My Wheel Has Hole

If you're a bike-riding foreigner in Hungary, you'll have noticed shortcomings of beginner Hungarian classes. You learn how to say you like it here ("I feel myself well in Hungary!") and how to complain about hot weather ("I have lots of heat!"). But you never learn the basic vocabulary of bicycle maintenance.

A new publication, the second edition of the European Cycling Lexicon, could help. Published by the European Cyclists Federation, it contains illustrations of 60 pieces of cycling paraphernalia and parts, together with the common referents for each item in 27 languages, including Hungarian.

It could be useful even for those with a decent command of Hungarian but who may not know the specialised taxonomy of bicycle repair. Or for cyclists who've had some experience with local bike shops, but who would find themselves at a loss for words when confronted with a loose "crank" (hajtókar) or a noisy "internally geared hub" (agyváltó).

In addition to being a useful cycling dictionary for your day-to-day needs in Hungary, the book is something you might want to pack on your next tour abroad. In fact, with words and phrases for all European languages plus Russian, Japanese, Chinese and Arabic, this is really its intended purpose.

Along with the lexicon on bike parts, there's a section called "on tour" with translations for terms like "bike shop," "bicycle ticket for a train," and "bicycle route map." A section of useful phrases has translations for queries such as "Is this road hilly?" and "Where are the nearest accommodations?"

Bike Turns into Pillar of Salt

Returned from holiday this weekend to discover my trusty Schwinn in an advanced state of fossilisation. In the weeks prior to the break, it'd been snowing or raining in Budapest almost continuously, so my bike was getting a twice-daily dousing of mud and road salt. I did my best to keep it clean, but did not have the time or patience to wash it every evening. And I did not clean it before leaving on vacation.

After festering there in a salty chrysalis for a week, the old mountain bike was not limber. My front brake, a typical cantilever type, had locked up solid, neither side pivoting on its axis. The front derailer had the same problem. I clicked up and down between all three positions with the shifter, but the derailer would not budge.

I took both paralysed components apart with the intention of cleaning out the dirt and corrosion and then giving them a good lube. It wasn't until all parts were scattered about the kitchen floor that I discovered my chain oil was missing. So I improvised with the nearest thing at hand: some virgin olive oil from next to the stove. My wife is quite a gourmet, so corn oil was not an option. Anyway, not a pro job, but at least I had wheels for this morning's commute.

This winter's dragging on. Can't wait for decent biking weather.