Bad Bike Luck
I travel to and from school each day on a bicycle. The round trip is seven miles, and depending on traffic, I could make it in thirty-five to forty minutes. Naturally, the hot and humid summer weather makes the journey unpleasant, and when I arrive at school or home I am drenched in sweat. I hate feeling dirty and sticky and thirsty and winded, but that is usually the only bad aspect of the trip. Today was different.
All was normal as I made the turn onto Eighth Avenue. But a block west of Sixth Street I heard a loud ping, and felt the bike seat fall out from under me. What was left was a bare post.
I was lucky that the plastic grocery bags I use to protect the seat from the rain captured the metal hardware that would otherwise have bounced into the grass and sand. Two days ago I had almost removed the bags. But, though I had all the parts, I had no ability to fix the seat where I was, and I had to ride the rest of the way to school standing on the pedals. This left me more fatigued than usual.
University of Florida students have access to free bike repair, a service funded by fees we pay with our tuition. The bike kids that do the work are fairly competent, and certainly love bikes. But they didn’t have the bolt I needed to repair the seat. The bolt that attaches the seat to the post had simply snapped in half right above the threads. It certainly made me feel fat.
With no way to repair the seat there, I had to ride the bicycle as it was. I rode downtown, where Danielle Kay cut my hair, then all the way home I stood up pedaling. I arrived very tired, but sure made good time.
Filed under: School, Transportation on July 22nd, 2009
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