Six: Going For A Ride

The following morning found me still in town. I had found a place to sleep on a second floor apartment the night before - a half-collapsed building - and had brought in with me my new “treasures” – the climbing equipment I found, as well as the ropes. I sure wished the bikes were still usable.

I had enjoyed a nice meal last night. It was equivalent to a “Salisbury steak” complete with gravy and a side of vegetables. The only thing that detracted from it was that the steak was shaped like a brick, as usual, and the veggies and gravy was mixed in with the steak, and it wasn’t warm. But I don’t mind that anymore.

Seems the resequencer can reproduce more varied things if the organic material I put in was more than just leaves and twigs.

I also enjoyed a big portion of “cherry pie” but, again, it was all mushed into a package shaped like a brick. But who cares.

This morning, unfortunately, was more of the same since I had not had the opportunity to replenish the reservoir with more organics. But then I realized something.

I hurriedly switched off the sequencer and waited for the pack to seal the remaining organics in the usual cellulose bag.

As soon as it was done, I pulled it out.

In the transparent bag was what was perhaps half a liter of animal fat and grease as well as other bits of things I’d rather not look at. Yes!

I went through the remnants of stuff in the apartment and found what I was looking for - a couple of glass bottles. I don’t know what they contained originally but they were just what I wanted.

I gingerly poured the oil and grease off and into the bottles, and it yielded two half-full bottles of oil.

I got my new “loot,” my precious bottles and everything else, and headed back to the bike shop.

Once I was there, I took a look at the two bikes again. This time, I inspected them in more detail, and everything seemed to be in order, except that they could do with a lot of lubrication.

I looked for some tools and broke them down to their component parts. I then soaked them in the animal fat, and after a while, I started moving them around, especially the chain.

The ages of hardened dirt, dust and rusty iron yielded to my manipulations. The thicker animal grease I saved for the wheel and steering column hubs and, by lunchtime, I had a working bike, save for the tires.

What I used as replacement tires was some of the climbing ropes. They had a large enough cross-sectional diameter that they fit in the rims. I then cut them to the proper lengths, melted the ends and butted the melted ends together. Et voila! Instant puncture-immune tires!

I picked the bike that I had assembled using parts from both bikes, and broke down the rest of the parts for spares.

I then rummaged around and found two big wire baskets, and mounted one to the front handlebars and another over the back wheel guard, and then filled them with the parts and the other “loot.”

Hopefully the oil doesn’t get too rancid too quickly.

Anyway, here I go on my bike!

And as I pedaled away, my head was filled with Queen’s “Bicycle Ride” and “C’mon Let Me Ride” by Skylar Grey and Eminem.