そしてサイクルは続く (And The Cycle Continues)
Unless you've been living under the Rock of Gibraltar, or are just extremely slow on the uptake, then you've probably noticed that I've got a new bike.
After my original bike got stolen a couple of months ago, I took to any and every social networking site I was signed up to to spread the news about my pilfered wheels. It wasn't long before JD contacted me and let me know that she had a couple of bikes chilling at her apartment that were going unused. This is how I came into the possession of a black, orange, and grey Giant mountain bike. It was clearly older than my previous bike, and not exactly built for the streets. But after a little work I was taking it into work every day and rolling through the streets of southern Okinawa with reckless abandon.
Until two days ago that is, when old age and aggressive riding finally took its tole on my bike and I fucked up the back wheel. The only bike shop I knew of was in Naha, and I wasn't about to trot my bike from Agariham to Tomarin. Luckily for me, all it took was an email to Daisuke to find out that there was an even better bike shop hiding in the backwoods of Yonabaru: Nagayama Cycle.
Nagayama is in a small, residential neighborhood of Yonabaru behind all the snack bars that dot the 329 and near Marine Town Golf. It looks like it's run by two dudes: a really old guy and a younger yet still old-ish guy that both know their way around bikes. It didn't take long for the old-ish dude to figure out what my problem was, and after I was shocked out of my mind by the original price he quoted to me for the repair, he was awesome enough to significantly knock the price down. That is what's up, old-ish guy!
He told me it would take an hour, but it actually took closer to two. I wasn't mad or anything as it gave me time to go home, watch Avatar episodes, and walk around the store to drool over bikes and bike parts (of which there is an enormous selection). Still, because it took longer than expected the old-ish dude knocked the price down even further. And the work he did on my bike was amazing. Well, that's one way to get repeat business from me. And there will be repeat business as I plan on customizing my bike one of the days (perhaps after I hit the Japanese lottery).
Now it runs smoother and better than it has since I first got it. Big ups to you, old-ish dude at Nagayama Cycle. You're the man, and so is your bike shop.