Tool

Today I putzed around the house. The wind blew over the fence in the back yard, and needs a new post poured. But I actually like the more openness in the back yard after I removed two sections for a future warmer weather project.

Then tinkering around with the cruiser. The bike takes a beating as I ride it every day. Total was a day of taking apart and cleaning the bottom bracket. (In case you're wondering what the bottom bracket is, see the picture below.) So over to the bike store (five blocks away) for a tool, then to the motorcycle shop (six blocks away) for some tire irons and grease. Taking apart this bottom bracket is is the second bike project that I've completed where there are no leftover parts. That could be a good trend. And I thoroughly cleaned months of accumulated bike path muck from it - it was really filthy. And trued the wheel and changed a tube (and inserted a Mr. Tuffy tire guard).

Then the reward of the day's effort was to go for a ride. Fortunately the rain and wind stopped, and it was a chilly, but beautiful night to ride through Bellingham. And it's reassuring to know your bike is operating in tip top shape. Yep, it is getting scratched and banged up, but still in solid mechanical shape after using it almost every day for the past sixteen months or so.

I am glad that I can bike as much as I do.