I WIN!!!

so...here's the latest skinny.
as we all know, i bought a bike some months ago and i have really come to enjoy using it to commute around town (made my first trip all the way across town yesterday. that fucking rocked) and i like to just ride.
it's fun.
it's like being a kid again only with out the banana seat and the big ass schwinn logo on the side of the bike.

so..the other night we got L. a bike. Now, keep in mind, she doesn't particularly like riding bikes, but it's good exercise and it gives us something to do together in the evenings rather than playing LoTRO or WoW. and semi-fresh air is always nice.

we were walking through wally world and i was looking for something specifically bike related so we were in that section. i pointed at a couple and said "ya know you might actually like these if you gave them a chance..." next thing i know "IT'S BLUE!!! and it's the right shade too!"
so we had them pull it out. it was amusing watching her ride it around the store.
it was probably amusing watching me ride through the automotive aisles and the sporting goods section as well.

concensus? that damn bike is comfy. it's really stable (it's got tires that are probably twice as wide as mine if not more) and the saddle is pretty sweet too.
almost makes me want to get one of them there comfort bikes.

my bike doesn't like to go slow. it tends to get all squirrelly on me. but then, it's designed to go fast. /shrug
street bikes ftw!

anyway, what this rant was leading up to was...after we got L's bike and got home we went for a ride. it was a good little ride and it gave her a chance to get used to her bike, so it wasn't very long. we sat in the front yard and talked for a while after we got done. much water was consumed.
i got up the next morning. decided i wanted to go to mcd's for some "fat fewdz" and sure as shit, my back tire was flat. wouldn't hold air for anything.

so yesterday she stopped at the bike shop that we favor (Springfield Bicycle Co. is fuckin awesome guys. if you're in town and want anything bike related, check them out. seriously.) and got me a new tube. my bike uses the tubes with the funky valves so i couldn't get one at wally world. and besides, they know what i have and what i need there, so...it works out.

so, this leads up to this morning.

i decide to change the tire myself. oh man, what the hell was i thinking...

so....started out i managed to get the tire off the bike with out destroying anything. this was actually something i was worried about, and it turns out i shouldn't have been. was cake.

anyway i was taking the tire off the rim right? good way to start. couldn't get the fucker all the way off of the rim for some reason. no idea why. just. wouldn't. work.
so i pull the tube out and try to stuff the new one in under the tire to see if it'll work that way (i've seen people do this so i know it can work. i'm apparently not that smart though.)
so.....that kinda worked except that when i put air in the tube there were spots that were all nice and inflated and then there were spots that were flatter than kate moss. :-(

so i decided to start the whole process over again and take the whole tire off this time even if i had to take the fucker off with scissors.
it apparently heard the threats because it came right off.
so i thought "hey, what if i put some air in the tube before i put the tire back on the rim to get it to stay conformed to the tire."
that actually worked out pretty well.
except......the tire wouldn't go back on the rim. at all.

this was the point where i decided to go inside, have some coffee, and leave my fairly expensive wheel outside in the hopes that someone would come along and steal it for me so that i'd have to go buy another one rather than admit defeat.

that or some neighbor hood kid could come by and fix the fucking thing for me.

finished my coffee and wandered outside, e-cig in hand, and neither of my hopes were fulfilled.

imagine my shock.

after some threats and some cursing and almost a full carto of juice, i got my tire on and the tube aired completely up. ...it was holding air. it wasn't hissing.

I WON!!!
me 1
tire 0

fuck yeah. /chicken dance.

so i take off on my bike to do a victory lap around the block (checking to make sure it holds air and everything spins freely and where it's supposed to.)

take off down the street. come to the corner where there's a much busier street. hit the break and fucked if i didn't just about go right out into traffic.

i kinda forgot to hook my back break back up after i put the tire back on.
so i guess, really...the bike itself almost won.

so the point of this very fucking long and meandering story (on the off chance that you're still reading) is that i did my very first mechanicy thing to my bike today.
i got all greasy and dirty and sweated and cursed and feel all manly now because i got something done.

next project?
don't fucking break anything so i don't have to go through this again.