My next birthday is a “5” year – a year evenly divisible by five. I’m not going to tell you how many times that five can fit in the year, but it’s more than five. So on my next birthday, I’ve decided that I’m going to do a “bucket list” activity and climb Mount Washington, the highest mountain in the northeast.
I’m not in terrible shape, but I’m not in great shape either. Before the pandemic, I’d been training to run a series of 5Ks through the spring and summer, culminating in the internationally famous (for real) Manchester Road Race on Thanksgiving, which I ran a few years back.
That all ended when the pandemic closed all the gyms. I could have just run outside, but I didn’t. I could have just walked, but I didn’t. I could have biked, but I didn’t. I didn’t exercise or even go out at all unless I absolutely had to.
Once I’d made my decision, I resolved to go outside and do something every day. Got my trike all set to go – hadn’t ridden it since last October – and rode it up the Greenway. Decided to bring it to the actual office, but had to stop halfway because I’d forgotten my mask. I turned around to work from home, and the chain slipped twice on the way back.
I took it out again last week for a quick ten miles, and the chain slipped again – it really got wedged between the two larger sprockets. The problem is that the gears are a little bent, and if I’m switching the front chain ring at the wrong time, it falls right between them.
It was so stuck this last time that I couldn’t get it free and had to push the trike home – not great for my back. I ended up using WD-40 to get it free, but I couldn’t see riding it again. It was just dumb luck that the chain had gotten stuck so close to home. Next time it could be much further.
I brought it today to the shop where I’d bought it, hoping they’d be able to fix it fairly quickly.
No dice. You now apparently need an appointment to even get in the place, and the door is locked so people can’t just wander in. I did get the attention of the owner, and he came and looked at my trike, saw that I had bought it there, and told me that they’d love to fix it, but that they were backed up a hundred bikes before me.
Every bike they have has been sold, and they’re selling every bike they receive. All these people with all their bikes are keeping them very busy. I was told to call back in three weeks, and they’d be able to tell me then when I could bring it in to be fixed.
My local bike shop won’t work on recumbents. I do have two other standard diamond frame bikes, but the trike – that is super comfortable and just plain fun. I’ll definitely be missing it.
Nice to know someone is thriving in the pandemic…