So it's been a while since I've been out on my mountain bike - I think the last time I road it was with Sonya & Dan, so it must have been before Sonya was pregnant with Jack... Let's call it about a year...
Since that last time, my bike has been sitting in Sonya's garage, gathering dust - and rust. We got rained on a bit during that last ride, and I neglected to clean my bike off, thinking I'd be back up at Sonya's house and riding it just like I used to, maybe something like once or twice a month - clearly that didn't happen.
On my way up to Santa Monica, I stopped by the Nornam house to pick up the bike... let's just say that I was surprised to see the condition the bike was in since I had long forgotten that last ride. Putting the bike into the back seat of the Audi, I felt like I was just handling a large piece of mud.
Anyway, long story short, I got the bike to Santa Monica, rode it to work, and decided that it needed a tuneup in a major way. I just dropped it off at the bike store at lunch, and if all goes well, I should expect to see the bike again towards the end of next week - and all I have to do is hand over somewhere between three and four hundred bucks! Looks like in addition to the "advanced tuneup" ($125), I also need new front and back gears, brake pads, and one or two other items that I missed...
And I thought riding my bike to work would be the cheaper option!
Update: Thien talked me out of getting my bike fixed, so I got a new "city" bike for $400... I'll keep the old one around and maybe Stern can fix it up for me at some point... ;)