Is it assembled yet?

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Nope. I thought it might take an hour, at worst two hours, to put the bike together. Nope. Actually, I have been doing quite well to be honest. Though there doesn't appear to be that much work, and really there isn't, just unpacking the thing, cutting off the protective pieces, taking off knob protectors, and getting through the double heavily stapled boxes (there were two) in the first place ate probably an hour by itself. No complaints about the packing mind you, the bike is in excellent shape. Further, each part of the project requires some reading, some adjusting, and a bit of assembly. I have everything but the tires inflated and the breaks adjusted.

With it being warm and working up to being hot, I worked for a good three hours, doing quite well really for my first bike, then I finally needed to cool off a bit. I had tinkered with the breaks just a bit but it wasn't going so well. I brought the fine print instructions in, to read while I chill. I love the various tools I recently purchase, they will be all I need to do almost anything to the bike. Anything a typical bike user could reasonably expect to be able to do, those tools will suffice. There is enough double coverage of items so that I can really zing, and they all fit the size of a huge and thick wallet and cell phone sized belt holsters or can be put in the pack or the saddle I bought for the bike.

Oh, pleased, to be sure. A little worried about the breaks though. The front break wire nut assembly is simply not grabbing the line, or... I'm not doing something right. I hope the instructions will give me something I am missing. I didn't have to assemble to 21 speeds, or chain. I am very happy with both my innate mechanical ability and the ease by which I grab tools and the right sizes almost naturally. If anything, I simply don't like to read instructions first. With good instructions, which they have been so far, I have had no problem. A little frustrated though, with the information that came with the bike. I have dozens of big easy-to-read pages, and several booklets actually, about safety, rules of the road, this and that, and then an extremely small instruction booklet about how to assemble the thing, actually just one page, 3/4 the size of a normal sheet, folded into quarters, with very small print. And they even added two quarters of those folds just for rules of the road and more safety instructions. Bah! I say we hang some lawyers! Tar and feather you say? All good. I'll... figure it out. At least I have the internet these days, for as long as that lasts, if the instructions aren't good. My guess is bike break assemblies are rather standard, at least for each type of break.

A bit of lunch, three frozen burritos, microwaved to as good as they get. Cheap and easy. They usually taste like cardboard and beef flavored lard, with beans, give or take. I've found some that are at least a bit better. And I found that adding cheese (real stuff, cheddar this time) after the first run through the microwave, and perhaps adding cayenne or other hot and herb stuff, really adds to the meal. I am liking little meals often. Easier to keep up with the dishes, I am sure, if I ever get caught up in the first place anyway.

Later.