Day 32

November 4, 2021:

Peter was quietly working on his computer at the desk between the living room and kitchen. I wished him a good morning, then slept for another hour or so. Staying up so late reading hadn’t done me any favors. When I finally got up, Peter recommended I check out Phoenix Park, and he also helped me plan a route to Sally Gap. He sent me a list of his must-see places in Ireland, and showed me a heat map of his Strava activity. I think that’s a really cool feature, and it might lead to me using the app more, so I get a line I can follow all the way across Europe…and possibly beyond.

I skipped breakfast, instead wanting to get out and enjoy the day. I let Peter ride my bike for a bit in the courtyard, to see what he thought of the weight and balance. Not bad. After going back into the apartment a few times to grab a few items I’d forgotten, I left for Phoenix Park. It’s the largest fully enclosed park in Europe, according to Peter. It’s home to herds of ‘tame’ deer, that are so familiar with humans that they have become docile and will let you walk right up to them. Very weird. They also have the largest antlers I have ever seen on deer. Like moose.

After seeing the dear herds, I went geocaching in Phoenix Park. There were so many cool caches here. For example, I found a bolt cache in the wild, on top of a gate. My path took me on a big ‘S’ through the park. While looking for a cache by the northwest gate, I felt the pedal get a little loose again. Inspecting it, I saw that there was once again a little lateral movement in the pedal, and took a video of the wobble. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach, and knew that the pedal had probably now completely destroyed the crank. I sent the video to Chris, and I asked what I should do.

Well, the plan of action was pretty clear. I bee-lined it back to the bike shop. I know I shouldn’t peddle with my bike because doing so will only cause more damage, but did so anyway because I needed it to be clear to the guys at the shop that this was a bigger issue. I couldn’t just have them torque it down again, only for it to once again come loose later. The pedal fell off again on the way to the shop, leaving a full destroyed crank behind. I used the bike like a scooter again the rest of the way. A guy pulled up in a car next to me, looking over. “What’s goin on?” I held up my pedal. “It fell off..” “What a nightmare!” “Yeah, you can say that again.” He sped off.

When I arrived at the shop, I opened the door and wheeled my bike in. I went absolutely ballistic on those guys. “How’s it going?” the guy at the counter asked. “Not well, *thanks*” “What can we do for ya?” I slammed the pedal down onto the table. “It fell off again!” He inspected the crank. It was truly destroyed. “Well, that doesn’t just happen in one go..” I explained the scenario again, about how it fell off the other day too, and he tightened it. I got really angry. “You know I’m going on a big trip. It has to be sturdy, it has to be reliable. It can’t just fall off every fifty kilometers because you’ve done a shoddy job! I’d have paid more if you could have just done it right the first time!” He called Pavel up (Polish guy). “Can I have a word with you Pavel? Gent here says you put it in at an angle!” Pavel contested this story. Another customer entered, and waited. “You’ve got big boots too, stress’n it really hard…” “Big boots or not, it held for 1250 km across the eastern US. This doesn’t just happen for no reason. Either you are incompetent, or you just said whatever, forget it. This is YOUR fault, and you WILL make this right.” “Yeah, we’ll take responsibility for it, yea. Must’ve happened here. Just don’t buy this bad-angle installation story.” “All I know is my observation when I left the shop, and this is what happened.” “Alright, we’ll get it fixed up for you. Have it tomorrow morning.” “I’ll come by at 10 then, when you open.” I grabbed my pannier, bringing all my valuables with me, including passports.

I’m glad they’ll take care of the issue; this would otherwise be a really expensive repair at another shop. I doubt they’ll find a compatible pedal in their spare parts since I didn’t see any other Konas in the shop. I suspect that means they’ll have to replace the entire crank set.

I left to get lunch, going back to Sprouts because I knew I’d enjoy the food there. This time, I got a middle-eastern bowl with chicken, and it was of course delicious. Instead of riding to Sally Gap as was originally planned, I spent the afternoon at Dublin Castle. They offered free admission for self-guided tours. As I walked through the castle, I stopped at portraits and signs, learning history about the Irish presidencies and influential visitors to the castle, including numerous US presidents. The castle had a cool throne room. I sent Palmer a patterned picture of the throne room floor. He likes taking pictures of textures, and the intricate patterns made me think of him. Back outside, the castle gardens presented photos of work from prominent Irish artists. I liked the basket weaving one especially. The artist made woven animal busts out of the same twine you’d use to make wicker chairs or baskets. Cool stuff.

I didn’t stay out as late as yesterday since Peter had worked from home today. I went back, and Peter greeted me, wondering where my bike was. “In the shop.” I explained. He said he’d noticed the wobble that morning, and thought I may have gotten used to it. In truth, I hadn’t felt it when I left in the morning, but it shows Peter knows more about bikes than I do. He’s more attuned to them.

I ate the rest of the cottage pie for dinner, with another Guinness. I’m coming around to it now; I’m acquiring that taste. It’ll certainly help if I ever date an Irish girl. It won’t be heresy that I don’t like Guinness, because I think I actually do like it now. We talked for the rest of the evening. Peter convinced me to go to Cork after Athlone to complete full 2500 km Wild Atlantic Way trail. There are so many cool places to see in southwest Ireland that it’d be a shame if I missed them on this trip. Who knows when I’ll be back?

Peter showed me videos of old Irish farmers speaking incomprehensible English. It was actually hilarious. I looked at his book shelf, pulling out a book called Math with Bad Drawings: Illuminating the Ideas that Shape our Reality. I flipped to a random page, finding a role-played conversation between Darth Vader, Tarkin, and various Imperial specialists, including the Imperial Geographer, discussing various design considerations that went into the Death Star. I laughed hysterically reading it, even reading certain particularly funny sections out loud so Peter would know what I was cracking up about. I may have to get this book. Peter then also showed me a book with a green cover called Round Ireland with a Fridge. It’s written as an autobiography of a guy who was bet 100 British pounds he couldn’t go once around Ireland solely by hitchhiking while taking a whole refrigerator with him. The concept alone… That’s another one I’ll have to read someday. I sent Peter links to Matt Parker’s videos on the A4 Paper Scale and his Guide to the Imperial System of Measurement – both classics. And lastly, Peter recommended I check out Greg Egan’s collection of sci-fi short stories Axiomatic. I read the first one, The Infinite Assassin before bed, though didn’t like the ending. It was clear the author wanted to incorporate that idea in a story, and this was the best way he could think to do it. Clever, but unsatisfying. That said, I think I will have to read the rest of these stories anyway, because Egan is clearly an ideas guy, and I like that about sci-fi.

Later in the evening, I once again read a ton of The King’s Avatar without working on my blog. I’m really falling behind on it now… maybe five days behind. And I plan on leaving for Athlone tomorrow by bike – assuming the guys at the shop can get it fixed up – so I likely won’t even have power for the next few days. Shucks. The web novel is just too addicting.