Month: September 2011

My Frustrating Bicycle

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, Cycling1 Comment

I bought a brand new back wheel for my bicycle from the local bicycle shop, Snider’s Cyclry, in June.  They didn’t give me the rubber that covers the screws inside the wheel and the way I feel is that you shouldn’t even have to ask for it.  They should just put them in the brand new wheels when they take them out of the box so they don’t forget to install them when they sell them.

I assumed it had one when I bought it so I didn’t ask for it and came home and installed it without the rubber.  I noticed it didn’t have it and I didn’t feel like asking to be taken back there so I just covered it with black electrical tape.  I went 2 months with the tape on there with no issue at all.  Not one flat tire the whole time so I’m very confused as to why I can’t keep air in it anymore.

A week or so ago I got a flat tire so I took it out and the hole was right next to the valve.  I checked the black tape and it wasn’t covering the screw so I could see that the tape wasn’t the perfect solution.  I repaired the tube and put the tape back on the screw and filled it with air but I think because the repair was so close to the valve it just wasn’t going to work.

Luckily I had a spare tube so I took the wheel off and put the new tube on it.  Later that night I heard my bicycle fall down in the patio.  What the…  I took the wheel off and pull the tube out and it has a hole in the same exact spot on this brand spanking new tube.  Not wanting to waste the tube I decide that I really want to repair it and naturally the repair won’t work.

I haven’t been able to ride my bike at all in over a week because I didn’t have the money for a new tube.  Darrin went to Target and bought me a new tube but he bought the expensive Schwinn self sealing tube.

Since I knew the black tape wasn’t helping, I thought that I should try to make my own rubber screw cover by cutting up a tube that I had repaired way too many times.  It’s a little thicker than the rubbers that they normally use to cover the screws but it’s all I have to work with.  It was too long so I had to cut it and patch it.  The patch didn’t stay on so I decided to just hot glue it to the wheel lol.  I didn’t use too much glue so it shouldn’t make it too thick and if it doesn’t work out I can always remove it.  The glue peels right off very easily.

This morning I get on my bicycle to run down to the store and buy some milk for my breakfast and the wheel is flat.  I just installed it this weekend and rode it to the store once or twice on Saturday and it was fine all day Sunday so I don’t understand why it’s flat all of a sudden.

I took the wheel off the bike and removed the tire which was a huge pain in the ass because the tube still had a lot of air in it.  I finally got the tire off and put the tube in a bucket of water to find the hole.  When you see bubbles coming up then you know where your hole is.  No bubbles at all.

I put the tube and tire back on, put the wheel on the bike and fill it with air and it was fine.  I have even been checking it every couple of hours the whole day by squeezing the tire to make sure it was hard and it’s been fine.  All I kept thinking was thank goodness, I don’t think I’ll have any more issues with it.

JINX!

Tonight I was in the kitchen getting a glass of water and I hear a banging sound in the patio.  I go out there and my bicycle is on the ground.  It fell because the tire went flat.  I don’t understand.  I haven’t even been on the bicycle since I filled it with air.  The tire has no stickers in it so I know that isn’t the problem.

So my next thought is that maybe these expensive self sealing tubes have a glitch in the valve that when the blue or green gel is inside the valve it keeps it open a little so air can escape.

This whole thing with this back tire is really frustrating the hell out of me because I’m not getting any exercise because every time I go out there I have a flat tire.  There is nothing more infuriating than not being able to ride my bike.

Ok well, tomorrow I will clean the valve out and fill it with more air and see what happens.  I hope that works.  If it doesn’t then I’ll have to go out and buy some of the cheap tubes that don’t self seal.  At least the cheapo tubes last a heck of a lot longer than the expensive ones.

And I’m The Jerk In This Scenario

On By Michel McDonaldIn Daily BlogLeave a comment

The dog needed to go for a walk so I got her ready and we went outside and I hear “CAR WASH… CAR WASH…”. I look over and these people are standing near our tenants house with a money box and towels and they have 2 hoses extending from our tenants hose.

Naturally I went over there and asked them if they got permission from the homeowners to use the hose and they said yes, we asked them. And I said “no, you asked the homeowners tenant, they do not own the property and they do not pay for the water.  I am  the homeowner and you did not ask me.”  OK so I’m not but she doesn’t need to know that.  Darrin and his brother are the homeowners and since neither of them were there at the time, I have to speak for them.

I put the dog back inside the house and go over to the market which is where these people live, behind the market that is (the market has these little offices that are meant to be used as offices but they rent them to people to live in) and I asked the owner of the building if he gave them permission to have a car wash, naturally he said no. He said that he told them to ask the church if they could use their parking lot and hose and they didn’t so they just took it upon themselves to use our tenants instead.

At this point I’m thinking, what do I do? Do I get a backbone and go over there and tell them they can’t use the hose or just let it slide? They don’t even have a sprayer on the hose which would stop the water from flowing freely and it was flooding the gutters with water.  Seeing that water being wasted really pissed me off and my backbone made a guest appearance.

I went over to the woman on the main street yelling “CAR WASH” and told her she couldn’t use our hose. She seemed really sad and I think they were doing this because they probably don’t have the money for rent so they were trying to make some easy money washing cars.

Hey, you know what?  I can’t give a crap about them. When our tenants house was robbed, they involved themselves and lied to the cops because they saw who did it when they were parked in front of their little “office”. They told the cops they knew who did it but wouldn’t tell them, but if they knew they weren’t going to tell them they should have kept their fat mouths shut.  Frankly I hope they do have to move out.

And I’m the jerk in this scenario lol. When I told her that she couldn’t do this, I told her that I don’t mean to be a jerk about it because I’m usually the nice guy but I have to do what is right for us.

I also had to tell the tenant that they had no right to give anyone permission to use their hose.  I showed her that these people were letting the water run free and wasting it and told her that if anyone asks to use the hose, just say NO.  It’s a wonderful word.

I came back to the house and got the dog to take her out again and there was a cop in front of the house who pulled a white SUV over. I saw those people rushing to get their belongings from the front of our tenants house. That was funny to me. I mean, I’m sure they saw the cop pulling that SUV over so they know I didn’t call them so I’m sure they had to get out of there for another reason, maybe a warrant perhaps?

I’m not usually this assertive so when I am I have to blog about it lol.