By. The. Jingo.
Thursdays are update days! Unless I forget, like I did last night. I realised that it was Thursday at 11.45 pm last night. I suppose I could’ve posted a blog before midnight but it would have been of little value. And there I was thinking that I was doing really well on the New Year’s resolution front!
Still, at least taking my time to post now instead of rushing to post last night means I can bring you a few pictures.
I took half a day’s holiday today to go and collect my new bike, Susie, from Yarm Cycles. She has a bell! This is her, still wrapped up in places, looking teeny tiny next to Muriel. She certainly didn’t seem so teenty tiny once I was trying to get her into the back of Muriel! The Nice Lady from the shop had to come and help. Luckily, Susie’s front wheel is on some sort of quick release mechanism, so it’s easy to remove for situations such as this. Unfortunately, putting the wheel back on once you get to your destination is another matter entirely. I think it would be easier if I had big Man Hands: you have to slip the wheel back between the forks (I think that’s what they’re called!) and squeeze the brakey bits together while you pop the brake cable back into its grippy thing.
(Can you tell I don’t know much about bikes, or the names of their parts? ‘Wheel’ and ’saddle’ are about all I can handle.)
Anyway, I managed to squeeze the brakey bits together, using both hands, but ideally could’ve done with a third hand to pop the cable back into place. I suppose I could’ve used my teeth, if I wanted to end up looking as though I had a mouth full of Scrabble tiles. In the end (and don’t tell Mutti or Keith this, for they may collapse on the spot and never recover) I brought Susie inside the house so that I could sit on the stairs, clamp her front wheel between my knees and fiddle on with her brakes.
Wheel secured and brakes tested, I strapped on my (stunning) bike helmet, tied on my tatty old Converse and set off for a jaunt. I decided to ride to the shop which is a mere 1.6 miles away, withdraw the cash I needed for the weekend, and pedal back. Piece of cake! Only it wasn’t.
I suppose being bike-less for the past four months has really taken its toll. By the time I got to the shop I thought I was going to have to strip off all of my clothes lie down, prone, on the pavement, and call Lassie to go get help. Stoically, though, I remained standing, withdrew my pennies and set off pedalling home. Less Year of Adventure, more Year of the Wheezing Girl.
On the plus side, I did make it up the hill past what I call the Drug Baron’s House (he isn’t really a Drug Baron. At least, I don’t think he is) without swearing overly much, and I did see a few rabbits. Once I got home, though, I could barely make it up the stairs on my wobbly legs.
The reason why I didn’t post last night was because I was knitting these. My friend from work, Katherine, started her maternity leave today and I wanted to make a bunny ear hat I found on the glory that is Ravelry. I made a newborn sized hat first, but wasn’t too keen on in. Topping it with a pom-pom (if you can humiliate kids truly when they’re babies, when can you?) I cast on the 3-6 months hat in pink (Katherine knows she’s having a girl). I finished the hat last night and stayed up to make the bunny ears. I finished them, but I don’t like them. They’re far too pointy!
So, I’m going to have another go using a different ear pattern (there’s more than one, believe it or not) or alternatively think of something else to adorn the hat with. Then I need to get cracking on a day-glo yellow scarf for Lisa’s daughter Kristen, which I’d intended to have finished for tonight. Not going to Arron’s means I’ve missed more than 6 hours of prime train-knitting time, and unfortunately I haven’t mastered knitting whilst on a fast-moving mountain bike.
Yet.
[...] and try to blog at least once a week for the rest of the year. Do long-standing readers remember my Thursdays are update days! resolution? That didn’t last very long! Maybe I should re-introduce it for [...]
[...] getting and riding a new bike [...]