Sunday, August 21, 2011

Sunday Final

Bleh.
Bleh and oh wow!
That sort of sums up today.
We got a tropical storm that was to the south of the islands and I think it's bringing in some bleh weather.
Today started off overcast and it's pretty much still overcast with some light rains.
Did this stop me from making my appointed rounds?
Hell no!
So off I went!
I was thinking about what I wrote earlier and decided I would try to just ride blind.
So to speak.
I gotta say, it's really hard not looking at the Prevaricating Garmin all the time and even when I'm not looking at it, I'm still thinking about it.
The Flat Tire Quest for Cycling Zen may take a while.
So anyways, I'm riding around and what do I see?
Lookee here.
Right there!
On the ground!



It's a kickstand!
So I park the bike against a pole and walk up to it.
Doesn't have a name on it.
I take a look around.
No one seems to be looking for it.
I take another look around.
Then I wrap it up in a paper towel and stash in the Flat Tire Things Found on the Ride Bag(FTTFOTRB).
More on this later.
Like I was saying it was a bleh day all around:



Didn't stop some other folks from making their appointed rounds either.
A guy and his kids making their way out to the surf break:



Well while I was watching them, I noticed that way out there, far off in the distance, it was starting to rain.
Over there!
Way, way, over there!



Okay, not really.
I mean it's only around 2.5 miles away, but that's part of my ride and now I'm thinking maybe it's not such a great idea to head on out over there.
Then I think okay, I'll just turn on the afterburners and dry that rain right up!
So off I go!
I was going so fast the rain turned tail and went in the other direction!
It was me versus the rain and I won!
Okay, not really.
Actually I slowed down cause I was getting a face full of road water and even though I like water, I figured I didn't want to indulge in too much of a good thing.
If you know what I mean.
I was going to cut my ride short, but apparently my blistering speed did dry up the roads some so I was able to do my full route.
So anyways, I get home and inspect my treasure:



It's like a full complete kickstand.
Mounting plates and all.
Now it's a mystery how it got on to that sidewalk, it sure didn't fall off of someones bicycle.
Everything works on it, the return spring and all, but it's not going to fit on the Bike With The Funny Name for the mounting plate is bit strange and the BWTFN has no bracket for a kickstand:



I need to make me a new top mounting plate, one that will clamp on to the top of the stays.
Fortunately, I'm in a metal shop class so maybe I can do some minor fabrication while I'm there.
More on this later.
Scoring that kickstand sort of made slogging around today worth it.
I minimized my computer watching and actually found myself in a way larger gear, a gear I wouldn't normally use.
I guess that's a good thing.
Maybe today wasn't such a bleh kind of day after all.

5 comments:

Steve A said...

That reminds me; I must think of something useful to do with my extra kickstands. I'll be watching here for inspiration.

John Romeo Alpha said...

I too have a kickstand seeking an application. We, your readers, are hoping for Kickstand Inspiration!

limom said...

Boy, I feel all pressured out now!
Actually it looks like it will be pretty straight forward.
I was hoping I could do one of those rear mounted jobs, but the mounting bracket won't allow that.
This will have to go behind the bottom bracket.
Hopefully.

GreenComotion said...

Interesting find! A Greenfield, I presume?

Peace :)

limom said...

You mean these things got names?