Took the bike to Trophy Bikes during my lunch break. The guy there quickly saw what was wrong, the gear cover had bent down and was rubbing against the chain. He fixed that for free and easy (hooray!), but said it would take them two-three days to true up the rear wheel, so rather than give up my bike for that long I decided to try some other places first. I called Bikeline where I bought it and they said they'd have to hold it for a few days too. I guess this is bike repair season, eh?

But my buddy Michael, who is always looking for an excuse to hit a good bar that's off our beaten path, suggested I try Bike Therapy, which is across the street from Grace Tavern. I called ahead and got a maybe from them, so I skipped out of work an hour early and darted over. The guy in charge shook his head and said "Six days," but before my eyes even had a chance to pop out of my head, this guy who was leaning against the wall like his work day was done, said, "I'll do it." Fifteen minutes and ten bucks later, my bike was riding like new again. I'd forgotten just how smooth a ride it was.

Then it was over to Grace Tavern for one of the juiciest, tastiest burgers around, gracefully adorned with bacon and cheddar, amazingly crispy frites with bourbon mayonaise, and several of their ultra refreshing hand-pulled Flemish Sour Ales.