bike repair...
there is something organic about taking time out of your day to work on your bike
for me it just does not happen enough
when it does it feels good
the results are more than immediate
this work needs to be done
tonight after hiking with dean and the dogs; dinner with lisa, grant, dean, and the dogs; then some chasing dean and neighbor elijah down the block on their bikes (no dogs); giving dean a bath and into bed then down to the basement
plugged the iPod into the auxiliary plug of my ten year old boom box and got to work
some very simple projects
some things that need to be done
there are only so many parts on a bicycle
a little tweak can make a world of difference
tonight was spent removing and replacing some cleats on two pairs of shoes
fuck-an-a
that shit was loose, inoperable
I have no idea how I managed to ride my bike down the block with those cleats so lose
could get in and could hardly get out
I did not replace the cleats
they were removed and the put back on
one cleat would not come off
got out the dremel and did some mini grinding
sparks were flying
I felt like a man...a real man
(all I have to do is pull down my pants or take a look at my kids to see that I am a real man....but there are other things that give off a similar effect)
it was a process....
it is done
very rewarding
now it is done
all of this has inspired me to get my basement together
set up my shop
clean up the garage
and have tools on the wall ready for action

oh
got out of work early today to hang with Dean
had big plans to ride him along behind the bike behind the trailer
once home I found him settling in for a nap
so I went and ran some errands in the big blue truck
went to Chevy Chase Maryland chasing a rumor that trash or treasure day was happening now
then to City Bikes for some chatting with this weekend's relay race team mate Mike
bought a few things....some socks and some brake pad (and some screws for the cleats as I knew that they often get stripped in the process.....in this case they got chopped!)
then I went into the garage, loaded the truck up with 4 bikes a stack of tires and a number of wheels
drove down to Chain Reaction and donated that stuff to a bicycle not for profit in the Shaw neighborhood
felt pretty good about it
got rid of some shit
put it into some use
anything is better than having it rot in the garage

saw scotty again today as I was riding home from work
I yelled at him and asked why he was not riding the bike that I gave him
(he actually got a full bike and a frame and all sorts of parts and wheels)
we laughed at the exchange
I have always enjoyed our exchanges
but would love to see him riding one of those bikes
for some reason he thinks it is too nice to work on
(that is to work as a messenger on
which is funny...I gave those bikes to him so that he would be faster and safer on the streets
surprised I did not give him a helmet