comédie à la bicycle

To try a change of pace and get a bit of exercise, I rode my old folding bike to the mechanic to pick up my car. I bought it over 15 years ago and it stows in the back seat, avoiding the need for a bike rack.

Alas, there's no escaping it's 15 years old and has gotten a bit rickety. I hardly ever use it anymore, since I bought an electric bike. Plus I've got a couple other normal bikes that are easier to use when I don't need a folding bike.

But... I went ahead and pumped up the tires, and did a 'flight check' before leaving and things seemed in okay order.

As I rode onward, it seemed like a few things on the bike were disintigrating ride under me!

Not even a full mile into it, the front brake failed. Luckily the rear brake kept working. I've got to see if I can fix that, I s'pect.

Then my water bottle flew across the street after hitting a bump. Had to secure that a lot better than the first time.

Next, my front light just came apart in pieces onto the ground suddenly. I had checked and it was working before I left! But I guess the plastic has gotten too brittle to hold together.

Next to go was my front reflector. Also a casualty of brittle plastic.

I got more than half way along the trip, and when stopped at an intersection, I discovered that 3 of the 4 screws holding the storage rack had flown off! Luckily the last screw held on all the way to my destination.

Thank goodness the chain didn't break!