I didn’t ride today or yesterday at all and it is mostly because of my back. I have been diagnosed with degenerative bone syndrome (at least that is what they tell me) in my lower back. Basically it is the beginning parts of arthritis. Not much fun in my lower back, and the worst position to be in is sitting on a bike for hours at a time. Through out the season, as I ride more, my back loosens up, but this early in the season, it is still tight and causes a lot of pain. Ohh well, something I have to just put up with.
So instead of riding I did a few things that brought joy to my day. I am a Chicago Bears fan and up until this year, there hasn’t been much to cheer about. Today they won the NFC Championship. That is something to cheer about. Back to the superbowl for the first time since ’85. Next I went down to my little workshop and fixed up the commuter bike. A new chain, Cassette, brake pads and fenders make it almost like a new bike, and thats where my anger comes from.
Tonight I used the worst bike product ever engineered. It is a set of SKS Mudguards. I didn’t really even want this set, but the distributor was out of what I wanted and they assured me this was the next best thing. They were wrong. I was a head mechanic at a shop for quite some time and it took me over an hour and a half to put these pieces of junk on. I have cursed more with these than anything else in my life. Until now, my Pedro’s workstand was the worst piece of bike equipment I have owned/used, but because of those stupid fenders, the stand gets bumped into second place. Either way, if in the market for either types of product, DO NOT BUY EITHER OF THESE. They are awful products. I have seen many products over the years at the shops I worked at, and by far, these are at the bottom of the pile.
