You Have Derailed

i swear, every time i go into l.a. bicycles, located in the luxurious and swank mecca more commonly known as university village, there is a different person in charge. it might be extended-family-owned and operated. that's my theory anyway. but here's the anecdote that goes along with that random opening thought: as i previously mentioned, my rear derailer came detached from the bike frame, so i took it in for repairs. i expected to be handed a bike-check and told to come back tomorrow sometime to pick it up, but luckily they weren't too busy. one of the guys working in the repair area, who i actually recognized from earlier visits, came out and took a gander. the person in charge had to translate, but the basic gist of what he was saying seemed to be that the hole for the nut that held the derailer to the frame was stripped, and it was unlikely that they would be able to fix it. now, the derailer attaches to the main frame of the bike, which is oddly perplexing. so if that little part goes, the whole frame is useless. which is essentially what was going through my head at that point (i briefly had visions of myself breaking into an auto body shop and spot welding the derailer to the frame). then the guy went in the back and came out with a box of bolts, the first of which he tried worked. $3 for the bolt. out the door. a completely unnecessary amount of stress.

umm, that was longer than i had originally intended, so if you are actually still reading this, i apologize. i get very long-winded about my bicycle adventures, apparently. thanks for sticking through it. i killed time at the bookstore today (after the bike shop trip, which left me with too much time due to the unexpected ease of the transaction) and ended up buying another book. so i'm back to four. better get to work. maybe i'll squeeze in a little homework if i feel like it. we'll see how things progress.

ps. leave a comment if you know to what my post title refers. think of it as a pop culture quiz. and no cheating with google.