If I Were Me

I am aware that no one but me really cares about this, but this has been bugging me all day and since I’m the one writing the blog and really can’t think of anything else, you and I are stuck with this.

I decided that today was the day that I should or should I say I needed to grease the bearings on my bike and do a general tune up and clean.. It has been over due since last year and it’s at the stage where I am afraid to ride it with any clothing that I don’t want to get oil and road grit on.

I cleared a space on the workbench and pulled out the necessary pans that I use to clean the bearings and parts in. I set up the bike stand and clamped the bike in it. Just a pull of the cable and the brakes released and a flip of the toggle had the front tire in my hand. I picked up a couple of new cone wrenches at the Airport sales this year and before you know it, I had the axle out and the dust covers pried off.

This is where the day turns to shit. I started to get the ball bearings out and I heard a tiny metal ball hit the workbench top and nothing else. The smart thing would have been to sweep the floor of the garage just before I started to work in case something small and covered with black grease happened to bounce off of the bench and onto the floor. With a clean floor it would stand out like a…a…ball bearing on a clean floor. As it was, it is just some anonymous tiny bit of dust covered debris. No matter, I can replace it.

Some of the bearings fell through the hole and I’m pretty sure I got them all out of the axle hole. Pretty sure. It’s hard to tell until I clean the whole thing. This is the point where I can’t find either one of the gallon (four litre) jugs of cleaner that I use. Every fall, I bring them inside so that they don’t freeze and I will know exactly where they are the first time I decide to clean my bike when the weather gets bike ready. It’s really hard to get oil and grease off of your hands without some kind of grease cutting cleaner, and my hand cleaner must be with the two other jugs. Perfect!

I have spent most of the rest of the day either searching for the cleaner or thinking about where it would be. One winter, I left them on the back stairs for the entire winter. I didn’t mean to, I was just never motivated enough to move them to a more permanent location. I wish I hadn’t been motivated last year.

I just went out and put the bike and stand in a corner of the garage and pulled the car in for the night. I have decided that I will go down to MEC and pick up another four litre jug tomorrow.

Tomorrow happens to be Calgary Stampede Parade Day and most of the downtown is blocked off to traffic for the morning, so I guess I will be going after lunch. I know that shortly after I get back, my eyes will drift to a corner of the garage that I had searched ten times and there in plain sight will be the jugs.

Maybe I should give the house and garage another once over before I go to bed. “Now…if I were me, where would I have put the jugs?”