You now can add something else to the list of crazy things I have decided to do: training for a triathalon. Saturday was Day One of training, which really only means that I took my bike in for a tune-up.
Mid-morning Saturday I walked my old bike over to the local bike shop, which shall remain nameless. No one had answered the phone for a few days, and of course they don’t have voice mail or an answering machine, but I figured that at 11 am on a Saturday there would have to be someone there working.
I approached the front door, bracing myself for the onslaught of creepiness that usually accompanies a trip to the bike shop. Instead, two perfectly nice workers were standing in the shop which was clearly being renovated. I told them I was just looking for a tune-up, and they suggested I wait while they got one of the employees who was just next door.
So one of the electricians went into the bar next door (you may remember that this whole story takes place before noon) and got one of the guys. “Come back next weekend” he told me. I thanked him and mentioned that I would probably take my bike some place else. He looked at me like that was the most absurd thing he had ever heard: “There’s no other bike place in South Boston”.
Believe it or not, sir, occasionally I leave the neighborhood. It’s rare and unpleasant, but not unheard of.
My bike currently rests at a bike shop in the Back Bay, waiting for its tune-up and flat repair. I did use a stationary bike yesterday in an effort to get my training off the ground. Today, a few miles jogging and a trip to buy some goggles.
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