Well, it’s been two weeks to the day since “the incident” and I still don’t have full use of my left arm. (You’ll notice that by naming it and putting it in italics like “the big war” or “the great depression” I’ve managed to make it sound more interesting than if I had just put “the day I fell off my bike”)
There’s no pain, and if I keep it in the sling during the day, I almost forget I’m injured.
For example, I just about finished the build on the new bike yesterday and was feeling good about getting back in the saddle…..until of course I straddled the bike and reached for the bars!!! Um…ok…so maybe I’m not quite ready to ride just yet.
As a side note, they’re now saying the storm door has opened and Tahoe is going to be getting some snow (finally) which is good. But there’s no way I can ski, which is bad….I gotta tell you this getting old crap is for the birds.
One positive aspect of this injury is that, knowing I can’t ride, I’ve really altered my schedule on the current build. I don’t have any of the desires to “hurry up and get ‘er done” as I have had with past builds. I’ve resigned myself to taking my time and building it up EXACTLY the way I want it.
What’s also interesting is how not having a deadline has affected my beer intake. Taking my time and working to make sure my new bike comes out perfect has led to spending a significant amount of time “analyzing the esthetics” of the bike….(which really means sitting there with a beer in my hand staring at the bike)
I have found that an evening in the garage is no longer just a one beer event. It usually means at least two, sometimes three beers are ingested in the hopes of triggering the optimal creative attitude when sitting and staring at the bike.
Not that this is time wasted of course. For instance, Monday, I installed the disc brakes and rotors only to later take off the rotors so I could paint the centers red to match the headset and seatpost clamp.
Tuesday, I installed, then removed 3 different sizes of zip ties for the cables only to pull them all off last night and order some clips instead. They just didn't look right.
Yesterday, I installed the tubes and tires and mounted up the wheels only to pull them back off because the tires are used and they didn’t show up very nice in the pictures as well as the fact that the logo of the tires isn’t lined up with the valve stems.(tonight the tires will be washed and new photos taken)
Granted, this is time that could be spent cleaning the garage, hanging Christmas lights or doing other chores in and around the house, but I guess it’s fair to say I’m mildly obsessive and the bike is taking all of my creative faculties at the moment. I just wouldn’t be able to focus adequately on any other task to give it the proper attention it deserves. (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it)
Tomorrow I’ll be waxing each of the spokes on the new wheels. Yes, I know they’re brand new, but a good coat of wax is required for adequate aerodynamics…..
There’s no pain, and if I keep it in the sling during the day, I almost forget I’m injured.
For example, I just about finished the build on the new bike yesterday and was feeling good about getting back in the saddle…..until of course I straddled the bike and reached for the bars!!! Um…ok…so maybe I’m not quite ready to ride just yet.
As a side note, they’re now saying the storm door has opened and Tahoe is going to be getting some snow (finally) which is good. But there’s no way I can ski, which is bad….I gotta tell you this getting old crap is for the birds.
One positive aspect of this injury is that, knowing I can’t ride, I’ve really altered my schedule on the current build. I don’t have any of the desires to “hurry up and get ‘er done” as I have had with past builds. I’ve resigned myself to taking my time and building it up EXACTLY the way I want it.
What’s also interesting is how not having a deadline has affected my beer intake. Taking my time and working to make sure my new bike comes out perfect has led to spending a significant amount of time “analyzing the esthetics” of the bike….(which really means sitting there with a beer in my hand staring at the bike)
I have found that an evening in the garage is no longer just a one beer event. It usually means at least two, sometimes three beers are ingested in the hopes of triggering the optimal creative attitude when sitting and staring at the bike.
Not that this is time wasted of course. For instance, Monday, I installed the disc brakes and rotors only to later take off the rotors so I could paint the centers red to match the headset and seatpost clamp.
Tuesday, I installed, then removed 3 different sizes of zip ties for the cables only to pull them all off last night and order some clips instead. They just didn't look right.
Yesterday, I installed the tubes and tires and mounted up the wheels only to pull them back off because the tires are used and they didn’t show up very nice in the pictures as well as the fact that the logo of the tires isn’t lined up with the valve stems.(tonight the tires will be washed and new photos taken)
Granted, this is time that could be spent cleaning the garage, hanging Christmas lights or doing other chores in and around the house, but I guess it’s fair to say I’m mildly obsessive and the bike is taking all of my creative faculties at the moment. I just wouldn’t be able to focus adequately on any other task to give it the proper attention it deserves. (that’s my story and I’m sticking to it)
Tomorrow I’ll be waxing each of the spokes on the new wheels. Yes, I know they’re brand new, but a good coat of wax is required for adequate aerodynamics…..
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