My buddy has been very helpful getting me set up in Hamburg, so I thought I'd return the favor last week by getting his bike flat fixed. "I can fix a flat!" I declared. Which was technically true. I have done it before. But a long time ago, and not often. And not on a 3-speed non-roadbike. And never in Germany...
There is this bike shop on the campus of the University of Hamburg though that provides a workshop for fixing your own bikes, cheap spare parts, and a staff of helpers who can lend a hand if you're stuck. Another German student had shown me where it was, so when my buddy left me his bike, I figured I was set and ready to impress him with my fine bike repair skills.
Unfortunately, I couldn't remember where the bike shop was. And I lacked the German vocabulary to ask anyone. Plus those whom I could ask in English didn't know. After a long while I did eventually find it, and, already flustered, I got to work.
And immediately stopped because I couldn't figure out how to get the wheel off. I was looking for a brake release, but these bikes don't have them. Neither a little lever or a bolt that the cable loops over. Apparently, though, you don't need to release them. As long as you empty the air out of the tire it should slip right off.
Only it didn't. And even the bike repair helpers there (all decked out in their bright red overalls) were stymied. Unfortunately it was really crowded and while I was waiting, these "helpful" girls insisted on taking the bolts all the way off. Which meant I couldn't keep track of all the parts that were now falling off the wheel everywhere. Um, this isn't my bike you're screwing up, ok...?
Eventually, wheel off, I found the leak and applied the patch. Only I didn't wait quite long enough for the glue to dry, so it didn't hold. One of the helpers made the next attempt for me, and then, patch all perfect, I remounted the tire and the wheel, pumped it up, and was on my way. I stopped for lunch and an errand, and then came back to discover that the wheel was flat again. How could that be? We did everything right with that patch! We sanded the tube, we applied enough glue, we waited enough time to apply the patch, we waited enough time to inflate the tire... Unfortunately we neglected to place this wonderful patch OVER the hole, and instead made attached it beautifully beside it.
At this point the level of ambient exasperation was palpable. The helpers towards me for my extreme incompetance and complete inability to communicate effectively, and me towards the helpers for not really helping and to the bike for still needing more fixing, even after the expenditure of all that energy already. But now suddenly confident as inspired by my frustration, I quickly took off the wheel, peeled off the tire, did the patch all by myself (managing to put it OVER the hole...) and then remounted the wheel. Sadly, the step I forgot in my annoyed haste was the one where you are supposed to tighten the wheel bolts to keep it from coming off... I think this pretty much constitutes bike repair malpractice (and here I was, trying to be so helpful and impress my buddy on my fine bike repair skills - apparently I'm a fraud...) However, as far as I know my patch is still holding, and I did at least disclose the bolt problem to my buddy...
Anyway, that was Bike Adventure A. Today was Bike Adventure B, when I took MY bike back there to get a generator for the lamp. The visit then, however, turned into a complete tune-up, replete with a new chain guard (the old one was cracked and rubbed the chain), a new gear shifter (it had three gears but no cable - I was perennially in the highest gear, which explained why I always nearly fell on my face when starting up at intersections, trying to peddle a lump of steel that would barely roll), the dynamo, and a cleaning/greasing of the entire rear gear mechanism, a tweaking of the front wheel (and bolting it securely onto the rest of the bike...), and an adjustment of the front brakes.
It took 2-3 hours and 30 euros to complete but then I was set. The bike was at last roadworthy and I was ready to roll. Just as it started raining...
Edited.
Comments (1)
I fail to understand why exactly you find yourself so drawn to blogging. I randomly happened upon this site after happening to accidentally notice it over your shoulder in class earlier this week. Your excessively self-obsessed blog-ruminations reflect upon the imminently insecure person I and many of my international colleagues have come to be acquainted with since your arrival at Bucerius.
I'm not sure if this comes off as a bit harsh but you should really re-evaluate how you decide to present yourself to the outside world. You unfortunately come off as exceedingly self-important, arrogant, and domineering. There really is no reason for you to artificially commandeer 15-20 minutes out of every class.
A great many of us would appreciate it if you would take a lower-profile role and realize the value that other people have in the world -- you're not the only one with a cerebrum running around in Hamburg these days. It would serve you well to realize this.
Posted by Repeated for Emphasis | September 15, 2005 7:50 PM
Posted on September 15, 2005 19:50