Bike Gallery offering deal of the century

My right gear cable busted the other day, so I’ve been riding around stuck in high gear ever since. The alternative was to scrunch down in the cold wet dark, hold the rear tire off the ground while cranking the pedals and shifting it manually into a lower gearall at the same time. On top of all that misery I know full well that bike grease doesn’t wash off -- you have to wait till your top layer of skin molts off and start fresh. I decided that riding around with it the way it was would be easier.

This morning when it was finally convenient, I took it in to Bike Gallery which is right next door to my gym. A sign said they had a winter overhaul special going on for only $125. labor – as opposed to the usual $225 or something. So I had one of the mechanics look over my bike, and he showed me all the things wrong with it. It wasn’t like when take your car to the jiffy lube for a simple oil change and they keep traipsing back to your car window with yet another unrecognizable piece of your car drowning in a fist full of scum, saying “Wouldn’t you like a new one of these?”

No, the pedal cranks were wiggly in the bottom bracket, the chain had stretched out so long it was practically dragging on the ground, etc. No wonder it kept slipping. Don’t you hate that? Just when you need to really haul, the chain skips a few sprockets and you’re lucky if you don’t land on the cross bar – or whatever that thing is called.

I decided to go for it. Why wait for all these things to fall apart one by one and then lose half a day dealing with it? Besides, fixing my cable was going to cost me $23 labor, whereas this way it’ll be included in the overhaul.

Here’s Brian, starting work on my bike at the Sandy Blvd Bike Gallery. I took closeups of the bike itself, and when I get it back tomorrow I’ll show you the Before and After pictures.