Hi, all.

To all my fellow geeks out there, I have a geek-confession to make.

My charger went bad, so I used another charger I had on hand to charge up my sealed lead-acid battery. I ruined my battery. (For those of who are already saying, "You Idiot," read on anyway, FTHOI. (or he ell f t.)

Without a battery or charger, and mornings getting darker every day, I had to replace them both. I called "Batteries Plus."

Jane was very upbeat on the phone. I told her I needed a battery and charger and she immediately asked, "What's the application?"

"Homebuilt bike light, 12 volt."

"Will you be racing or commuting?"

Wait a minute, this question caught me by suprise.

"Commuting."

"What wattage is the light on your current system?"

"20 watts."

"20? Wow. You might want to go with lead-acid. It's dependable."

When I got there, I got red-carpet treatment. She took me into the place where they assemble their battery packs. As she connected wires and adaptors to my battery, charger and in-line fuse, we talked a little. Turns out I got a cyclist for a battery-builder! No wonder! (The builder had just gotten back from a tour in Colorado.)

I asked if they always gave service like this, or was it because I was a cyclist. I was told it was because I was a cyclist, but I think it might have been a joke...might have been... I told a friend and he said, "No, you've just become jaded by poor customer service." That, I'm sure.

Anyway, I spent $45 on battery, charger and fuse, all custom-built and fully assembled. It's pretty nice. Thanks, and see you again in about a year to spend $20 on another battery.