In other happier news: Park Ranger Jackson at Ed. R. Levin park was today's recipient of a rubber chicken. :-) ****Broken seat story: It's about time I told this story in public. You see in 2019 I bought a Specialized "Roubaix" bike. The bike is named after a brutal bike race in France, where cyclists go over rough terrain, cobblestone included. Google AI describes it as, "Paris-Roubaix, known as "The Hell of the North," is considered the most brutal one-day cycling race due to its roughly \(55\text{km}\) of bone-jarring, ancient cobblestones (pavé) over a \(260\text{km}\) route, causing constant high-speed crashes and mechanical failures. " So when I bought a Specialized Roubaix, I was under the assumption that the bike would be robust enough to endure me riding on it. I have been a wee disappointed. The fact is I HAVE NOT ridden it like that brtual race at all. If anything I have been average to gentle riding the thing, on the road. No cobblestone. For starters, this has not even been my go to bike for the last 7 years, meaning I have kept its mileage in check as I keep going back to my 2007 Cannondale Synapse (no broken seats on that yet either). Here is the rap sheet on the Roubaix as I can best tell from memory (without looking up receipts). Two broken seats (warranty replacement). A third broken seat as of today (wait to see about warranty) Two broken wheel rims (micro cracks discovered - warranty replacement) Shimano "Hollow Crap Crank" (cracking Hollowtech cranks of Shimano, causing some major injury, that the company eventually had to do a recall on. I was lucky with all my climbing to hear a noise and discover a micro crack before it went critical. PSA: PLEASE IF YOU HAVE A SHIMANO HOLLOWTECH from pre-2020, GET IT CHECKED!) Specialized "Future Shock" headset failure - I paid to have it replaced. Needless to say my choice for a future bike purchase will be... drum roll please... OH CRAP one of the Specialized drum sticks broke! *sigh* Nevermind. It simply helps me learn more about how to fix bikes, which I should be doing if I am to participate in the local community free bike repairs to help more people get on bikes. At these events I have seen MUCH worse problems than I have experienced. OK I am being a weee bit rough on Specialized. When the bike HAS worked without breakage, it has been a pleasure. I did ride several Death Rides on it, and took a trip across California. Even then, I think it is totally reasonable to think that the bike should NOT have had the malfunctions/breakages it has had over what I will call it's short lifetime, especially what is was named after. *****