Sometime during the late eighties, before the bicycles involved were left ruined, when (tragically) we hit and killed a doe on Diamond Lake Highway, our small clan was on one of our many camping trips to Diamond Lake. The girls and I, had taken the lake trail for a bike ride to the resort. Once we had accomplished whatever we had set out to do (mail postcards?), we turned our bikes around and began pedaling our way back to our campsite.
About a third of the way back, the rear wheel on the old Schwinn I was riding (purchased from Auntie Helen) froze up and refused to rotate on its axle. I checked for an easy/obvious fix, but couldn't figure out what had caused things to seize up.
I scratched my head and tried to keep the girls calm and near, when an idea popped into my head. I was wearing my belly bag and remembered a small spool of Glide floss was inside. Would it be possible to use that floss, to create a "sling" I could loop around my head and arm, to lift up that back wheel enough for me to wheel it back to the campsite? Can't hurt to try.
A path, usually traveled via bicycle, can seem to take forever when on foot and carrying an awkward load. And I knew that Norm would soon be driving past on the nearby road, returning from taking a shower at the resort. So, a hopeful gaze at the road, as I made my way back to the campground. And then ... there he went, without a glance towards the lake trail.
Like many creative ideas, this one had its issues. One of which is the ability of that thin floss to cut into things--cheese, clay, skin . . . And so, instead of helping me get that bike back to the campsite, that floss became a good story. Glad I stumbled upon it. Oh and, just so YOU know, too much WD-40 can loosen bike parts enough, they'll shift. Love, K
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