November 12, 2021
November 12th
the post office and local bike shop
My commuter bike has been feeling a bit off. There's a slight grinding and clicking noise in the drive system when I pedal and it feels like it could be the bottom bracket, or perhaps the chain-ring. Before heading off, I take a small bottle of lubricant downstairs and squirt some on the chain to see if it will do the trick. We'll see.
Today's ride it just into town - calling at the main post office with the first of several packages that need posting. They contain Christmas gifts. Yes, I'm organised.
The package is in a blue, canvas bag that gets slung over my shoulder. It's like a XXL musette.
I can call in at the nearby bike shop on the way home if the lubricant hasn't been a resounding success.
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It was raining this morning at about nine when I went to 7-Eleven for a coffee and the newspaper, but it's cleared up okay. However, the temperature is not very high and I have a decent jacket on. There's a stiff wind blowing and it feels more like a wintry day.
The wind blows me along the main road - the 114 - towards town and it's all slightly down and my speed is about 30km per hour. It takes about 15 minutes to get to the post office as nothing stops me en route.
Lockdown restrictions here mean I still can't send parcels to the UK, but plastic bags are fine. It's confusing. Parcels arrive from the UK without a problem. I packed six up and got them all to weight just under 2 kg. I reckon each bag will cost over US$30 to post.
My bike gets locked up outside the building and I write my telephone number on a slip of paper like you have to here when you enter anywhere and don't have to wait long before a clerk weighs the bag and I had her NT$1,200 and a bit to send it registered. She tells me it'll be a bit cheaper if it was sent 'ordinary', but only about three US dollars.
My bike has fallen over. This isn't the first time and it's usually the wind, so about a year ago I fitted a steel derailleur guard to save the hanger from getting bent, like it has done. They're not cheap. My bar-end mirror has been snapped a few times and Cateye don't make that model anymore.
I want a second coffee and it's lunch time.
I make my way to a department store called Sogo that's just five minutes away. The upmarket area around it has various shops including a few cafes and there's a Louisa next to a Starbucks. My preference is the former. The coffee is better, and cheaper.
I cut through a parking area and some backstreets and take a photo of some graffiti. What initially looked like two Fs are actually Es, so it's a bit confusing what the intention was.
On an adjacent wall are some gas meters and galvanized steel pipework. It's not something you'd see outside in the UK. It all looks a bit vulnerable.
My bike gets locked to a steel lighting pole to stop it from getting blown over - again. The kickstand isn't great.
The two tables near the large window are empty. A woman is sat at a nearby one with her back to the window and she's looking at her smartphone. I don't have one. Looking out of windows is something I enjoy.
After writing my telephone number on the registry form, my order is for a rice burger that's got a veggie tag and there's a small wedge of chocolate cake in the display case, so that gets added and I sit and look out the window at polished cars driving by, interspersed with motor scooters.
Taking a snap occurs to me and my camera gets carefully balanced on a 4x4 post at the bottom of the stairs and a woman is just about to enter the cafe when the last of three photos gets taken. When I view the images, my bike is in the photo, but that was unintentional.
The rice burger is nice, but not very big. It's more of a snack.
I ride back home and call in at the supermarket and buy a discounted box of crunchy cereal and a carton of almond milk that's also reduced as the sell-by date is looming. The third item is a packet of very cheap biscuits (cookies) that I feed to the birds. They're rock hard and cheaper than bird food. I have to use pliers to break them into crumbs. The small birds enjoy them.
The lubricant has made the chain glide better, but the slight crunching noise is still there. While it's not serious, it clearly isn't going away by itself, so I head for the local bike shop just a few hundred metres along the busy 114.
The staff come out as my bike gets parked out front and Ricky hears me explain the problem and says I should buy a new bike. That's his job. Naughty Ricky.
He thinks it's the pedals, but I disagree and he opts to spray some lubricant like WD40 into the sealed bottom bracket while reminding me the bike is three years old. In my opinion, that's not old.
The service is free and because this is a regular thing it seems best to buy something for a change and as one of Debbie's rear lights has stopped working - a fairly new USB rechargeable one by Knog - I take a look at what's on the rack. I choose a Dosun one for NT$400 and then try on a hat and buy it even though it's NT£1,000 = over US$30. It fits me nicely.
There's a range of helmets and the Kask ones are prohibitively expensive.
Who knows if the bottom bracket needs replacing.
As I ride the few hundred metres home, the sky looks like it's going to open pretty soon but not before I'm safely inside.
Today's ride: 8 km (5 miles)
Total: 857 km (532 miles)
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