Category: Cycling

My Weight Loss Journey – Week 2

On By Michel McDonaldIn Cycling, Diet, Exercise, Health, Products I Like, WeightLeave a comment

On January 5th, 2013, I was looking through the Google Play app store on my Android phone for an app to help me lose weight.  I had downloaded a few apps that would help record my walking and bike rides with GPS and would tell me everything my bicycle computer tells me and more, but they didn’t help me record my eating habits or tell me what to eat.  The front page of the app store had a featured app called Noom Coach.  I downloaded it and checked it out and it was way more than I was expecting in an app.  I had the free version with limitations and after only a few days decided that I had to purchase the pro version.  Yes, I was that confident in this app after only a few days.

I am only in my 2nd week with this app and I have already lost 8.4lbs.  I only expected to lose 2lbs a week, so this is quite surprising that I have lost more than double my goal each week.  Then again the first week or two are the easiest, I won’t count my chickens until the 3rd or 4th week.

week 2-1week 2-2

I am over 100lbs overweight and my goal is to just get down to 200lbs which means losing 63lbs.  I have tried to set goals to lose all of the weight before and becoming disappointed when it failed because my goal was set too high.  I have been told to set smaller goals because you reach smaller goals faster.  When the small goal is finished, then I can set another small goal.  Although, setting my goal for more than half of what I need to lose is not quite a small goal, I think that I can reach it because this app is motivating me to.  If it doesn’t then I will adjust my goal to make it easier.

We haven’t been exercising as much as we should.  I could give 2 excuses as to why, but what’s the point?  I mean, I hate to make excuses for why I can’t do something because excuses are why I fail.  These are good ones though.  It’s cold outside and we both have bad backs and it hurts to walk.  There, I said it.  The cold part is a BS excuse, but the back pain is legitimate.  With that said, we have been walking 2 or 3 days a week for maybe 1 mile or more each time.

Arctic Cooling P311 Bluetooth Sports Headset I have way more weight to lose than my partner does.  I was at 263lbs and he was around 200, so I have to do double the work which is why I bought myself a new pair of Arctic Cooling P311 Bluetooth Headset for Sports from Amazon for my HTC One V android phone so that I can ride my bicycle when it starts to get warm outside.  I can keep my phone in my camelbak which will have the Noom app recording my exercise while letting me listen to my music, and the bluetooth will allow me to accept phone calls at the push of a button on the headphones.  Although I’m not sure if it will accept the call automatically or if I have to push the button, I will find out soon enough.  I thought I read in a review that it automatically shuts off the music when a call comes in and resumes when you hang up.

The headphones that I bought aren’t the best, I mean, they didn’t get the best reviews, but they were $30 which is way more than I could afford.  The headphones that are in the $60’s-$100’s range are the best, so I am getting what I paid for.  I saw in one video review that the mic sucks for taking calls while you are on your bike or walking, but are amazing indoors.  I don’t really have much of a choice in the matter, so it’s the best I can do with what money I have available to me.  But it has been my experience that people who do reviews are spoiled with the more expensive products they test, so to them it might be a horrible pair of headphones, but perhaps it will be fine for me.  I can say that because my phone got horrible reviews and it’s way better than they gave it credit for.

Cycling seems to be the best exercise for me because I am sitting which doesn’t hurt my back.  Walking is fine if I walk 1 or 2 miles, but I can ride 23 miles a day on my bicycle which means I can burn more than a quarter of my days meals on the bicycle which will help me lose more weight and will get me to my goal faster.  Not that I want or need to rush anything, but it will help.  It’s too cold now, so I will get to it when it starts warming up in the Spring.  I bought the headphones now so that I could afford to fix my bike next month.  I can’t afford to do both in the same month.  I would also like to buy some bicycle shorts and a bicycle shirt to make riding more comfortable.

I am finally eating healthy and enjoying it.  We have been buying the Weight Watchers frozen dinners at Food Maxx for $1.88 each with a $2 coupon for 10, so we’re saving money on that.  We’re also eating more fruits and vegetables than before, which is a very good thing.  I don’t drink soda (diet or otherwise) very often, so that’s not an issue.  The fruit seems to satisfy my sweet tooth, for now.  I have been looking up recipes for cookies that use bananas and apples so that I can make a very low calorie sweet treat without compromising our diet.  I found a good banana oatmeal cookie recipe that uses applesauce in place of sugar, they even tell you how to make it with real apples.  I think I might try to make those today for our late night snack.  I also bought some bottles of Slim Fast specifically for when we have a chocolate craving, but I have a feeling those won’t last the week.

I know that 8.4lbs isn’t a lot to be blogging about so soon, but it’s a good start and I feel confident that I will keep it up this time.  I will keep this blog updated on my progress every week when I do my weigh-ins too.  Not that anyone really cares, but it will help me to talk about it, even if I am just talking to myself.

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.

Bike Safety 101: Riding the Roads

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, CyclingLeave a comment

This morning I had planned on getting up at 4:30am as usual for my bike ride but because I went to bed at 11pm last night, I was still too groggy so I decided to sleep another hour.  I don’t have any place to be so why not right?  Darrin, thinking that I’m awake comes into my room at 4:45am to make me read an article in the newspaper about bicycle safety.

When I got up at 5:30 I read the article and thanked him for thinking of me.  Fortunately I already know everything that was in the article so I was already covered.  Luckily I don’t have to spend too much time on the road with cars to have to worry, that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be reminded of the rules of the road every now and again.

I noticed that the article was written by the Chicago Tribune so I went online to find it and here it is.  Bike safety 101: Riding the roads – Chicago Tribune

That article has some good points but there are some things that they didn’t mention so I am here to add something to the list.

When you are riding with a helmet, and make sure you are, also buy a helmet mounted rear view mirror so you can see the cars and cyclists behind you.  This helps me see the cars behind me on the road and it also helps me see when there are a bunch of cyclists speeding towards me.  The article says that assume that there are drivers who are either drunk, texting or just not paying attention.  You can’t be looking behind you constantly so it’s a good thing to have that mirror.  And not handlebar mirrors because in some cases you can’t really look down, that would be too distracting.

Unfortunately, as with cars there are blind spots, even with helmet mounted mirrors.  This morning as I was coming home, I left the bike trail and got back on the street with traffic and there is a stretch of road that curves.  Well, in my mirror I can see behind me but there is a blind spot.  Unless I turn my head to look completely, I won’t see the cars that are driving directly behind me in the right lane, only the cars in the other lanes.

I had stopped because of all the traffic.  I usually go out into the left hand turning lane in the center of the road to get back into the neighborhoods and it’s usually safe in that spot but this morning after all the cars passed by I started to ride again and as I was picking up speed I noticed out of my peripheral vision a black SUV that swerved to stop before it hit me.  That was my fault because I shouldn’t just look in the mirror, especially when I stop like that.  I need to turn my head around so I can see to make sure there aren’t any cars still coming.  I was still looking in the mirror so that’s why it was puzzling that I didn’t see it.

As I was getting in the turning lane I looked over at him and waved saying “SORRY!” and he waved back at me as if to say “it’s ok”.  If I had gotten hit, it would’ve been my fault because I wasn’t paying attention to my blind spots.

So that is another tip to think about when you are riding in curved roads with cars.  Check your blind spots before going into the turning lane otherwise you might get killed.

The funny thing is, I was thinking about that article when that happened so my mind was elsewhere.  I was thinking about bicycle road safety when I was unsafe.  Oh sweet irony.

I learned a huge lesson today about safety.  I also learned that if I can’t leave the house as early as 5am then perhaps I need to just stay home because it’s much easier to get into that turning lane early in the morning when there are no cars on the road.  I would much rather be safe with no cars than get hit by a car because of a stupid blind spot.

Gnats Gnot Gnice!

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, Cycling, ExerciseLeave a comment

Several times per week I wake up at 4:30am and leave the house at 5am to go bike riding for exercise.  I took this picture at sunrise this morning because I wanted to show off how cool the moon looked with the sun shining on it.  Unfortunately my cell phone takes crappy pictures.  I took 3 and this one was the best one.

But that’s not the reason for this post.  I love riding almost 23 miles every time I ride but the one thing that I do not like are the gnats.

Sometimes I will run into these little buggers.  They are so gross lol.  I can’t see them until they are coming towards my face and sometimes I can’t see them at all and I have no time to duck my head to the side to avoid them.  Occasionally I’ll get a straggler that’s flying solo that just flies into my mouth as I’m singing, and you know if you are on the bike trail by yourself with headphones on it’s pretty difficult to not sing.  Imagine singing an Alanis Morissette song “It’s like RAAAAYYYYAAAAYYYYAAAAIIIIN” where you practically have to unhinge your jaw to sing that one part.  A ton of gnats gets in then.

One thing these disgusting little things do is when they do run into my face, arm hair or chest, they latch on and go for the ride.  When I get to a point where I usually stop to take a break they let go and swarm me.  So one thing I like to do is stop maybe 20 feet or so from the place I like to take a break at so they will let go then take off so they can’t follow me.  Although some do catch up with me but not all of them.

During my breaks I like to take off my helmet and skull cap so I can dry my head and replace it with a dry one.  My breaks aren’t spent slacking off, they are spent getting dry to continue going the way I came, back home.  If I don’t do that then the skull cap I’m wearing will start dripping in my face.  23 miles is a long way to go with a soaking wet skull cap.  Usually as I’m opening my energy bar and taking a bite is when the gnats finally catch up to me then it’s dodging gnats all the way home lol.

It’s a very strange existence.  I can’t imagine what it would be like to be a gnat, flying in eyeballs, noses and mouths, latching onto clothing and sitting there while I’m being taken away from my gnat family.  No, I don’t think I want to live in that world.

I don’t even want to think of any diseases they carry *shivers at the thought*

Ok my skin is crawling, I can’t think about this anymore lol.

My Faster Bike Rides and New Goals

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, Cycling, Exercise6 Comments

I was riding my bicycle this morning and was paying close attention to my average speed.  Lately it has been 11.5 mph give or take.  Today it was 12.5 mph.  That meant that I got home 30 minutes earlier than I usually do.  Riding faster doesn’t just mean that I will exercise faster, it also means I will burn more calories every time I ride.

I have these index cards which I used to use to keep track of my bike riding.  I would write it out so I had a hard copy because digital seems to get deleted a lot.  I first started writing it down on November 3rd 2008.  My average speed was 10 mph and I only rode for 38 minutes burning 345 calories.  Gradually over time I can see that my speed goes up to 10.7, 10.9, 11.1 etc.

My last entry was when I hurt my shoulder and I stopped riding, that was July 20th 2009.  My average speed was 14.0 mph.  That of course was doing 23 miles in 1 hour and 38 minutes.  Of course I was probably gone from the house for 2 hours with breaks but I don’t seem to recall.  I also see that I started riding in October 2009, I only got 3 bike rides logged then stopped, my shoulder was still in a lot of pain but I wanted to get exercise.  Then my shoulder got better and I started riding again and had 2 entries in July 2010 for 23 miles each but the next day after my 2nd bike ride my back wheel broke and the log entries end right there.  Of course I wasn’t used to riding anymore so my average speed was only 11.9 and 11.0.

I will add all of those old logs to my Bike page soon.

Today my average speed was 12.5 mph which has gone up from 11.2 since July 6th, 2 weeks ago when I started logging my cycling times again.  I had been riding since early June but couldn’t get my bicycle computer to work since I put the tire on backwards which meant the magnet was on the wrong side.  Oopsie.

I think that I am progressing very well and I’m sure that it won’t be too far off when I’m going 14 mph again, or even 15 mph.  The riding times will get shorter even though I will still be doing the same 23 mile route.  If that becomes the case then I will step it up and continue on to Hart Park.  That will add 10 miles to my route, 5 miles each way.  I have mapped it out:

That start point (A) is my halfway point where I stop riding and rest for a few minutes so this still might be a resting point before I continue on to Hart Park.  Once I get used to the ride then I will probably just continue on until I get to Hart Park and rest there.

Of course I’m probably talking many months before I’m in enough shape to do it but I will eventually do it.  When my average speed gets up to 15 or 16 mph then I will definitely do it.  In fact, I was ready to start doing it just before I had to stop riding because of my shoulder in July 2009.  I made a video and put it on YouTube that showed my bike ride from where I get on the bike path over on Truxton all the way to Manor St. and made a sequel from Manor all the way to China Grade Loop.  I wanted to do a 3rd video from China Grade Loop to Hart Park but… my shoulder and all.  So that never happened.

My goal now is to continue as I am now (training) until I am not in as much pain from the bike ride so that I may ride to Hart Park.  The day that I plan on that is the day I will bring my video camera with me to film it.  I know it’s boring to most people but it is an achievement to me and I’m sure to others.

I can’t wait to see how many calories I will burn from riding 33 miles every day.  The fat will just melt off, I hope lol.

Stepping Up My Bike Rides

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, Cycling, ExerciseLeave a comment

bike trail water.jpg

I’ve been riding 15 miles every time I ride on the bike trail.  As soon as I get to my halfway point which is at Manor St., my legs are ready to give and I have to stop and rest.  Instead of going further I usually just head back home.  I think 15 miles is a good ride.  But I think it’s time to step things up and go the distance so I kept going today and rode for a total of 18 miles.

This picture above is what I see on the Bakersfield Bike trail on the other side of the bridge from Beach Park.  I thought it was too beautiful to not take a picture.

Herbie.jpg

And here’s Herbie hehe.  I saw this just as I was coming into Beach Park this morning.  I have seen this car driving throughout Bakersfield since at least 2000 when we moved here.  Every time I see it I want to take a picture and I never have a camera with me and it just so happens that now I have a cell phone that can take pictures lol.

I’ve already weighed myself and I have lost a couple lb’s so I think adding miles to my bike ride is going to help me lose more weight.  It doesn’t have to come off faster, just as long as it comes off, that’s all that matters.

My legs are jello right now and my back is in pain so that’s all I have for now.

Cycling Again

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, Cycling, ExerciseLeave a comment

Last month I bought a new back wheel for my bicycle so that I could start getting exercise again.  The same exact day, Chips deceased cousins girlfriend bought a vintage 10-speed road bike because I told her I was getting my new wheel and that if she had a bike we could go bike riding together.  We rode exactly 2 times together last month.  I didn’t ride on my own though.

This month we rode once, yesterday and I told her that if this is going to work we are going to have to do this more often, like every day at least.  Since we are both out of shape then perhaps every other day until our leg muscles are more used to it.

I spent a long time figuring out the perfect route for bike riding and unfortunately she doesn’t like my route because it’s the same thing every time and she likes to take short cuts, which defeats the purpose of the ride.  My route has no heavy traffic to cross, all neighborhoods and when we are on the busy roads they have bike lanes.  I pride myself on my organization skills whether anyone likes it or not, typically nobody likes it but me.

My cell phone hasn’t worked in years and I really need to keep a cell phone with me at all times when I’m out on the bike trail so I bought a refurbished Samsung T401G from Net10 which is the same exact phone Darrin has, only I paid $25 for mine since it was refurbished and it comes with a $25 phone card.  Basically I got the phone for free hehe.  But it’s a very nice phone compared to what I would have gotten had I gotten the cheaper phone if I had gone to Sears to buy it today.

Even though we are going to ride every other day, I am going to ride every day if I can (as soon as my new phone arrives) because I have more weight to lose than she does and I am determined to lose it.

I will be suggesting an alternate route for her which is her car.  We were crossing such heavy traffic yesterday and it really freaked me out so if she wants to do this she can drive her bike there and I can meet her on the trail.  I think that is a good plan.  I get more exercise and she gets the amount of exercise she is satisfied with, it’s a win win for everyone involved.

A New Hope For My Bike

On By Michel McDonaldIn Bike, Cycling, Diet, ExerciseLeave a comment

I was at the grocery store yesterday and I ran into a guy who I gave my old bike seat to when I bought my ergo bike seat.  We were talking about bikes and he asked if I was riding and I told him about the saga of my back wheel drama and he told me that he has an old mountain bike that he was using for parts with a back wheel that I can have (HAVE!).

The bike store was going to charge me $40 for the wheel and $10 to install it and most likely there will be taxes and chances are it’s going to be $55 or so which I can’t afford.  I haven’t had a bike in 6 months or so to even ride to the store, I’ve been walking everywhere so this will be great.

He told me he has to dig it out because it’s in the garage and I’m sure it’s deep in there so I’m not expecting it any time soon but it does give me some hope that some day I might return to the bike trail.

I know it’s a “don’t keep your hopes up” type of thing and I’m not but at the same time it gives me a glimmer of hope at least.  I won’t be holding my breath or counting down the days and I don’t expect much since he’s giving it to me for free, I really don’t even know if it will fit either so there’s that.  He said it was for a mountain bike and mine is a mountain bike so I told him it has to be a 26 inch wheel and he said he would check or bring it on by the house to compare.

Also there is a good chance that the gears might not be the same gears.  If it doesn’t have the same, what’s it called?  A cassette?  If it’s not the same then perhaps I might have trouble, or I can bring it to the bike store and say here, let me pay you that $10 to remove this from this and put it on that.

I really hope that it does happen because I really need to get my fat arse back out there and make it smaller.  And actually my bike has a weight limit of 250lbs which I am over so I’ll probably have to veg out for a week to lose 10lbs at least so I can start riding it.  God forbid I break the bike with my fat arse lol.

Wish me luck!

The Situation With My Bike

On By Michel McDonaldIn Cycling, ExerciseLeave a comment

A couple of months ago my bike bit the dust. Well, the back wheel did. What happened was, I rode it to the store and all was ok, it started wobbling but not enough for me to stop and take notice. When I left the store, I unlocked my bike, put the groceries in the bag on the back rack and left. That’s when it took a turn for the worst. Get it? It’s a wheel… it took a “turn”… no?

Anyway, as I was leaving the space that I locked it up at, I got on it and started riding away. It was wobbling something terrible and I got off of it but couldn’t see anything wrong. I got back on it and continued to ride. All of a sudden something terrible happened and I had to get off the bike.

The sun was going down so it was hard to see what was wrong but I did notice that the long screw that holds the wheel onto the bike in the middle had unscrewed all the way over on the left side. The nuts on the right side were missing and so was everything else that was supposed to be in there. I didn’t see anything on the ground so I don’t know when that happened.

I walked the bike home which was a huge mistake, I should have gone across the street from where I was to use Chips cousins phone to have him come get me and the bike because walking it home ruined the back wheel.

The end of the long screw was digging into the middle of the wheel which screwed it up so much that the bike store told me that they can’t fix my wheel, I’d have to buy a new one which is $39.95 plus tax plus $7 to install.

I don’t know if by install they mean they will take the gears (cassette?) off my old wheel and put them on the new wheel or if he means that the new wheel has all the gears on it and installing means placing it on my bike frame. All I know is if it’s the latter, why should I pay someone $7 to do something that I can do for free.

I have put so much money into this mountain bike of mine, I just can’t keep sinking more and more money into it. The only original thing that is left on it is the frame and the chain. Everything else has been replaced.

When I had my first accident on the Oak st. bridge, I had to replace the handlebar stem and a new front wheel. I had to replace the pedals because one of them was broken because it was cheap plastic. My seat was making me impotent so I had to buy an ergo seat which gave me back problems and shoulder pain that wouldn’t go away for 8 months which is why I had to replace the handlebars with beach cruiser handlebars. My front tire got a bubble in it and broke the wiring for my bike computer so I had to buy a new computer and new tires.

I’m just going to get the new wheel and get it over with. I need my bike back for going to doctors appointments. I refuse to take the bus to visit the doctor with lunatics getting in my face at the bus station downtown. I also need it for the daily trip to the grocery store and so I can get back on the bike trail and lose this weight.

My Bike Wheel

On By Michel McDonaldIn Cycling, ExerciseLeave a comment

It has been over a month since my back wheel decided it didn’t want me to ride my bike anymore. I was riding the store and all of a sudden it started getting wobbly but I dismissed it. By the time I left the store I had noticed that it was getting really bad so I got off the bike and saw the problem. The long screw holding the wheel onto the frame had unscrewed to the left. I don’t know why but it did and everything on the right side fell out. All the nuts are gone and the ball bearings, everything is missing.

Chips cousins girlfriend told me that her tenant fixes bikes but I didn’t know him and I would rather just go to the bike shop. Well, we never made time to go and my bike has been sitting in the patio all this time while I’ve had to walk to the store every day.

So yesterday I was walking by her house and went to the door and was talking to her and we decided to ask him about fixing the wheel and I brought the wheel to him and told him I would bring him the money to fix it. He said without looking at it that it might only cost $2-4 to fix it and I told him if it’s that cheap I will give you $20.

I brought him $20 this morning and he said whoa wait, don’t pay me until after I fixed it. Well, I didn’t want him to have to pay for the parts then I end up running out of money and not be able to pay him until November and I wanted my bike back sooner than later.

He took me to where my wheel was sitting and showed me something. I didn’t have my camera with me so I couldn’t take a picture but there is an internal problem. When I was riding the bike, or maybe when I had to walk it home, that long screw had started scraping on the inside of the wheel. So now there is a huge dent from that which will probably prevent him from being able to fix it at all.

He told me that if he can fix all that then he will but he doesn’t even know if he can so he gave me the $20 back and said if I can’t fix it you’re gonna have to go buy a new wheel.

If he can’t fix the wheel then that’s fine, I’ll just get it back from him because I don’t want to have to buy a new tire again, Darrin bought me the tire that is on that wheel and it matches my front tire lol.

I’m not in that much of a hurry to get it back BUT I would like to ride my bike to the store again you know? It’s faster when I’m in a hurry, especially late at night when they are closing in 15-20 minutes. Also, I’d like to get back on the bike to get my exercise again.