It never ceases to amaze me what strings my wife can pull with airlines. Somehow, we managed to get a suitcase larger than a standard body bag through the airport free of charge. Getting to America and up and running, however, required a fair amount of time, effort, and elbow grease.
Taking apart the bike was relatively straightforward. The suitcase had straps for the frame, holes to clasp the wheels in place, and pockets to keep track of all the nuts and bolts. Our labeling system for the parts we disassembled wasn’t proper diction, but hey, we didn’t lose any pieces on the way over.
Transporting the suitcase proved to be less cumbersome than imagined, at least for the first five minutes. The day we left, a huge rainstorm turned getting the suitcases to the Uber into a wet experience. Trying to get the suitcase into the car was another adventure. After two minutes of scraping up the man’s upholstery, he told us we’d have to find other transportation. Enter Xiao Hong, my saving grace, who managed to order a moving van to get our luggage to the airport.
I was surprised by how hassle-free it was to get this suitcase through. Dropping it off was a cinch. Compared to the people shipping their pet dog, I was delighted to pass off the cumbersome thing. Twenty-five hours of flying halfway around the world later, we made it to MSP, relatively intact and in great spirits. I still needed to reassemble the bamboo bike and put together a new trailer hitch, a Weehoo, for Lionel. I decided to tackle it early the next day.
Lionel misinterpreted my idea of early and was bolt upright at 1 in the morning. Several hours of War, Uno, and books later, the sun finally crested the hill. Rather than play hero, I decided to take my bike to a professional for reassembly and a tune-up for the big race. For four hours, Andy, the mechanic extraordinaire, went through each part of the bike, complimenting its engineering. At times, I felt like I was at the dentist, bashfully admitting that I hadn’t flossed every day when asked about my chain maintenance.
The one part that didn’t make it through my bumbling disassembly was my kickstand. Because the bike is made of bamboo, the kickstand needs to be attached to the rear hub. While hastily unscrewing the back, I broke off a small piece that kept the kickstand in place. Andy didn’t have an adequate replacement and suggested I go without it, fearing that messing with it might misalign the drivetrain or, worse, warp the back frame. I figured I could always rely on the kickstand on the back of Lionel’s Weehoo, which I often use when parking the bike outside my school.
Riding the bike back, I gained a different appreciation for Summit Ave than I had when running the previous summer. The beautiful street, filled with 150-year-old mansions, also featured roads from that time period. Despite building up a bit of saddle butt over the last six months of riding, that 10-minute ride felt like an inverse Theragun designed to cause soreness.
The next day, I assembled Lionel’s trailer hitch, the Weehoo. Somewhere in the last three years, I’ve come to appreciate products made in China and bought in China compared to those made in China and bought in the U.S.A. Unfortunately, this Weehoo, which is double the price, isn’t quite the same as the one we cruised around in China. For one, the hitch is attached to the arm with a pin bolt rather than fastened nuts and bolts. As a result, the pin bounces around, making a noise that doesn’t instill much confidence. Furthermore, the kickstand apparently comes as a side order, meaning buckling and fastening Lionel in the back will be a balancing act. Still, I went the first month not knowing that my version in China had a kickstand, so I’m pretty well practiced at it.
After six hours of assembling, we were finally ready to ride. Except we weren’t. My front tire picked up a flat caused by a pinhole puncture. Another trip to the bike store fixed and replaced my tube. I also decided to replace my tire with a bit thicker material. Aesthetically, it doesn’t look quite as nice, and the tire doesn’t roll as fast, but for the first time ever, I’m taking practicality over fashion.
We are a day out from RAGBRAI. The bike is finally ready! Lionel and I are finally over jet lag. And we’re finally about to start our next adventure.
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