Fixer Cat

Were you one of those kids who always wanted to help his or her mother or father when they were cooking, cleaning, fixing or making things?

Do you have a kid like that?  Or does your kid like to "supervise"?  Maybe you were that kind of kid.

What about your pets?  How do they behave when you're maintaining, repairing or building your bikes?

Marlee and Max, my feline housemates, like to poke their noses in whatever I'm doing.  I've tried to teach them how to do basic stuff, like fixing flats, oiling chains, chopping garlic and grading students' papers. But they always have the same excuse:  "We don't have opposable thumbs!"

That's all right.  I am convinced that they are good luck.

I think this one would agree!

A Water Bottle Cage Decaleur? From Specialites TA?

I know I'm working on a project--or doing my usual late-winter/early- spring maintenance and overhauls--when I'm spending way too much time on eBay.

That's when I start to find all sorts of weird and interesting stuff. To wit:

The seller, in Austria, says it's a French-made, possibly by Specialites TA. I couldn't find any reference to it in TA brochures or catalogues I've located on-line. Given that the cage is French, and looks interesting and well-made, it's easy to understand why the seller might think it's from TA.

The shape of it is echoed, at least somewhat, in the beautiful Nitto R cage.  But the Nitto cage is not made to be used with clamps. Perhaps the cage I saw on eBay isn't, either. That leads me to wonder whether whoever made the cage also made the mechanism that attaches it to the clamps--and, according to the seller, allows it to be easily removed from the clamps.  Or was it made by whoever bought the cage and installed it on his or her bike?

Hmm...Were water-bottle cages being lifted from parked bikes?  I can't think of another reason for a mechanism like that. A decaleur for water bottle cages?  What a concept!

Just Bring Her Bike Back

Stealing a bike from anybody is bad enough.  But stealing it from an 11-year-old girl takes a particular kind of depravity.

Whenever I hear about someone stealing, I want to believe--or at least hope--that the thief was desperate.  There is,  however, no room for such hope when the thief steals a bike that is way too small for him, or any other person over the age of 14, to ride:  Small-wheeled bikes for young children have very little, if any, resale value.  

Still, those bikes mean everything to the kids who ride them.  "I learned how to ride a bike on it,"  Brianna Jiminez recalled, as tears streamed down her face.  She has "lots of memories" on it, she said.



At least there is some chance the the thief will be caught:  His image was captured on a surveillance video from her family's front porch, where he took her bike.  The bike burglar also took wallets, purses, jewelry and other items from the Jiminez's neighbors in Houston.

Her father, Pablo isn't "looking for trouble".  All he wants is for the thief to "get the items back."  He won't press charges and has this message for the crook:  "If you need somebody in your life, let me help out."