the dirty old man

The oldest bike we own is also the most belligerent.

A couple weeks ago I changed the tires on Frenchie. Since Sir Walter died this spring the SBR has been swollen with new components.  Not that most the parts were brand new, it's that the parts were new to the reserve.  Including a pair of brand new Panaracer tires, I've been putting the same Continental Ultra Sports on the bike since 1999 (a tire I don't think they even make anymore...) and have worn quite thin.

So I put the new tires on, and they are awesome, except that they are slightly wider than the continentals.  So I rode home from work the first day with a millimeter of fender clearance. It was like riding with a break on every time I needed to push it.  When I got home, two seconds with a vise grip  fixed a problem I have been too lazy to fix for three years.  

Then last Monday we went to Redwing and biked to Cannon Falls. 

reviewing the list of original parts on the 1972 Peugeot UO8 I ride:

-frame

-fork

-threaded headset

-quill stem

-bottom bracket cups

-seat post

-brake cable guide

-seat post bolt and nut

I still have the original rear wheel, but in storage.  Nothing too impressive and I don't much care for the wavy lines.

The seat post bolt is breaking I think.  I could not get the seat to stay. Every mile or so it would sink about a quarter inch. But I had already used my spare seat bolt on another bike, and had not replaced the one I keep ziptied to my rack! damn and blast!

The golf club

So I've been having a recurring dream since Saturday.

It has me riding my bike south along the River road towards Lock and Dam #1, which is weird because I work in the southern suburbs, and I see the person bust out our window.  Suddenly I have a golf club in my hand and bellow "pedestrian polo!"  the phrase "now I'm gonna take $250 out of your body" creeps in as I break the hand that busted the window.

a disturbing dream made worse by putting it in text...

What irks me is that we had better plans for that money which is now going to replace our window.  The glass is on order, I expected to hear from the Volkswagen dealer that it came in today, but predicting shipping apparently sucks in more than one industry.

Schadenfruede

Because I am the angel of death when it comes to cars.

Saturday I biked most of the way home from work.  But I knew the better half was also out biking so I went through Minnehaha Park to see if I could catch up.  I was about t get onto Ford when I saw our Jetta parked at Lock and Damn 1.  And some people staring at it.

Well this actually:

The ass hole who busted out the window didn't have the courtesy to steal anything.  They pulled my messenger bag out of the trunk and rooted through it...

BUT EVERYTHING WAS STILL THERE!

So now we have to replace the window.  GAAAAAH!

Signs of Hawaii

I think this sign is trying to tell us not to drive down the dirt road to the southernmost point in the United States.  

Specifically not to offroad, but since the road more or less ends a couple hundred yards from there and what continues are two tracks in the grass what are we to do?

As a side note: Kapu used to be punishable by death in Hawaii.  

This next sign was at the ranger station by an old lava flow in Volcanos National Park.  

And the seals are also out to get you

And so is the lava.