This afternoon I took a ride out to the Rockaways on Tosca, my Mercian fixie.
The weather was lovely, as it was yesterday: warm, but not overly so, with high puffy clouds floating across expanses of blue sky. And, as luck would have it, I rode into the wind on my way out to Rockaway Beach and Far Rockaway. That meant, of course, that on my way home, I could pedal about 20 RPM faster without trying.
Anyway, I was coasting through an area of Gateway National Recreation area frequented by bird-watchers and wildlife photographers--in plain view of JFK International Airport! My external reverie seemed to embody the one that was playing out within me at that moment: I am still in the afterglow of my trip to Paris and of the wonderful late-day ride to Connecticut I enjoyed yesterday. I have been doing some writing away from this blog (I don't want to give too much away!) and I'm feeling optimistic about the semester that's about to begin. Now all I need is to hit the Lotto jackpot and meet the love of my life. Hmm...I'm not so sure about the latter. Being single isn't so bad after you've been in an abusive relationship or two.
Wouldn't you know...a cute young guy approaches me from behind. "Sir!" "Sir!" He sounded distressed, so I turned to look at him. (His distress was the only reason I looked at him, I swear! ;-)) "Do you...Oh, I'm sorry, Ma'am."
"Don't worry."
"You don't see a lot of women riding here. And, from behind, you were pedaling like a dude."
I said nothing. (I didn't want to give too much away!)
"Do you have an allen key?"
"Yes, I do."
Just then I saw the reason why he asked: His handlebar slipped and rolled inside the stem.
"We can't let you ride like that," I said.
"I swapped this handlebar today. I guess I didn't tighten it enough."
"Well, let's hope it's the right diameter."
"I thought they were all the same size."
I shook my head and, from the corner of my eye, saw the source of the problem. He had a stem with a faceplate that bolts in the four corners. He'd tightened the top two bolts much more than the lower ones. So, in addition to the usual hazards of a loose handlebar, he ran the risk of shearing off the faceplate and, possibly, taking an even nastier spill than he might have had he only leaned on loose bars.
Before I tightened the stem bolts, I asked him to move the bar to a position he likes. Good thing: I noticed that his grips slipped on the bars.
He said he'd used water to slide the rubber grips onto the bars. I grabbed the edge of the right grip and rolled it up to the end of the bar. Then I unrolled it, and the grip--an Oury--stayed as if it had been epoxied to the bar. I did the same for his left grip.
Then I told him to grab the grip and try to roll it, and to try to move the bar in the stem. Everything was as firmly in place as the pyramids.
"Lady, I don't know how to thank you enough."
"Just be careful," I said in my most maternal tone. Really, he's a nice kid--he's been working as a lifeguard--and want him to live and ride long.
The weather was lovely, as it was yesterday: warm, but not overly so, with high puffy clouds floating across expanses of blue sky. And, as luck would have it, I rode into the wind on my way out to Rockaway Beach and Far Rockaway. That meant, of course, that on my way home, I could pedal about 20 RPM faster without trying.
Anyway, I was coasting through an area of Gateway National Recreation area frequented by bird-watchers and wildlife photographers--in plain view of JFK International Airport! My external reverie seemed to embody the one that was playing out within me at that moment: I am still in the afterglow of my trip to Paris and of the wonderful late-day ride to Connecticut I enjoyed yesterday. I have been doing some writing away from this blog (I don't want to give too much away!) and I'm feeling optimistic about the semester that's about to begin. Now all I need is to hit the Lotto jackpot and meet the love of my life. Hmm...I'm not so sure about the latter. Being single isn't so bad after you've been in an abusive relationship or two.
Wouldn't you know...a cute young guy approaches me from behind. "Sir!" "Sir!" He sounded distressed, so I turned to look at him. (His distress was the only reason I looked at him, I swear! ;-)) "Do you...Oh, I'm sorry, Ma'am."
"Don't worry."
"You don't see a lot of women riding here. And, from behind, you were pedaling like a dude."
I said nothing. (I didn't want to give too much away!)
"Do you have an allen key?"
"Yes, I do."
Just then I saw the reason why he asked: His handlebar slipped and rolled inside the stem.
"We can't let you ride like that," I said.
"I swapped this handlebar today. I guess I didn't tighten it enough."
"Well, let's hope it's the right diameter."
"I thought they were all the same size."
I shook my head and, from the corner of my eye, saw the source of the problem. He had a stem with a faceplate that bolts in the four corners. He'd tightened the top two bolts much more than the lower ones. So, in addition to the usual hazards of a loose handlebar, he ran the risk of shearing off the faceplate and, possibly, taking an even nastier spill than he might have had he only leaned on loose bars.
Before I tightened the stem bolts, I asked him to move the bar to a position he likes. Good thing: I noticed that his grips slipped on the bars.
He said he'd used water to slide the rubber grips onto the bars. I grabbed the edge of the right grip and rolled it up to the end of the bar. Then I unrolled it, and the grip--an Oury--stayed as if it had been epoxied to the bar. I did the same for his left grip.
Then I told him to grab the grip and try to roll it, and to try to move the bar in the stem. Everything was as firmly in place as the pyramids.
"Lady, I don't know how to thank you enough."
"Just be careful," I said in my most maternal tone. Really, he's a nice kid--he's been working as a lifeguard--and want him to live and ride long.
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