Cycling, for better or for worse, involves gear and frequently copious amounts of it. Even the most Zen bike riders among us are wardens of small arsenals; parts, clothing, tools and other necessary accoutrements. Of course all play a role in keeping the wheels rollin’. The trouble can frequently be keeping this ‘stuff’ accessible and ready for action. Enter the bike room, workshop, garage, closet, corner, truck bed – bike space. Anyone who really rides bikes has one. Some are better than others and we have all had many different types, each with their own endearing traits. Especially those of us who rent our places of habitation.
The past year has been a tumultuous time for the workshop of Velo Exploration. For the good part of two years the operation was housed in a snug single car garage complete with custom made work bench, large wired speakers, insulation (in 2 walls) and even a retired bottle cage beverage holder. All this five feet from the kitchen. The occasional blast of winter spindrift under the gap in the door and clandestine mouse drop from the neighbor cat were a small price to pay. This was as close to bike workshop Valhalla as I have known. Then, like all good things, it ended. The setup was hastily condensed to the back of a pick-up truck and ultimately onto a matt in the corner of a 3rd floor white carpeted apartment 3000 miles away. Painful. Needless to say this configuration did not last. The next stop for this traveling velo outfit would be a slightly bigger corner of a slightly smaller apartment with much browner carpet. This was home for a while until what should present itself but the ultimate: a large, detached shed!
But like many things in life, this fine four walled out building was not without its strings. Upon opening it’s ancient whitewashed door in quickly became apparent that owner of said structure had a vastly different view than the cyclist as to what proper use of a shed entailed. Piled precariously to the rafters was all manners of flotsam and jetsam spanning generations. Old doors, lawn mowers, a soiled mattress and empty paint cans unceremoniously teetered across the dreams of a half dozen bikes and a space deprived mechanic.
At the time of this writing some progress has been made. A portion of the shed has been liberated from the rubble and dedicated to the Velo Exploration “workshop”. It is functional but sure has a long way to go. There is hope that more rounds of negotiation with shed owner will yield further progress in restoring the dignity of this stout, slightly eastward listing structure. A day may come when a fully appointed shop is realised inside these walls. Until then the cranks will continue to turn as they always do and memories of those dark days in the white carpeted apartment corner will slowly drift out through the knot holes in the leaky room of the new bike space.
