The search for a new bike continues. I took UB Express in for a tune-up so I could put it on the trainer while planning for the purchase of a ‘gravel’ bike I could ride both on the roads and on gravel surfaces, such as the towpath. I stopped in to pick it up last week.
“Umm…yeah…I didn’t do anything on it. I don’t think you should put any more money into this bike with the frame issues,” the owner said.
He went on to explain that although the carbon fiber part of the frame would last another billion years, the resin that binds it together is failing and that the frame could fail catastrophically at any time.
“So…you might be sitting on the post instead of a seat, if you know what I mean,” he concluded.
I did know and now, after 25 years, UB Express will be sidelined, stripped of useable parts, and scrapped. Thanks for a couple of years of good riding, UB. I will have to break the news to my Uncle Bill delicately. He’d put the first 23 years on the bike and was so proud of it.
More importantly, Jack called me yesterday around three. He never calls during work hours, so I knew something was up.
“Something really cool happened today, dad. We had a brigade meeting and a Lieutenant General – that’s a three-star – spoke to the group. I was called forward with one other soldier and he gave me one of his coins!” he said, excitedly. “Do you know what that is?”
I didn’t and he explained that it represented the rank of the soldier and was a piece all soldiers carried. He did mention something about soldiers pulling them out when drinks were ordered. I’m pretty sure the highest ranking coin did not pay. Jack will never pay again.
He said he was so honored because he’d been recently promoted, been recognized as soldier of the month and received a perfect fitness score of 300, which means he ran two miles under 13 minutes (he’s never had trouble with that) and did 100 push-ups and 100 sit-ups in whatever the allotted time is – I think three minutes.
“His name is Lieutenant General Paul M. Nakasone and he talked to me. He said, ‘you’ve been a busy soldier’,”.
I looked him up and discovered he is the current commander of the Second Army and has the Cyber Command, as well. That means he’s the top guy in Jack’s line of work. I could see why he’d be so excited, but his achievements don’t surprise me. He is dedicated to his work, his conditioning, and the Army and not necessarily in that order.
Yesterday was brutally cold, but I walked into Peninsula to have ribs with Miggie. The snow was reasonably hard packed on the towpath, but did create more effort with each step and the walk in took about 80 minutes and left me with over 27,000 steps for the day. Miggie has been reading ‘Wild’, the true story of one woman’s experience walking the Pacific Crest Trail and the story that inspired me to consider doing the same. I think she is finally getting what an undertaking this could be and was quite amazed at what the woman achieved. So am I.
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