24 November 2008

don't you have a man for that?

"don't you have a man for that?" was the question i was asked while i was fixing a hole in my bike tire the other day. umm, no. no husband, no boyfriend. to make the woman asking feel better, i did say that i knew i could always call one of the guys from the community if i couldn't get the outer tire back on. i figured a discussion on why i'd need a man to do it was probably not helpful [and would have been a bit premature if i hadn't managed to get the outer tire on myself].

sure, it'd be nice to have a man around who'd fix my bike tires for me (recognizing of course that just being a man does not make one qualifed or capable of fixing bike tires). nonetheless, being able to fix a flat tire myself is something i'd still want to be able to do (it's kind of like how in college i decided i ought to be able to change the oil in my car [i can, although i have no desire to do it again]). and i will honestly admit that i try to work on my bike at the same time i know other very helpful individuals in the community will be around to help (rescue) me, if needed.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I can't believe people actually say stuff like that!!! *shakes head*. Well, maybe I can, but still!

S.G. said...

I've ridden bikes longer than any of my little crew of riders (Fat Old Men's Bicycle Club; F.O.M.Bi.C.) and am informally known as "the bike butler." Apparently everybody who rides needs one. But even for a "bike butler" some of the little tires can be simply brutal to re-install. Brutal I tell you. You should never use the little levers to re-seat a tire after sticking the tube back in. Inevitably the levers pinch the tube and voila; flat tire city.