these are actually very small

[solarbird]

Tiny Pink

Physical therapy is very happy with how I'm progressing. They say that if I continue to improve at this rate, there may only be one more week of sessions before they're done with me. That would be nice. Then I'd have to work on building strength back up on my own, and stamina, but that doesn't require any special help - just, you know, work.

The most difficult thing they've had me doing so far is standing on this board that's kind of a rounded-off triangle and which has a half-sphere attached to the bottom. There're three exercises with this thing: 1. balance on the half-sphere (difficult), 2. rock between the front semi-pointy edge and the back without letting the sides touch the ground (pretty easy), 3. rock between the left and right edges without letting the front or back touch the ground (harder, but not as hard as balancing the stupid thing.)

Also, we can't afford it right now, but I am happy to listen to any advice people have about a new bicycle. ^_^ Or, unlikely as it seems, fixing the old one! Does anybody know if a fairly seriously bent frame can be fixed or should I just not even consider it? I know I'll need a new rear wheel and gear assembly and probably a new derailleur as well. (The current one is in a position I've never seen it in before, but it moves freely, so it might just be a side-effect of being on a wheel and frame that are all bent up. I have no particular love for this derailleur - it's okay, but I was considering upgrading it if I got the money. It's a Shimano, if that's of any use to anyone. It's not a bad unit, it's just, hrm, kinda slow. And it comes out of adjustment too easily.) I put a fair amount of stress on my bike (Seattle riding is always hill riding) so I need a cross bike that can handle me throwing my weight at it to get it up a hill.

And don't say Specialised, I'm sure they're great, I'm probably not gonna have $2K to spend on a bike any time soon. Sad!

Comments

[stickmaker.livejournal.com]

That's one of the benefits of staying in good shape.

Whenever I hear "Roundabout" I think of someone stunting around the high desert in a jet fighter. For example, the really dramatic part followed by the quiet movement is a zoom climb, followed by engine shutdown as the air gets thin. Then, on the downslope, as the music ramps back up, that's the engines restarting. ;-)

[epawtows.livejournal.com]

I believe that's called a "Zoom" maneuver..as far as I know, you never go high enough to let the engine go out. Even the F-15's that launched the ASAT missiles (the ultimate example of the maneuver) kept them idling, at 90K+ feet.

[stickmaker.livejournal.com]

As the air thins the engine control system throttles back automatically, so at peak they're pretty much at idle or even lower. The afterburner does blow out. Read about the Streak Eagle altitude record setting flight.

Of course the champions of this maneuver (barring those craft carried to a launch altitude by a bomber) are the F-104s with the peroxide rocket added to the tail. :-) For those the turbine did go completely out, though inertia kept it turning some (that's what almost killed Chuck Yeager; the gyroscopic effect from the still-turning turbine held the nose up and he couldn't get ram air to restart).

[epawtows.livejournal.com]

Well, okay, the rocket-powered missile-with-a-man-on-it beats a fighter ASAT launch by a lot, both in terms of altitude, and how crazy the pilot has to be :-)

[sistawendy.livejournal.com]

Ah, the BAPS board, right? I remember that from when I broke my ankle. Yes, balancing on the hemisphere was hard for me too.

[solarbird]

Ah! Yes! That's what she called it. She said what it stood for but I forget.

[jessicac.livejournal.com]

You should talk to Tim about fixing the old one, he has just about any tools you'd need for it at our house and does work on bikes. He can also give you really sound advice on new bikes, since that's what he does for work.

[dpawtows.livejournal.com]

For cheap advice- the June issue of Consumer Reports just rated bikes. I've got a copy if you like.

[solarbird]

I actually have that one! I just forgot all about it, since, you know, at the time, I had a bike. Thanks!

[kathrynt.livejournal.com]

Way to go on the PT. Really, what you put into it is what you get out of it, and you are HIGHLY motivated to get better, and it shows in your results. Go you.

As for the bike, Erik was really pleased with Sammamish Valley Cycle, which of course is also where Tim works.

[waysofseeing.livejournal.com]

My understanding is that once a bike's frame has been trashed, the bike is fairly well done. After my last major bike accident many years ago, I was told that while they could straighten the frame out, it would not have the same structural strength as a stock frame. The hazard is that the frame could break apart at an extremely inopportune moment.

This was 10-15 years ago, so it's entirely possible frame technology has changed since then, or I may have gotten bad advice.

Not a bike repair expert, advice worth payment given, don't run with scissors, etc. etc. etc.

[solarbird]

This has been my concern, of course. And my suspicion. But I realised I've just kind of been assuming that and for all I know it's not actually true.

I should get Tim (see above) to look at it, since you never know.

[dpawtows.livejournal.com]

An extremely crude rule of thumb is that optimizing for intended loads will make an item more vulnerable to non-standard loads. Based on that, I'd expect modern good-quality lightweight bikes to be less repairable after a major frame-bending accident. Not that I know anything about bikes specifically.

[epawtows.livejournal.com]

The advice sounds good to me. Metal frames will be cold-worked if they are bent; if straightened, they will be them brittle and prone to fracture. Heat treating can fix the problem; but that's impractical for a bike, unless you happen to own the right kind of torch and are skilled at heat-treating.

This is materials science 101, so changes in bike tech are unlikely to have made much of a difference. Most advances in bike frame materials these past few decades have been with composites, anyhow.