Brake Dancing

Tuesday started off much like Monday, same kind of weather, same pain. Both, however, were expected to be marginally better. The day’s high was expected to make it into the 60’s, and I certainly expected my ass to feel significantly better. I hung all of my hope on yesterday’s 2.5 mile marker. After exercise, Ykraps and I set out on our walk. I was still noticeably hobbled, and it hurt to take a step forward with my right leg. I was smart enough today to suck down three Advil along with my daily vitamin. After coffee, internet, and meditation I focuses significant attention on stretching my butt muscles. I thought about asking Mindy to massage my rump, but who wants to be woken at 6:00am, handed a cup coffee, and asked to rub someone’s ass? I thought better of it. At the moment of truth, I netted the same results as Monday. I was once again in severe pain at first stride. It seemed obvious to me that the connective tissue between my buttocks and leg was severely pulled. Still, I banked on the pain subsiding at or before the 2.5 mile marker. In the back of my mind I worried if something more damning was wrong, but at the same time holding hope that it would heal very soon. Lucky for me, about one mile in the severe pain released and I was able to focus attention on other less pressing matters as I trotted along. My gait was still altered and my pace somewhat slowed but I was easily able to finish without the crippling pain. I was encouraged! Mindy had our eggs on the island upon my return. I shared the good news about my slow but steady recovery. If I were correct, tomorrow would be even easier. Mindy & Bella bolted around 7:25am. Jacob & I did our usual thing leaving the house at 7:55am. Even though it was sunny and warming, it was still quite chilly at the bus stop. My guess was around 40 degrees. I arrived to work near 8:20am. The day breezed by. I purposely skipped a lunch hoping instead to leave early to get a start on my brakes at Eric’s house. He left at his usual 4pm. I didn’t get out of the office until 4:45pm. It was slow going driving through old Hilliard at rush hour. Always is. I arrived at Eric’s around 5:10pm. We wasted little time tearing into the brakes. He allowed me to do most of the labor while providing tools and guidance. Once the wheels were off we had a much better idea of the work ahead. Looked very simple. It only took a few minutes to break the bolts free holding the calipers and ultimately the brake pads in place. The pads were getting low, but they certainly weren’t entirely spent, and there were no signs of uneven wearing save for one back pad looking more worn than the front. Certainly nothing that looked to be causing the grinding I could hear with each stop. We finished by 6pm and took the Trooper on a test run. Unfortunately, the grinding sound remained. That meant only one thing. It was the rear brakes, not the front. We drove to the Cemetery Rd. Auto Zone where I bought their last pair of ceramic rear pads. It took the fellow a while to find them on their shelf, but thankfully he did. Back to Eric’s! Tearing off the rear wheels and brakes went even faster than the front, easier because I knew the drill. Eric spotted the culprit to my problem right away. It wasn’t so obvious to me. The rotors were corroding close to their edges causing uneven wear on the pads. The grinding I could hear was the pad scraping against the corroded area on the rotors. Eric felt strongly that I needed new rear rotors, too, lest I’d find myself in the same boat a month from now. Crap! Back to Auto Zone. This time, however, we had to visit the brand new Hilliard Rome Rd Auto Zone to get the rotors. The old Hilliard store was out-of-stock. So now I had $160 worth of parts into the job, but still a far cry cheaper than what any shop would’ve charged me. Plus, I felt strongly that I wouldn’t be getting the same quality parts & care. Back at Eric’s I held out hope that the old rotors would come off with little trouble and we’d finish up the job. We did. The rest went without incident. By 7:45pm I had new brakes all the way around and new rotors on the back. A test drive proved that my stopping power was significantly improved, and the grinding sound abated. I helped Eric tidy up his garage before heading towards home. I phoned Mindy to let her know that I was on my way. She was pretty much already up to speed, however, since I called about every hour to keep her posted of my progress. In the door, Mindy was putting the finishing touches on household chores, and the kids were already in their beds. Bella heard me come in and asked that I come up and tuck her in. I did, of course. Mindy and I got in the hot tub as part of the “ass” therapy. It was a lovely evening for it, to be sure. Before calling it a night I got a butt massage too. It seemed to make all the difference.