The tune-up worked wonders for Floria die Fleddermoose. By replacing the rear wheel, I did away with a hub that was well past its prime. It has been a relative joy to bike to and from work. I was thinking this as I rode home today and decided I would pop round the bike shop to pay my compliments. As I got a bit further on, I noticed that there was a bit of a grinding sensation when I pushed down on the left pedal. At a red light, I investigated, thinking that maybe a bearing had gone in the left pedal, which would be not big deal as pedals are cheap and easily within my ability to replace. However, I discovered that the left crank arm seemed to be loose, moving somewhat out of its' usual plane.
I assumed that it was a case that someone at the shop hadn't tightened it as completely as he should have. As I don't have a large enough Allen key, I stopped at the shop on the way home. After complementing the staff on the good job they had done, I described the apparent problem. Steve got the staff to investigate. It seems the person who worked on the crank should have applied Locktite instead of grease at some point in the reassembly of the crank.
The mechanics went to work and got Floria back in shape in ten minutes or so. One of them explained that the crank is on the old side, hence the need for Locktite. He suggested that I consider replacing the crank at some point. I expect I will, but not until it is time for another tune-up.
(I believe he is the same person who, when I dropped off Floria two weeks ago, suggested that I should protect my rims by installing disc brakes. At the time, I explained that while disc brakes would indeed prolong the life of my rims, they would also attract unwanted attention from bike thieves. As die Fleddermoose spends much of her time outdoors, I felt that I was better off buying new rims every few years than buying a new bike. Steve, who knows me better, agreed with my logic.)
Tuesday, 9 July 2019
Thursday, 4 July 2019
On the benefits of a long-term relationship with your friendly local bikeshop
I take my bikes for servicing at Martin Swiss. As their website shows, they have been around for more than eighty years. I have been using them for about twenty years and the people there have got to know me, particularly Steve.
Last week, I took Floria die Fleddermoose in for some major servicing, including two new wheels, new brake-shifters and several other lesser bits and pieces. I picked her up after work this afternoon. Steve brought her out and I gave her a once over. There were a couple of things missing from the picture, namely wheel reflectors.
These are required by law in Quebec, especially at night. In addition, my readers will know that I believe in high visibility while biking. (Which is a bit ironic as I was watching Monty Python's "How not to be seen" sketch last night.)
I asked Steve if I could get some reflectors. He dug in a drawer to produce a nondescript, unlabelled set of reflectors. "Here, you can have them for free provided you install them yourself!" He said this with a grin as we had been discussing how busy the shop has been. Also, wheel reflectors are incredibly easy to install. The tricky bit is remembering to put them on the opposite side of the wheel from the valve.
Last week, I took Floria die Fleddermoose in for some major servicing, including two new wheels, new brake-shifters and several other lesser bits and pieces. I picked her up after work this afternoon. Steve brought her out and I gave her a once over. There were a couple of things missing from the picture, namely wheel reflectors.
These are required by law in Quebec, especially at night. In addition, my readers will know that I believe in high visibility while biking. (Which is a bit ironic as I was watching Monty Python's "How not to be seen" sketch last night.)
I asked Steve if I could get some reflectors. He dug in a drawer to produce a nondescript, unlabelled set of reflectors. "Here, you can have them for free provided you install them yourself!" He said this with a grin as we had been discussing how busy the shop has been. Also, wheel reflectors are incredibly easy to install. The tricky bit is remembering to put them on the opposite side of the wheel from the valve.
Tuesday, 2 July 2019
On possible new cycle-tourists in the family
I found out yesterday that there has been a happy event which covers not one but two of the standard topics of this blog. To wit, bike-touring and my nieces. It seems that Désirée, my eldest niece, and Dominique, her mother, completed Vélo-Québec's Petite Aventure. This tour was centred around Victoriaville and was essentially out and back type routes. Over the three days, Désirée and Dominique covered nearly 200 kms. I know that Dominique is justifiably proud and I hope Désirée is too!
While certain of my readers may look at organised tours a shade askance, I think this is simply a step on the path to the joys of bike touring. Who knows, maybe in a few years, I will be taking Désirée across Spain. ;-)
While certain of my readers may look at organised tours a shade askance, I think this is simply a step on the path to the joys of bike touring. Who knows, maybe in a few years, I will be taking Désirée across Spain. ;-)
Sunday, 16 June 2019
On the wearing of cleats
I switched to clipless pedals on Leonardo in 2011. During recent jaunts, I had noticed that the front of the SPD cleats were getting almost sharp. After yesterday's Challenge, I inspected them again. I then looked them up on the MEC's website. It didn't take much effort to decide that they were very worn and it was high time I replaced them.
Removing them involved first cleaning out the crud that had accumulated in the hex slots. For a moment I was afraid I wouldn't be able to fit an Allen key in them. However, my fears were unfounded.
After removing the first one and replacing it right away, I took the time to photograph a new and an old cleat next to each other. Bear in mind that these exactly the same model of Shimano cleats, viz Shimano SM-SH56 SPD multi-release cleats. In the top image, I am holding them upside down. The two holed "washer" type thingy on the right in the bottom image is removable. Also, note how much crud there is in it!
Removing them involved first cleaning out the crud that had accumulated in the hex slots. For a moment I was afraid I wouldn't be able to fit an Allen key in them. However, my fears were unfounded.
Note to self: replace the cleats more frequently.
On feeling like a fast tortoise
For reasons that I shan't elaborate on, I did the Montérégie Challenge alone this year. It started in Saint-Rémi, just South of Montreal. It was surprisingly smooth sailing from my flat to Saint-Rémi in a rented car. I guess that one person moves more smoothly that three.
The forecast had been for showers as well as wind with gusts up to 70 km/h out of the South-West. I wasn't too worried about either as I had packed rain gear to deal with the first, and the course went roughly South-West from Saint-Rémi and back, hence tail wind on the way back. The latter proved inaccurate in the particular. In fact, there was relatively little wind and only two shortish periods of light showers.
The area around St-Rémi is mostly farmland with a particular emphasis on vegetable growing. A consequence of this is a non-trivial number of Hispanic migrant workers. At one point, I saw a party of about half a dozen or so on bikes presumably heading into town to shop, use the local library, and/or have a drink or two on their weekend off. At the end of the day, as I was leaving St-Rémi, I saw a store with a sign in Spanish offering Latin American food products as well as money transfer services to Latin America. I didn't notice a sign in French!
The terrain being flat, it was easy to make good time, relatively speaking. My stats for the day were: 5 hours, 47 minutes and 24 seconds of biking in which I covered 128.35 km, for an average of 22.1 km/h, with a maximum of 42.6 km/h. Not too bad.
However, the thing is, on Leonardo I am relatively slow for the distances I aim for in these challenges. While there are slower people in the challenges, they typically opt for shorter distances which means that for much of the time, I am one of the slower people on the road. This doesn't do my ego much good, especially as I am currently experiencing middle-age insecurities as to my fitness.
Still, as I mentioned earlier, my average speed is pretty respectful. So while I may not be the hare, I am at least a fast tortoise. ;-)
The forecast had been for showers as well as wind with gusts up to 70 km/h out of the South-West. I wasn't too worried about either as I had packed rain gear to deal with the first, and the course went roughly South-West from Saint-Rémi and back, hence tail wind on the way back. The latter proved inaccurate in the particular. In fact, there was relatively little wind and only two shortish periods of light showers.
The area around St-Rémi is mostly farmland with a particular emphasis on vegetable growing. A consequence of this is a non-trivial number of Hispanic migrant workers. At one point, I saw a party of about half a dozen or so on bikes presumably heading into town to shop, use the local library, and/or have a drink or two on their weekend off. At the end of the day, as I was leaving St-Rémi, I saw a store with a sign in Spanish offering Latin American food products as well as money transfer services to Latin America. I didn't notice a sign in French!
The terrain being flat, it was easy to make good time, relatively speaking. My stats for the day were: 5 hours, 47 minutes and 24 seconds of biking in which I covered 128.35 km, for an average of 22.1 km/h, with a maximum of 42.6 km/h. Not too bad.
However, the thing is, on Leonardo I am relatively slow for the distances I aim for in these challenges. While there are slower people in the challenges, they typically opt for shorter distances which means that for much of the time, I am one of the slower people on the road. This doesn't do my ego much good, especially as I am currently experiencing middle-age insecurities as to my fitness.
Still, as I mentioned earlier, my average speed is pretty respectful. So while I may not be the hare, I am at least a fast tortoise. ;-)
Sunday, 26 May 2019
On the year's first Challenge completed despite ageing bodies
Well, I took Leonardo out on the first Vélo-Québec bike challenge of the year. It was also first time I have ridden Leonardo since London. Also, I am very much over my desired weight. I eat and drink too much and don't get enough exercise. That makes me an all too-typical middle-aged North American.
Consequently, I opted for the modest standard version of the Metropolitan Challenge, a mere 101 advertised kms. This was partly as the route was go East with the wind and come back West against it. The day started out with the threat of rain. (In fact it rained on the way out of Montreal to Ste-Anne-des-Plaines but it had stopped before we started.) The Sun eventually came out in force, and I now have my first sunburn of the year.
Anyway, long story short, my stats are: a biking time of 4.58.16, a distance of 104.55, an average of 21.0 km/h and a max of 54.1 km/h. Not my best performance. As I was nearing the end coming down a hill in Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, a radar speed sign chastised me for doing 31 km/h in a 30 zone.
The Maternal Unit did the same distance as me but took a bit longer. The Paternal Unit only did 82 kms. Please note that the italics on "only" are to indicate a slight sarcasm intended to indicate that he didn't feel up to 101 kms (plus or minus) on account of his relative infirmity owing to accident and age. In other words, I think he and my Mother are doing bloody well especially when all things are considered.
This leads into the next part as afterwards both my Mother and my Father "moasted" (a portmanteau of "moaned" and "boasted") about various people in the Challenge (including at least one encadreur) being concerned as to their well being. And not entirely without reason, as both were somewhat pooped by the end of the day. (Hell, I was very glad to arrive at the end.) Combine that with the fact that they are easily in the 100th age percentile of participants of the Challenge, I don't see why a bit of concern wasn't justified. I know at work, more than once I have had to deal with very minor medical issues involving older patrons. One at least occasion, the patron commented that we (the staff) were overreacting. I remember saying or thinking something like: "We'd rather be guilty of caring too much than too little."
There is nothing wrong with getting old.
Consequently, I opted for the modest standard version of the Metropolitan Challenge, a mere 101 advertised kms. This was partly as the route was go East with the wind and come back West against it. The day started out with the threat of rain. (In fact it rained on the way out of Montreal to Ste-Anne-des-Plaines but it had stopped before we started.) The Sun eventually came out in force, and I now have my first sunburn of the year.
Anyway, long story short, my stats are: a biking time of 4.58.16, a distance of 104.55, an average of 21.0 km/h and a max of 54.1 km/h. Not my best performance. As I was nearing the end coming down a hill in Ste-Anne-des-Plaines, a radar speed sign chastised me for doing 31 km/h in a 30 zone.
The Maternal Unit did the same distance as me but took a bit longer. The Paternal Unit only did 82 kms. Please note that the italics on "only" are to indicate a slight sarcasm intended to indicate that he didn't feel up to 101 kms (plus or minus) on account of his relative infirmity owing to accident and age. In other words, I think he and my Mother are doing bloody well especially when all things are considered.
This leads into the next part as afterwards both my Mother and my Father "moasted" (a portmanteau of "moaned" and "boasted") about various people in the Challenge (including at least one encadreur) being concerned as to their well being. And not entirely without reason, as both were somewhat pooped by the end of the day. (Hell, I was very glad to arrive at the end.) Combine that with the fact that they are easily in the 100th age percentile of participants of the Challenge, I don't see why a bit of concern wasn't justified. I know at work, more than once I have had to deal with very minor medical issues involving older patrons. One at least occasion, the patron commented that we (the staff) were overreacting. I remember saying or thinking something like: "We'd rather be guilty of caring too much than too little."
There is nothing wrong with getting old.
Saturday, 18 May 2019
On an embarrassing bike reassembly
I realised today that I hadn't reassembled Leonardo since coming home last August. As the Metropolitan Challenge is next weekend, I felt the long weekend was the time to do it. It went fairly smoothly until I began to reinflate the front tire. I was just about finished when I saw with horror that the tire hadn't been properly aligned with the tube and rim. There was an ominous bulge. I desperately tried to remove the pump and release the valve, but a loud BANG! put an end to hopes of saving the day.
Thankfully, the blow-out didn't damage the tire. The tube, on the other hand, had a six inch long rent in it. There are worse places to have a blow-out than one's home and I dug through my bike bits bin in search of a suitable replacement inner tube. I was surprised not to find one of the appropriate size. I then looked at the spare tube in my bike repair bag. It looked like it might fit. However, when I examined it more closely, the valve stem was a funny angle and then came off the tube as I handled it. My theory is that it had been battered from being too long in a bag at the bottom of my backpack.
I therefore walked a few blocks to the nearest bike shop for several replacement inner tubes of the larger calibre Leonardo uses. On my return, I put in the new inner tube, this time doing the "pinchy, pinchy" routine prior to full inflation on both the front and the rear tires. I also put a good spare tube into my bike repair bag.
Thankfully, the blow-out didn't damage the tire. The tube, on the other hand, had a six inch long rent in it. There are worse places to have a blow-out than one's home and I dug through my bike bits bin in search of a suitable replacement inner tube. I was surprised not to find one of the appropriate size. I then looked at the spare tube in my bike repair bag. It looked like it might fit. However, when I examined it more closely, the valve stem was a funny angle and then came off the tube as I handled it. My theory is that it had been battered from being too long in a bag at the bottom of my backpack.
I therefore walked a few blocks to the nearest bike shop for several replacement inner tubes of the larger calibre Leonardo uses. On my return, I put in the new inner tube, this time doing the "pinchy, pinchy" routine prior to full inflation on both the front and the rear tires. I also put a good spare tube into my bike repair bag.
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