weekend progress
Three hours on the trainer was what Coach Josh prescribed so we honored his wishes. Tuned in to some old movies, put the front wheel up on a milk crate, and rode up simulated mountains while sweating profusely. Not fun, but necessary.
Sunday, it was back outside, and what a thrill it was to ride under sunny skies. Rich the righteous wrench has outfitted me with all new parts on the drivetrain, as well as a freshly rebuilt back wheel, and it was nice to be out there riding along without the clicking and the clacking that have haunted me for the past few weeks.
President John F. Kennedy once said that, "the time to fix the roof is when the sun is shining," so after the ride, I went up on the roof to try to remedy the leaky chimney. During the most recent rain storm, I was lying in bed after a long morning of training, and a longer day of work, when I heard the familiar sound of water dripping. Sadly, the water was dripping from the ceiling onto me, in bed.
This will not do. I called my favorite carpenter on earth, and he put me on his list. This time of year, you can languish on a carpenter's list for a good long while, so I visited Nantasket Hardware to see if they had some supplies. Six dollars and twenty-five cents later, I had everything I needed.
I do not know how to fix a roof, but I do know how to fix a boat. So I pretended the roof was an old wooden boat, and I put the skills to use that have served me well in the past. From the inside of the attic, I found the hole, opened it up, filled it first with epoxy, then thickened the epoxy with cabosil, and put the mixture into the void. Then I screwed a cedar backer board into place beneath the crack, so the fix should be good and strong.
Then it was up onto the roof with a tube of roofing tar and a heart filled with hope. Roofing tar is messy, and after half an hour, there was as much tar upon me as there was on the roof. I had donned coveralls, so I was protected.
Once the Tour is over, there will be many experiences like this in my future. No doubt, I will be sad, thinking life was more glorious when it was single-minded, and the goal was epic.
But you can't lie in bed when the rain is dripping on your head, and sooner or later, if you don't fix the house, it falls down around you. Something to keep in mind when I hang up the bike, and get out the tool belt.
Sunday, it was back outside, and what a thrill it was to ride under sunny skies. Rich the righteous wrench has outfitted me with all new parts on the drivetrain, as well as a freshly rebuilt back wheel, and it was nice to be out there riding along without the clicking and the clacking that have haunted me for the past few weeks.
President John F. Kennedy once said that, "the time to fix the roof is when the sun is shining," so after the ride, I went up on the roof to try to remedy the leaky chimney. During the most recent rain storm, I was lying in bed after a long morning of training, and a longer day of work, when I heard the familiar sound of water dripping. Sadly, the water was dripping from the ceiling onto me, in bed.
This will not do. I called my favorite carpenter on earth, and he put me on his list. This time of year, you can languish on a carpenter's list for a good long while, so I visited Nantasket Hardware to see if they had some supplies. Six dollars and twenty-five cents later, I had everything I needed.
I do not know how to fix a roof, but I do know how to fix a boat. So I pretended the roof was an old wooden boat, and I put the skills to use that have served me well in the past. From the inside of the attic, I found the hole, opened it up, filled it first with epoxy, then thickened the epoxy with cabosil, and put the mixture into the void. Then I screwed a cedar backer board into place beneath the crack, so the fix should be good and strong.
Then it was up onto the roof with a tube of roofing tar and a heart filled with hope. Roofing tar is messy, and after half an hour, there was as much tar upon me as there was on the roof. I had donned coveralls, so I was protected.
Once the Tour is over, there will be many experiences like this in my future. No doubt, I will be sad, thinking life was more glorious when it was single-minded, and the goal was epic.
But you can't lie in bed when the rain is dripping on your head, and sooner or later, if you don't fix the house, it falls down around you. Something to keep in mind when I hang up the bike, and get out the tool belt.
posted by joe berkeley at 2:43 PM
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