Hard to believe things are so messed up when Spring has finally hit; 60 degrees, still in leg warmers but just a jersey and short-finger gloves. It is just so nice out there; this is what keeps me going. I am not thinking about two hours down the road, opening the shop, answering the phone a zillion times because people want to get their old bikes fixed so they can do something other than walk around the block 5 or 6 or 10 times. And that’s what many of them actually do; I see it from my kitchen window.
But when I’m out on my bike, on a morning like that, very few people on the road, the sun is shining… for a couple hours of my day, I’m not thinking about how crazy work is, I’m not thinking about the shelter order that prevents us from getting our new location fixed up so we can move into it. I’m not thinking about all the little and big stresses that life has thrown at me the past few years.
Instead, I’m thinking this is something I have control over. I can go faster, I can take it easier. I can ride at a conversational pace or I can bust my lungs apart. Let’s see, I’m 64 right now, started long-distance riding and racing at 15. That means next year I’ll have spent 50 years at this? Kevin (pilot) was on the ride with me this morning and asked how many times I’ve climbed Kings over the years. It’s pretty ridiculous. But as long as I can keep coming back for more, it’s kind of like a way of stopping the clock. I’m not actually getting older if I can still do the same things, right? Even if just a bit slower.
Mike,
Did I miss the grand announcement about about something happening at Chain Reaction?
I suspected the recent hints in the Almost Daily Diary may have been about a new location.
When will the new location be announced? I think the Talbot’s building is still vacant if you need a back up option. It looks like Chain Reaction was hit with a double dose of crazy busy
with the convergence of daylight savings, good weather, and a lot of people with spare time and
old broken bikes.
UAL has been keeping us busy for the time being, but October (when the government funds run out)
will probably be the start of lay off time. We are currently being paid to stay home (on call) for 1 day a week (social distancing stuff) and working the other 4 days on site. Many people are burning sick & vacation time (it’s easy if you are 60+ years old), but some of us are waiting for the cold / flu season
(October & beyond?) to stay away from work.
I am busy now, but I may be available if you need an extra body for your big move.
Please update Kevin’s recovery on the Daily Dairy.
Does Steve work at the shop? You rarely mention him in your Daily Diary entries or on the website.
Good luck!
Chris
Wow, I hadn’t even considered what the new look of air travel would do to maintenance needs. Oscar say just 10% of the fleet in place by October 1st. The new location will be the former Aaron Brothers Art Mart at the corner of El Camino & Roosevelt, just two blocks to the south. We would love to believe we can be moving things by June 1st but the reality is that we’ve been so crazy busy lately that it may be difficult to get very far, without a lot of extra help. So we’ll take anything we can get. 🙂 And yes, Steve does work at the shop too.
Sick & vacation time? I’ve had a total now of 11 sick days off in 40 years.