I Need A Shim

I woke up before the sun and was eager to get out and ride. I was feeling strong and ready to roll. I really need to find where I put my lights and charge them up for times like this. It took the sun forever to rise today.
 I've been going around the same few blocks in my area forever making sure Lucy and I wasn't going to have a malfunction. It was time for something new.

I'm running out of neat thing to take pics of, but this is pretty neat!

After swooping around the neighborhood for a bit I decided to try the bike path. Its entrance is right by the park I like to stop at and has some nice tile murals. I hadn't been there in years, literally, and I remembered it was a little hilly and had a fun underpass. This would be great!

I snapped a pic and off we go.

One of the murals.

I was feeling fast so I put my weight on the bars to really try to pick up speed and wham!

The handlebars slipped and my soft bits slammed into the nose of my seat. My feet flew off the pedals as I choked back a yelp, swerving like a lunatic. I'm glad I wasn't on the road! I hit the brakes and danced around for a bit trying to calm things down. I'm glad no one was around to see it! That really hurt!

The bars had only moved an inch down but it was scary. So much for the bike path today.

 I remounted and rode home careful not to put weight on the bars. I tried to wrench them back into position  but they wouldn't move. Apparently they only do that when I don't want them to.

Saw this on the slooow ride home.

Once home they were still not budging again and I had to loosen the bolt to move them back into position. The bolt won't tighten any further, but I'm worried about a repeat performance so I need a shim. I have a ton of rubber ones, but will consult Husband to see if a metal one would be better.

Just when I think it's safe to leave the neighborhood! 

Another Beautiful Day, Another Skewer Failure

It was a good ride, but I don't think the locking skewers are going to work out. Once again I stopped, this time to take a pic of this neat mailbox and the tire slipped.

I had the tool with me and fixed it and all was fine until I stopped again for this cool railroad mailbox. So I fixed it again.

I was only a couple of blocks from home so I walked Lucy just in case. That's when I saw this cool radiator mailbox.

Riding my bike is helping me see so many cool and interesting things and I'm going places that I would never walk to. I would never walk through alleys because you never knew what might be in them, now I just zip right through. I'm finding pockets in my own neighborhood I never knew existed! It's fantastic!

Once I got home I took the locking skewers out and compared them to my quick release ones. The gripping part of the Forte skewers is much smaller and it's just a ridged washer made of aluminum. It's not steel on that part and doesn't have much texture to it. They are going back to the store tomorrow, it's to bad I tossed the receipt but at least I'll get store credit. 

On a happier note I ordered the saddle and it should be here Wednesday or Thursday! I can't wait to try it out!

That Was Fun(ny)!

I took yesterday off from the bike and my butt felt much better for it. Today's ride started out great. I saw the beautiful gate. Waved to my neighbors as we flew by and it was tons of fun.

I like it!

About a mile from home I saw this inviting alley and had to go down it. There were lots of dogs behind the walls. Nothing like phantom dogs to make you pick up speed fast! I left the nice alley behind, but we will be back!

It's almost a paved!

Laughing at myself and enjoying the breeze we pulled over to a curb to get a drink. So far this was the best ride yet! The air was crisp, Lucy was rolling great and it was perfect. A pigeon yelled for us to move on so I mounted up couldn't go anywhere.

Lucy wouldn't move.  I was worried that I had broken her and almost freaked out. I'm not a small woman, I'm short at 5'2" but hefty at around 250lbs so it is possible for me to break things if I'm not careful.

Then I noticed the problem. Her rear wheel was rubbing the frame and had wedged there, it had come unseated and was not going to move. My husband had  fitted her with locking skewers so when I am able to go to the store I wouldn't worry about her tires being stolen. I guess they weren't on quite tight enough and bouncing out of the alley had shaken the tire loose. I'm glad it happened when I stopped. It could have ended in a crash and damage to me, Lucy and whatever I hit!

Wheels don't go like that!

I reached into my pocket and didn't find the tool to fix the wheel. Silly me, I didn't have the tool with me to unlock it and reset the wheel. I had left it at home on a bookcase. 

For want of a tiny tool, that is now on my keychain, I had the dubious pleasure of carrying Lucy home. 

This now lives on my keychain!

Thank goodness it was less than a mile, and that alley had put us closer to home. We must have been a sight, me marching stoically while carrying my fallen steed across my chest. She isn't light and weighs about 35 lbs. Once I get the folding baskets I ordered she'll be even heavier so I'm glad it happened now. I have learned an important lesson, always have at least a mini-tool with me! And when you get something that fits on your keychain it does so for a reason, put it there!

On the plus side I got to tinker with her a little more and I had forgotten just how much fun that can be.

I killed my shredder

Last night while disposing of old checks to an account I closed I killed my shredder. It made the most horrible noise, a cross between bad brakes and a lion roar and wouldn't go any more. That shredder had been with me for over two years. It faithfully ate everything I fed it and happily growled for more. I killed it by over feeding it.
Now it sits in the trash can to be recycled. It was a good and faithful friend who destroyed my mistakes and obliterated my junk mail.
It will be missed.