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A couple of months ago — January 22, wow I hadn't realised it was that long ago — I was knocked off the road bike on the ride home by a guy on a MTB who suddenly braked and turned right without looking back or indicating. Big solid guy on a MTB, he took the front wheel clean out from under me. “Sorry mate, I was only listening for cars,” he said as he looked at the damage before riding off on his way. More damage to me than to the bike I thought at the time.

What with the fun and games I've been having with rear wheels its taken me quite some time to spot the real damage. It started when I found the split in the old one a year ago, then the replacement "new wheel" that collapsed as I went around the u-turn on the Dandenong road overpass, then a couple of months of a temporary replacement by the 8-speed wheels Marko had found and lent me, then the bike sitting in the shed for a couple of months with its "new new wheel" attached, but no tyre or tube while I rode Norky bike instead.

While the temporary wheel was on I thought the bike was handling funny and didn't ride quite straight, but thought it was due to having an 8-speed wheel in a 7-speed frame, my reading on whether this was possible just seemed to get me more and more confused.

Last weekend I finally put tyre and tube on the new wheel #2 and the old kiddie seat that I'd been given at work, then yesterday tried it out taking Cam to playgroup — with mixed results.

The seat seems to fit mostly ok, although designed for a slightly more relaxed seat tube angle, so it is perhaps more upright than the occupant would like.

A bit of a wibbly-wobbly ride with 10kg of passenger, but sadly I think the bike may have suffered more than I noticed in the prang. Rear wheel is not tracking behind the front, looking down the handlebars and top-tube are not at right angles. The rear-triangle is bent and the bike doesn't track straight any more.

To top it all off, my courier bag full of nappy and playgroup essentials ends up jammed in little sir's face, so there doesn't seem any easy way of carrying it and him, I waddled through the suburb the two km or so to playgroup and may consider it all a failed experiment.

Giving the frame a good once-over I realised that its bent at both top and bottom of the rear triangle, probably easier to spot after a few months when the paint starts to peel and the bare metal to rust.

Bent just below the braze...

...and where the cut-out is to accommodate the wheel.

Not yet sure if it is possible to repair the frame, or economic to repair it. It may be time to consider end of life for the old Peugeot Aspin, not bad for an 18 year old bike I guess!

All from Living by Design, Sunday supplement to The Age:

http://bachkit.com.au

bachkit, 1300.288.223

http://ecovilla.com.au

Eco-Villa 0401.448.443

http://modscape.com.au/

Modscape 03.9314.7769

Cam doesn't talk yet, not in any recognisable way. Instead we get long involved fragments of fascinating jibber-jabber, it sounds as though it should make sense if only we knew the translation:

  ma ma ma Ooo ya
  owa owa owa

Eating out with a toddler is an interesting experience. Even with Cam, who eats nearly everything and seems well behaved compared to some, it can be a trying time. Finding places that open early enough that Cam can eat at a reasonable hour for him, finding dishes suitable to feed to a toddler — at least for us that's an easy one, trying to ensure that a minimum of food is flung, squooged, smeared or anything other than eaten, trying not to be too self-conscious of any looks given by spoil-sports at other tables, all while trying to enjoy your own meal and eating it before it gets cold.

My birthday treat? A romantic candle-lit meal for two it was not; but an enjoyable and tasty meal for the three of us with an early night out at the Red Mango five minutes' walk up the street

BV's annual Ride to Work day met work from home day today; together with cold and flu day and drizzly grey rainy day.

With the best intentions in the world I'd signed up saying I'd ride in, thinking I could pop Cam in the trailer, trundle over to Clayton for a breakfast and a chat then head home. Reality dawned dreary and coughing and wet and so we stayed home with a large mug of tea watching the rain run down the windows.

I wonder how many others decided the weather gods were against them and opted for the car or the train? BV don't seem to mind, I've already had my email thanking me for participating and reminding me I can get more people to register and say they rode if they have forgotten to register.

Its five years this week that we've been living in the 'burbs. Its seventeen months since a little boy appeared and any form of nightlife vanished. Its a long time since I've been to a gig!

Johnette Napolitano at the Corner hotel. Dinner at Sylvios' — a large Sylvios' special, garlic bread and a carafe of wine — quick, hot, tasty. Then back down to Swan street to the Corner Hotel. A good night. I thought it better than last time Jo and I went to see her back in 2002, Jo thought that the last time was the better of the two. Singing Midnight Oil's Beds are Burning as the final song of the set — to me oddly reminiscent of Davros singing at one point. Scary voice lady. Other highlights were Ghost Riders in the Sky, and an acoustic/audience participation rendition of Tomorrow Wendy as her encore.