I'm not just an addict, I'm also a pusher

Having seen my landlord's 9 year old kid ride my old road bike from
it's parking space next to the dining room down a short flight of three
shallow steps through the receptionist's office out the front door onto
the porch and down another two steps I know _exactly_ what he is doing
that is causing the number of flat tires it has been getting since I
sold it.

Okay, so the tires were getting a bit worn down (I have no idea how
many miles were put on it during the 7 weeks it spent loaned out while
I was in the US) and the kid's approach to putting air in the tires (he
has a floor pump) is apparently even more haphazard than my
whenever-I-get-by-the-bike-shop approach. But, mostly, I think it is
the way Benny rides.

Anyways, neither Benny or his dad or anyone else in the house
(including the maid and myself there are currently twelve of us) has
the expertise and tools available for changing a tire. So, every time
the bike gets a flat (again) my landlord ends up putting it in the
school van and driving it over to the bike shop. It's one of those
strange Chinese middle class things. Because the bike shop will fix a
flat for free he takes it there, in the process spending more on gas
than the cost of fixing a flat at a local repair stand (150 meters away
in one direction, 200 meters in the other).

The first time he came back from fixing a flat he also had two pairs of
Pearl Izumi gloves, one pair for himself, one pair for Benny. My
landlord's 9 year old has nicer gloves than I do.

The second time he came back from fixing a flat he came back with a
helmet.

The third time he came back from fixing a flat he also got new
handlebar tape and an odometer.

With the purchase of the odometer the cost of his accessories topped
what he paid for my bike secondhand and started to approach what I paid
for my bike new.

Now, the fourth time, he has signed up for the bike club group events
notification text messages and paid the yearly membership fee to cover
support vehicles and water for group rides. Although, except for that
one 100km ride I took him on he hasn't hardly been out on the bike at
all since buying it from me. It's mostly the kid who uses it. Even
though he doesn't even begin to fit the bike and won't for a couple of
years yet.

(He says that after he left us at the 60km mark he rode the bike the
rest of the way back to Haikou but I'm not entirely sure I believe him,
even if his wife says she believes him. He was already looking a bit
ragged when he left.)

And he gets notified about every group event anyways because, well, I
live in the same house and see him at lunch almost everyday.

And I was so afraid my bike would be left to rust neglected in the
garage.

-M