Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Obstacles

I'm quite proud that I've kept cycling in spite of all the recent rain. My raincoat wasn't protective enough so I've fashioned a nappy out of a very large plastic bag, to shield me from the water that flicks up from the wheel. Yes, people laugh but I stay cosy and dry.


On one particularly rainy trip my front brake self destructed. Buoyed by my success with the spare tyre, I tried to fix it myself but it was too broken.

Times really are good for bike shops in the congestion charge zone. The shop I took it to didn't have any vacancy for repairs until the end of June!

They did, however, run a 'first come, first served open surgery' on Saturdays. The lady in charge of the store advised me to arrive early and queue up for before the shop opened at 7:30am. Since I was going to be working nearby that morning, it wasn't such a sacrifice.

When I arrived at 7:20, there was a queue of three. As I neared the shop I could see a further five arriving from different directions. We all noticed each other at the same time and everyone sped up. Luckily for me, my bike was still rideable. Those who were carrying their bikes struggled along like the lame boy following the pied piper and ended up at the end of the queue.


The story ended happily for me because the bike lady put on a new set of brakes, made several other adjustments and only charged £23 for the lot. That's the first time in London I've been surprised by something being cheap!

Another reason to love cycling!

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can you post up a photo of you wearing your "nappy"? Hahaha!

Joe said...

haha... I was going to do that and then thought I will wait for someone to ask :)

I'll take one and then add it in.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait! Btw, how did you manage to take that picture if you were busy lining up yourself?!

Cal said...

That's just what I was thinking.

j a s o n said...

Joe the mud guard is still sitting here on my floor, no need for a nappy, entertaining as it would be to see!
I will drop it off next time I see you!!!

Joe said...

Okay, nappy photo is up! I took it on the balcony since it wasn't raining today and wearing it out (and having a photo taken) would have been a bit weird, even for me.

KO and Cal, that photo is the remainder of the queue after I left (I don't have a paparazzi following yet but I live in hope). You can see the cool bike lady with the clipboard. Happy birthday Cal, btw!

Jason, someone was sure they had brought that from your place on the day I picked up the bike! I have gone through all the cupboards looking for it!

Anonymous said...

Thx for the pic! It's hilarious that it says "dryclean" on there!

Sorry for being so nosey, but how do you manage to tie it up at the front? I mean, how does it stay on you?

Cal said...

Great photo!

Funnily enough the first thing I spotted though was that you didn't have a mudguard!

Joe said...

KO, it's a bag leftover from my laundromat in Temple Street. It's precious!

I didn't tie it in front, just tucked it into my pants around the waist and sat on it.

Cal, I had my photographer take several for me to choose from.

j a s o n said...

THAT is so funny!!!