TVC - Day 97 - Salvaged

Friday was a partial repeat of Thursday.....I had two bikes to work on just as I did Thursday, only these two were repeat customers from last summer.  About 9 am Brian brought over his Kona hybrid bike for me to tune up....there was a year's worth of corrosion to deal with, plus the usual brake adjustments, etc....pretty routine for Brian's bike.....Brian and Maria live full time in class 'C' motorhome, and their bikes spend their time outside in the elements on a bike rack pretty much 24/7.  Maria's bike on the other hand came to me in pieces.....the rear wheel was off, and the handlebars, along with the brake levers and shifters, were detached from the stem....it was a mess.  I didn't take the time to ask Brian what happened to Maria's bike, but promised to get it back together and operational.  

Brian's bike took just a couple of hours to bring back up to snuff (I replaced the rusted chain with a better one, the rusted brake 'noodles' with aluminum ones I had salvaged, replaced the front brake cable which was coming unraveled, poured lube in the cable housings and put the bike back together), but Maria's was a whole other matter.  Early in the summer I had gotten permission from our manager, Duane, to disassemble a few of the derelict bikes in the maintenance yard to salvage some useful parts for use in the future on other people's bikes.  I still had all the parts I had salvaged sitting on my work bench, and was wondering where I would store them when we leave TVC in two weeks.....well, the aluminum 'zoom' (adjustable) stem and aluminum handlebars found a new home on Maria's bike.....her bike's original stem and handlebars were essentially rusted metal that used to be painted black.  I quickly removed the old stem and handlebars and installed the aluminum replacements....a big improvement already.....I also pulled the 'headset' bearings and lubed them.  Then I went to work on the rear wheel, which needed to have the threaded free wheel removed so I could get at the axle bearings to lube them, and clean up the hub......once that was done and the free wheel had been also cleaned I reassembled the wheel and re-installed it on the bike....okay the bike is now looking like a bike again.  I lubed her chain, which was not rusted....it was a pretty high end chain.  After fiddling with the rear derailleur for about an hour I was able to get it to shift pretty well...I think that will need to be replaced in the near future, but I don't have a spare one that will work on her bike.

Once the bikes were done I got out the outdoor TV, turned on the PGA golf tournament and relaxed in the shade.......my sister Jill called for our weekly phone call....sometimes we just talk about ordinary stuff, but this day we got a little below the surface....it was good, and it is why I try to talk with her once a week. We spent most of our lives not talking, and with her living three time zones away it's the only way we can build a good relationship....it's working.

After our call I took a long, hot shower to remove all the grime from two days of bike repairs, and went back to my lounge chair for the balance of the afternoon.  While all of the aforementioned bike repairs, phone calls, and PGA watching was going on TLE did a load of wash, and went grocery shopping.  I haven't mentioned it, but for the first time in over 4 years she has either a full blown head/chest cold, or her allergies are on overdrive....she has been fighting that for the last four days, and thankfully we had two days off for her to rest, which she did.....she has taken more naps in the past two days than I have seen her take in the last year.

For dinner TLE presented me with two filets to grill while she made her signature asparagus and baked potatoes........a great way to end another day at TVC!

Thanks for stopping by!