Pedal to the Mettle

Let me tell you a little about Angel.

Angel is my Fuji 4130 (not this exact model, but close enough), a limited edition folding bike produced as part of a Marlboro Miles promotion back in the 90's. My Mom found her on Craigslist and she's been mine for a little over a year and a half. I won't go in to the story about her name. Mayhaps another day...

Anywho, I absolutely love the convenience factor that comes along with a bike that can fold and fit in my back seat. However, the design leaves much to be desired at times... This video shows a lot - even though it's not as difficult to fold as that guy makes it look. It also shows the pedals, one of which I broke on my way to work today:

You didn't really want an easy commute to work, right?

The heads of the screws attaching the bottom plate snapped off completely. This happened from the repeated stress of regular use and laying the bike down (I don't have a kickstand) on the non-drive side. Oddly enough, I've already fixed this pedal twice. The first time, it felt "squishy," so I replaced the original screws with new ones. The second time, the "squish" started to come back, so I tightened them. Yesterday, it started to feel "squishy" yet again, and today this happened before I could fix it. The result:

Wanna hang out?

Without a lot of time to figure something out, the best I could do was to continue on and try to ride gingerly, keeping my left foot on the pedal at all times so it wouldn't go flying off. That lasted about 5 blocks:

It's almost like I planned this photo.

I also injured myself in the process. Minor, but still, it sucks:

Also available with sock tan.

Needless to say, the rides to and from work was not pleasant, but I did manage to avoid further injury. After I get a new pedal assembly (whenever that will be), I think it's time to invest in a kickstand. Could prevent a lot of future problems from happening at all. For now, duct tape or a dreaded IndeGo rental will have to do.

Angel is turning out to be quite the Satanic mistress at times...