time as ever to figure it out (HI NEIGHBORS). So I fired up YouTube and went to work. Turns out it wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be (it's definitely not a roadside repair though). I got the wheel off, inspected the tire, found the offending hole (although not the culprit), patched the tire and got it all back together again. I even re-installed Betty's front fender so it was facing the correct way. Unfortunately, 2am while slightly tipsy isn't a good time to judge whether the chain tension was tight enough, and as soon as I rode Betty down the street the next morning (which came way, way too soon), her chain bumped off before I even got out of the block. DOH! No chain = no brakes. So, I put Betty back inside and took Bikeshare instead (yay, CaBi!). When I got home from work I fixed the chain problem. I rode Betty up and down the block just to make sure, and it was fine, but I'm still a little paranoid about hitting a bump or pothole. Oh well. I'm sure it will be fine.

There's the hole in the tire. Whatever caused it must have fallen out.

The hole in the tube. I didn't have another one, so I decided to patch it.

Patched!

3. Apparently the best way to get me to buy a product is to slap a bicycle on the packaging. I couldn't decide which 6 pack of beer I wanted, so I went with Flying Dog's Tire Bite--why? Because there is a drawing of a dog biting a bicycle tire. I also noticed that the package of cookie dough (SHUT UP, ITS FOR A GOOD CAUSE IT SAID SO ON THE PACKAGE, A PORTION OF MY PURCHASE GOES TO KIDS WITH CANCER, EVEN IF IT NEVER SEES THE INSIDE OF AN OVEN) had a drawing of bicycle on it too.

4. I have a love/hate relationship with amateur group rides. On the one hand, it's always a festive atmosphere and its nice to have other cyclists to chat with. On the other, I tend to break out into RAGE HATE with all the weaving, sudden-braking, light-running, wrong-way going, WHY CAN'T YOU RIDE IN A STRAIGHT LINE FOR THE LOVE OF BOB cyclists that attend them. This might be my next post. It might be a post I write and never publish.

5. The VP of the League of American Bicyclists called me personally yesterday to thank me for my donation (I renewed my membership which lapsed as of June, plus threw in a little extra) which I thought was really cool & kind of them to do. Unfortunately my crappy AT&T cell service meant that she couldn't actually hear me, so it was an awkward conversation. Unfortunately, their website seems to be down at the moment, so I can't find her name. But if you are reading, Ms. VP, you are very welcome! Also, if you are looking for worthy organizations to donate to, the League and WABA should be at the top of your list. Also you can buy pre-made cookie dough that will save kids with cancer in your local supermarket.