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April 07, 2006
Thursday wrenching
This week in BYOB, I put my headset back together. Woo! That was exciting, so much grease! So many bearings! So much jiggling, to make sure everything is not too tight, not too loose. Oh, its a very fine line! Plus, Sarah and Sam demo'ed putting on a new wheel and/or fixing a flat, something I had never seen done before, and which I am hoping I won't need to do too much of in the future. Even though we all have our moments. Knocking on...desktop.
After class I came to the conclusion that bike class reminds me a good deal of etching class, complete with metal things, heavy machinery, noxious-ish chemicals (degreaser) and black stuff under my nails at the end. Only without Audrey and Bert. But a new and equally nice, if not quite as quirky- well, ok, quirky in their own special ways, group of characters!
Luckily the weather was fine, and before class I had ridden a long loong way, and even stopped off at Marcel's to drop off some toys. It was Christmas in April for a little dawg, with a bag of goodies both old and new! The new fave stuffed animal toy is a spankin' new hedgehog, his third, which is proving itself remarkably durable.
Next in line in terms of preference seems to be a squeeky rubber piece of rather garishly red-looking fake meat, known as The Chopper, in this case for Porkchop. Its one of the recently unearthed from storage, vintage Marcel toys we had nearly forgotten and presumed lost forever. It was a joyous reunion! The dawg loves his Chopper. We are hoping this bodes well for when and if a suitable dawg rig is ever come up with and we hit the road together on two wheels! Its still just a dream. But we have a tenacious side, so don't ever forget it.
Anyway, as I ride I find I hit new and exciting strength plateaus, and the world gets smaller. Or at least the city. But I find myself humming that song, as I ride, an old Joe Jackson song an old boyfriend put on an old mix tape (tape, because I'm old) that went like this~
"Strange
How the world got so small
I turned around and there was nowhere left to go
So sad
The dream always dies
Each new arrival closes places in my mind
But I can dream
Until I go
Of smells that I don't recognize
And by the river
In Shanghai
The colour of the sky
Is something I've never seen
After the summer rain
Children smile
Curious and kind
And the world is big again"
Oh, how we loved that song! And how perfect it was for driving on a warm night across the Skyway bridge, viewing the industrial skyline between Illinois and Indiana, when the sun was beginning to set.
I thought of it Thursday, not in Shanghai, not even Indiana, but sitting under the highway overpass, the one, if I am remembering correctly, in which Our Lady appeared. Having made my way diagonally across town under my own power, I sat at a red light, thinking of pancakes.
More later!
Posted by at April 7, 2006 02:34 PM
Comments
OMG!!! I Almost frog-got about the CHOPPER!!! D3WD. You must put up a photo of the Moose-dawg and the Choppah. Word!
Posted by: londonbear at April 12, 2006 05:39 AM
Wow, someone I know personally has a wikipedia entry.
Posted by: rob helpychalk at April 12, 2006 03:07 PM