The Finite

In case you were wondering, this is the building I live in.

I live behind one of those tiny windows, but not under the battlements or in the towers. It’s really convenient that that building is right near north campus. The trip to my class at the nearest academic building is a 5-minute commute. Of course, some buildings are on the south side of main campus, so it’s still a half-mile to get to those.

And of course, the Gr1lle where I continue to work is even more than that, at least a 15 minute walk. Which makes my next subject all the more necessary.

Such is the way of the college dorm resident: scavenging for furnishings, and improvising accessories and the final step: reduction of standards.

This vehicle had humble origins, being in the possession of Dylan as he used it to bike to and from Harrison. Over the summer, it languished on an oft-overlooked rack, subject to the summer sun and rain. The chain grew a fiery crimson and entropy took its course as it always will. Dylan had already relinquished her in his heart. I came across them as he was in the process of disposal outside Hillenbrand. Dylan easily resigned her to me, removing his bike lock for transfer to his new bike.

After some lubrication, inflation, and minor screwing, I got her moving again. Just enough to hobble back to Cary. Where my allen and crescent wrench were waiting. Between classes, I tightened brakes, adjusted dérailleur position screws and regressed the chain rust back to a dark blood red with WD-40.

All I had on me was a combination lock, so she was parked in a thorny bush for the time being. I needed to get my hands on a bike chain.

So what is about the third day that I’m contemplating where to get one, I’m scootering along Purdue’s Stadium Mall, past the fenced off landscaping projects, when I see it. Eight feet of rusty hooked chain lying in the grass. Seeing that the nearest construction crew was far away enough to have forgotten this useful little piece of hardware, I stuffed it in my backpack. Only to have it embarrassingly fall out again at dinner in front of everyone. Oh, well. My reputation didn’t have a good prognosis anyway.

But united with the combination lock, this became much more than just a flail. It secured my new bike until she was ready to use, usually for the 3-minute cruise to Harrison and back. The dual suspension sees limited use in anything more than mounting curbs. The handlebars have those curving end handles that are known as “ski bend” handlebar extensions. I like them because they’re ergonomic and also make me feel like I’m flying a space ship.

And rightly so. This is a 19 mph upgrade in speed from a scooter.

This entry was posted on Monday, September 7th, 2009 at 3:43 pm and is filed under Day-to-Day. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.