Road Kill

I was trying to make good time on my way home from work yesterday. I heard the whistle of that 5:00 train that is forever trying to block my way home. I thought I would beat the train on 41st street, but it won. Since it was moving slow, I spun around real quick to try and beat it to the 43rd street crossing. As I turned down 1st avenue, I heard the distinct sound of my tire being impaled and then the dreaded slow hiss. I found a cozy spot just next to the recycling plant and began to unpack and disassemble. The first thing I noticed was the flattened cat, just noticeable in the background of the picture of my bike upside down. I hoped this was not some kind of omen, and kept working. The next thing I noticed was the ridiculous size of the nail that was embedded in my tire. It was buried all the way up to the head, so I didn't notice until I pulled it out, that it was roughly 3" long. I pressed on. After I got everything changed, and the tire inflated, I pulled the pump off and ripped the top of the presta valve off. I don't know what that part is called, but it is the little thing you screw down so that the air won't come out. With it came part of the little metal part that keeps the little screw down thing connected to the rest of the valve. I thought, or maybe said out loud, several things I don't remember. It wasn't actually leaking, or at least I couldn't hear it, so I screwed the cap on it, packed up and hit the road while there was still air in the tire. I made it to the 43rd street crossing, and yes, the friggin' train was stopped there blocking my route. I finally made it home, and by the end of the evening, all the air had leaked out of the tire. I couldn't bring myself to change it again, so I'm on four wheels today. Oh yeah, and I found a golf ball while I was changing the tube.

Be there or be square

lip balm

It's amazing how evasive lip balm can be. I have no idea how many tubes, pucks, and canisters of lip balm I've purchased in my life, but I'm pretty sure I've never made it to the bottom of one of them. I must have looked around the house for a half hour searching for one before I finally gave up. Where do they go? I thought about the alternatives I could apply before leaving the house today, as my lips were really chapped. I've used olive oil before, but it doesn't help for very long. I thought about buttering my lips, and I'm fairly confident it would have been an effective technique, but I just couldn't do it. So, poor me, off to brave the wind and new cold weather on my way to work, where I KNOW there is lip balm in my desk.

Donkey Diet update #4 - I don't want to talk about it

up roughly a pound from last week. Of course that's after gorging myself on Mexican food last night. We'll call it 206. Although, I fidgeted with the scale for several minutes and justified that 205.75 was correct. But then a voice in my head exclaimed "Get a hold of yourself man!, yer dickering over a quarter of a pound." So I hung my head, slouched my shoulders, and declared "it shall be 206." Then, ignoring all the looks I was getting while standing on the scale and talking to myself in the men's room of the YMCA, I stepped down, and began a period of deep introspection.

company

My bike spends a lot of lonely days out on the bike rack at the Dr. Pepper showrooms. There used to be another bike that would spend the day, but it hasn't been seen in a while and I could tell my bike was starting to get a little blue. So, I was glad to see it had some company today. I'm sure once all the other bikes see these folks hanging out, this rack will become THE rack to be at during business hours, and there will be no more lonely days for my bike. I could tell it was really coveting the baskets on this new bike. We had a talk, and it was decided, one day you can have baskets too, I promise.