Saturday was a glorious day! Insanely windy and I MEAN INSANELY! But gloriously sunny nonetheless. A not-quite-perfect day for a bike ride.

I gave Sheldon a good test run. I needed to get to Wavell Heights State High School to watch a friend do his Second Dan (Taekwondo thingami) by 10am. The kms on google maps told me it was possible. I knew the return trip home would be risky, but I was willing to take it.

I set out at 8.15am (totally running late) and rode on the footpath all the way from Moorooka along Ipswich Rd, through the Valley, onto Lutwyche Rd then off along Kedron Brook Bikeway. I made it to the school at 9.50am. Given I thought I was going to miss the whole thing, I was very very happy.

The trip home was a whole different story! I was riding into the crazy headwind. The dust from the construction site made its way behind my sunnies. Then I exited too soon and managed to get lost in the backstreets of Wilston (I think!). But the iPhone map app came to the rescue and I managed to make it back onto Lutwyche Road. Then suddenly the bicycle gauge fell from 3 lights to 1 light in a matter of minutes. Luckily Brunswick Street Station was nearby so I turned off the juice while cycling down hills and turned the juice on when cycling up them. This may sound lazy rather than useful, but unfortunately Sheldon refuses to go up hills without power. It’s like you’re riding in about 8th gear on a normal bike – not possible for these sorry ole thighs!

Made it to the station no worries. Yay for it being an accessible station! Boo to Moorooka Station for not being accessible. Turns out I had the tiniest bit of juice left that could’ve got me home from Moorooka but, alas, not from Yeerongpilly. I made it to Woollies at Moorooka then it powered out. I then proceeded to walk it uphill, cycle on the flat and zoom downhill. It was OK walking – I wasn’t completely tuckered out despite what this photo looks like. I was content enough. It was 1pm-ish. I was simply hungry and hankering for home-ness.

Made it home! Put Sheldon away. Watched Big Bang Theory on DVD for the rest of the weekend. No, really, that’s what I did for the rest of the weekend…

Monday morning I pack my workwear and toiletries into a bag, don my riding gear all set to leave at 8am to get to work at 8.45, turn on Sheldon and – he’s dead. No juice. Stupid thing is doing the same thing it was doing about 4-5 weeks ago when I was in the middle of studying and barely had the headspace to process the problem. Basically, the recharger thinks the battery is full and doesn’t charge it. Really annoying!

Not running on empty

The lovely guy from electro bikes popped out way back then and changed the battery. Unfortunately the battery wasn’t a good fit (in that it went in, but couldn’t be taken out) and said I’d have to pop in to the workshop at some point to get it looked at properly. I told him it might be some way off. Curse it, I was actually going to take it in next Saturday!

I rang them today and, given I have no vehicle, they said it’d cost $70 to have it transported to the workshop, but that idea sucks (that’s the price of a New York City Pass!) so Dad’s going to bundle Sheldon into the back of his 4WD for an adventure to the workshop.

The battery is still within warranty, so it’s all good. As Mum said wisely ‘At least you know it can be fixed’. The only downer is that I have to catch the bus for the rest of the week. Not only does that require no heart health, I hate the bus! It has to go through traffic! The bus this morning was insanely boring and I didn’t get to work until 9.15am.

The only good thing that happened on the bus this morning was looking out the window and seeing an African woman walking up Beaudesert Road with large box/bag on her head – casual as, strolling up hill chatting with a friend. I love Moorooka.

But I love Sheldon too. And I want him back. And I want him back fixed. I don’t want this to happen again. A whole week without him when I need him and want him is too much.