Scenic Route

Nearly a month has passed since our last visit. However, not much news to pass on.

I got my first cold of the season out of the way. Unfortunately, it was in progress on Columbus Day, which meant I missed out annual Leaf-Peepers Century ride to Letchworth.

Last year I was just getting over a cold and wasn’t sure if I’d be able to make it. It was in the 50s at the start, and after a few miles the ride literally kicked the snot right out of me. I was fine for the rest of the day.

This year was 28°F for the start, with damp and 40°F all day in the forecast. I’ll ride at 28°F no problem, and I’ll ride at that temp sick. But not for eight hours.

I also missed the first and second TNUAs of the season for the same cold. Although for the second I had the additional excuse of subbing for a vacationing co-worker that week. Come to think of it, I didn’t make it for that reason for the third week too. An additional workday and three double-shifts in the week, leaves little time to recover from a TNUA.

In other workplace news, it’s only taken three years (Or has it been four?) since I was promoted to Clerk, but I’m finally on the regular schedule at work for my full complement of hours. I picked up an additional shift at Sully Branch starting two weeks ago.

Now I can project my budget into the future without fudge factors or hoping for sub shifts that may not come. Sub shifts will truly become extra money.

Of course, I’d promised myself two or three years ago that I’d join the New York State Pension System when I got up to full hours. There just wasn’t extra money to put away—especially not during those years I was at minimum wage.

I have to “buy back” the last eight years to when I first started at the library, so for the foreseeable futures I’ll be paying double into the system to make up. That’s why I couldn’t quite swing it until now.

Bike stuff

I’m still waiting on the new wheelset for the Portland. The new lights came in, and yesterday I mounted them. So I’m getting very anxious to have the new wheelset with the generator hub.

The Schmidt Edelux headlight is smaller than I’d imagined. It’s a shade under two inches in diameter, and about the same depth. It mounts in front of the head tube, above the front fender and below the head badge. You almost don’t notice it there, which is nice.

There’s a choice of finishes. I got it in black hoping it will stand up to the salt better than polished aluminum. There’s a lot of “blow back” from the front tire, and I’ve noticed the polished aluminum fork crown is starting show signs of corrosion.

Well, at least it was until the fork was replaced under warranty. The fender eyelets started coming loose. The last thing I need is for the fender stays to pop out and snag in the spokes. The only remedy was a new fork. The fork was on Trek’s nickel thanks to the five-year warranty. I paid only for installation, and the headset was overdue for service anyway.

Anyway, it took a couple of tries, but I finally ordered the right fork crown mount for it. The “universal” mount for bikes with disk, cantilever or V-brakes wouldn’t work, since the Portland’s fork has no holes in the front of the fork crown.

I ended up using one for road caliper brakes. Instead of mounting behind the brakes and reaching under them to hold the light in front of them, it mounts to the back of the fork and reached under the fork crown.

I’m really, really pleased with the thought that’s gone into the design and execution of the whole system of Schmidt Edelux headlight, Busch & Mueller taillight and the associated wiring.

The headlight connects to the hub (once it arrives.) The taillight connects to the headlight. There is no switch at all on the taillight. The headlight’s switch controls both. The switch is a magnetic reed type that requires no holes through the sealed case. It has three positions: Off, on, and sensor.

Yes, in sensor mode, it turns the lights on automatically below a certain ambient light level. So once everything is installed, in theory, I should never have to touch it.

Operating on that assumption, I spent over an hour yesterday mounting the new lights and running the wiring between them. I fussed, and tucked, and zip-tied, and inspected, and tore it apart and started over again—lather, rinse, repeat—to the point where, unless you’re specifically looking for it, the wire running from one end of the bike to the other is nearly undetectable.

I’m plenty proud of it anyway.

I took the opportunity to clean up my home brew rear brake cable routing, and the cyclometer cadence and speed sensor installations too. Now they all look just dandy.

There’s a little loop of wire between the fork and the frame downtube to allow movement without pulling, and the scant two inches of excess wire is looped behind the taillight. Otherwise, well, only an internal routing would be cleaner.

I’m undecided a bit on the new B&M taillight. Their taillights have always been a bit funky looking. It took me a year to get used the battery-powered one this new one replaces.

I like the funkiness of this new one, but with its twin round reflectors flanking what can only be described as a “schnoz”, I can’t decide whether it looks like Mickey Mouse, or if I should put Groucho glasses on it. Although, I’m leaning towards Groucho because Groucho is funkier than Mickey.

Yellow Bike

Yellow Bike hasn’t been left out of the current round of upgrades.

As you may recall, Yellow Bike was Trek’s bottom-of-the-line road bike ten years ago. While I’ve upgraded nearly all the components since I bought it almost three years ago, I never got around to the brakes.

The best that can be said of the cheap, unbranded brakes is that they stopped. Modulation was iffy and feel was vague. And the back one never stayed centered. Of course I’m spoiled by the Portland’s brake feel and superb modulation, so when I get on Yellow bike, I have to really work at adjust to how its brakes work.

The new fork (which I still love) required a new “long reach” front brake. The one we got was a Shimano model that’s outside the usual groupset designations, in what used to be called the “hi-grade” series, but they’re allegedly Ultegra level.

Well, the new front brake was a huge improvement. But, it became a real hassle to stop the bike because of the huge difference in feel and modulation between the two brakes. For most of the last few months, I’d simply ignored Yellow Bike’s rear brake and used only the front.

I finally got Yellow Bike a new rear brake. It’s not quite a match aesthetically, but it’s to the same level mechanically and operationally. I installed it last weekend and it was a real joy use.

Also since the crash, I’ve dithered on the stem. As you may recall, in the post-crash fitting, from muscle-memory I dialled-in exactly the same too-long reach I’d been stuck with before.

Riding around last week I found myself riding the ramps all the time, with the knuckle at the base of my index fingers jammed up against the hoods. That’s no way to ride a bike, and it’s damned uncomfortable. So I finally decided to get a shorter stem. We go to the shop tomorrow or Tuesday to do it.

Home front

I’ve really settled-in to the new place and it truly feels like home. I’m very, very happy here.

I’m still waiting for the bike racks I ordered in August (!), so I’m not ready to share photos of the whole place, but here are two.

First is Yellow Bike, locked to the living room radiator, looking wistfully out the window. I was sick and stuck indoors on that fine-looking autumn day. And Yellow Bike was none too pleased about it.

Second is the Portland taking a shower. I installed a bike hook in the tub so I can hang the bikes to wash them. It works beautifully.

Meanwhile, I can’t think of anything else I need here. I’ll pick up another print or two when something strikes me, but I don’t even mind a few blank spaces on the walls.

The kitchen remains a joy. I’ve nearly filled the cabinets with food. Despite being in a secure job, I can’t quite shake the insecure feeling even a cubic inch of unused food storage gives me. It doesn’t seem that long ago when the only thing I had in the house was the dregs at the bottom of a potato flakes box.

I’ve gotten used to a sink with no disposer. And I’m nearly adjusted to the stove. The oven is fine, but it’s taking me a while to get used to using a gas cooktop again.

My Sunday breakfast isn’t quite perfected yet in this new kitchen. First, the new microwave is a little ambitious when it comes to cooking bacon. I have to lie to it and say there are only two slices to cook instead of the three I put in. Yes, it’s only an appliance, but lying to it still somehow seems wrong.

In the old place I’d reached the point of military precision in the preparation of fried eggs. I didn’t even have to think about it. I’m getting there, but I don’t quite yet have the eyeball for the flame.

That’s it for today, I think. I feel a nap coming on. Two weeks of extra hours preceded by ten days of a cold, and I’m going to yield to the urge.

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 25th, 2009 at 12:23 pm EST and is filed under Bike, Generic. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.