abraham fixes bikes. that's the name of the shop where abraham fixes bikes, and you can get yours fixed at 3508 n williams (at the corner of fremont).
if there's one thing portlanders like, it's acting like we think europeans would act, and bicycles are indispensable to the pursuit of that goal. and if there are several things that portlanders like, then niche identity consumption is on the list no lower than the top of the middle. so portland hasn't any shortage of bike shops, and those shops are each of them singular in offering a veil of uniqueness that will ensure you're who your individuality demands you are both on and off your bike. got a problem with your bicycle in pdx? there's guaranteed to be a local (meaning not just in the neighborhood but also not to be found in anywhere outside of portland) bike shop within walking distance of whichever microbrewery or coffee shop (likely serving microroasted portland coffee) you happen to have found to ease the pain.
after having finally admitted the necessity of installing my new pedals, i decided against riding up to alpenrose velodrome for the thursday track series, rationalizing that miss by telling myself i'd clean my bike in preparation for the installation and go up for some part of the alpenrose challenge this weekend. the schedule at the oregon bicycle racing association website listed the challenge for "7/16-18," so i assumed that i'd be able to catch something sunday afternoon. i assumed incorrectly, though, and now it's sunday morning and i've finally gotten around to checking race times to find out that the last set starts five minutes ago. if the bike ride to the track didn't take about as long as a set of races will probably last i still don't think i'd try to make it, if only because it's cool and overcast this morning and post race chances of skin are slim. luckily, mark blackwelder and tony kic must've been eliminated earlier in the weekend. they did me the consolation of showing up to my sunday morning personal computing sentry, and i got in a quick ogle here at the albina press.
but to say that i considered riding to the track is also to say that i've replaced my pedals, which is also to say that my new drivetrain parts arrived and are installed. that's math. had my old chain not been so filthy, i probably could have made it for the thursday series, but that would have required some real enterprise. even though i got the call about the chain and chainring i ordered from the veloshop early thursday afternoon, i hadn't any reason to think to bring my new cog with me to work. and then there was my not owning a lockring tool or a chain whip. and i wasn't going to suffer the embarrassment of asking a mechanic to remove my old parts without cleaning them -- despite it having been ryan at the veloshop who told me that the greasy muck buildup was probably what was keeping the teeth of my cog and chainring grabbing my chain correctly. and, of course, there was that abraham fixes bikes about five blocks from my house.
as much as i hate giving my money to molly cameron (the owner of the veloshop who, incidentally, was here sitting with mark and tony until just a little while ago and whose presence -- even in that company -- only spurred me to voice my denunciation in very certain terms), her shop is close to work. what's more, ryan knows my bike and the man who made it. in other words, i trust the staff at that shop to understand the needs of my image. i saw how much he marked up the chainring, and, sure, i could've feasibly gotten it elsewhere at closer to cost, but i'll save you a long digression on that homo drama at least. after all, i'm close to letting you forget about abraham again.
i'd sent an email to abraham (abraham fixes bikes, by the way, just to make sure we're back on course) requesting a quote for the installation of a new chain, cog and chainring, and he'd gotten back to me very promptly. i'll admit, however, to being unaware of abraham's venture until last week. i rarely ride on williams anymore -- or that far east on fremont for that matter. when i do, it's almost invariably outside of abraham's business hours (10-6, monday through friday). but one thing that doesn't escape the 'looking good in pants' information dredge is hottness, and in addition to his impressively smart style for someone in such a dirty occupation, abraham is a dreamboat. (now look at his website.) the near impossibility of my getting a new drivetrain running on thursday only made it easier to plan on taking my business to abraham the next day, which i'd been essentially set on since tuesday anyway.
abraham's business is impressive. it can't be easy to set up shop as a bike mechanic in a city with so many of them. demonstrate your dependability and the quality of your service and people will take note, i suppose. done. abraham satisfies, guaranteed. he even did some extra diagnostic work for me when i took my bike back to him uneasy about a crunching i felt in my chain on my first ride and showed sincere interest in my reporting back once i'd sussed out a remedy. (later at the veloshop, ryan assured me it was just an aspect of the "burliness" of that brand of chain and that it should settle in. the builder wasn't as convinced when i consulted him over the phone, and i might just get to order a new round of parts...)
abraham also, as a point of his stated operating philosophy, reuses old parts wherever he can, and environmentalism is definitely on that list of the several things portlanders like. i almost felt bad taking him my fancies, but i'd ground at least several thousand miles out of my old parts, and, what's more, the fancies never fail to crack the facade at the bike shop. that went literally on friday: you should see him smile.
friday morning i let myself toss under the covers for a few snoozes before getting out of bed, during which time i gave myself over to a spell of half waking dreams. in what began as a conscious effort, i pictured myself going to pick up my now like new bicycle from abraham fixes bikes. i was caught entirely off guard when abraham asked if maybe i'd accept a waiver of his (very reasonable) fee and go on a date with him instead. i am floored. we start making out. then i must have lapsed into sleep because abraham turned into a doughnut. it was delicious. and just my niche. top that, molly.
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