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Visiting the Air Museum
We took my dad to the Evergreen Aviation Museum today in McMinnville, Oregon. It was a beautiful, beautiful day, and the museum is an impressive facility. Lots of planes that have been lovingly restored, lots of information, and of course, the big star of the show: The Spruce Goose.
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The Spruce Goose is large. Very large. Impressively large. It’s hard to even get the scale of the thing until you’re standing next to it, and even then your eye keeps fooling you with the perspective.
And there were several of my favorite aircraft, including the Navy Corsair, the P-38 Lightning
and one of the coolest planes ever built, the SR-71 Blackbird:
The kids had a good time. The entire facility is immaculate, with volunteers roaming around to answer questions and deliver lectures. It’s quite a resource for aviation lovers in the Portland area.
When I got home, I took my rear wheel in to my friendly neighborhood bike shop to have the spoke fixed. I was gratified to see them working on a BikeE recumbent in the shop. I told the young woman behind the counter that I had a broken spoke, and she assumed a rather pained expression.
“How long have you had it?”
“Uh…two years.”
“What were you doing when it broke?”
“Nothing. Just commuting.”
She went on to explain that breaking a spoke usually meant that other spokes would be breaking soon. Particularly if the wheel wasn’t an especially high-quality wheel to begin with. Well, one of the attractions of the Koosah was the low price, and THAT was due to the lower-end components on the bike. So, rather than pay to have spokes replaced one at a time, I should just put the money toward a better wheel.
This was actually a good idea. I had always intended to upgrade components as I went along. Besides, I am not a light guy, and so I know I was putting a lot of stress on the rear wheel. Besides, replacing a spoke would take three days. Replacing the wheel would take 15 minutes. I decided to go for it.
So, now I have a beefy new rear wheel. And a Pearl Izumi vest to wear on these nippy morning commutes, which was on clearance and actually fits. I’m tired of getting to work soaked with sweat, and a long-sleeved shirt with this vest should be a perfect combination for September.