It's been awhile since I've had anything meaningful to offer here.
I
have not had a lot of motivation to do anything bike-related this
summer, including both riding and repairing bikes. I have a small number
of bikes that I've bought in order to fix up and flip, but lately the parts have been harder to come by and I am running out of free time to throw into them; because music venues are opening up and I have to try
and make a living.
Meanwhile, a new twist has just been thrown into my micro-local bikeiverse: a fellow who moved into the neighborhood this summer has just hung a shingle, advertising that he's available to repair bicycles for free. He says he's an "experienced amateur," which could mean anything; and you still have to buy parts (which he apparently doesn't have a lot of on hand). But maybe it's a sign that it is time to scale down my bike activities and perhaps my stock of bikes, parts and tools.
High Holy Days are early this year; Rosh Hashanah falls on Labor Day. Plus I need to pour more energy into hustling for gigs, since that IS my day job.
Yes, I'm still depressed. No, I'm not planning to end my life. Yes, I know that even with the limits of Medicaid and age I still have it way better than about two thirds of the world.
I may let this blog go at some point, because I don't really have a lot to offer about bicycles anymore. We live in a different world now, and my relationship with bicycles is changing rapidly. I no longer believe they'll help us save the world, because there are too many powerful and wealthy interests lined up to keep that from happening. But on a cool summer evening, a bicycle is still lovely thing to ride around the neighborhood, to hear crickets and say hi to neighbors, and that's something.
Happy riding.