As many of you know or could probably tell, I tend to prefer my mysteries to be set in ancient or medieval times but a couple of weeks back I was at the local library and noticed a mystery title set in the financial world. So, I took down the author’s name and checked to make sure that the library system has a full selection of his titles. I really hate having to start a series and find out that I’d be missing book number five out of either. That’s akin to having the memory of your high school years wiped out. I know I know, some of us would like that to happen.

Black Maps introduces us to John March who is a PI with a tragic past and a moody outlook on life (see tragic past) who is making a living in the Big Apple. At times, you get the feeling that Spiegelman has read too many old dime mystery novels by authors such as Chandler because you have elements such as the tough, gruff character with a heart of good, wet slick city streets, tough hoods, friends and family rooting in the background, the hot chick, and clients that you can’t really trust. What’s really interesting are the tidbits that Spiegelman gives you into the NY financial world and his strong familiarity with the NYC area, explained by the fact that he used to work in the field and lived there.

Black Maps is a real page-turner which means that you’re absorbed by it but can still read through it quickly. I’m eagerly anticipating the next installment from the library but it seems that one of the staff may have snuck off with it for a few days since it has yet to arrive!

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Just had my second class with that bike repair course that I had signed up for. (last week’s class was canceled due to the instructor taken ill with the flu) I met up with a fellow there who had just purchased a SuperCycle mountain bike from Canadian Tire and it’s a flashy looking bike but, unfortunately, it’s a piece of garbage.

Among some of its faults are that it has curvey handlebars, its frame is thick and heavy, and it has a bottle generator system that runs on the rims rather than the tire! It’s already been in for repairs because he brought it to class with the repair tag still on it. I don’t know how a company such as Canadian Tire can sell such pieces of junk to people? Granted, they’re aiming at a low price point (the guy purchased it for $120) but you’d think that with their purchasing power they’d be able to source something that’s inexpensive with a decent set of components and have it put properly together. A company and the employees who sell such an item can’t really have that much pride in itself.

It doesn’t do the customer much good either since they’re going to ditch the bike after a year or so when the parts start falling off and/or they find it too difficult to ride or repair. If they know any better they’d go elsewhere for a new bike which is a loss for CT or they go back to CT and the cycle (no pun intended) of waste rolls around once again. Worse, they may simply give up on bicycling as a form of transportation or recreation.

I know someone in class who’s asking around what sort of bike or bike store she should be going to…all I know is that I am going to do my best to make sure that she doesn’t touch a CT bike!

Otherwise, class is going fine; it is geared towards the basics but I am learning a few things and making quite a few acquaintances. The best part is that it sort of forces you to actually do the work rather than just sitting down and reading the book. Hands-on is the way to go with bike repairs.

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Gorgeous weekend for biking but I never got a chance to do any. Yesterday was a wash due to a variety of factors so I was really hopeful for this afternoon. Got dressed and was lugging the bike out when I noticed that the front tire was flat. Grrr…pretty good omen that I was not going to do any riding today but it got a lot worse!

I decided that I was going to replace the current Specialized Tri-Cross II tire, which had pretty much worn down to being a slick from a knobby cross tire,? with a newish Schwalbe Marathon Plus that I had purchased off another Bike Forum member a year or so ago. At that time, putting a Marathon Plus on the rear wheel was a very painful and time-consuming process and this time it promised more of the same. Marathons have a very well-deserved reputation for having a tight bead so it’s a real struggle between one’s ego and the tire.

The inner tube’s valve had for some reason pulled loose of its mooring and so it was shot. The replacement tube had been patched three times but was still good to go. Putting it and one side of the Marathon on to the wheel rim was not that big of a deal but putting the other bead on was killer! I gave it a good fight for about an hr until I asked my sis for help and then it took another half hour before we got the tire on. My sis seems to have a panache for using the lever in shoving that bead on…hate to think how good she would be with a knife in close quarters. hehe

So, it all seems fine and dandy until it came time to pump the tire full of air. Yep, it went flat too! And in the same area! Maybe I had tugged on the valve a bit too enthusiastically or maybe the tube had decided to give up the ghost after over half a decade but there was a rip. Only found that out after another half hour of struggling to get the tire off.

In the end, bicycling still gave me a good workout but not in the way I expected. I’ll be heading down to Urbane tomorrow morning to grab a tube or two. I’m tempted to just give them the tire and rim and ask them to put it on but that would be wimping out. Tempting though!

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Monday night was the first of nine nights of the Toronto District School Board’s Continuing Education bike repair course that I signed up for. It’s held weekly up at Leaside High School. I had always wanted to take the course but I either didn’t have the time, money, inclination or some combination of all three. I guess this time around I do have the inclination if not the time or money; I’ve been doing a lot of distance and I think it’s a wise idea to know more than just the basics. I want to know enough to be pretty knowledgeable when I go into a shop to have something done, to be able to talk the lingo or to do it myself if necessary.

So, when I saw the course announcement on the Toronto Bicycling Network’s website I decided to go for it. Unfortunately, the class that is nearest to me over at Central Tech, filled up very quickly and I ended up having to take the course at Leaside which is much further away. I tried to get SL to take the course with me but it sort of would interfere with her travel plans.

Monday evening was not a good night to ride, weatherwise, but hey if you’re going to do touring then you might as well suck it up. Going up there was very muddy with fog and light drizzle happening, on the way back the roads were all wet but no fog and little rain. It’s quite impressive to glance over your shoulder and see a rooster-tail of muddy water spraying up. Streets were well lit but that didn’t stop me from worrying about seeing and being seen by drivers.

Class size is about 16-18 in total and there is quite a range of participants. You have everyone from long-distance tourists such as myself to middle-aged women who want to start commuting. There is one older tourist there who, after he opened his mouth, I am thinking…geeze, I hope that I don’t end up like that. Just an odd fellow. There was also a youngster there who thought that you could make a decent living as a bike mechanic. The instructor quickly set him straight on that!

The instructor, NR, ran through the basics of a bike and eventually worked his way to showing us how to fix a flat. Yes, I know, it’s pretty basic but it’s an eye-opener to those who have never done it. I may have learnt little to nothing this time around but I am eagerly looking forward to later classes which deal with things such as gears, headsets and the like. From the course handout, it looks like I should be able to strip a bike down to its frame and rebuild it. I strongly doubt that we will progress that far since this is a course meant more for the beginner cyclist but it means that if I want to take a more advanced course such as the ones offered by Park Tools through local bike dealers then I can.

So, we will see what we will see. I’m going to go in with an open mind and soak up as much as possible.

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