Ok.. If you read my post two days ago you will know I had a ‘few’ things to do this weekend but, as with ‘best laid plans’ and all that, things didn’t go quite the way I wanted. My day didn’t get off to quite the start I anticipated as I was feeling a tad lazy in the cold hard light of day and I spent the morning snuggled up in bed finishing the new Terry Pratchett book, Snuff. I couldn’t help myself! I bought it on Thursday and wanted to finish it to see what happened. It was a great read and I’ll be reading it again very soon!
Snuff
After finishing reading, just after midday (ok, so I was feeling VERY lazy!), I contemplated the novel for a few moments while gazing at the cover (as you do!) and then leaping into action (ok, so I fib a bit and it was more of a slide out of bed actually!), I got up, got dressed and heading downstairs armed myself with another cup of coffee, and set about my jobs for the day. The Guinea Pig cage was soon moved and is now standing on four bricks in the garden to keep the wood off the wet ground over the winter. An assortment of bike parts were shuffled over to stand beside their donor, the ground was swept and it was time to head inside and tackle the Gixxer!
The work of a few minutes had the dining table and chairs moved out of the way leaving me with access to the back door. The bike was turned with some difficulty with my daughter holding the bars to keep her upright, and me lifting her by the back wheel and shuffling her bum round a few inches at a time. Then it was a case of trying to do a 7 point turn (!!!) in my living room, which really wasn’t helped as the front brakes are partly seized, but I persevered and after a short time she was pointed at the back door. Then the penny dropped, making a huge clang as it did! The bike looked too wide! A tape measure soon confirmed my worst fears. The bars were 4″ too wide to get through the door and I knew in my sinking heart that no amount of wriggling, twisting or coming at the door at an angle was going to get that bike through the back door. I did think about removing the door itself to get a little bit more room but thought that was going a little far! I must admit I did swear a little bit at that point but not too much 😉
Note to self: In future measure the bike before you start anything like this! 😉
So I hatched plan B 🙂
I’d take her out front door, after all she came in this way so she would fit out again 🙂
More bike shuffling ensued and soon she was turned with her bum pointed at the living room door. It wasn’t without incident as I managed to wedge her and me against the dining room table, with her at about a 45 degree angle and me on the verge of collapse under her. I’d forgotten to lift the side stand before I moved her! It was in exactly the wrong place as it got stuck against the table leg and I couldn’t tilt her enough to get the stand over the table leg. Thankfully my daughter soon lifted the offending side stand and saved her poor mum from being squished on the living room floor under the bike.
Getting her out through the living room and front doors was almost a breeze compared to my escapades in the living room and thankfully she was soon out of the house and parked outside the garage. Getting her into the garden was going to have to wait until my partner got home as I felt I was on the verge of busting a gut at that point and was desperately in need of a lie down (again!) and more coffee.
I want to know whose bright idea was it to bring the bike into the house in the first place?
Oh yeah, I remember….. It was mine!
Raven's Stained Glass 