Captain's Log #28 - The Old Boyfriend
Recently I got a voicemail from an old boyfriend. I was 18 when we were together. He dumped me for another girl, a bookkeeper. I was completely devastated but he was done with me, which was too bad because he was a really nice guy. He taught me how to maintain my bicycle, in fact he built one for me, it was an iridescent, electric-blue Gitane that had been stripped of its Campagnolo parts. This was the ‘70s, he was working at the best bike shop on the west coast, in Berkeley. French dockworkers had gone on strike and these highly desirable, and expensive, parts were unavailable. I got the frame, which was the perfect size, and he cobbled together everything else: headset, handlebars, bottom bracket, center-pull brakes, wheels and a nice leather saddle. It was a 15-speed, there was nothing I couldn’t climb. Over the time we were together he taught me how to lace the wheels, which I later did on my own, the pinnacle of my skills. This was before sealed bearings and I cleaned, greas...