For the last few months I've had something of a routine in going to work. For the final part of my journey to the office I have been getting off the bus and walking about a mile which, if the weather is dry and there's not a hurricane force wind that Scotland is prone to, is quite pleasant and can psyche me up for the stresses of the day ahead. However, last week my daughter Michaela started a job in the office where I work - in the floor below, thankfully - which has meant she has been giving me a lift to work in her Forumla 1 vehicle (given the speed she drives she surely thinks she's competing against Sebastian Vettel and co.) Which has meant my little routine has ceased.
Being on leave this week I thought I would try and rectify this by purchasing an exercise bike for use in the house. The internet can be a wonderful thing and I checked out the on-line reviews before purchasing. Almost every reviewer said it was a good bike for its price although a common theme was the difficulty in putting it together. Disregard the instructions said one reviewer.
The bike arrived today - tightly packed in a box with polystyrene that took several minutes to dislodge. The assembly instructions may well have been written in Chinese. Guide the lower part of the INNER cable of the tension control knob into the formed metal loop of the INNER cable of the tension cable. You get the picture. There were several references to a tension control knob. How I could have done with one of them for my aching, ageing body as I grappled with the machine.
The accompanying diagrams may well have been instructions to build a nuclear weapon - numbers here, letters there, numerous arrows pointing to every corner of the page. In the end I took the advice of the on-line reviewer and threw the assembly instructions away. Two hours later the bike has been assembled. But now I'm in a foul mood and have no inclination to set near the damned contraption.
Perhaps I should take up yoga instead...
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8 comments:
Get on your bike Mike! Sounds a good idea to me. A steady pace for thirty mins a day will do you good.
Mike I am glad to hear you too have trouble understanding instructions about putting things together.
I bought a new lawnmover last year and had to assemble it. It was so frustrating like you described and I was going to give in but huffed and puffed for 2 hours and it finally was assembled with only one extra bit left over!
I have an exercise bike that stands idle in my shed, one day I will sell it on ebay as it never gets any use. I have now taken up Tia Chi and enjoying it immensely.
As always your story telling is fabulous!
Gentle hugs
Peg xxxxxx
I have a very hard time putting things together too and usually end up with unexplained "extra pieces".
Hope you make friend with the bike soon. Once you start it'll be okay.
Happy weekend, jj
Adullamite - you're not the first person to say that to me! Following her recent health scare, I've been encouraging Mrs Smith to cycle ten miles every day. By the end of next week she should be in Dundee...
Peggy - Thank you! Mrs Smith also had trouble putting together the lawn mower - in fact she's still to cut the grass this summer...
JJ - Thanks - I hope you have a good weekend too.
Think you should be more grateful to Michaela! Perhaps you could simply ask her to drop you off a mile before you get to work. I took up cycling too but outdoors. I'm now doing an 8 mile circuit on a Sunday morning (although Rebecca was up several times last night being sick so I'm probably unlikely to go out today). Hope Mrs S is feeling much better.
Welcome Mrs L. I hope young Rebecca is feeling better soon.
This reminded me of a Christmas eve many years ago. That night, after the kids went to bed, I spent more than two and a half hours putting together a toy for a child. An hour of that was applying the decals needed to make it look more realistic.
Oh Mike I feel your pain. Reminds me of bloody Ikea instructions - absolutely useless. Well good on you for exercising and for getting the bike too. And assembling it in record time. It takes persistence that's for sure and its hard work to keep the exercise routine going. But we know we must try...
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