My new bicycle is my new bicycle

Take it to a bike shop.

 

Right. Because of the toe clips. :

 

Took the broken one home from work yesterday. There's only one stoplight between here and there. I'm hoping I don't hit it, because I don't want to have to stop once I get moving. Of course, I hit it red.

So I'm sitting here waiting for the walk light, knowing there's a guy waiting to turn who will have to wait for me to get across. I'm spending the entire red cycle thinking "Don't blow the start, don't blow the start, don't blow the start..."

I blew the start, almost fell down, and had to walk the bike across the crosswalk.

 

If the chain won't shift out of the smallest sprocket on the rear wheel, it's very possible that the cable is so loose that it's doing nothing; just sliding where it's supposed to be connected to the rear derailleur.

You're probably going to need metric allen wrenches (hex keys) and a pair of pliers. With the chain in the smallest sprocket, loosen the screw that holds the cable. Grab the end of the cable with the pliers and pull our the slack. Then, tighten the screw that holds the cable on the derailleur.

That will get you to a starting point where you can begin to fiddle with the adjustment barrels on the cable housing to fine tune it.

It really helps if you have a bike stand because you need to turn the pedals while you're adjusting the cable tension. But, sometimes you can make it work by turning the bike upside down and turning the adjustment barrel at the derailleur end of the cable housing.

 

I swung by a bike shop today to pick up a few things, I walked past the chain lube and chuckled as I remember this.

 

This thread convinced me to finally fill up the tires in my bike like I had been planning on doing yesterday. I've been trying to lose weight and in addition to that goal I have a new one: get all the way up the slope on my way back to the apartment by the end of the summer.
I took the bike out for a spin and going out - downhill - was some of the most fun I've had in a while. Coming up was torturous and I didn't make it all the way. Only one part is very steep, but it's constantly up for a long time, so it killed my legs.