i still love the machinery

Effective 9-24-12, I am no longer employed at Citybikes Workers' Cooperative.

Due to my teaching schedule I am not currently available to do at-home repairs for friends, though I am always happy to answer technical and commuting questions.

I just want to go on record with something that feels incredibly important to me tonight:

I still love the machinery.

I still love passing a gorgeous bike parked on the street and staring at it the way some men stare after a beautiful, high-priced escort on the Las Vegas strip.

I still love the flow and the beautiful lines of a lugged steel frame, the stunning clarity of newly-built wheels, the touch of fresh handlebar tape, the promise of a brand-new leather saddle.

I love the viscosity of chain oil between my fingertips and the heft of an expensive wrench in my hand.
I love knowing by feel just how much torque is "enough" when tightening a cottered crank nut, and that a loose headset cup on a cheap bike can be affixed with epoxy and patience and it will work as good as new.
Some knowledge is strictly empirical, hard-won through years of practice and repetition. I love having such knowledge in my hands.

I still think that bicycles are among the most perfect technological wonders of human innovation, and I still believe that they can help us to save the world if we let them. I am honored to have been a part of this technological history for as long as I have been. In an age where information is transmitted electronically, remotely, often without human touch, my knowledge base is in danger of becoming archaic.

I don't care. I love knowing these things.

I still love the machinery, and I always will.