What's For Afters?

Bad blogger, busy blogger

I am a bad blogger. I post infrequently. I don't finish off things I start - to whit I still have to note down a whole heap of proms concerts.

Tonight for some reason I am minded to witter.

My beloved bike is broke. For years I hankered after a proper old fashion bicycle with a basket. I was a student at Oxford for goodness sake, surely I should have had one there, with the basket piled up with books, riding it with my gown flying. But no, I had a racer that I'd had at school. And we didn't go in for gowns much in my college - I wore my to the signing in ceremony at the Bodleian library, to matriculation and during my Finals. Probably during my Prelims as well. That was it. No having to dine wearing them.

Anyway, back to the point. Last year after the demise of the bike I'd been riding, which was actually my mother's old one, a Raleigh racer from the 1980s (my teenage/student one had rusted to bits due to being stored in the first the damp garage and then the greenhouse at my parents. -no, I have no idea why they put it in the greenhouse either) I stumbled across a fabulous reconditioned old thing at the amazing Bikeworks social enterprise. It's dark green and has a huge basket and a fully enclosed chain and back pedal brakeing. You sit very upright riding it. It feels very stately. It's also bloody heavy which I didn't realise when I bought it. The merest slope feels like a hill. Grannies on zimmer frames zoom past me. Cycle couriers and the zippy lycra lot get really, really frustrated with and aggressive towards me. But I loved it.

However it is a problem when the chain comes off. The first time this happend the lovely people in the office below where I was working at the time all swarmed round to try and help me. We were begining to resort to google to work out how to access the chain when a divine, and very good looking, frenchman fathomed it out. The second time I knew how to access it, but couldn't force the chain back on, no derailer (sp?) so dashed into a bike shop with a plea for help. The lovely people there sorted it but also told me that my pin, or spindle, or axel, or crank or something in my pedal was not looking good and I really shouldn't ride it or I could damage the internal spindle, or axel, or crank or something.

So I didn't. And I eventually took it back to them today to sort. Except they called and said it was too late. They couldn't just replace the pin. The spindle/axel/crank was also shot. And....to add insult to injury....apparently also the ball bearings as well.

They can do things so all is not lost. And though it will cost they still think it's worth it as the bike is basically in good nick. But I'll lose my nice old fashioned full chain guard.

On the upside, I've found a very lovely bikeshop.

posted by Cal @ 10:16 PM