Yesterday my car broke down on the way to the store. Fortunately, we hadn't gotten all that far from home, just over two miles. My wife and son (only three), walked on home. While they did that I waited for the tow truck to come. This was all a new experience for me. I've never had a car break down like that before!
When the tow truck arrived we discovered that I didn't have an 'I' ring/screw that hooks to the front of the car for them to pull it up onto the tow truck. I gave the driver permission to do what she could and she got it up there without (I think) any damage to the car. We took it in to a shop right there in Rainier but I won't really know what's wrong until tomorrow since they're closed.
The positives with the experience? The help we got from everyone. A couple strong guys pulled over and helped push the car out of the road. The insurance folks I talked to on the phone were very helpful at getting roadside assistance. The tow truck driver made that whole process easy. Ron, the gentleman that turned around and came back to give me a ride when he saw me walking down the street carrying our car seat. And my mother-in-law who graciously came up a day early so that we could still get shopping done before everyone (except me) goes on a trip to the Oregon coast.
The downside? The expense and the unknown factor. Based on reading I did I think it was probably the plastic shift carrier that broke, but I don't know. Even if that's the case, I don't know how long it'll take to get the parts and get it fixed. I can't do anything about that but wait and see.
With all of that going on I didn't get to the trike yesterday.
Today I got up, worked on editing my latest book, and then when everyone else went out to do the shopping I got to work on the bike and trike.
I installed new clipless pedals on the mountain bike. I cleaned it and lubed the chain. Until the car gets fixed it's going to be my primary means of transportation to and from work. That's ~17 miles each way, starting tomorrow. I like riding and commuting by bike but it does take a lot of time at that distance. Plus I'll still have to deal with the car.
I put the other pedals back on the trike, cleaned and lubed it too. The tires needed air after sitting for over a year. I don't have a floor pump yet that works with presta valves but my hand pump worked well enough to get some air. The pressure wasn't as high as I'd like but enough to ride.
It was lots of fun to get out on the trike! I've missed it. Very different feeling sitting, reclined, inches from the road instead of being perched up on a 29" mountain bike! My muscles told me that they weren't used to riding in that position, so I just took a short ride. I passed another recumbent, a hand-crank recumbent.
My plan, going forward, is to alternate my exercise between the mountain bike, the trike, and running. It'll depend on my mood.
On the other hand, if the car can't be fixed, or is too expensive to fix right now, then I'll be predominantly riding the mountain bike, because I'll have to commute and it's faster than the trike. I might use the trike to ride to the store in Yelm because I've got my plastic tub panniers I made that I could carry groceries. We'll see!
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