more exploding tires!

after trying again and having the tube explode again george and i decided to just set the project aside and wait for some more informed help. i did, however, get the bottom bracket, cranks, and some pedals put on yesterday:



Rivendell's wheel-builder, Rich Lesnick, emailed me yesterday to say my rear wheel was all assembled and ready to be picked up. this morning we headed out, with a box full of pastries, to get the rest of the missing components.

in order to get to walnut creek from here we get to do exciting things like go over the richmond-san rafael bridge and through the caldecott tunnel; at these two places we realized what is wrong with california drivers: they can't merge! that's right, all these instances of traffic being jammed, backed up, out of control and ridiculous are because people can't grasp the concept of merging- preceded, i suppose, by sign reading. by chance, we thought our car was making a terrible burning smell so we got off the interstate to check it out. it turned out to be someone else's car and when we got back on the interstate, just before the tunnel, we managed to miss almost all of ridiculous waiting.

once there we picked up the wheel, a saddle: the women's b.17 because it really does suit the bike better, two burrito wraps, new brake pads, and little nut/bolt combo missing from one of the brakes. they took a look at the wheel and tires and determined that (surprise!) a smaller tire would hold to the rim better and more safely than the ones they'd previously given me.

all that's missing now is bar tape and a seatpost (which we'll have to scrounge around for, apparently this frame requires a fairly skinny one.)

george installed his new, wider handlebars and got some red bar tape for them which turned out to be a pale red so it looks kind of pink. he's pleased, but may shellac them to try and redden them up. it's a good look for his predominantly silver and red bike.

in cat news: it's true and confirmed, the cats have fleas and ringworm. this means lots of baths and anti-fungal cream for them, which by this point they're fairly okay with. they're not clawing our eyes out, but they're really not happy about it. there's been floor and laundry bleaching and scrubbing all around. i mean, it's not like we're living in a filthy hole or anything, we clean and launder regularly, the windows are always open, they get advantaged regularly: what the fuck?

saturday is george's birthday (the big 2-5) and hopefully we'll be going to the beach with liz and mike. i think he's decided that instead of a cake (i had suggested carrot cake with strawberries and whipped cream filling, frosted with either whipped cream or buttercream) he'd like a tart. and quiche. but not at the same time.

p.p.s

my tires are the coolest thing since forever and are a big awesome surprise for all y'all.

you know, more bikes

what do you find in the bottom of a jug of maple syrup after it's been sitting for a while? a crystallized pancake!




i had my doubts about amaryllis bulbs, but they were a) unfounded and b) wrong. towards the end of last summer susan (george's mom) gave us a bunch of them and naturally i brought them all the way across the country and about a month ago decided to give 'em a go. the result was this great bloom - however, it was too heavy for the rest of it so it fell over and broke off. so the leaves in the background are still in the pot and the flowers are actually in a blue thermos. we fooled you though.




after discovering a flexible bondo-like substance, george got to work remodeling our new/old dash! he cut some custom vents and applied the aluminum strip (at the bottom). we haven't decided what color to paint it yet, the front-runner right now is beige (because it'll match the color of the roof inside.) the other option would be black, but we have a theory that a lighter color would help keep the car cooler in the hot summer sun.

saturday we made a trek out to walnut creek to check out rivendell bike works with karl and lindsay and it was a tremendous success. the guys there were really nice, really helpful- nay, ridiculously helpful. the rear spacing on my new/old frame is narrower than bikes these days and someone invented a pair of tricky little tools to a) increase the spacing and b) re-parallel them. the best part is that i got to do it myself! that way i couldn't blame anyone else if it fucked up the frame, wouldn't have to pay them to do it, and i got to do it myself. we walked away with a bunch of snazzy new bike parts and a rear wheel on order. i froze on the saddle choice; i've been eying the brooks b.18, but didn't realize that brooks makes a womens version of the b.17, which is less cruisey and more roady. lindsay got a b.17 for her 1980-something schwinn le tour, which she was super psyched about (apparently the current saddle is really dirty and suede thanks to the bike's previous owner.) hopefully by the time my rear wheel is ready to be picked up i'll have made a decision. instead of getting me new handle bars we got george new, wider, handle bars so i'll have his old ones.



(click for a larger, readable version)


after work today i was ready to start trying to assemble some bikey things and decided to start by putting a tube & tire on a wheel, a nice simple place to start. everything was going fine until the tube exploded! being captain cool/clueless that i am, i forgot to put the rim tape on the rim. it's this nice cloth tape that goes around in the inside of the rim and covers the end of the spokes so they don't....pop the tube! it was a shocking, headache-inducing pop and it's still in my head. then george got home and enlightened me regarding rim tape and we set out for performance bikes for some springs for the brakes, bar tape, and a bottom bracket tool. on the way home we stopped and picked up sushi for dinner and got liz o and mike's message asking to crash on our couch tonight.

george is currently dismantling his handle bars. boy is sleeping on the couch. girl is stalking around outside. i'm sitting on the couch.

p.s. - we think girl may have ringworm again.

when thieves steal your bike, build a new one

and so begins the chronicle of the new bike:









the frame also came with a rear derailleur and some brakes, both of which are in decent, usable condition.

cats!

the cats have been sleeping on the couch a lot lately, probably because it's soft and out of the hot searing sunlight. it's been ridiculously warm lately-up into the mid-90s. i see people around wearing long pants and shirts and...jackets. yesterday and today are nice and cool due to the morning fog we're getting; it was actually cloudy this morning.




while sleeping on the couch boy's been sleeping in some funny positions that rival the funny positions ollie used to sleep in. this one is my personal favorite-showing off the snaggly tooth and his enthusiasm for life.




and even when i lay on the couch he's still determined to sleep on the couch.

hot summer

lately we've been hanging-out machines; first dyani was here and while she was here we got a hang out a little with my paper-source-boss lori, we spent a good part of the weekend with karl and lindsay at the beach and playing wii, tonight we're dining with lil, tomorrow we're attending a little birthday bash for george's boss's son, bo (catered by wife/mom, jen with hot dogs!), then hopefully more hanging out with karl and lindsay, then mike and liz, then cynthia and leland are coming in july!

in the meantime george has been diligently working on our new-old dash for the rabbit. he's got it pretty well flattened out and cleaned up and soon we'll choose a color and install it. i'm not sure what his next step is, possibly working on the not-running problem, or the broken-horn-steering-wheel thing. regardless, we're one step closer to getting her running again.

my new-old bike frame has arrived and is beeeeeautiful! it's got part of a bottom bracket that needs to come off and then it's just a matter of amassing the parts, a good portion of which i'm hoping to get from rivendell bike works, and an up-coming bike swap in san rafael.

woo!

mourning and the lighthouse

after checking ebay and craigslist every day for the past week, i'm truly convinced my bike is gone for good. some people i've talked to have had optimistic stories of other people finding their bikes on craigslist and having the pleasure of getting it back, or simply finding it, or having it returned to them more than a year later. my bike has moved on. i have found a couple other bikes similar or identical to mine for sale and have considered buying another one, but i've come up with a better solution: i'm going to build my own precisely the way i want to. i deviously won an ebay auction for a Volpe frame from the late 80's and have started compiling a list of parts. the frame is scratched up enough that a dumb bike thief won't go through the trouble of stealing it, i hope.

dyani was here visiting for the last week or so which was a very welcome break from the lame stuff we usually do around here. she and her boyfriend conor are moving out to davis in september, so the first thing we did was drive to davis so she could sign a lease on an apartment. we did other californiay things like: go to the beach, the jelly belly factory, ride our bikes across the golden gate bridge (and then walk back after they got stolen), eat seafood, walk through chinatown, and check out the point reyes lighthouse.

















the cats, who we recently had to de-flea, are very big fans of dyani and are kind of bummed that they're not getting all that extra attention and entertained all day long anymore. while here dyani requested some baked goods and picked out chocolate cupcakes filled with chocolate mint ganache and topped with mint buttercream. they turned out delicious and kind of stomach achey. luckily we've pawned three off on the neighbors and george doesn't seem to have a problem eating one a day so we've only got a few left.

in car news, george took a dash out of another rabbit to replace ours which is cracked and messed up beyond repair. he's going to sand down the few cracks this newer one and finish it with some bondo-like stuff and paint it. he hopes to have it running by the end of the month. we got a new set of tires for liz's car and now it rides like a dream - smooth and steady.

violated

dear jerk bike thieves,

i don't support your way of life, but you've left me no choice. i hope you enjoy reselling/chopping/riding my bike which i have loved and treasured and ridden with great joy for less than a year. i am glad i hadn't upgraded my saddle or found the right rack for the back. please do enjoy the lights and i hope the pump falls off so if you have a flat you're screwed. maybe if you're lucky you can be hit by a car while riding it just like i was.


sincerely,

girl who's bike you stole from in front of a bank on a sunday afternoon.

p.s. - thanks for stealing the bike i was borrowing from my really nice elderly neighbor, i thoroughly enjoy telling him it had been stolen and there's no hope of getting it back.

p.p.s. - you're a jerk.