Step 1: Figure out the name of whatever piece of metal fell off my bike.
It was... complicated. It had springs and hinges and wheels. It looked really... important. I had this funny feeling that a Google search for "complicated springs hinges wheels important" wouldn't be terribly helpful, so instead I went to Google images to look at bike diagrams until I finally found out the name.
Step 2: Figure out what a "rear derailleur" does.
Easy as Wikipedia. I skimmed the article (understanding about 10%) and verified that the picture looked something like what I had. Score. Apparently, it... actually, I'm still not quite sure what it does. Except that it keeps tension on the chain. So... that's important, I guess.
Step 3: Find out how it attaches to the rest of the bike.
Bikes have holes all over them, so after work the next day I stopped by the pawn shop a block away to look at some bicycles. What do you know, they all had those thingamajigs too! It seemed to fit between the thing that held the gears on and the other screwy thing with the... thing. Thankfully, it was a visual errand, so the fact that my vocabulary is grossly ineffective when it comes to bicycle repair wasn't too much of an inconvenience.
Step 4: Try to attach it without getting bicycle grease all over.
I don't have socks anymore. I lost most of them in various places, so now I have a few black pairs for work and a single white sock. The single white sock wasn't much use, so I decided to use it as a glove. It is now a black sock too, though not one I would wear in public. I worked on reattaching it for about half an hour until I finally gave up because I couldn't get the chain to move anymore even though I thought it was on correctly. Irritated, I pulled hard. The back wheel moved. It suddenly occurred to me that the bike might be properly in gear.
Step 5: Test the bike.
Sure, the logical thing to do would have been to lift up the back tire and push a pedal. I was inside, after all. Instead, I picked up the whole bike and carried it outside wearing nothing but my pajama pants. Then I hopped on and rode it around for a minute or two. Strangely, the gear shifting is actually more responsive now than it was before. One of the brakes is slightly misaligned, but that won't be difficult to adjust. As long as I never have to touch another rear derailleur.
P.S. My neighbor must have thought I was drunk when I wobbled around half-naked on my bicycle and then stumbled back into my apartment. Oh well. Doesn't hurt to keep things interesting.
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Dear Friends,
I fixed my bike. I'd tell the story, but it's long and boring and I wouldn't want to waste your time. It was exciting, though, because I don't have money to get it fixed and I know nothing about bikes, so instead I just prayed that God would help me fix it and got to work. And now my bike works again.
I still have a job. The cuts happened as scheduled, and I'm still there. That's a relief. I celebrated by getting all my blue microfiber shirts dry cleaned. I imagine that dry cleaning could be addictive much like self-medicating. I mean, you know the clothes don't really need to be dry cleaned again, but there's a little wrinkle in the back and they're so nice and pretty when they get back... and after all, it's supposed to be good, right? Cleaning is good. Maybe I'll dry clean my entire closet...
The financial news is looking optimistic for the first time in a while. It looks like I'll be able to afford rent come September 1st. I plan on spending September getting rid of some debt I've accumulated. It shouldn't take long. After that... well, maybe a car is in my future. Who can say?
And that's the news for now. Hope everyone is well.
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See pictures of my new apartment and of work. (Look for the album labeled "Apt #1614" and "Poker Room," respectively.)
View the FUN Archives.You can contact me by replying to this e-mail. To send letters or packages, use the following address:
Dan Kaschel
4747 W Waters Ave., Apt #1614
Tampa, FL 33614
My phone number is 231-631-3016.
Peace,
Dan
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