So I just started my second week at NASA. It’s been pretty cool. I’m working on a project that has to do with visual impairment and how intraocular pressure is related to it in astronauts who come back from extended periods of time in space. I’m only doing literature review right now, which kind of sucks. But I have a video analysis on biomechanics as a side project, so it helps break the monotony.
Riding my bike to work is fun. Which brings me to my terrible experience with bikes thus far.
I bought a bike last Monday night from Academy Sports (worst fucking store ever…more on that later). I’m excited to ride my bike to work the next day and it goes well. I get to and from work with no problems at all. On Thursday morning, my bike pedal/crank falls off. I scrape my leg and I’m all kinds of WTF. I figure out how to fix it after I take it back to my apt. I tighten it back on and I’m late to work by 30 minutes. I get home with no problems after work.
The next day, it starts to get lose again. I don’t get why it gets loose, but maybe I didn’t do a good job of tightening it, since I didn’t have a socket wrench. When I get to work, I search for a socket wrench, find one and tighten the nut until I couldn’t anymore. All seems well. I get off work and start riding home. I get the weird feeling of my foot falling off my pedal that I got when it happened the first time. I check the nut and its loose again. I stop periodically on my way home and tighten it enough by hand to get me home.
I return the bike to Academy on Sat. and get a different bike model that will not have this problem because of the way it is mounted on the bike. I bring it back and lock it up as I usually do. On Sunday (yesterday) I decided to fill the tires in the afternoon, lest I forget to do it until Monday morning. I do so, no problems. Later that night, I decided I wanted to go to Sonic, so I get ready to take my bike. Both tires are flat. GG. One of my friends takes me back to academy to buy patches for the tubing. I get home and spend an hour and a half or so patching the tubing and making sure its okay. All seems well until I pump up the tires. The front tires hole has gotten too big somehow and a patch can’t hold it. My back tires inexplicably are flat again.
I end up getting a ride to work today.
I just got back from Bike Barn for the second time. I took it there after work and they replaced both the tubes. I ride it home, no issues. Lock it up and go back inside to do stuff. About 30 minutes later, I decide to just check on my bike, and lo and behold my back tire is flat again. I take it back to bike barn and apparently the back tire tubing was defective. It just ruptured on the seam. They replaced it for free (damn straight). Now I am paranoid about my bikes tires. I’ll probably go check on them later tonight while I still have time to go to bike barn in case something goes terribly wrong.
So I basically went through 2 bikes, 3 tubes and 3 patches to get to where I am now, which I hope is a working bike. I’m totally spending more money on my bike that I plan on getting when I return to the east coast. So many headaches…
