Sometimes...
 

It's very frustrating to have a SO that is clueless about cycling.

A LBS in town is having their 21st Anniversary Sale today. Here's one of their Wall posts from facebook: "Come by today and register for our drawing! We have some great prizes like a Sram S30 wheelset, Reynolds Assault carbon clincher wheels, Zipp products, saddles, tires, lights and on and on and on. Oh yeah, and we are having a sale." They also have reps from Specialized and Cervelo on hand.

I've been laid off, so money is tight. So much so, that the wife feels we can't justify the fuel to just enter for the drawings. I tried to logically point out that I could use a new saddle, my tires are stock (bike is an '06), could never have enough lights...also tried to tell her that the wheelsets could probably make enough on CL to pay the rent or at least a couple of utility bills...but she says we can't afford it. :cry:

Then she got on her laptop and ordered up some Papa John's :twitchy:

One of a couple of things comes to mind regarding that situation. I would say without really knowing you, that the SO probably figured that you are a lot like mine figures me to be. That walking into the LBS just to enter drawings during a big sale would have resulted in your buying something/anything, and probably more expensive than the pizza was.

Could you have ridden your bike to the LBS?

yet you still love her

Ah, therein lies another issue. I dropped my bike off at my primary LBS to take advantage of their annual off season tune-up special- then I got laid off. I've managed to pay about half of what is owed, but they still have the bike. I imagine if I don't find a job quick, then they might start charging a storage fee or I may have to consider just letting them sell it on consignment and let them recoup all associated costs before I see any of the proceeds.

My wife has always resented I went against her wishes by buying from the LBS instead of Wally World. If i end up losing my bike, then part of me suspects that she will rationalize it as her prediction of me "not sticking with it and just wasting money" as coming true.

agreed.

You should tell her that if you win one of the prizes, you can trade it back to the LBS for the remainder of the bill for the tune-up.

I think it's a different LBS though...

Unemployment always brings pressure on a relationship, but it reads like your wife has some significant issues that are causing even more pressure. I mean, can't she even cook? It's one of the easiest ways to save money. Does she drive a car? Riding a bike is one of the easiest ways to save money. And why don't you have at least some savings to get you through a period like this?

Hard questions, but still... you're the one who's frustrated.

Correct. I did win a helmet in a previous drawing. I showed up to claim it, and they put a LG TT helmet on the counter. As I'm not into competitive cycling of any kind, they did let me swap out for something more useful for my needs.

She's a voracious reader, mainly science fantasy and romance, with an emphasis of the immortal/mortal kind. She was/is on a Black Dagger Brotherhood kick. Kinda hard to out do that in the romance department...

Apply for a job at Papa John's. Maybe they've got an opening.

Funny, Machka :notamused:

We are car light, she works second shift, and I'm legally blind. Not to mention someone has to look after the kids...

FWIW, the winners have been announced and the only thing I really could have used was the Serfas True 150 headlight.

Isn't everyone entitled to an interest/hobby/activity of their choosing? I always think it's disappointing when someone I care about disparages my cycling habits. I love my bike (and I think it loves me too) and I've made it my main source of traveling and commuting just to make sure I can squeeze every bit of happy from my bike rides. It's lousy circumstances that you've lost your job, No1mad and now it's tricky for you pay off the rest of your bike repair bill. Hopefully after eating some pizza and reading more vampire love mush stuff your wife will feel a bit of kindness about your cycling.

Or, pop in some fake vampy fangs, put on your bike helmet and chase her around the house and play out some of the more interesting scenes from her books. Mix the two up and see how it goes.

Hey CycloKitty!

Your signature videos crack me up every single time!

The busiest time for many pizza places is late at night ... right around the time the bars close. So you should be able to make the timing work. You have the kids during the day while she is at work, she has the kids at night when you are at work.

And you can make pizza, can't you?

Yes, I can make pizza. However, two flaws in your proposal. First, she normally doesn't get home until midnight, but there are times when she has to stay late. Second, and the hardest obstacle to overcome, is not only am I legally blind, but my night vision is practically non existent.

Hehe, I'm sure we're only hearing one side to this story. :P

I feel like I'm missing something here.

You're legally blind but you're OK to drive a bicycle? And you have no night vision but think that you could have used those lights for your bike? How does that work?

I agree ... and I can well imagine what the other side of the story might be ...



He doesn't have a job. He needs to find one quickly to be able to pay for a "disposable-income" hobby ...

But then ... the excuses begin ...



And it is revealled that his wife works long hours bringing in the money, and he sits at home with his kids and excuses ... not even making himself useful by cooking dinner for the family.

And not even a bicycle in the shop can motivate him to get some sort of job which would produce at least enough income to pay for half a tune-up.


+1

He has no bicycle right now ... can't pay for half a tune-up. So what does he think he is going to do with lights? Maybe he hoped to use them when they cut off his power because he can't pay "a couple of utility bills".


And now we've got some idea about the other side of the story. :)

I love these threads. Sorry to hear you are not working. Lots of hard luck stories out there. Perhaps you are just blowing off steam, but with a family depending on you, I can't understand how "I could use a new saddle and my tires are stock" can compete with "we gotta have a roof over our heads and eat". When I grew up we rarely ate out; we couldn't afford it. Soda? That was a REAL TREAT! My parents worked like dogs and I never saw them spend any money on themselves; it went to the mortgage, dentist, eye doctor and braces for us three kids. Fortunately we lived in a small town and people were magnanimous enough to allow payment plans.

It does sound like you and your wife need to sit down and talk and come to some joint understanding. Good luck.

Okay.....

1. Family history of diabetes. The cycling is an effort to avoid developing it. Diabetes and glaucoma is a wicked combo that I would very much like to avoid in the fight to save what's left of my sight.
2. He has no problem with me riding, so long as it's not too aggressive- from a positioning stand point. I made sure that my wife was present when we discussed it; however, they equate any drop bar set up as aggressive. I think the Tour de France was going on at the time.
3. As to the light(s), I had a cheap Coleman Maxx 3xAAA flashlight and a Zefal front light- both from Wal-Mart. The Zefal has died and the Coleman has gone missing (I think my son may have had a hand it that). I was primarily riding on MUPs, so oncoming lights were a non-issue around here.
4. And I tend to pick the lowest traffic volume routes that I can- day or night- to minimize risks.

Mainly blowing off steam, but those things I mentioned were door prizes that were being given away- things that I could use at some point in the near future. Things that would cost more than the $7 in fuel it would have taken to go enter the drawing.

Oh ... how disappointing. :D

I don't think I've gone too far at all. And if a person starts a thread complaining that he can't get bicycle stuff, and that the utility bills need to be paid, all in the same breath ... the kid gloves are off.

He's been around long enough. He knows that.

In other words ... gambling.

$7 in fuel in order to enter a draw in the vague hopes of winning a prize.