Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Mission Aborted, Will Robinson

Great APRS Tracking for a Short Trip
We've been devastated since our Terratrike Tandem Recumbent broke its chain and boogered the derailleur and dropout on the rear frame.
We haven't dared ride it since, waiting on word from Terratrike.  I called them today and they seemed to think the steel dropout was tough enough to last us for a while in spite of its having been bent in a terrible angle and banged back to almost-proper position with a 7-pound river rock and a Gerber multi-tool pliers.  At any rate, it still needs fine "adjustment" with a hammer and a vise, as well as a new chain.... so WHAM! goes the bank account for 3 new bike chains;  or 5 if I replace the front chain as well.  Mercy.
So, today I wanted to get in some few miles at least in spite of not having the trike available.  I haven't ridden my tandem recumbent 2-wheeler since the last repair so I aired it up, wheeled it out, and loaded it up for the usual post office run to drop off a couple out-bound envelopes in the mail slot.
I had gotten only a couple hundred yards down the mile of goat-path nasty road between our house and Frost Road when I realized not just a few, but ALL voices and signals coming in on the Kenwood ham radio were weak and noisy.  Stopping at the top of the hill with the neighbor's dogs roaring and snarling at me through the fence, I dismounted and took a look at the flagpole-Jpole antenna and noticed the feedpoint had separated.  The coax center conductor was connected to nothing and had only about an inch of exposure acting as an antenna so it was a wonder I was hearing anything.  Sigh.  I turned around and pedaled furiously back to the house to pick up a spare J pole.  There were 2 spares on the deck.... both had the same un-repaired problem mine had.  So now there are 3 J poles next to the door hoping to catch my attention and entice me to get out the soldering iron and repair them.  I 'borrowed' one of the 2 J poles we normally use on the trike, since it's not going anywhere soon, right? -And rode off again down the hill along our miserable goat-path of a road.  Everything went swimmingly until I reached the pavement.  I surprised myself by actually climbing the tough little nasty hill to the pavement without having to dismount and push the bike up the hill by hand.   But, as I cranked off and started up-shifting to gain speed on the flatness of the next half mile of paved road, I noticed a nasty bit of a "thump" coming from the back wheel.  Thumps from the back wheel are NOT welcome sounds.  They usually mean out-of-round wheels, usually caused by broken spokes, allowing the wheel to wobble out of true.  It wasn't broken spokes, but the tire itself was bulging.  Obviously it had dry rotted and the plies inside had separated.  The tire was an oldie, as noted when I replaced the "new" tire with the breach exposing the inner tube a month or so ago, but it seemed in decent condition.  It was still holding a few pounds of air pressure on the old "Donor" bike I liberated it from.  But, a few pounds of air does not a sound tire indicate.  I decided no way was I going to risk the next few miles to the PO and back, and, hoping I could just make it home, I turned around.  I was maybe a hundred yards west on Frost road from our turnoff.  Bouncing along the unpaved goat path going back to the house, it was funny:  I could no longer hear the tire "bumping" and grinding.  Good thing I'd turned around, though:   The tire was exhibiting several MORE "lumps" by the time I stopped safely at the house.  So, more money spent on bike tires:  Evidently when you ride a lot and find yourself miles from home, you should not go cheap on tires and other running gear.  It may hurt paying the horrific prices for high class tires and chains etc. but when you break down out in the middle of nowhere, suddenly the higher cost of good equipment doesn't seem such a bother.
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  2.18
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  3.5 MPH                                5.3 MPH                   16.2 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
36 mins  59 secs                   24 mins 34 secs         12 minutes 25 secs

Friday, April 12, 2013

Another Fun Friday Ride - Until it Blew Up

Very good coverage with the Tracker today
We did our usual Friday Forum Feed today for the LDS students at the UNM Institute.  Then, as usual, we unloaded the Terratrike and took off for our usual loop.  We stopped - as usual - at Old Town and enjoyed a soda and a bathroom break.  Then we rode on west to the venerabe Bosque Trail.  As soon as we got away from the crowded intersections at Old Town we realized we were staring at some VERY dark threatening clouds directly ahead, seemingly headed straight east.... at us.  We rejoiced in the idea of getting some rain, but were not crazy about getting caught in it and soaked.  Around here we'd be wasting effort hauling around rain gear when it rains so seldom.... so we didn't have any.  We turned north on the Bosque Trail and pedaled with motivation, watching the oncoming storm on our left closely.  We decided if it really started to rain we would take the Montano bike trail, rough as it is, and cut the ride short - say, in half - but the farther we rode the weaker the storm front seemed until it just sort of faded away.  It went south of us and we never noticed any actual rain, though hopefully the folks in the South Valley got at least a little rain out of it.  So we rode onward, upward to the usual Paseo Del Norte turn east and back south on the North Diversion Trail. 
We were approaching Second Street when, of a sudden, our pedaling effort stopped dead, locked up.  Jacque got off and looked at the rear gear cluster, expecting to see the usual chain popped off, and suddenly she became alarmed.  I didn't believe her at first, just thinking it was a particularly tight chain jump, but I was shocked at the damage right in front of our faces.  The rear derailleur had bent sideways, right into the rear wheel spokes, and even the axle dropout holding the derailleur (Solid Steel) was bent, with the dropout slot opened impossibly wide. 


I dug out the bike tools from the rear pannier but I did NOT have the proper tools to try to re-bend the dropout back into alignment.  As we poked and prodded around we also found a separated link in the chain, which evidently had caused the disaster in the first place.  It seemed to have jammed in the rear derailleur , which bent the surrounding support (the axle dropout) nastily.  I realized I DID have spare chain repair links in my kit, and my bike super-multi-tool has a great chain breaker and pin vise.
First, what to do about the hopelessly bent steel axle dropout?  We considered calling for someone with a vehicle to come rescue us, but we were at least a mile in each direction from the nearest road intersection and we did NOT relish the idea of dragging the wounded beast such a distance.... it is ungainly enough trying to hand-tow it even with all 3 wheels fully functional.
So, I looked around.  I had no hammer or long wrench or bending device so I looked around for a decent rock.  Indeed, I found a nice heavy round river rock and thought it might work as a hammer.  The largest tool I had was my large Gerber multi-tool, and by golly, it actually had enough grip and strength and leverage to slowly bend the steel dropout bracket back to very close to proper shape.  A few dozen blows with the "river rock hammer" resulted in more successful steel re-arrangement, and we were able to get the derailleur reattached and installed.  Then, already coated in black chain grime, we successfully broke the broke chain and removed the offending 2 links and installed one of my two repair link sections to replace it.  It worked.  It didn't shift quite right, it had trouble staying in any particular gear, but it got us going.  At one point Jacque got so worried about it we stopped and called Jake, our son, who owns the only local pickup we knew of in the immediate area, but he was out of town.  His in-laws had current possession of his pickup, and were willing to come to our assistance, but were busy nurturing one of our mutual grandson's baseball games, far across town.  So we agreed to continue limping back toward our own dino-powered vehicle and call them back if we had further difficulty.  It was a wee bit stressful but we got back OK, barely before sundown.  We're bummed we won't be able to ride this wonderful machine for a while  until repairs are completed, and non-Walmart chains installed, but we are also very grateful to have made it back OK at only about an hour later than planned.  This pointed out to us ONE disadvantage of a shared trike:  When it's disabled, we're both disabled without a ride.  If we had been on separate bikes/trikes one of us surely could have ridden back to the car to rescue the other.
Beginning Battery Voltage:  12.8        Ending Voltage: 12.3
Lowest Temp  66 F      Highest Temp:  78 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  20.94
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
 4.6 MPH                                 6.9 MPH                    21.3 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
 4 hours 35 mins                     3 hours 1 min           1 hour 33 minutes

Friday, April 5, 2013

Finally, a Fun Decent Friday Ride

Good Tracking via Ham Radio APRS

We have been riding the Terratrike Tandem the last 2 days in a row and wishing we had time for longer rides - so today we finally renewed our Friday Riding Habit.
We cook the noon meal for the Friday Forum at the LDS Institute of Religion at UNM each week during school terms.  Since the trike was already loaded on top of the Explorer from the last 2 days, we left it up there and took it to the Institute, where, about 1:30 PM, after feeding the college kids, we changed clothes and unracked the Terratrike and took off for Downtown, Old Town, the Bosque Trail, Tingley Beach, then north to the Paseo Del Norte parallel bike trail, then back south on the North Diversion Trail to UNM again where we complete the "Loop" and get back in the dino powered vehicle and go home again.
Here's an over-my-skull shot with Jacque reading her Kindle and Tink keeping a sharp eye out for squirrels:


The weather forecast had called for high winds and we hesitated a bit because of that, but, recalling inaccurate weather forecasts being the norm and not the exception, rode anyway.  It was cloudy when we rode away from UNM, turned sky blue and sunny by the time we got to Old Town, then turned cloudy again as we pedaled north away from Tingley Beach.
Today was a weird day for my metabolism:  My blood sugar measured low all morning, was not very high when we started the trike ride, and tested low all during the ride in spite of having to stop every 15 minutes for pee breaks - which normally are associated with high blood glucose, not low.  Not the first time this has happened but I'm always feeling more secure when things work the way they're "Supposed To".
Tinkerbell, as usual, drew her usual multiple squeals of "OOoohhh, Look at the Puppieeeeeee..." delight from almost all passersby.  Our unusual tandem trike also draws a lot of attention - whether all 3 of us are riding it or it happens to be up on the roof rack of the Explorer.  People and passing motorists invariably stare at us, slow down when passing us, and otherwise seem to be amazed at the contraption on our roof.  We commented to each other today that we must be providing free entertainment to a lot of people.  Oh Well.
We again noticed the weird variations in fellow cyclists' attitudes.  We often make the mistake of thinking because we encounter another human on a bike we must have something in common with them.  We invariably say "Hi" or wave at passing cyclists.  Less than half offer any greeting in return. There are likely as many different personalities on bikes as there are people on bikes, but the basic types we encounter are:
-Speed Cyclist:  Hunched low over the handlebars, cannot be bothered to even look at us, and certainly cannot spare the breath to say Hi or wave.  Approx. 20% of cyclists encountered.
-Properly Equipped Cyclist:  Bright, expensive colors, carbon fiber bike, pro-bike correct cycling shoes - a nanosecond glance at us and our BIKE FLAGS, me in long pants and "Redneck Spandex" (Pants rolled up to the knees to keep the pant legs out of the chain) - we evidently again are not worthy of a greeting or notice.  Approx. 20% of cyclists encountered.
Fairly Ordinary People Cyclist:  Friendly, outgoing, big wave, comments "Cute Dog!", "Nice Tandem", sometimes even pulling over to stop and talk.  Maybe almost half the cyclists encountered.
Odd and Weird Cyclist:  Riders with recumbents, trikes, homebuilt bikes, trailers carrying dogs or kids, invariably friendly and curious:  A lot like ourselves, actually.  Maybe 2% of cyclists encountered.
The winds eventually did kick up.  We didn't notice them much as we rode north, since they were providing gentle tailwinds.  Turning south, we of course REALLY noticed the winds buffeting our faces and slowing us down, trying to push us backwards, or at least felt like it.  This pic shows the wind blowing face into my pants legs, making them look like... they're puffed up with air:

You might also note the weeds to the left all bent over. 
We took a long time today, what with the multiple snack and potty breaks.  It was still great fun and we continue to encourage others to ignore the dire weather warnings.
Beginning Battery Voltage:  12.8        Ending Voltage: 12.0
Lowest Temp  62 F      Highest Temp:  89 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  24.42
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
 4.7 MPH                                 6.9 MPH                    25.0 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
 5 hours 11 mins                     3 hours 32 mins         1 hour 39 minutes

Thursday, April 4, 2013

Mail Run, Again, Again

Tracking Same Old Same Old APRS
We enjoy riding the trike even for short rides and this is a long tiring pull up Westbound Frost Road from our turnoff to the Post Office.
This trip, I ran low on blood glucose and had to consume 2 choc-chip oatmeal energy bars to stay afloat.  On the way out, we began noticing an irritating scratching sound as the rear wheel went round and round and, after several frustrating investigations on hands and knees, found a goat-head sticker in the tire, rubbing the inside of the fender with each rotation.  It doubtlessly would have rubbed off without too much more delay but it was nice to find and remove it, eliminating the nasty noise.
Beginning Battery Voltage:  12.5        Ending Voltage: 12.2
Lowest Temp  69.8 F      Highest Temp:  77 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  4.40
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  3.1 MPH                                 6.0 MPH                    33.2 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
  1 hour 25 mins                     43 mins 49 secs         41 minutes 37 secs

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Mail Run - Again

Today's Tracking via GPS and Ham Radio (APRS)
We have been much too busy lately, too busy to get fun and aerobic exercise instead of just sore muscles from cutting firewood, bulldozing rocks out of our new circular driveway, etc, etc.
The weather has been great recently, making us feel even more guilty for not riding.
So today we just did a short but strenuous ride up to the Post Office, Shell Station for a Soda Break, and back home.
It was also a shakedown ride for the new disc brake pads and the "new" used idler sprocket recently installed.  Everything seemed to work fine, and what with the security of decent brakes, we flew downhill faster than we've ever gone before (32 MPH).
Beginning Battery Voltage:  13.0        Ending Voltage: 12.5
Lowest Temp  55 F      Highest Temp:  73 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles:  4.34
Overall average speed            Moving Avg               Max Speed
  3.2 MPH                                 5.4 MPH                    32.3 MPH
Total Trip time                       Moving Time             Stopped Time
  1 hour 21 mins                     48 mins 24 secs         32 minutes 47 secs