t
o
n
y
a
n
g
'
s
 
w
e
b
l
o
g


this morning i rode my bike to market basket to return some cans and get a few grocery items. the bike seemed fine, it didn't freewheel going forward like before, although it did make an unusual rickety sound when i pedaled backwards.

after some kielbasa & sauerkraut for lunch, i took the motorcycle to the cafe to drop off the other iM227 speaker. i went to the fresh pond trader joe to get some more crispy spicy soy chicken wings before stopping in belmont to find the rest of my bike repair tools. i also went around taking down the storm windows but somebody had already beaten me to it.

after stopping home briefly, i rode the motorcycle to ac moore to return a red heart yarn and to buy some more for my mother (3 stitch nation bamboo ewe in snapdragon pink, one bamboo ewe in sprout green, and a lion brand wool-ease chunky yarn in dark mulberry red). i tried using a 50% off coupon but turns out that's only for sunday; the cashier was kind enough to let me use a 40% off coupon instead that she pulled out from a coupon envelope.

returning home, i parked the motorcycle in a safe place, on solid pavement away from tree limbs, in anticipation of possible ice/snow storm tomorrow night.

i took off the broken rear wheel of my bicycle just to make sure it was a freewheel and not a cassette. i then rode the trek 850 first to the dollar store to get some WD-40, then to the bike store to buy a shimano freewheel remover tool. they didn't have one but the guy there told me to bring it in and he could take off the freewheel for me.

back at home, while playing around with the detached freewheel, i managed to lock up the freewheel so it wouldn't spin in either direction. i was able to fix it with a chain tool. this problem is the exact opposite of what happened yesterday, when the freewheel was spinning in either direction. that's when i decided i should let the pros take a look at my rear wheel.

i walked back to the bike store with the wheel in hand (walking because i couldn't carry the wheel on a bike). the mechanic effortlessly took off the freewheel by locking a remover tool in a vise and spinning off the wheel. he then sprayed the inside of the freewheel with triflow oil. the freewheel made a sound when he spun it that didn't sound good. he told me the freewheel was basically shot, and that i should get a new one. they sell freewheels for $26, but i wanted to check online first. i figured the consultation was a freebie but he charged me $5 for his service.

when i got back home i wiped the frame of my trek 800 with WD-40 before re-installing the rear wheel. i went to amazon and saw that a new shimano freewheel (7 speed 14-28T) is only $12; combined with $8 for the freewheel remover tool, that's still only $20, much cheaper than at the bike store.

i made a most satisfying dinner of salmon steak (with a montreal steak spice & brown sugar glaze) combined with home fries. i never made home fries before, not sure if this was the right way: i basically peeled and diced 4 potatoes, boiled them for a few minutes, then sauteed then in oil until they got a little crispy. i wasn't planning on eating the whole thing but i did anyway, all that starchy goodness.

i got this new tea when i was at market basket earlier, stash caffeine-free licorice spice tea. besides licorice root, it also contains cinnamon, orange peel, chinese star anise, and sarsaparilla. the licorice adds an unusual but not unpleasant sweetness that can be tasted in the back of my mouth. the flavor of sarsaparilla is also very strong, reminds of chinese heysong sarsaparilla soda. i could also taste the oranges. not a bad tea, but i'm a little worried about eating too much licorice for fear of raising my blood pressure.

i watched the last world series game, after hearing about all the excitement that happened in last night's game 6 when the cardinals on the brink of elimination came back twice to win the game. i was rooting for st.louis and it seems like destiny was in their favor because they won tonight.