bike sagas continue, now with more flair!!
so, the story of how i needed a new wheel last week. i was biking to work and the rear tire kept rubbing against the frame so i kept hopping off the bike every five minutes to adjust it. then, all of a sudden, the wheel stops turning entirely! i was about five minutes from work at this point. so i think "zut alors! get thee to a bike shoppe!" i figured the wheel needed to be trued because it had been wobbly of course and i figured it maybe got damaged one of those times i got a flat? so i walked it to the nearest bike shop where i was informed that my bearings were worn down and the axle had bent and i needed a new wheel. one which they did not stock. of course. i figured there was another bike store on the way to work, i'd go there. guess what-- they didn't have the wheel either. wtf? these are kind of, like, necessary elements here. i inquired about possibly a slightly different size but was condescendingly informed that it wouldn't work with my tire or brakes. um. okay, i get that i'd have to use a different tire/tube. that's not something you just miss. but i don't understand why the brake wouldn't work if the wheel was the same circumference. if one is 26" x 1 3/8" and the other is 26" x 1.5" i don't see why the cable couldn't simply be either tightened or given some slack (something i am familiar with, btw). am i missing something vital, or was that guy just being a dick and assuming that Girls Don't Get Mechanics?
so. i set about doing my route on foot. and during the course, i stumbled into yet another shop and hallelujah they had the damn wheel i needed. so i went back after i was finished with work and those scumbags wanted fifteen dollars for labor. no thanks, i ended up doing it myself. okay, actually they were really nice and helped me out with a couple small bits and didn't charge me because i had already said i'd fix it myself. they were pretty cool but sheesh! talk about highway robbery!
moral of the story is, i am working ever closer toward the dream of building bikes for a living or whatever, and now my bike works really really well and i'm super happy with it. some things do need to be fixedm but it rolls so beautifully now!!!
ETA omg the entire point of this post, which i somehow FORGOT TO WRITE, was that i am a giant nerd and i called alison later when i was heading home to confess that as i limped to the store with my not-turning wheel, like, sobbing the entire way and whatever, i just kept thinking "sometimes a thing gets broke can't be fixed!" and like actually actively feared that i'd get to the store, ask for a new part, and they'd shoot me and take my bike. and then alison (also a huge nerd) was all "oh god yes! and then you'd take out your gun and order them out of the store and fix your bike while gushing blood and it would be way too tough!" so i said "dude, i am not that tough. the'd get the bike and i'd get dead. ps, wasn't that supposed to be your halloween costume?" and so on. el oh el, alison: the mal reynolds to my kaywinnet lee :)
un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix, onze, douze, treize, quatorze, quinze, seize, dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf, vingt, vingt et un, vingt-deux, vingt-trois, vingt-quatre, vingt-cinq, vingt-six, vingt-sept, vingt-huit, vingt-neuf, trente, trente et un, trente-deux, trente-trois, trente-quatre, trente-cinq, trent-six, trent-sept, trent-huit, trent-neuf, and that's as far as i get. then i know that sixty is soixante, etc. seventy goes crazy and you're into soixante-dix, soixante et onze, soixante-douze up to quatre-vingts, quatre-vingts un, quatre-vingts-deux, up to the SUPER CRAZY EFFING quatre-vingts-dix, quatre-vingts-onze, quatre-vingts-douze, quatre-vingts-treize, quatre-vingts-quatorze, quatre-vingts-quinze, quatre-vingts-seize, quatre-vingts-dix-sept, quatre-vingts-dix-huit, quatre-vingts-dix-neuf, cent. those fucking crazy french, yeah? now that you've seen the way they count, aren't you horrified? srsly, it's twenty and one, thirty and one, forty and one (twenty-two, thirty-two, forty-two, etc.) but "cent un". one hundred one. not and one. though the and rule looks like it stops for no apparent reason at eighty? my goal for tomorrow will be to remember forty and fifty, since for some reason i seem to recall everything else. i will learn those and then basically be down with the counting? i mean, i know there's thousands and maybe millions, but 1)when am i ever going to reference a million anything? realistically? and 2)mille, un million, un milliard. okay?
i straightened my hair. it looks dumb, smells like chemicals, and is not worth the effort. that is all.
i found another vonnegut book in the dumpster (i swear! i am not being mean!) and i like it much better than the last one. i still don't think he is Great On Toast, but at least, you know, fairly enjoyable. and really, what more can you ask for? this may be a trick question.
so. i set about doing my route on foot. and during the course, i stumbled into yet another shop and hallelujah they had the damn wheel i needed. so i went back after i was finished with work and those scumbags wanted fifteen dollars for labor. no thanks, i ended up doing it myself. okay, actually they were really nice and helped me out with a couple small bits and didn't charge me because i had already said i'd fix it myself. they were pretty cool but sheesh! talk about highway robbery!
moral of the story is, i am working ever closer toward the dream of building bikes for a living or whatever, and now my bike works really really well and i'm super happy with it. some things do need to be fixedm but it rolls so beautifully now!!!
ETA omg the entire point of this post, which i somehow FORGOT TO WRITE, was that i am a giant nerd and i called alison later when i was heading home to confess that as i limped to the store with my not-turning wheel, like, sobbing the entire way and whatever, i just kept thinking "sometimes a thing gets broke can't be fixed!" and like actually actively feared that i'd get to the store, ask for a new part, and they'd shoot me and take my bike. and then alison (also a huge nerd) was all "oh god yes! and then you'd take out your gun and order them out of the store and fix your bike while gushing blood and it would be way too tough!" so i said "dude, i am not that tough. the'd get the bike and i'd get dead. ps, wasn't that supposed to be your halloween costume?" and so on. el oh el, alison: the mal reynolds to my kaywinnet lee :)
un, deux, trois, quatre, cinq, six, sept, huit, neuf, dix, onze, douze, treize, quatorze, quinze, seize, dix-sept, dix-huit, dix-neuf, vingt, vingt et un, vingt-deux, vingt-trois, vingt-quatre, vingt-cinq, vingt-six, vingt-sept, vingt-huit, vingt-neuf, trente, trente et un, trente-deux, trente-trois, trente-quatre, trente-cinq, trent-six, trent-sept, trent-huit, trent-neuf, and that's as far as i get. then i know that sixty is soixante, etc. seventy goes crazy and you're into soixante-dix, soixante et onze, soixante-douze up to quatre-vingts, quatre-vingts un, quatre-vingts-deux, up to the SUPER CRAZY EFFING quatre-vingts-dix, quatre-vingts-onze, quatre-vingts-douze, quatre-vingts-treize, quatre-vingts-quatorze, quatre-vingts-quinze, quatre-vingts-seize, quatre-vingts-dix-sept, quatre-vingts-dix-huit, quatre-vingts-dix-neuf, cent. those fucking crazy french, yeah? now that you've seen the way they count, aren't you horrified? srsly, it's twenty and one, thirty and one, forty and one (twenty-two, thirty-two, forty-two, etc.) but "cent un". one hundred one. not and one. though the and rule looks like it stops for no apparent reason at eighty? my goal for tomorrow will be to remember forty and fifty, since for some reason i seem to recall everything else. i will learn those and then basically be down with the counting? i mean, i know there's thousands and maybe millions, but 1)when am i ever going to reference a million anything? realistically? and 2)mille, un million, un milliard. okay?
i straightened my hair. it looks dumb, smells like chemicals, and is not worth the effort. that is all.
i found another vonnegut book in the dumpster (i swear! i am not being mean!) and i like it much better than the last one. i still don't think he is Great On Toast, but at least, you know, fairly enjoyable. and really, what more can you ask for? this may be a trick question.