95th ride - 8/31/2015

Today has been a trial of patience. I was delighted to be able to pick up my trike after being without it for over a week. I was eager to get to Jack's as early as possible today (they open at 10:00) to pick up the trike, get it back to Ann Arbor, and do a good ride. But, first I was delayed in leaving Ann Arbor when Michelle got going rather late, so that by the time I dropped her off at school (for another day of readying her room for the new year) and got on the road to Dearborn it was 11:00.

Then, at Jack's, because I asked them to address another issue, I was in for quite a wait while they got to that. (When I had bought it back in May, I bought a rear rack and bags (pouches) in which I could carry my laptop if I needed to transport it. However, in order to fold it and fit it into the car to bring it home, Richard had to remove the rack. And I could not figure out how to reattach it (nor could Michelle). So I had him reattach it today, and show me what was needed.

At any rate, it was about 1:30 by the time I finally left there. And when I got home, assembling it in the tremendous heat of the day (mid-eighties and very humid), the challenge of putting the rack on for my first time, plus assembling everything else, meant that I was not done until nearly 3:00. And by that time I was so hot, tired, and discouraged, that I decided to wait until 8:00 p.m. (when it would be more tolerable) and ride.

At 8:00, I set off. But further problems assailed me immediately—when transferring old components to the new frame, Richard had not tightened the pedal assembly sufficiently, so that it rotated on the main tube of the cycle as I pedaled. Nevertheless, I decided I'd try to push on with and see how I could do. But after I hit a mild bump, the pouch on the rear (which was, fortunately, empty and not carrying my laptop) flew off. Stopping on the hill where I was, I went back and found the pouch, but then decided to get turned around and head back. On the way back, the pouch flew off once more, confirming the wisdom of this decision, and also my water bottle fell out of the carrier and rolled back down the hill. But anyway, I finally made it back, completing a ride of only 1.1 miles in 9 minutes. (I was so happy to be able to exceed 400 miles in July, but fell short of even 300 for August, due to all the mechanical complications.) And I'll try my best to figure out how to tighten that pedal assembly before I set off in the morning.