Don't you just hate it when you attempt to update your blog, click post it, shut down your computer only to find a day later that you posted the wrong thing on the wrong blog? Perhaps it's just me. But it's happened twice so far when I've blogged, and I'm starting to get embaraced! I had attempted to post the following blog last night on my personal site, but it apparently was posted to the Johnson family site by mistake. Alas, only one commentor - my husband, so perhaps the embaracement is amongst a small circle of friends. :) If not, at least it's amongst family...lots and lots and lots of family.
My Original intended post from yesterday:
the other way
Ryan and I have been trying to fix up our bikes a bit, and do some of our own repairs. For instance. He has an undated, but rather old, ten speed that I purchased from a co-worker. The frame seems to fit him well, but the seat was rather uncomfortable. Probelm solved. I went to the local bicycle shop and picked up a new $10 saddle, and figured out how to install it myself. Problem number two was that we decided to take his new bike out for a spin and the rear tire got a flat. Not a small flat, but a big flat. It was most likely due to the fact that his bike is undated and the tires and tubing had NEVER been replaced. Problem solved. I brought his bike in for a "tune-up". I figured the chain could use some oil and looking over, he could use some new tires and they could check everything over. We got the bike back, and everything went great. I'm so proud of him. he took like four minutes off of his commute in the morning with the new/improved bike, and all was going well. Enter problem number three. Both of us noticed that we were getting blisters on our hands. I think we both had the same revelation at the same time that it was from all of our bike riding. Problem solved, we went to the same bike shop with the goal of buying gloves. I got pretty blue and light blue ones (mainly because they fit my hands) and Ryan also got a pair. He also told me that he wanted a set of pedals with toe clips on them so that his feet didn't slide as much. (not the shoe clip pedals, the other type). So I let him pick out the ones he wanted, and we headed home. Now, I like to take things apart, so the first thing I did was to take off the pedal, that was followed by the problem of there being a large black post through the pedal that I didn't realize was there. I tried rather unsuccessfully to take it off, got furstrated and went to the other side of the bike, took off the black bar thing (along with its pedal) with no problem and endeavored to free the left sided crankshaft from it's ugly black bar. WD-40 didn't work. Soaking in Coca-Cola for 24 hours didn't work. Attaching a wrench and banging on it with a hammer---no dice. Ryan and I were struggling. Finally I decided to Google ideas of how to get the darn thing off. Problem solved....stupid left pedals are screwed in with a left handed screw. Try the other way next time and it will save hours of frustration, sweat, errant wrenches in the ankles and hammers to the thumb, and a can of Coke to boot. We tried unscrewing the proper way and got it apart and the new pedals on with no problem. Ryan's ready to go with his newish bike and it should be interesting. Oh, we also got new wraps for his handlebars which I put on, because the old one was disintegrating. They don't look as pretty on the bottom as I'd like, but they'll work. It's been an adventure, but it's been fun. I'm looking forward to learning more as we go along, but for now we've both learned a lot from our small projects. It should be fun to get the Raleigh 10-speed up to par. New project with new things to conquer.
Ryan and I have been trying to fix up our bikes a bit, and do some of our own repairs. For instance. He has an undated, but rather old, ten speed that I purchased from a co-worker. The frame seems to fit him well, but the seat was rather uncomfortable. Probelm solved. I went to the local bicycle shop and picked up a new $10 saddle, and figured out how to install it myself. Problem number two was that we decided to take his new bike out for a spin and the rear tire got a flat. Not a small flat, but a big flat. It was most likely due to the fact that his bike is undated and the tires and tubing had NEVER been replaced. Problem solved. I brought his bike in for a "tune-up". I figured the chain could use some oil and looking over, he could use some new tires and they could check everything over. We got the bike back, and everything went great. I'm so proud of him. he took like four minutes off of his commute in the morning with the new/improved bike, and all was going well. Enter problem number three. Both of us noticed that we were getting blisters on our hands. I think we both had the same revelation at the same time that it was from all of our bike riding. Problem solved, we went to the same bike shop with the goal of buying gloves. I got pretty blue and light blue ones (mainly because they fit my hands) and Ryan also got a pair. He also told me that he wanted a set of pedals with toe clips on them so that his feet didn't slide as much. (not the shoe clip pedals, the other type). So I let him pick out the ones he wanted, and we headed home. Now, I like to take things apart, so the first thing I did was to take off the pedal, that was followed by the problem of there being a large black post through the pedal that I didn't realize was there. I tried rather unsuccessfully to take it off, got furstrated and went to the other side of the bike, took off the black bar thing (along with its pedal) with no problem and endeavored to free the left sided crankshaft from it's ugly black bar. WD-40 didn't work. Soaking in Coca-Cola for 24 hours didn't work. Attaching a wrench and banging on it with a hammer---no dice. Ryan and I were struggling. Finally I decided to Google ideas of how to get the darn thing off. Problem solved....stupid left pedals are screwed in with a left handed screw. Try the other way next time and it will save hours of frustration, sweat, errant wrenches in the ankles and hammers to the thumb, and a can of Coke to boot. We tried unscrewing the proper way and got it apart and the new pedals on with no problem. Ryan's ready to go with his newish bike and it should be interesting. Oh, we also got new wraps for his handlebars which I put on, because the old one was disintegrating. They don't look as pretty on the bottom as I'd like, but they'll work. It's been an adventure, but it's been fun. I'm looking forward to learning more as we go along, but for now we've both learned a lot from our small projects. It should be fun to get the Raleigh 10-speed up to par. New project with new things to conquer.
While at work tonight, a co-worker stated that she doesn't allow her kids to watch Pooh. The reason? "Because everyone in that show has pyschological problems". She went on to explain, "Pooh, has an excessive compulsive disorder which causes him to eat, and have some sort of fixation with honey, which drives him to act innappropriately, even compulsively in order to satisfy his fix. Rabbit is bi-polar, you really can never read whether he's going to be nice to Pooh, or yell at him for trying to steal his carrots. Piglet is schizophrenic, because he hears voices. Eeyore is, well, manically depressed of course. And Tigger has ADHD".
