by Steve ~ August 5th, 2007. Filed under: Maintenance & Repairs.
In the middle of the night, as I slept, I was wakened by a loud bang from outside. The BOD’s back wheel had exploded during the night. When I woke up in the morning to check it, I found out I’d been dreaming. Even so, it was a harbinger of things to come. Took a quick spin to get cinnamon buns in the morning, then thought I’d repeat yesterday’s ride. Started up the first steep hill and PING, a broken spoke. Son of a bitch! Got back to the cabin. Enough of this. I should never have brought this bike. Two options. Drive back to town and get one of the good bikes so I can have some cycling fun, or buy a decent back wheel for the BOD. Gas alone, back to Winnipeg than back here, would cost me $50, not to mention six hours on the road. I figured I’d try the bike-rental place in town. Unbelievably, they had double-walled aluminum wheels (AlexRims), for $48. Because I’d noticed a broken tooth on the BOD freewheel, I inquired about that, too. They had a used six-speed cassette, recently swapped off one of their bikes for a seven-speed. He let me have it for $15. So, I replaced the BOD back wheel with a good wheel to let me get in some cycling while I’m up here… fully intending to swap back the piece-o-shit wheel when I get back to town… it’s probably good enough for a relatively flat, low-torque commute. Anyway, new wheel on bike, off I went. Got about three Km toward the abandoned road and Fssssssssst! A flat tire! FUCK! What the hell is going on with this bike? Repaired it on the road and cycled back to the cabin, reluctant to do a long ride because I had no spare tubes. Picked up a couple later, but haven’t taken the bike out again. This string of repairs has me rattled. This is why you should not buy a cheapo department store bike if you really want to get into cycling. They really are pieces of crap. Anyway, enough for today. The universe is trying to tell me something. Back in the saddle tomorrow. See how far I get.
Related posts:
BOD on Holiday — August 9 to 11 — 8.58 Km
BOD on Holiday — August 7 — 3.8 Km
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