FUN Update, November 1 - Rear Derailleurs: Revisited

Dear Friends,

Ever kept a journal? Ever been writing and accidentally skipped a page? Well... oops. Accidentally skipped a month. But now I'm back for the lovely month of November to remind you that I'm alive. All sorts of fun things are happening, not least of which is my birthday next Tuesday. Big 21--time flies.

I had a cool experience yesterday. I just bought a new bike because my Mongoose had no brakes, a broken front wheel, and a flat back wheel. The new bike is quite a bit nicer than the older one, but it was in bad repair. The rear tire was flat, the seat post and handlebars were rusted into the lowest position so that only a midget could ride comfortably, and the rear dérailleur--there it is again!--was bent out of shape so much that it would catch in the wheel spokes in first or second gear. But it was the only bike that looked like it was in decent shape, so I bought it and took it to the bicycle repair shop to see what could be done.

"Sorry," said some college-age punk who worked there, "looks like the post is seized in there; you'd need to buy a new post, buy this and that, and do somersaults in lava." Or something like that. Basically, he told me it was cost a couple hundred to repair it, and that I should take the bike back. A thirty-something guy standing behind the counter occasionally threw in quips about pawn shops, which wasn't really helping. I knew I didn't have the money to buy another bike, and pawn shop bikes are sold as-is, so I told them to replace the tube on the back tire. Here, the thirty-something guy jumped in.

"Looks like the seat post is...backwards." And sure enough, it was. So he took off the seat and we tried to twist the post. No luck. Then he pulled out the biggest wrench I've ever seen in my life. It was over two feet long and must have weight almost ten pounds. He put as much leverage as he could behind the wrench and pushed on the handle with two people to keep the bike in place. The post moved about a millimeter. College-age punk guy, thirty-something guy, and I worked for about ten minutes on this post until finally we could tap on it with a hammer to get it out. It looked like it had been rusting since the eighteen hundreds. They put some grease on it, stuck it back on (the right way, this time), and reattached the seat. One problem down, ten to go.

The handlebars were easier, but only some what so. Before long it was good as new. They went in to replace the tube in the back tire and meanwhile poked and prodded at the rear dérailleur. They tightened this, loosed that, and used all sorts of weird tools to get the body back in shape. Within fifteen minutes the bike was shifting like a charm. Both tires use a bizarre inflation mechanism, so I asked them to bring the front tire to the right pressure, too. It took them all of twenty seconds.

My bike was fully functional. I was thrilled. But I was also broke, and rent was about to be due, and I was really dreading that bill. He rang up everything and handed me a bill for... $11.76. $5.49 for the tube, $5.50 for labor, plus tax. I asked thirty-something guy if I could tip them, and he smiled and said no. Happy to be of service and all that. There are few things more touching than the kindness of strangers. I even thought well of college-age punk guy, as I walked out.

The End.

Also: a German engineer who went with me on my climbing trip asked if I would come with him to Red Rock, Nevada on another trip over Thanksgiving weekend. He travels a lot for work, so he said he could cover airfare and hotels, which means all I would have to pay for is half the rental car cost. He also owns all the gear we'd need, so we wouldn't have to rent. So. That's an awesome opportunity that I have coming up soon.

For the moment, my life is going pretty well. Money is really tight right now, but when isn't it? So. That's my life as it stands. Hopefully my next update won't take another month to write. God bless you all.

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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 new phone number is 813-313-6573.

Peace,

Dan