nosrednayduj: pink hair (Default)
nosrednayduj ([personal profile] nosrednayduj) wrote2022-06-12 08:08 pm
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bicycle status

In the past I've had a policy of blogging only my 20+ mile rides, which means that I don't blog very much anymore because mostly I don't ride that much anymore. But, last weekend I rode 19.25, and yesterday I rode 18.75, and today I rode 16.4, so I'm not a complete slacker. 933 for the year, which seems to be on track for 2000.

Friday I got a flat! It was a very slow leak, so when I noticed something felt funny and got off, and found the tire was very soft, I just pumped it up and continued my ride (less than 2 miles to go), and arrived home with some air still in the tire. So yesterday morning, before my 18.75, I had to repair said flat. The little itty bitty hole was easy to find in a bucket of water, and the patch went on nicely, and the tire is still quite firm today after my recent rides. Maybe I should stock a spare tire in the garage, though, since when you've had one flat, often it means you're about to have a bunch of them and you should replace your tire. Unfortunately I don't seem to have written down the size of my wheel, and it is not written on either the tire or the wheel. How annoying.

Yesterday's ride involved stopping at the vet for some drugs for my cat, and I always enjoy riding my bicycle to the vet. Get some double takes in the parking lot. "Does she have her cat in that?" Kind of like when I take the boat gas tank to the gas station using my bicycle.

Yesterday's ride also involved stopping at Kohl's, where I bought my watch many years ago, but they don't sell watches anymore to speak of. They are replacing it with Sephora, which is a makeup thing. So they had construction rather than sales in that space.

I thought about buying an Apple watch, since I now have an iPhone, but I'm thinking I will be sad in bright sunlight when I can't see the time. There are reviews which complain about this problem. So I might just try to get a Timex again. I really like highly accurate, so it doesn't lose very many seconds per year, and I like setting forward and backward. I don't really need any other features – I don't use it as an alarm, I don't need to do stopwatch. So my current watch, a Timex Ironman, is way beyond my needs, but it is highly accurate, and sets forward and backward. Unfortunately the buttons have become nearly impossible to push, probably some corrosion inside from "these things aren't really waterproof"; there was a time several years ago where water got inside and the display didn't work at all for a week, but then it mostly cleared up and it's been working great, except that the buttons have been very slowly getting more and more difficult to push. So, if I never went to California, it would be great. It's about six seconds off. The last time I set the seconds was two or three years ago.

[personal profile] apparentparadox 2022-06-13 04:17 am (UTC)(link)
Wow, I rarely ever put a patched tube on my bike. If I get a flat, I put in a new tube, patch the old tube, and carry that as a spare in case something happens when I'm out on a ride. It does help to be very vigilant about making sure that the inside of the tire is free from any barbs or things so that the new tire doesn't go flat immediately.

As for the Apple Watch, I've had one for years, and really, it's never been a problem for me to see the time. Maybe I'm not out in the very brightest sunlight, or if I am, it's not a problem for me to tip my wrist slightly so that the watch isn't in the brightest part of the sun. But, it's really never been a problem for me. Of course, the time is always completely accurate, and you can have it automatically switch based on the current time zone if you choose. However, you do need to charge it every day or so. One of the things I love best is that I can now keep my iPhone on silent, and I feel a tapping on my wrist when I get a phone call. No noise from my phone! I also love some of the apps I use constantly on my watch. I use a timer several times a day, it seems, and it's great to have it right there.

One thing to consider about an Apple Watch is whether to get the "cellular" version or not. If you get the cellular version, then your watch can serve as a phone even if your phone is broken or left behind. You can choose to pay a monthly fee to your cell service provider to make this work if you want that feature. Or, you can choose not to pay any monthly fee, but the watch will still be able to call 911 if you need it in an emergency. If you get the "non-cellular" version, the watch can only make phone calls (including 911) by talking to the iPhone, so if the iPhone isn't present and working, the watch can't call 911.