Nothing World Shattering
Nothing world shattering to report. Got another cold that has sapped my energy. Had to spend money on the car. So, everything is pretty much at a standstill.
I did get some 3/4″ c 5/8″ nylon bushing stock and made adapters so the Norman Lamp Heads fit the 5/8″ spigots on the stands better. That was after finding that the Norman ones cost $8.95 + $9.00shh each. In case your math skill are weak that come to almost $72 for four of them. I made the first one like the Norman ones with a hole in it for the set screw, then realize the nylon was flexible enough that they did not need a hole as they just dented in enough to hold them tight.
I finally got some 11×14 Epson Photo paper. Have not printed anything on it yet. But at least I can now make prints bigger than I could on the R200 so it kind of justifies the 1400.
I also bought a rear kickstand for the Dunelt. One of those that I will install that and fixe the chaincase so it will not move, “real soon now”.
It has been raining again. It has rained about 2/3 the time for the past six weeks. It is beginning to get old.
I bought a new cardigan sweater today. My old sweaters are showing their age to the point where I do not want to wear them in public. The interesting thing is that I had to pay 25 bucks on sale for a synthetic one. The last one was about ten bucks for wool. The only store I found stocking wool sweaters was TJ Max and they were about $40. It is getting harder and harder to find decent clothing in Boone.
Well, now that I have reminded myself that I actually occasionally do something, I guess I will quit rambling and go take a couple of aspirin.
Graywolf’s minimal walking in the mountains kit
I wrote this some time back (early 1990’s) and though it might be helpful for some folks. I updated it a bit with LED’s, etc. Items 9 & 10 were added as nice to have.
Graywolf’s minimal walking in the mountains kit
(Assumes you are not more than a day from help –for some strange reason many such lists seem to think you are going to be stuck out in the Amazon Jungle a 100 miles from the nearest help).
1. Common sense: The first thing this will tell you is, if you do not know your way around in the woods, stay on the path. That includes camping in the middle of it if you are stuck out overnight. It is nice if someone looking for you, or maybe just someone who happens by, can just stumble over you.
2. Water bottle: I like the US Army canteen with the steel cup you can cook in. Yes you can go one day without water (unless you are in the desert somewhere), but it is not fun.
3. Disposable butane lighter: If you have to overnight, you will find a fire comforting and it will help anyone looking for you notice your camp. Hum…? It would be good to learn how to build a small fire with damp tinder before you need to do it in a real situation. True woodsmen always use the smallest fire that will get the job done. You can cook a whole meal over a tiny fire maybe 4-5 inches in diameter made with sticks no bigger than your little finger. Heat requires a bigger fire. Drying out: a big fire. Remember that modern backpackers almost never need to build a fire even on a 2 week long trip, but they are properly equipped for it. Be CAREFUL with your fire, I would rather die of exposure than burn down 10,000 acres of forest, so be very careful with any fire you build.
4. Compass: Play with it a bit, read the instructions, so you will know how to use it, when and if. It will help you keep from going around in circles. I just replaced the one I bought in 1977; the fluid had started to leak out. Spend $10 bucks on a Silva Polaris and skip the $2 toys. NOTE: A GPS does not replace a compass.
5. Pocket knife: Nice to have for many reasons. If you are buying one for this particular use I suggest one of the simpler Swiss Army Knifes. The tiny scissors followed by the tweezers are the most useful additions over a regular pocket knife. All those other tools on the bigger models just add unwanted weight. I believe mine is called the Climber model.
6. Bandanna: Serves as a bandage, splint holder, sunshade, towel, and has 1000 other uses.
7. Windbreaker jacket: It would be nice if it is also weatherproof (but Goretex is so expensive). Hypothermia is the most dangerous threat to someone lost in the mountains.
8. Daily meds. If you are stuck out overnight, no reason to make things worse because your meds are back home in the medicine cabinet.
9. Foil packed disinfectant handi-wipes: Just added this in because they are so nice to have with you. Use as TP, to clean wounds, etc.
10. Large trash bag: Use as a poncho, ground cloth, or tarp; and of course to pack your trash out.
Notice the lack of a flashlight. Two reasons: 1. if you need it to navigate by, you are far better off sitting out the night. 2. The batteries will not last long enough to do you much good (This was originally written before LED lights). That said, I now have a mini LED flashlight on my key chain anyway. I also always keep a couple of Band-Aids in my wallet. This was written before cell-phones, you might want to take yours along; these days my cell-phone is like the mini-flashlight and band-aids, something I always have with me.
Nice additions: a snack or two, and a couple of tea bags. (The British SAS Survival Manual says, the first thing to do when you find yourself lost is stop, and brew a cup of tea. I say, it beats panicking by a long shot.)
Except for the windbreaker, and the water bottle all the above will fit in my pockets. Interestingly enough, for an intended overnight, I only have to add a pack, tarp, sleeping bag, mini-stove, and food.
Chaincase: Getting there
Way back in April I had written (here) that I had finally found a full chaincase to put on my old Dunelt 3-speed bicycle. Well being slow it got put in a corner awaiting me to get back to it. Today I fabricated a couple of rough brackets and did a trial fit. As you cam see in this photo it does fit.
Chaincase mounted to test fit
The following shows the front mount bracket (before trimming and painting):
Front mounting bracket
I do intend to trim them down, round the ends, and paint them black to match the bicycle. Here is a view showing the rear bracket:
Rear mounting bracket.
Besides the trim and paint, it looks like I will have to reverse the rear cog to gain an extra bit of clearance for the chain. Otherwise everything seems to fit very well. I would guess that the proper mounting bracket would be brazed onto the chaincase side of the chain stay as there is clearance that would allow that, I am pretty sure that the rear bracket would just be a strap like I fabricated. One problem is the nut on the fender stay interferes with the rear chain cover, since the mounting hole is threaded it is just a mater of getting the proper size screw. Also, there is a problem with the around the stay strap bracket on the front; it will not allow the kickstand to be mounted. Oh well, I wanted a rear mount kickstand anyway.
I need to pickup some screws before I can finish the installation, but I am pretty sure things will work just fine. So, I can say the light roadster chaincase from Yellow Jersey in Madison Wisc fits the English made bikes.
Finally a full chaincase for my Dunelt
After looking for one more than a year, I ordered a chaincase for my old bicycle. This will make it look like an even older model. It will also deep the chain, and my clothing, clean. I ordered it Friday from yellowjersey.org in Madison Wisconsin, It arrived today (April 6, 2009). It looks OK, but did not include the straps that mount it ot the frame, so I will have to fabricate something before I can install it. A few photos:
Ouside of chaincase
Above is the outside view of the chaincase.
Inside of chaincase
This one is the frameside view
Disassembled view of chaincase
This is the outside again showing the chain case disassembled.
Disassembled view frameside
The small piece where the chaincase has to fit inside the chainstay is “why didn’t I think of that” clever.
Rear mount, needs strap
The caliper points are at the mounting holes for the back of the chaincase. All it needs is a strap to go around the chainstay with holes on 1-1/4 inch centers.
Front mount, needs strap too.
The front mount point also needs a strap to go around the chainstay lug. Centers are 2-58″.
Those are very simple mountings, why they did not include the straps I do not understand, unless they are brazed to the frame the of the bicycle the chaincase is intended for? The paint appears to be very thin and I should put another coat or two on it before perminently mouthing the chaincase.
Thoughts about Utilitarian Cycling
One of the things that interest me is utilitarian cycling. Now by utilitarian cycling I do not mean exotic cargo bicycles, nor tricked out $5000 commuters. What I mean is using an economical bicycle for everyday tasks. The trip to the store, to the library, maybe to work. Also light recreational riding around the neighborhood, in the park, to see the sights. And maybe an occasional weekend trip stopping at inns for the night. No strange clothing required just everyday togs. No need to join a cult of some kind and look down on unbelievers. A photo from the book “Bicycles –The History” by David V Herlihy always makes me think about this.
It was taken just after WWII in England. They were riding bicycles that had gone through the war. Notice that many are missing parts. Cars simply were not available even if they could afford one, so the bicycle was the main mode of short distance transportation, while the train with a bicycle car on it provided transportation to more distant places. Notice how they are wearing their work clothes. The casual way they are riding. Not going hell for leather, just moving at a comfortable pace. Not a drop bar racing bike in the bunch.
At one time adults here in the USA did not ride bicycles, not because they weren’t efficient short range transportation, but because someone might think they were so poor they could not afford a car. When the ten speeds became popular during the 1970-73 bike boom, the main attraction was, I think, that they looked like sporting equipment rather than transportation for poor people. A toy for people with money in other words. Unfortunately that still seems to be the case. Even the people who do use them for local transportation do so for some other reason, like showing their environmental consciousness. The have to have some kind of exotic bicycle that makes it as plain as the spandex on the sport riders that they are not doing it because it is cheap.
Well, I personally like it because it is cheap, convenient, and fun. And the fact that they really have not made any real improvements on utility bicycles since 1900 tickles my fancy.
New Pedals
Awhile back I was riding the Dunelt on the local greenway. I have gotten so I can run the five miles up and back in the middle gear. However that puts a lot of pressure on the machinery, my two hundred thirty pounds is a load on the crank on the mild uphill stretches. Apparently the drive side pedal came loose; oh I could feel it wobbling, but I figured it was the old ball bearings giving up the ghost. However it turned out that the pedal had as I said come loose, and by the time I was back to the car it the threads were pretty well stripped.
Stripped Block Pedal
The hole in the crank arm was stripped as well, but luckily the local bicycle shop was able to chase out the threads to where it was still usable. I also ordered new pedals from them. I picked out a pair of MKS Sylvan Touring alloy rat-trap pedals as that was the most period looking ones we could come up with. I would have liked to come up with a pair of rubber block pedals like the originals, but the only ones I could find had reflectors on them. They gave me a good price on them, matching my best web price plus shipping cost. They look pretty good on the old Dunny.
MKS Sylvan Touring Pedal
The bike is getting a bit too many new parts for my taste but at least they do not look out of place. It now has alloy rims, new brake pads (Not period correct ones), the Taiwanese generator lights, and Taiwanese tires (Or is that tyres), as well as a 1990’ish Brooks B72 leather saddle.
I eventually want to refinish the fenders that are showing rust through the paint in a satin black that will match the old paint on the frame.. I like the old but well kept look as much as I dislike the restored to better than new look I also would like to get a old English style touring saddlebag for it.
Ride in the Park
Well, being the strange person I am I went for a bike ride along the Greenway Trail yesterday. The Greenway Trail is a 2.5 mile long asphalt path, and the only place in town to walk, bicycle, skate, etc. away from traffic. It was pretty nice when I moved to Boone, but unfortunately they have been improving it.
My old bicycle on the greenway
In the photo you can see the new wrought iron fence they put around the old damn building to keep people from being hurt in it. Of course the ruin has been there long enough for trees to grow up in it, but you have to do these safety things. I assume that is our gasoline taxes at work.
The also have finished ruining the most pleasent place to walk in town. The 1/4 mile access drive winding throught the woods was quite, shady, and not too much used. So last year they trimmed out the underbrush that blocked the noise from the softball diamond across the creek, and this year they paved it and made it the main walk way.
Towns with money are worse than big cities for messing things up. However, since the Greenway Trail is part Town of Boone, part Appalachian State University, and part Watauga County, I guess there is a committee dedicated to spending that windfall gasoline tax money before it gets taken back by the State of North Carolina.
Twice the Fun
Stopped into Good Will today.
Found a 19″ Dell P991 CRT Monitor for the princely sum of $7.00. It is now replacing the old 15″ Goldstar as my secondary monitor. Five years newer than the 19″ Hitachi SuperScan Elite. Not quite up to the Hitachi performance wise, although the Dell has a flat CRT screen. Can not seem to get them to match colors exactly, but then the Hitachi has profiles, and I have not found them for the Dell, yet. Sure, I would like to have a pair of 20″ LCD’s, or a 24″ widescreen LCD, but that is $500, not $7. Us poor boys have to make do.
I put the Dell to the left of the Hitachi which is my primary monitor. At the moment I have not figured out how to get the cursor to move to the left to get to the Dell. I have to move it to the right to get there. Not how I want things to work. It may simply be a matter of switching plugs.
Why do I want the Hitachi as the primary monitor? 1. It is a bit sharper. 2. The actual image area is larger. 3. It is capable of runing at higher resolution.
Why do I want the primary monitor on the left? 1. I have my Windows Taskbar on the right, and would prefer not to have to move the cursor across it to get to the secondary screen. 2. The lighting works better if the monitors are on the left end of the computer desk.
While I was at the Good Will I also picked up a $15 sewing machine. Old, and featureless, but all I need it for is to hem up pants, redo pulled seams, and such. I have had my eye out for a cheap sewing machine for a couple of years. The seem to think old worn out sewing machines are valuble antiques around here.
Fixing a flat on a 3-speed bicycle
I started writing this article a couple of weeks ago and got side tracked. I thought folks might find it useful so finished it up today.
Old skills come back. The Dunelt got a flat. Actually a tire was bad, a bulge in the sidewall, and I changed it with one from another wheel. It immediately went flat. So I loosened the shift trigger on the handlebar, that is a very important step if you are going to set the bicycle on its seat and handlebars to work on it. Now, I do have a Park Bicycle Repair Stand, but I wanted to do this like I did when I was tad.
With the bicycle on upside down resting on the handlebars and seat, I removed the valve core. Then using my plastic tire irons (Yes, I am aware of the irony of calling plastic levers, irons) and broke the near side (Just like a horse the near side is the side you normally mount from, but strangely the other side on a bicycle is the drive side, while on a horse it is the off side) of the tire loose from the rim. I pull the tube out and tried to find the leak. If you can find the leak at this point you do not need to dismount the wheel. In this case I could not find it.
Because I could not find the leak I had to remove the wheel so I could take the tube off the bicycle. I disconnected the shift cable at the adjustor. Used an Crescent Wrench to loosen the axle nuts. Whoops, I had to back off the shifter nut first. Then I removed the wheel, hooking the drive chain over the end of the stay to keep it from falling off the chainwheel.
With the wheel off the bicycle, it was simply a matter of pushing the valve stem out of the hole in the rim and removing the tube. I replaced the valve and pumped the tube up a bit. Then I ran some water into the sink, and immerged the tube in the water. The leak was immediately evident.
I had bought a rather cheap patch kit at Wal-Mart. It was packaged by Bell and contained a tube scraper, three of those plastic tire irons, and twenty self-adhesive patches. The patches were something new to me. Instead of the classic rubber patches there was a sheet of what looked like those little round stickers you buy to mark prices on things. I dried the tube scraped it with some sandpaper (Works better than those metal scrapers) peeled off of the patches from the backing paper and pressed it into place. It was about the thickness and color of that translucent Scotch Tape. It seems to hold OK, and there is not going to be a bump that you can feel when riding over it. How it stands up is something only time will tell.
NOTE (added later): These patches did not work well for me. They would hold air for a couple of days and then start leaking. I went and bought some Rema patches, those I know work.
Twilight Ride
Took the Dunelt out for a twilight ride this afternoon, yes this afternoon, twilight comes early this time of year. Thought I would post a photo or two.