Mortaine’s Blog

After looking closely at the statement, the reserve against returns has been released, which is why the check was so much.

This also means, I believe, that the book will be going “out of print.”

RIP and farewell. It was a good run while it lasted, but I can’t say I’m sorry it’s over.

I’ve got a bike you can ride it if you like it’s got a basket a bell and lots of nifty things to make it look good….

I’m sure I got that lyric wrong. But whatever.

Anyway, I took my bike, Luna, out of mothballs today. She was covered in cat hair and needed the tires to be refilled. She really needs to have a complete overhaul, though cleaning the chain would do the trick, too. Luna is a silver Marin 24-speed street bicycle with shocks on the wheels and seat. The shifting action is very smooth (especially when the chain isn’t clogged with cat fur), and the brakes work pretty well, which is important to me for obvious reasons.

I also took off those stupid foot clamps she came with. Who thought those would be a good idea anywhere but on a closed track? Yikes! Without them, I can stop the bike without needing to be next to a curb. With them, I always needed some way to stabilize myself before taking my foot out of the pedal.

Anyway, after fixing the tires and removing the clamps, I went for a little ride, just down to the vet to get cat food and back again. The vet is only a mile away– the whole excursion took less than 20 minutes. If I had taken the car, it would have been about as long and wouldn’t have elevated my heartrate.

Though I did remind myself of why Luna has been in mothballs for a year. I live on a hill. And the mostly-level street to get to my hill is on an incline as well. So, I get winded getting to my street, and then fall off the bike and groan when I reach my street.

There are some beautiful places to ride in Santa Cruz. All I need is a bike rack for Kirei and I can take full advantage of them.

The basket/bell toys on Luna:
Rack on the back for strapping stuff
Collapsable saddlebag that hooks to the rack (can get a second for the other side, but so far haven’t had a need).
Front headlight by Catseye (for riding at dusk)
Rear blinking red light by Catseye (see above– the rack tends to obscure it, so I also have one that clips to my clothes)
Odometer/spedometer
More comfy bike seat (hi, sit bones, yes)
Helmet and fingerless gloves (2 pairs of gloves– I think one is John’s or I just didn’t realize I already had a pair)
Water bottle holder and water bottle that I got free from the store that sold Luna to me (of course it has their logo on it)

All of Luna’s stuff, including my helmet and gloves, are silver, white, or black, except the reflectors and blinking lights, which are yellow or red for safety.

I used to have a rearview mirror, but took it off because it was in my way. I prefer to ride on sidewalks, by the way, because I never really learned how to ride in the street.