Clothes, Bicycle Work
Mar. 23rd, 2016 12:40 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stormdogI've been having fun with clothes recently. Housemate Nathan gave me some of his outdated femmey stuff (so many thanks to him!), and today I went through several bags of my clothes. I also found a few button-down shirts I like while thrifting with my dad. I want some more variety. I should photograph myself in a couple of new outfits. As well as more casual stuff, Danae and I have talked more about the kind of look I'm after for parties or other alt dress-up kind of stuff. I've orbited around some elements of French Rococo and androgynous seventies glam. She and I went to American Apparel, just down the street, where she put me in some metallic silver tights; those were fun!
My good weather bike, Longing, is in Kenosha getting an overhaul. The package was about $140 plus parts there, while it would have been $300 plus in Evanston. This probably reflects cost of labor and stuff; this is a much more expensive area. I'm in Kenosha a lot, so it makes sense to do it there. I thought hard about taking the full set of classes at the Recyclery; it's a skill set I'd like to have in theory. But I don't know how often I'd really be rebuilding hub bearings or replacing a crankset. I do want to start volunteering there again, sooner or later.
Anyway, the weird wobble in my back wheel was a broken axle. Longing is also getting a new crankset and pedals (they were the original set), a new chain, and new cables and housings. I hadn't thought about the crankset, but he said that's what's causing the occasional chain skipping under high tension I've noticed. They're rebuilding the bearings on the front and rear hubs and headset, which were all developing noticeable 'notches'. It's going to come to around $300, most of which is covered by Christmas money from my parents and grandmother.
It's been more than six weeks since my surgery, which was the wait-time the physical therapist recommended. I still can't do real push-ups, but I couldn't do that before the surgery. It's been years since my wrist was up to it. Some things still cause some pain; the most notable one is whatever pattern of forces apply when I jump onto the back of a grocery cart to ride it across the parking lot. (What, you don't do that?) But it's so much better than it's been in years. I can play console games without suffering a day of aching afterward, which makes me deeply happy. Maybe someday it'll even be as good as my other wrist.
Anyway, I'm so happy to finally be looking at bicycling in the near future. I think it'll be good for my head.
My good weather bike, Longing, is in Kenosha getting an overhaul. The package was about $140 plus parts there, while it would have been $300 plus in Evanston. This probably reflects cost of labor and stuff; this is a much more expensive area. I'm in Kenosha a lot, so it makes sense to do it there. I thought hard about taking the full set of classes at the Recyclery; it's a skill set I'd like to have in theory. But I don't know how often I'd really be rebuilding hub bearings or replacing a crankset. I do want to start volunteering there again, sooner or later.
Anyway, the weird wobble in my back wheel was a broken axle. Longing is also getting a new crankset and pedals (they were the original set), a new chain, and new cables and housings. I hadn't thought about the crankset, but he said that's what's causing the occasional chain skipping under high tension I've noticed. They're rebuilding the bearings on the front and rear hubs and headset, which were all developing noticeable 'notches'. It's going to come to around $300, most of which is covered by Christmas money from my parents and grandmother.
It's been more than six weeks since my surgery, which was the wait-time the physical therapist recommended. I still can't do real push-ups, but I couldn't do that before the surgery. It's been years since my wrist was up to it. Some things still cause some pain; the most notable one is whatever pattern of forces apply when I jump onto the back of a grocery cart to ride it across the parking lot. (What, you don't do that?) But it's so much better than it's been in years. I can play console games without suffering a day of aching afterward, which makes me deeply happy. Maybe someday it'll even be as good as my other wrist.
Anyway, I'm so happy to finally be looking at bicycling in the near future. I think it'll be good for my head.
