Books, beer and bikes after Midnight

“So how did we end up reading this book?” Dave asked.  I’d done OK with my previous book pick.  In choosing between Clive Cussler’s The Gray Ghost, Gabriel García Márquez’s One Hundred Years of Solitude , and three other books, it was apparent that I didn’t offer up a good selection in the first place.  The Gray Ghost was like reading a Hardy Boys mystery, better for a seventh grader and seemingly written by a computer algorithm.  Not that it wasn’t a fun story, but the fun was in analyzing the writing structure.  And Vincent said, “I finished it because I wanted to see how it ended.”

On the positive side, everyone arrived at my house on either a bike or a Vespa.  And I got to show off the Jari.  Vincent’s mechanical engineering mind marveled at the Fuji Jari’s hydraulic disc breaks.  Glen liked the self-sealing tubeless tires.  And Dave liked the light weight.

We talked about workshops and home projects, and I said that I’d like to take up bike repair as a hobby.  Glen had recently replaced the windows in his house.  He said that the first window is hard, but then you understand the process. And maybe fixing bikes is the same.

We talked about fixing bikes when we were kids and about the spatial awareness that came from biking everywhere.  When kids bike, they seem to be better drivers.

After last night, I’m inspired to improve my workspace and start fixing bikes for people.