Far Out Son of Lung...

Vomit Comet

This past weekend Rogge stopped by with his ages old Mongoose BMX bike, complete with flat tires, a rusty chain and wheel bearings from hell. We repacked the bearings -but it didn't help much- aired up the tires -carefully- and Rogge set to work repolishing the chrome (now varnished) frame. Within an hour we had it rolling, and only the freewheel was still in truly bad shape.

Off to dinner we go, but not on the bikes. Red, Hot & Blue was the cuisine of choice that evening and it certainly was a treat. Sausage, mashed potatos and cole slaw packed our bellies along with more than a few honey biscuits! Upon arriving back at the pad we set to work fixing iTunes, my favorite love/hate relationship. iTunes has been, up until now, a complete bear. I hate my iPod only because I hate iTunes. Not any more. Rogge had it running smooth as silk after only a few minutes and even found time to explain why centrifugal force doesn't exist. I get it now, but I liked be wrong better.

Skip ahead a few minutes and we're riding along on our BMX bikes to a fun filled evening at the local RaceTrack gas station. We crusied along at a reasonable clip, or so I thought, and made our way through the neighborhood to our destination. Upon arrival Rogge made it known that dinner, however tasty, would be making an appearance.

While this was never my goal, I suddenly realized that commuting to work on a bicycle and riding at the velodrome may have prepared me for our ride somewhat better than Rogge, who had not been on a bicycle since 1994. 13 years had taken its toll and along with the knee aches, and things went south (or north then south) several times before we were able to head back. We took it easy for round two and I made sure he had plenty to drink when we got back.

I felt bad, I really did, but I couldn't help laughing. I don't know why, but it was just really funny. I wasn't laughing at him, not like I was amused at his predicament, just laughing because the situtation seemed so surreal. Here we are, two guys in their 30s, crusing the neighborhood on our 20 yr old BMX bikes for a Slushee at the local convenience store... at any rate, it has also reinvigorated my desire to build up a more properly sized BMX bike. I might build a cruiser, but I've been eyeing 20" Pro XL frames on CraigsList and Ebay for a good deal... project number 5!

posted by GreSam @ 16:20