Good, Tom, Good. One other note on the multi-decade dance of marriage. My Beloved Spouse has been tolerant, but I still find that preceding a major purchase with some preparation is helpful. In particular, things like leaving the browser open at some delectable older BMW K or airhead on Craigslist, and mumbling about still being young enough to want another motorcycle. Remembering our courtship on one, reminding her that our son has two... and his wife has tolerated it. :-)
Imagine, good women put up with us for decades, Tom!
But, it's another reason that Don Gilles' thoughts on the basic collection are resonant. My choices differ from his, partly for what entered the house in which decade, but I do like the idea of thinking about "enoughness," the size and contents of the collection that captures most of what I cherish. I'll never have all of it.
harvey sachs mcLean va. ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Tom Sanders wrote:
For years I have admired those little rubber thingies that some hip bike shop use to keep a fork in place in a frame when a headset is not present. For years I just assumed they were some arcane part of the lore of the bike business that us lesser mortals were, perhaps because of some lack in our make ups , to be denied access to.? Imagine my excitement when today I learned that these magnificent little rubber thingies have a proper name. They are properly called a 1" ball cock shank washer!? I rushed to E-Mail some friends with this precious little nugget of information.? Bob Hovey told me they have them at Home Depot and there's one in my toilet.? I rushed to the Amazon site where I learned they could be had for $.96, alas, the shipping was $6.95, however!? My suggestion to my wife of four plus decades that we could part out the two toilets for the good of my bike collection was met with such a steely stare that I realized that a fifth decade might be in jeopardy if my madness drove me that far.
Drat!? I can foresee another sleepless night while I burn to get away to Home Depot first thing in the morning.
Imagine the nerve of the woman,? suggesting that with Spring in the near future I was getting compulsive about bikes all over again!