in the alley behind my house... the post school ride for a child can be as much fun as a post work ride for an adult


Grant getting some speed so that he can make a good skid!

a few weeks ago I was at City Bikes in Chevy Chase
while shopping for some shoes a set of blinky lights caught my eye
they did not have shoes in my size... but they had these cool blinking lights
a motion activated blinking light that goes on a schrader valve stem

I thought to myself...
WOW! this is neat... I should get this for my boys
WOW! this is neat... I should get a set of these
so I did

new gear gets us back on the bike
spokie dokes or flashing lights
a new helmet... or even those needed new tires
you name it...
these things make the bike and biking fresh again
new rain gear or a new commuter light
the investment pays itself back

I will often use this sort of trick to get my boys back on the bike
I will often use this sort of trick to get me back on the bike

Grant's bike is running fine and his tires are in good shape
I did put air in the tires and lube on the chain to both the boys' bikes when I put the blinking lights on his bike

Grant saw these lights in the morning before school
Grant took the bike into the alley right when he got home from school

money well spent.


my bikes are in disrepair... all of them... yes... all of them
well nearly all of them
nothing is ready to roll except for my Niner Rip Nine
that bike is still pretty much show room new
while all the others are a little more than a wrench away from being ridable

my specialized cyclocross bike has been disassembled for over a year
still need to get a brake boss for the front fork

enough time has passed... bikes need to be fixed
I need to take inventory
I need to place some orders
it will cost money and it will cost time
it will pay itself back by making these bicycle ridable again

yesterday I rode the Geared Karate Monkey to work
the bottom bracket is TOAST!
BURNT FRICKEN TOAST!
hopefully it is just replacement bearings...
the day prior I found the issues of the rear wheel on my Jamis Nova cyclocross bike to be ill to the point of replacement rather than repair
new bearings? the hub is more than likely pitted by this time
waited too long... should have fixed things earlier on
riding the maladjusted wheel worked things into a state of unrepairability
a new wheel may be the quick route to a happy healthy bike

and the single speeds?
both the Jamis Exile and the Rigid Monkey need new single speed free wheels
both of them are past the point of failure
the Jamis Exile freewheel will not spin while the Karate Monkey single speed freewheel spins freely in both directions
if I could find my ACS BMX Freewheel removal tool I could get on that
but... well... my utopian bicycle work shop is far from a work shop and even further from utopia

lessons to be learned
lessons to be taught

if things were in the right place
if things were better organized
things would be easier
this is true for the kids
this is true for dad

dad needs to do some spring cleaning
thin the herd... get rid of some bikes
get rid of some gear
consolidate
build a better work bench that gives a good home to all my tools

time to catch up on some repairs
baby steps... one step at at time
the list of "Things to Do" can be daunting... I need to just start with one task at at ime