And you go over to Valencia Cyclery, under the theory that your bike mechanic friend espouses, which is that the best bike shop is the one that is the closest to where you are at the time, and you pay them $10 to change your bike tire because you have a bunch of errands to run and it’s raining and there’s no bike pump in your office, you will notice perhaps that they use this thing to clear any broken glass out of the grooves in your bike tire.

What is this, you ask? A broken bicycle spoke, formed into a rough handle and sharpened at one end.

And therefore the winner of this week’s Mission Kludge Award. Which we actually made up just right now.

What would the prize for that be? And can you think of other examples?

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Heather Smith covers a beat that spans health, food, and the environment, as well as shootings, stabbings, various small fires, and shouting matches at public meetings. She is a 2007 Middlebury Fellow in Environmental Journalism and a contributor to the book Infinite City.

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