D A Y   O F   R E S T

Wednesday, November 3, 2004

Just more chillin' with good ole Uncle Donald in North Carolina.

The morning arrives and I have my usual 7:30am breakfast with Uncle Don before he whisks off to the office. My plans to leave for Mammoth Caves in KY are scrubbed when work on the website takes me into the mid-afternoon. I decide instead to do a little bike maintenance.

Looking at my bikes as they hang on the bike rack, they look a bit worse for wear. The last time I rode either of them was during my visit to Acadia National Park in Maine about 3 weeks ago. Since then, they've started to rust, one of the unavoidable tragedies when leaving one's bikes exposed to the elements.

Hey, wait a minute. Something is wrong with my road bike's front tire.

Oh No! What happened? While on the rack, somehow my rim got damaged. Thinking back, I do remember backing the van into a guardrail in Maine, but, I checked for damage and saw none. Well, regardless, I have to get this fixed.

I end up buying a used rim for $40. The replacement rim isn't red like the original, however, the price is right and I opt for black. Black goes with everything, no?

While at the bike shop, I decide to get a new tire, brake pads and a tube for the mountain bike. My little shopping spree costs about $100. Not bad, considering this is the first time I've had to buy anything for the bikes since the start of my trip.

The evening is uneventful. I work on the website for a bit then retire late in the evening.