5°C, wind rain & cold. Dammit.
Two years ago, the days reached 19°C with some consistency. Today, outside looks like one of those awful holidays in Wales- cold rain driven by winds that shake trees as if they think they’re at some sporting event.
There is a grim looking pile of marking that has to be done. What fun will today bring?
8°C, drier but still chilly.
Film: Hereafter; Clint Eastwood directed with Matt Damon in the lead role.
It’s a Hollywood story which runs along nicely. The lead character has psychic powers which are “a curse not a gift”. That theme is the most interesting part. Lie most American films, there is love interest. This time, there are three character’s threads which eventually and inevitable come together in unlikely circumstances. The ending is, however, a cheap throwaway. It was as if they ran out of money and had to finish it in a hurry.
Bike repairs saga: Burton-upon-Trent has a decent bike shop. I took the wheel there with the STX hub from my spares box. For the interim, I decided to buy a pair of cheap R500 wheels. They only have 20 spokes front (& 24 rear)- I hope they can take my weight (14¾ stones).
Fitted: A tight fit on the tyres but otherwise not much to do. The wheel rim is true but spokes were not evenly tensioned. I like to adjust spokes by sound- I pluck the spokes and listen, some sounded flat, others sharp. To get the wheel well tuned, you need to make adjustments to spokes so they all make the same note, and the wheel is true. Only when you have both, can you be sure of a wheel that is true and will stay so.
It does look odd with only 20 spokes on the front and straight-lace pattern. That makes the rim more sensitive to spoke adjustments (I assume the spoke nipple thread is the same pitch though).
9°C, rain
Drive to work in heavy rain. An opportunity to drop in the bike shop on the way home. Their stock wasn’t complete so I came away with a 12-21 teeth cassette instead of my preferred 13-23. Oh well, it works smoothly even though it’s the lowest few gears that will be used the most. I can change to a more suitable gear range in time for the autumn when the pace fall back a little and the hills feel steeper.
9°C, rain clearing.
Climbed on the bike to ride home, there is a short ramp to the gate. then, a loud crunch and the rear wheel locks tight. First though- a bungee cord has wrapped round the spokes. Get off and reverse the wheel only to find something more serious. the rim is severely pringled. the hub has failed on the gear-side flange. The flange itself has broken to release the spoke head.
I always carry spoke key and managed to adjust the other spokes enough to pull the rim into shape. I cautiously rode home. If another nearby spoke, stressed by the extra tension, breaks, then the bike could be unridable. the bike needs a new wheel. Perhaps I can re-use the rim and have it built onto an old hub I have in storage.
Alignment spline on freehub (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
10°C, rain threatened.
Rain didn’t spoil the ride home, something else did. Yesterday’s ride was crunchy, the new chain didn’t agree with the old sprockets. they’re too worn for the chain’s links to mate well on the lower gears (17 & 19). Interestingly, the last time this problem arose, it was the 16 & 17 tooth cogs that had worn out. The change, I suggest, came from my tendonitis. Over the last year, I have deliberately ridden a lower gear, especially in the winter when soreness in that ankle is worse. So, this year, the gear cluster has worn out differently.
Anyway, after all that work fitting a new freehub and bearing cones, the hub itself has failed. the spoke-hole flange has broken away releasing one spoke on the chainside. the annoying bike maintainance saga continues.
I will tell you (excited readers) what I have decided to do about it after a night’s sleep.
7°C, it’s clear out there for now
With all the to-ing & fro-ing I have walked some blobs of dirty oil paste onto the stair carpet. It’s best to get these things when they are fresh, before any drying happens. So, to soften the stuff, use some water-soluble de-greaser (like Jizer) then wash the carpet with Stardrops to get the de-greaser out. I’m delighted to announce that it worked. So thrilled was I that I attacked a similar stain in the back bedroom which must have been there for a year.
Now may carpets have ultra-clean patches. So another job unwittingly adds itself to the list. Clean the carpets in the summer once it gets hot. How satisfying, see…
It reminds me of a story from University where the house we rented had a carpet in the kitchen. Stupid place for a carpet, true, but we had to clean it to get our deposit back in the summer of 1985. With various scrubbing brushes, including a nail brush, we did it & got the money.
8 spd record cassette (Photo credit: djneight)
9°C, heavy showers. CR:54 miles
Fizzy legs: I really could have ridden more, my legs want to but I have pressing work to do. the energy was there before dawn, or is it work thoughts that fill my head and jangle my legs at three in the morning.
The bloody gears still aren’t ideal. After all those hours working on the gear-shift, you hope that it’s going to be better. The first ten miles were, the bike whizzed along, barely a sound and gear shifts were similarly unnoticeable. The day wore on and the bike changed gears all by itself, or it would skip without warning.
Film: Melancholia, Lars Von Trier. Was it a disaster film, or a study into the mental health of the lead characters. Somehow I could relate to the lead woman’s discomfort in her own wedding reception. Not that I’ve ever been married, but I have certainly grown to detest those social obligations. I could see myself in the same sort of event, desperately longing for escape. In fact, I did just that a few years ago, when the reception seemed to be quietening down, I sneaked away in the car when no-one was looking. that was an evening of dread, I remember it well having just watched the film.
Svenska: Tjolöholms slott. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Anyway, I have work to do.
A Shimano freehub hub (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
10°C, heavy showers & sun
Nearly four hours fixing the bike. Changed the rear wheel bearing cones (and balls); new chain and new freehub. The rear axle still runs with a sticky spot- perhaps the axle itself is bent slightly. It’s not visible, but it doesn’t have to be. I have ordered a new one, but for now it’s better than it was.
I’m waiting for a dark shower to pass so the dogs can have their day’s long walk.
Meanwhile, read this, it has no relevance to bikes: earthangel and TES.
5°C, clear.
Three days in the Lake District, so two nights under canvas. There is much to report: tales of long drives, snow, sunburn, ice and bulls. The finches were very tame too.
Scafel: Climbed the same route that we first used in the first attempt with the Three Peaks group from work all those years ago. The climb onto the Col was not difficult, though it looked as if it would be. The rocks were wet and a few snow patches remained.
Great Gable: We got off to a tricky start- there was a narrow field jut up from the Wast Head pub where a small herd of cattle decided it was time to go back to the farm. The field narrowed as at the point where we would cross. Rosie performed a dramatic act of heroism- I let her off the lead when it became apparent that the bullocks might charge. She roared & barked and ran at the. the cleared off towards the farm. Result.
Later that day, we made the top of Great Gable which was not a difficult climb from the Windy Valley approach. That valley was quite sheltered from the 3°C wind- the one part of the walk where a cooling wind would have helped. On the summit, ice patches suggested that temperatures were considerably below freezing, possibly -6°. This summit has some large boulders which gave good shelter, so we stopped for lunch.
The descent wasn’t so nice though. Firstly we tried the west route, but the fine scree was too difficult- it was too easy to slide without a way to stop. Digging heels in helped but no way to weigh anchor. I was not happy about it, so we went back to the top to find another route.
4°C, clear. Showers later.
I can hear a rumbling above. the deep-throated rumble of hot air out the jetpipes of an airliner. So, with a novelty website to check what aircraft it is- Planefinder, I see nothing on the computer screen. Oh dear, not as good as suggested.
Later: there is supposed ot be one overhead now- from Manchester to Heathrow flying at 18,000 ft. It’s clear sky above & I see nothing up there. It’s obviously a stealth-airliner!
Erm, unless there is a delay and the website is a few minutes late. Ah, yes, that’ll be the reason.
You can get apps for phones that do the same thing. So get one for your smartphone and wonder around with your phone looking upwards worrying about where the missing planes are.
Micycle 