Today's One-Way Trip Tracking
One of my wonderful neighbors who lives maybe 3 miles away wanted to borrow our Ford tractor to do some mowing on his weedy yard-lot. I decided to bungee one of my bikes on it so I could drive the tractor over there and ride the bike back home.
There were 2 factors involved in this that made the day's project more complicated than I'd planned: I took my 20+ year old Diamond Back mountain bike which of course is an upright DF (Diamond Frame) bike and (2) it was smokin' HOT when I finally took off on the tractor and even hotter when I dropped the tractor off and rode home on the bike.
Every time I stopped for a break, which was several times for only 3-something miles, I felt like I was dizzy and actually feared I might pass out several times, especially when I stopped. I drank lots of water and finally ate a small snack but the water was hot and did little to cool me off and it was a real struggle to get up the last hill to the house.
I also faced a monster headwind going home which slowed me down and was so warm it did little to cool things off as well.
The temperature when I arrived home huffing and puffing and overheated? 98 degrees on the outside thermometers. I stood in the medium cool shower for a long time. I felt like a dried prune. No comments from the peanut gallery, PLEASE.
Ride Started: 1:09 PM Ride Ended: 1:59 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.8 Ending Voltage: 13.1
Lowest Temp 88 F Highest Temp: 98 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 3.97
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.2 MPH 7.4 MPH 24.9 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
56 mins 46 secs 32 mins 27 minutes
Monday, June 30, 2014
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Short Burn
Today's Tracking, Nothing Unusual Here
I need to get back to work on my defunct RV, so I took off for a short ride without the lovely Jacque to stoke behind me..... I rode my beat-up homebrew 2-wheel 1-seat recumbent.
Wanting to get some blood warmed up and circulating in spite of my lack of time, I rode the nasty hill west up to the Post Office and back, in spite of their Government Signs prohibiting bicycles and skateboards and such wheeled toys.
And for WHAT? Empty Mailbox. I got there well after 11:00 AM; supposedly the time by which they 'always' have all the mail put up. BAH
-At least that means we got no bills today.
With the current hot sun and warm weather it's again strange to report that we appreciate wind, even when it slows me down. It's just cooler when the wind blows. And I'm one who APPRECIATES Global Warming.
Pray for me to get some worthwhile work done on the dead yard decoration (AKA Recreational Vehicle) without hurting myself.
Ride Started: 10:42 AM Ride Ended: 11:48 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.8 Ending Voltage: 13.1
Lowest Temp 78 F Highest Temp: 91 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 5.53
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.0 MPH 7.7 MPH 26.6 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 6 mins 43 mins 13 minutos
I need to get back to work on my defunct RV, so I took off for a short ride without the lovely Jacque to stoke behind me..... I rode my beat-up homebrew 2-wheel 1-seat recumbent.
Wanting to get some blood warmed up and circulating in spite of my lack of time, I rode the nasty hill west up to the Post Office and back, in spite of their Government Signs prohibiting bicycles and skateboards and such wheeled toys.
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| Cyclist Trespasser on Postal Property |
-At least that means we got no bills today.
With the current hot sun and warm weather it's again strange to report that we appreciate wind, even when it slows me down. It's just cooler when the wind blows. And I'm one who APPRECIATES Global Warming.
Pray for me to get some worthwhile work done on the dead yard decoration (AKA Recreational Vehicle) without hurting myself.
Ride Started: 10:42 AM Ride Ended: 11:48 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.8 Ending Voltage: 13.1
Lowest Temp 78 F Highest Temp: 91 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 5.53
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.0 MPH 7.7 MPH 26.6 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 6 mins 43 mins 13 minutos
Wednesday, June 25, 2014
Tandem Triking
Poor Tracking Today, an Igate was down
Jacque and I decided to do a joint ride with the Tandem Recumbent Trike today. Which, of course, is a more complicated operation than just either of us taking off by ourselves.
It means loading up the heavy trike, on top of the gas-burner transport vehicle, since our goat-path dirt/rock/gravel road from the pavement to our house is too rough to ride the trike on.
Plus it involves loading up both doggies since it's not "fair" to leave either of the little princesses behind.
No real adventure to it this trip... we rode east on our almost 10 mile leg/loop out to Mountain Valley Road and around Entranosa for a 4 mile loop and then back to the parking place on Frost Road.
It started out mildly cloudy with some rain off to the south of us, and we hoped the clouds would provide some shade from the hot sun.
Mostly all we got was a great but hot ride with a fairly stiff headwind that was WELCOMED for its relief from the heat.
We took extra rest breaks, especially when we encountered trees shading the road shoulder, and drank up lots of water.
Again I noticed a lack of neck pain while pedaling the machine. My left arm was still a bit stiff and sore but not objectionally so, and no worse than when not riding.
Jacque gets bored riding stoker position: Her view is mostly my backside, which gets tedious quickly. She has handlebars to hang on with, but instead rides 'free and easy' and gets alarmed when I make the least little quick turn, such as when avoiding junk in the road, potholes, snakes, etc. We probably should rig up a safety harness for her so she can read without danger of being dumped into the road...
Trip Started: 11:18 AM Trip Ended: 1:20 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.2 Ending Voltage: 13.1
Lowest Temp 75 F Highest Temp: 82 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 9.36
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.6 MPH 6.2 MPH 33.9 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 2 mins 1 hour 29 mins 32 mins 4 secs
Jacque and I decided to do a joint ride with the Tandem Recumbent Trike today. Which, of course, is a more complicated operation than just either of us taking off by ourselves.
It means loading up the heavy trike, on top of the gas-burner transport vehicle, since our goat-path dirt/rock/gravel road from the pavement to our house is too rough to ride the trike on.
Plus it involves loading up both doggies since it's not "fair" to leave either of the little princesses behind.
No real adventure to it this trip... we rode east on our almost 10 mile leg/loop out to Mountain Valley Road and around Entranosa for a 4 mile loop and then back to the parking place on Frost Road.
It started out mildly cloudy with some rain off to the south of us, and we hoped the clouds would provide some shade from the hot sun.
Mostly all we got was a great but hot ride with a fairly stiff headwind that was WELCOMED for its relief from the heat.
We took extra rest breaks, especially when we encountered trees shading the road shoulder, and drank up lots of water.
Again I noticed a lack of neck pain while pedaling the machine. My left arm was still a bit stiff and sore but not objectionally so, and no worse than when not riding.
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| Just Cruisin' |
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| Jacque Pedaling and Reading |
Trip Started: 11:18 AM Trip Ended: 1:20 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.2 Ending Voltage: 13.1
Lowest Temp 75 F Highest Temp: 82 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 9.36
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.6 MPH 6.2 MPH 33.9 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 2 mins 1 hour 29 mins 32 mins 4 secs
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
A Cripple Does Ten Miles... and Likes It
I provide no link to a breadcrumb map of my ride today since, of course, there is NO data due to a broken antenna, which of course I didn't notice until I got home AFTER the ride. BAH
I awoke last Tuesday with a throbbing unexplained pain in my left shoulder blade, accompanied by some numbness in my left hand and wrist, that led us to spend the day in various Urgent Care facilities getting EKG's and pulse and blood pressure etc. monitored, with no indications of actual heart or stroke trouble. However, the fact that I'm an old fart, with diabetes, resulted in enough alarm that I was also scheduled for a Nuclear Stress Test which occurred yesterday. Since I ride the bikes semi-regularly, I did well on the treadmill - according to the treadmill operator. But I've been experiencing chronic pain in that shoulder and neck, with the main source of relief being lying down and taking it easy. I almost rode the bike yesterday, as an experiment to see if I could hold up my head long enough to do a ride, but ran out of time after spending most of the day at the chiropractor's and then the heart hospital doing the stress test.
 | |
| OFOT (Old Fart On Treadmill) |
This morning I decided if I could make it through that stress test I could probably ride my bike, too, so I did. It was AMAZING how much riding the bike made me feel ALIVE again. Jacque and I have marveled at the restorative power of bike riding when we see others: alzheimer's sufferers and others with grave problems riding bikes and trikes and improving their lives and abilities as a result. Now I have my own experience to add to it. The recumbent seating position not only helped the strain on my sore neck and shoulder but the riding along took my mind off my troubles and I was able to avoid thinking about my aches and pains and they actually faded away the longer I rode, though of course I tired a bit early since I haven't ridden for so many days.
There's just something about cruising along under your own power and feeling the wind in your face and seeing the world go by.... if YOU haven't tried it, you should.
Now it's a couple hours later and I still feel better than I have the last several days.
Now to break out the soldering iron and repair that bicycle-J-Pole antenna again........
Trip Started: 9:56 AM Trip Ended: 11:51 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.8 Ending Voltage: 13.1
Lowest Temp 84 F Highest Temp: 87 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 10.51
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
6.4 MPH 8.7 MPH 27.6 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 38 mins 1 hour 12 mins 26 mins 39 secs
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Howling Winds Don't Deter Us
Today's Windy Winding Tracking
....At least not much, that is. The winds were already whipping up when we decided we'd ride today, and they were literally HOWLING by the time we got saddled up and rolling.
We are so low profile on the tandem recumbent Terratrike that the wind usually doesn't affect us too bad. Today it was so fierce in our faces that it did lead to lots of huffing and puffing in Grandma Gear to get up our hills.
But, as Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes always implied, struggles and hard work build CHARACTER. And we certainly are characters.... Jacque, Tink, Jazzy, and I.
The wind was so bad that a couple of speed-racers passed us up on the pavement of Frost Road... they abruptly lost speed even though going downhill and we almost caught up to them again. Not because of our blinding speed (we go so fast you often can't tell we're moving) but likely because of our lower profile and less face-wind pressure.
We were a bit boogered as we struggled up the long hill when a PICKUP came around the trees, IN the Bike Lane, heading right at us and evidently hoping WE would get out of HIS way. Motorized vehicles often mis-use the bike trail in such manner, in spite of the signs forbidding motor vehicle use and the frail thin layer of asphalt making up the trail, and I motioned for him to get out of OUR way, and he finally drove up the dirt shoulder towards Frost Road. He had just left a yard sale in place right at the edge of the bike trail, and was not the only vehicle using the bike lane. As I rolled up with Iphone in hand, taking pictures, the driver of the trucks parked in the bike lane hurriedly backed out so we could get through. I was not fast enough on the camera trigger to get pictures of any of the vehicles while blocking the trail. BAH
The driver of the white pickup looked as though he intended to pull right back across the bike trail and park after we passed but evidently decided not to, as Jacque and I both watched suspiciously as we rolled slooooowly onward.
The traffic everywhere was quite heavy today, and the Post Office and the Shell Station were doing a "Land-Office" business with cars all over the place and lots of cyclists and motorcyclists coming and going as well.
It took a bit of waiting and pausing at almost every small intersection, especially at the station and the post office just this side of there. Drivers at times will wait for us and wave at us to pass in front of them when we stop at such intersections. Call us cynics, but we don't trust our chances crossing in front of waiting vehicles. We wave to THEM to go on, waiting patiently for big gaps in the traffic flow to allow us to cross safely.
Trip Started: 10:48 AM Trip Ended: 12:29 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.2 Ending Voltage: 13.0
Lowest Temp 75 F Highest Temp: 78 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 4.73
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
2.9 MPH 6.1 MPH 32.4 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 39 mins 46 mins 34 secs 52 mins 26 secs
....At least not much, that is. The winds were already whipping up when we decided we'd ride today, and they were literally HOWLING by the time we got saddled up and rolling.
We are so low profile on the tandem recumbent Terratrike that the wind usually doesn't affect us too bad. Today it was so fierce in our faces that it did lead to lots of huffing and puffing in Grandma Gear to get up our hills.
But, as Bill Watterson of Calvin and Hobbes always implied, struggles and hard work build CHARACTER. And we certainly are characters.... Jacque, Tink, Jazzy, and I.
The wind was so bad that a couple of speed-racers passed us up on the pavement of Frost Road... they abruptly lost speed even though going downhill and we almost caught up to them again. Not because of our blinding speed (we go so fast you often can't tell we're moving) but likely because of our lower profile and less face-wind pressure.
We were a bit boogered as we struggled up the long hill when a PICKUP came around the trees, IN the Bike Lane, heading right at us and evidently hoping WE would get out of HIS way. Motorized vehicles often mis-use the bike trail in such manner, in spite of the signs forbidding motor vehicle use and the frail thin layer of asphalt making up the trail, and I motioned for him to get out of OUR way, and he finally drove up the dirt shoulder towards Frost Road. He had just left a yard sale in place right at the edge of the bike trail, and was not the only vehicle using the bike lane. As I rolled up with Iphone in hand, taking pictures, the driver of the trucks parked in the bike lane hurriedly backed out so we could get through. I was not fast enough on the camera trigger to get pictures of any of the vehicles while blocking the trail. BAH
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| The white pickup has just backed out of the bike trail.. |
The traffic everywhere was quite heavy today, and the Post Office and the Shell Station were doing a "Land-Office" business with cars all over the place and lots of cyclists and motorcyclists coming and going as well.
It took a bit of waiting and pausing at almost every small intersection, especially at the station and the post office just this side of there. Drivers at times will wait for us and wave at us to pass in front of them when we stop at such intersections. Call us cynics, but we don't trust our chances crossing in front of waiting vehicles. We wave to THEM to go on, waiting patiently for big gaps in the traffic flow to allow us to cross safely.
Trip Started: 10:48 AM Trip Ended: 12:29 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.2 Ending Voltage: 13.0
Lowest Temp 75 F Highest Temp: 78 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 4.73
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
2.9 MPH 6.1 MPH 32.4 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 39 mins 46 mins 34 secs 52 mins 26 secs
Friday, June 13, 2014
Hey, Short Rides are Better than No Rides
The weather was a bit spotty today, with a few light sprinkles.
I really really hate to miss a day riding, which I manage to do all too often anyway.
So, I just did a quick Post Office and back run which is certainly not impressive but certainly a good workout chugging up that long hill.
I never do impressive anyway.
On the way back, I noticed something that looked like a yellow shirt on a bike coming strong about a quarter mile behind me. Of course this motivated me to give it all I had to try and keep him behind me but when I started up the first hill going home he passed me like I was sitting still. A large-butt type too. Too good to even say Hey or Hi as he went by. I backed off after he smoked me to save some steam to top the hill with and noticed he did the same thing although taking care to not let me catch up with him again. Had I used any strategic riding and conserved my strength a bit I might have caught up to him on the second hill, as he seemed to have lost a lot of momentum by then.
Such are the struggles of Wannabee Racers..... and Old Geezers on Wheels....
I have read other cyclists' amazement when someone with a, er, shall I say, non aerodynamic profile, passes them with great vigor. Those big legs can pack a punch, man......
Trip Started: 12:31 PM Trip Ended: 1:30 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.1 Ending Voltage: 13.1
Lowest Temp 82 F Highest Temp: 87 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 5.53
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.2 MPH 7.6 MPH 29.0 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 3 mins 43 mins 52 secs 20 mins 7 secs
I really really hate to miss a day riding, which I manage to do all too often anyway.
So, I just did a quick Post Office and back run which is certainly not impressive but certainly a good workout chugging up that long hill.
I never do impressive anyway.
On the way back, I noticed something that looked like a yellow shirt on a bike coming strong about a quarter mile behind me. Of course this motivated me to give it all I had to try and keep him behind me but when I started up the first hill going home he passed me like I was sitting still. A large-butt type too. Too good to even say Hey or Hi as he went by. I backed off after he smoked me to save some steam to top the hill with and noticed he did the same thing although taking care to not let me catch up with him again. Had I used any strategic riding and conserved my strength a bit I might have caught up to him on the second hill, as he seemed to have lost a lot of momentum by then.
Such are the struggles of Wannabee Racers..... and Old Geezers on Wheels....
I have read other cyclists' amazement when someone with a, er, shall I say, non aerodynamic profile, passes them with great vigor. Those big legs can pack a punch, man......
Trip Started: 12:31 PM Trip Ended: 1:30 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.1 Ending Voltage: 13.1
Lowest Temp 82 F Highest Temp: 87 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 5.53
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
5.2 MPH 7.6 MPH 29.0 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hour 3 mins 43 mins 52 secs 20 mins 7 secs
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Wonderful Ride in the Country
Today's Tracking via Ham Radio and GPS
Jacque's knee has been troubling her recently so she has taken to riding her Catrike by herself if I'm not ready and available to go a-riding with her on the Tandem Recumbent Terratrike . She's done this despicable running-off-without-me the last couple of days.
I've been occupied recently with burrowing deep into the bowels of our broken-down RV, carefully digging away the layers of cables, brackets, power steering and radiator overflow reservoirs, batteries and trays, and multiple assortments of what-not to retrieve the radiator so it can be taken to the local radiator shop for cleaning and refurbishing, if possible. If not possible then it's a horrific mind numbing bank breaking sum to buy a new unit.
Whilst all this front end stuff is out of the way, I plan to replace both the 460 engine's clutch fan as well as the water pump, since these are hard to get to and I definitely don't want to leave any near or far-term excuses to have to do all this work over again in the near future.
This has sucked up way too much of my time, but at current RV repair labor prices, my time is WAY more affordable than shop time. Thus I struggle on. It will take ten times longer than if I took it to the shop but we have the time. Hopefully I won't use UP all my time available and can still sneak in occasional bike and trike rides.
Today was such a day, and Jacque wanted to go early - as did I.
The trike had been parked for several days, so I topped off the tire pressure and loaded it on the roof rack: Our goat-path road is too rough to ride the trike on. We tried it a couple times in the past and stripped gears, broke chains, and bottomed out. So it's the highway or no way....
We rode east, young man, today. This direction we still have hills but more gradual ones. Going west means the horrible nasty hard climb up to North-14 that everyone, even real cyclists, hate. The prevailing winds along here normally blow east out of the Sandia Crest area but when we started this morning it was in our faces, blowing to the west. I've experienced this before, and by some force of magic, the wind normally starts blowing the OTHER way when we're coming back, just to make sure we enjoy headwinds coming and going. Today was warm enough that we didn't complain about the wind in our faces: It helped cool us off.
We offer no competition whatever to road racers, and we didn't quite make 10 miles today, but we always get a good aerobic workout no matter what. So There.
Trip Started: 9:03 AM Trip Ended: 11:19 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.9 Ending Voltage: 13.0
Lowest Temp 67 F Highest Temp: 78 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 9.35
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.1 MPH 6.8 MPH 32.3 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 16 mins 1 hour 22 mins 54 minutes
Jacque's knee has been troubling her recently so she has taken to riding her Catrike by herself if I'm not ready and available to go a-riding with her on the Tandem Recumbent Terratrike . She's done this despicable running-off-without-me the last couple of days.
I've been occupied recently with burrowing deep into the bowels of our broken-down RV, carefully digging away the layers of cables, brackets, power steering and radiator overflow reservoirs, batteries and trays, and multiple assortments of what-not to retrieve the radiator so it can be taken to the local radiator shop for cleaning and refurbishing, if possible. If not possible then it's a horrific mind numbing bank breaking sum to buy a new unit.
Whilst all this front end stuff is out of the way, I plan to replace both the 460 engine's clutch fan as well as the water pump, since these are hard to get to and I definitely don't want to leave any near or far-term excuses to have to do all this work over again in the near future.
This has sucked up way too much of my time, but at current RV repair labor prices, my time is WAY more affordable than shop time. Thus I struggle on. It will take ten times longer than if I took it to the shop but we have the time. Hopefully I won't use UP all my time available and can still sneak in occasional bike and trike rides.
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| As Calvin & Hobbes's Dad says: All This Work Builds Character |
The trike had been parked for several days, so I topped off the tire pressure and loaded it on the roof rack: Our goat-path road is too rough to ride the trike on. We tried it a couple times in the past and stripped gears, broke chains, and bottomed out. So it's the highway or no way....
We rode east, young man, today. This direction we still have hills but more gradual ones. Going west means the horrible nasty hard climb up to North-14 that everyone, even real cyclists, hate. The prevailing winds along here normally blow east out of the Sandia Crest area but when we started this morning it was in our faces, blowing to the west. I've experienced this before, and by some force of magic, the wind normally starts blowing the OTHER way when we're coming back, just to make sure we enjoy headwinds coming and going. Today was warm enough that we didn't complain about the wind in our faces: It helped cool us off.
We offer no competition whatever to road racers, and we didn't quite make 10 miles today, but we always get a good aerobic workout no matter what. So There.
Trip Started: 9:03 AM Trip Ended: 11:19 AM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.9 Ending Voltage: 13.0
Lowest Temp 67 F Highest Temp: 78 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 9.35
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.1 MPH 6.8 MPH 32.3 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 16 mins 1 hour 22 mins 54 minutes
Monday, June 9, 2014
Who Says You Can't Do Anything Useful on a Bike?
Today's very short track courtesy of GPS and Ham Radio
An easy question to answer, since the RV has toasted head gaskets at minimum and possibly more serious damage within the cast iron Big Block Ford 460 pass-anything-on-the-road-but-a-gas-station engine.
The Ford Dealer Repair Shoppe checked it and proclaimed it needed a new engine and radiator; that the radiator was not meeting flow standards and the compression tests indicated bad head gaskets due to overheating. I drove it 9 or 10 miles today, after carefully filling the radiator with fresh water, babying it all the way trying to avoid overheating it again. It made it home OK, although it did get overly hot, but did not boil over or pin the temperature guage into the red zone. I noticed, according to the guage, it seems to quickly heat up toward the danger zone and then quickly fall back into safe zone, over and over, and especially if the vehicle is slowed or stopped. I suspect at least a couple things the Ford mechanics did not mention:
- I believe the fan clutch is shot. I used to hear it humming loudly and rarely hear it at all any more. I think this may be what causes it to overheat so quickly when the vehicle is slowed or stopped.
- Either the new thermostat I installed is not working properly or there is a large air bubble in the cooling system, causing the rapid heating and cooling cycles I see while rolling.
Now, back to the bike. I hadn't ridden since Thursday last, so I was itching for a catchup ride. I decided to do the typical Post Office Run. After I got there I decided to ride on up the last half-mile or so to an auto repair shop at the top of the hill, who just so happens to have a vacant garage-style building vacant and for rent right next door. I was pleasantly surprised at the owner's generosity. He agreed to the concept of me renting one bay in the building for a short term, even for a single month, at a rate much reduced from what he wants for long term renting or leasing. He even offered some of his equipment to help out in the repair process. The only catch is that the building is currently occupied but should be available in a little over a week from now. So I'm looking forward to that.
On the way back home on the bike, I was rejoicing again in the improved shifting and braking of the bike since my latest repairs and modification with the welded derailleur hanger. Hopefully my modest efforts at working on the monster RV engine will produce as much success....
Bike Trip Started: 1:06 PM Trip Ended: 3:07 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.1 Ending Voltage: 13.1
Lowest Temp 82 F Highest Temp: 87 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 6.36
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
3.7 MPH 7.7 MPH 34 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hours 42 mins 49 mins 22 secs 52 mins 40 secs
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| Which to Ride Today... Bike or RV? |
The Ford Dealer Repair Shoppe checked it and proclaimed it needed a new engine and radiator; that the radiator was not meeting flow standards and the compression tests indicated bad head gaskets due to overheating. I drove it 9 or 10 miles today, after carefully filling the radiator with fresh water, babying it all the way trying to avoid overheating it again. It made it home OK, although it did get overly hot, but did not boil over or pin the temperature guage into the red zone. I noticed, according to the guage, it seems to quickly heat up toward the danger zone and then quickly fall back into safe zone, over and over, and especially if the vehicle is slowed or stopped. I suspect at least a couple things the Ford mechanics did not mention:
- I believe the fan clutch is shot. I used to hear it humming loudly and rarely hear it at all any more. I think this may be what causes it to overheat so quickly when the vehicle is slowed or stopped.
- Either the new thermostat I installed is not working properly or there is a large air bubble in the cooling system, causing the rapid heating and cooling cycles I see while rolling.
Now, back to the bike. I hadn't ridden since Thursday last, so I was itching for a catchup ride. I decided to do the typical Post Office Run. After I got there I decided to ride on up the last half-mile or so to an auto repair shop at the top of the hill, who just so happens to have a vacant garage-style building vacant and for rent right next door. I was pleasantly surprised at the owner's generosity. He agreed to the concept of me renting one bay in the building for a short term, even for a single month, at a rate much reduced from what he wants for long term renting or leasing. He even offered some of his equipment to help out in the repair process. The only catch is that the building is currently occupied but should be available in a little over a week from now. So I'm looking forward to that.
On the way back home on the bike, I was rejoicing again in the improved shifting and braking of the bike since my latest repairs and modification with the welded derailleur hanger. Hopefully my modest efforts at working on the monster RV engine will produce as much success....
Bike Trip Started: 1:06 PM Trip Ended: 3:07 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.1 Ending Voltage: 13.1
Lowest Temp 82 F Highest Temp: 87 F
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 6.36
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
3.7 MPH 7.7 MPH 34 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
1 hours 42 mins 49 mins 22 secs 52 mins 40 secs
Thursday, June 5, 2014
RV Retrieval Ride
Today's Very Spotty Tracking through Tijeras Canyon
The Ford dealer repair supervisor called me back yesterday with bad, bad news: Head Gaskets bad on the 460 CID V8 and a radiator with less than optimal flow: Partially Plugged. The estimated cost of labor, new radiator, and remanufactured engine came to 14 THOUSAND dollars.... more than we paid for this RV slightly over a couple years ago. I called them back today and told them to buckle it back together and I'd come get it and take it home and repair it myself or, more likely........ junk it out. :O( BAH
I knew the Dealership was right at 20 miles from home so I decided to ride my 2-wheel recumbent bike there and put the bike on the hitch-rack on the back of the RV and drive it home, slowly and carefully, trying to keep it from overheating long enough to get back through those 20 miles I just rode the bike through.
Getting started after noon meant it was going to be HOT. However, some scattered clouds and a few darkening ones provided a bit of shade for about the first half of the trip, so it wasn't TOO bad. Of course when I came out of Tijeras Canyon into Albuquerque it was noticeably hotter but moving along at a brisk pace provided a decent breeze for cooling. No close calls or near-misses with less-than-courteous drivers so all was good running.
I did have to ride a couple miles of the downhill slope of North 14 on the rutted bumpy pot-holed where I normally ride the main road on or near the shoulder..... Highway Destruction crews had orange barrels blocking partial lanes and I didn't want to have distracted drivers not noticing me while dodging the barriers. When the striped saw-horses and orange barrels cleared up I crossed the road, like the insufferable chicken, and got up some decent speed in spite of a stiff headwind pushing back against me.
Since I had seemingly plenty of time, and did I mention it was HOT, I stopped at my daughter Sarah's workplace at Exerplay in Cedar Crest just north of Tijeras for a water refill and a chat break with one of my favorite womenfolk. I later stopped about halfway through Tijeras Canyon for another snack and water break. Found some tree shade along the route, don'tcha know.
I arrived at the dealership repair doorway a bit hot and sweaty for some reason, and the personnel were duly impressed with my smell and demeanor (butt dragging the ground). I paid the analysis fees and loaded up the bike and took off. I should have checked to see if they'd left any water in my leaking cooling system before I left. I didn't make it a mile before it was getting overheated again. I stopped at Los Altos Park and let it cool off a bit and took off again. This time I may have gone about TWO miles before it got too hot and I had to pull off on the I-40 shoulder and let it calm down again. After about an hour I began adding water (this is a wonderful use for the RV's 100+ gallon drinking water tank). This time I was shocked when it took over 5 gallons of water.... I had to check under the vehicle several times to make sure it wasn't just pouring out on the ground somewhere. After this it ran fairly cool all the way out to Edgewood where we parked it for the time being, awaiting awful decisions about what to do with the junker.
Bike Trip Started: 12:51 PM Trip Ended: 3:34 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.8 Ending Voltage: 13.3
Lowest Temp 84 F Highest Temp: 102 F (OUCH)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 19.72
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.2 MPH 10.9 MPH 31.7 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 43 mins 1 hour 48 mins 54 mins 32 secs
The Ford dealer repair supervisor called me back yesterday with bad, bad news: Head Gaskets bad on the 460 CID V8 and a radiator with less than optimal flow: Partially Plugged. The estimated cost of labor, new radiator, and remanufactured engine came to 14 THOUSAND dollars.... more than we paid for this RV slightly over a couple years ago. I called them back today and told them to buckle it back together and I'd come get it and take it home and repair it myself or, more likely........ junk it out. :O( BAH
I knew the Dealership was right at 20 miles from home so I decided to ride my 2-wheel recumbent bike there and put the bike on the hitch-rack on the back of the RV and drive it home, slowly and carefully, trying to keep it from overheating long enough to get back through those 20 miles I just rode the bike through.
Getting started after noon meant it was going to be HOT. However, some scattered clouds and a few darkening ones provided a bit of shade for about the first half of the trip, so it wasn't TOO bad. Of course when I came out of Tijeras Canyon into Albuquerque it was noticeably hotter but moving along at a brisk pace provided a decent breeze for cooling. No close calls or near-misses with less-than-courteous drivers so all was good running.
I did have to ride a couple miles of the downhill slope of North 14 on the rutted bumpy pot-holed where I normally ride the main road on or near the shoulder..... Highway Destruction crews had orange barrels blocking partial lanes and I didn't want to have distracted drivers not noticing me while dodging the barriers. When the striped saw-horses and orange barrels cleared up I crossed the road, like the insufferable chicken, and got up some decent speed in spite of a stiff headwind pushing back against me.
Since I had seemingly plenty of time, and did I mention it was HOT, I stopped at my daughter Sarah's workplace at Exerplay in Cedar Crest just north of Tijeras for a water refill and a chat break with one of my favorite womenfolk. I later stopped about halfway through Tijeras Canyon for another snack and water break. Found some tree shade along the route, don'tcha know.
I arrived at the dealership repair doorway a bit hot and sweaty for some reason, and the personnel were duly impressed with my smell and demeanor (butt dragging the ground). I paid the analysis fees and loaded up the bike and took off. I should have checked to see if they'd left any water in my leaking cooling system before I left. I didn't make it a mile before it was getting overheated again. I stopped at Los Altos Park and let it cool off a bit and took off again. This time I may have gone about TWO miles before it got too hot and I had to pull off on the I-40 shoulder and let it calm down again. After about an hour I began adding water (this is a wonderful use for the RV's 100+ gallon drinking water tank). This time I was shocked when it took over 5 gallons of water.... I had to check under the vehicle several times to make sure it wasn't just pouring out on the ground somewhere. After this it ran fairly cool all the way out to Edgewood where we parked it for the time being, awaiting awful decisions about what to do with the junker.
Bike Trip Started: 12:51 PM Trip Ended: 3:34 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.8 Ending Voltage: 13.3
Lowest Temp 84 F Highest Temp: 102 F (OUCH)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 19.72
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
7.2 MPH 10.9 MPH 31.7 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 43 mins 1 hour 48 mins 54 mins 32 secs
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
A Rebuilt Bike and Two Doggies
Today's GPS Tracking via Ham Radio and APRS
My rusty trusty 2-wheel recumbent bike has been giving me trouble lately. Actually, it started being difficult to shift gears both on front chain-rings and rear derailleur a couple years ago, and I just kept riding it and making do with fewer and fewer available gears.
I'd adjusted the cables and connections a few times but the results were never satisfactory. The handlebar shifters that came with the bike were rotating "twist" style shifters, sorta like on a motorcycle, but they were plastic and neoprene arrangements.
I have several "donor" bikes and frames decorating my side yard view and decided to rob parts from them to replace the worn stuff on my ride. Two had later-model Shimano derailleur assemblies but they were the type with a 3/8 X 24 threaded mount on the lower rear hanger. Mine was the older style that mounted with a bracket, and did not seem as smooth and slick as the newer Shimanos.
I decided to try some cutting and welding to accomodate the Shimanos. I hacksawed the hanger stub off one bike and removed the rear wheel from mine and cleaned off the paint and filed the surfaces to expose bare metal and used my acetylene torch to weld the 'new' stub to the older frame I'm riding.
After some bending and breaking and adjusting and re-welding the part I got the newer Shimano derailleur mounted. It required more shifter cable travel so I had to relocate my cable ends and sockets to accomodate it. Then I painstakingly removed the old twister-shifters off the handlebars to replace them with Suntour X-press lever shifters that "click" and "ratchet" when each gear-step is selected. Robbed from the same donor-bike junker....
Google hits suggest these Suntours are old and outdated, but mercy, compared to what I replaced them with, they are FABULOUS.
I can now access MOST of the available gear combinations, except the largest gear ring on the rear cassette ("Grandma Gear"). This is no big deal since with the old arrangement I could never access this gear either AND trying to shift to the 2 gears closest to it would result in chain-hopping, sometimes chain losing, a very frustrating way to try to climb a hill. Now with the new derailleur and shifter when I select a gear it's not only EASY to select (a couple or three easy "clicks" of the shifter) but it's reliable... it stays securely in each gear. I can also now access the highest speed gear (large ring in front, smallest gear in back) which I could rarely do before. YAY
Jacque is working an extra long day today at the primary polling station in Tijeras, so I got to babysit both doggies today. I contemplated leaving them both behind while I rode around, since it is so heartbreaking to just take one and leave the other jealous girl behind, but decided What the Heck. It's gonna be HOT today but I'll just take them both. These gals seem to read our minds, and they both eagerly followed me to the bike to be harnessed in, no dawdling or shuffling around. Tinkerbell got to ride in the back basket and Jazzy rode in the chest/belly harness helping keep me extra warm during the ride. It was worth the trouble.
We did a 10-mile loop around the neighborhood. Though it was getting mighty warm, I rode past our turnoff and decided to ride on the extra 5-ish miles to pick up the mail. After maybe another mile I stopped for a water break and realized, if I kept going, we would run out of water long before we got home for refills. I could have made it by hogging the water (I only had two bottles; one was already empty and the last one had maybe a quarter fill left) but the dogs were obviously as hot and thirsty as I was even though they always freeload and contribute nothing but cuteness to the ride effort. So I lost interest in the mail and turned around to come home. It is now hours later and I have experienced no regret for the decision.
I see my average moving speed has bumped up a couple miles per hour. Hopefully this is due to the gear improvements....
Trip Started: 9:26 AM Trip Ended: 12:29 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.8 Ending Voltage: 12.9
Lowest Temp 82 F Highest Temp: 98 F (OUCH)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 12.55
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.6 MPH 8.1 MPH 27.2 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 44 mins 1 hour 33 mins 1 hour 10 mins
My rusty trusty 2-wheel recumbent bike has been giving me trouble lately. Actually, it started being difficult to shift gears both on front chain-rings and rear derailleur a couple years ago, and I just kept riding it and making do with fewer and fewer available gears.
I'd adjusted the cables and connections a few times but the results were never satisfactory. The handlebar shifters that came with the bike were rotating "twist" style shifters, sorta like on a motorcycle, but they were plastic and neoprene arrangements.
I have several "donor" bikes and frames decorating my side yard view and decided to rob parts from them to replace the worn stuff on my ride. Two had later-model Shimano derailleur assemblies but they were the type with a 3/8 X 24 threaded mount on the lower rear hanger. Mine was the older style that mounted with a bracket, and did not seem as smooth and slick as the newer Shimanos.
 |
| Original "Straight-Throw" Shimano Derailleur |
 |
| Newly Installed "slant-parallelogram" Shimano Derailleur |
I decided to try some cutting and welding to accomodate the Shimanos. I hacksawed the hanger stub off one bike and removed the rear wheel from mine and cleaned off the paint and filed the surfaces to expose bare metal and used my acetylene torch to weld the 'new' stub to the older frame I'm riding.
After some bending and breaking and adjusting and re-welding the part I got the newer Shimano derailleur mounted. It required more shifter cable travel so I had to relocate my cable ends and sockets to accomodate it. Then I painstakingly removed the old twister-shifters off the handlebars to replace them with Suntour X-press lever shifters that "click" and "ratchet" when each gear-step is selected. Robbed from the same donor-bike junker....
 |
| Old New Suntour X-Press Shifters |
I can now access MOST of the available gear combinations, except the largest gear ring on the rear cassette ("Grandma Gear"). This is no big deal since with the old arrangement I could never access this gear either AND trying to shift to the 2 gears closest to it would result in chain-hopping, sometimes chain losing, a very frustrating way to try to climb a hill. Now with the new derailleur and shifter when I select a gear it's not only EASY to select (a couple or three easy "clicks" of the shifter) but it's reliable... it stays securely in each gear. I can also now access the highest speed gear (large ring in front, smallest gear in back) which I could rarely do before. YAY
Jacque is working an extra long day today at the primary polling station in Tijeras, so I got to babysit both doggies today. I contemplated leaving them both behind while I rode around, since it is so heartbreaking to just take one and leave the other jealous girl behind, but decided What the Heck. It's gonna be HOT today but I'll just take them both. These gals seem to read our minds, and they both eagerly followed me to the bike to be harnessed in, no dawdling or shuffling around. Tinkerbell got to ride in the back basket and Jazzy rode in the chest/belly harness helping keep me extra warm during the ride. It was worth the trouble.
 |
| Tink's Head is behind Jazzy's |
I see my average moving speed has bumped up a couple miles per hour. Hopefully this is due to the gear improvements....
Trip Started: 9:26 AM Trip Ended: 12:29 PM
Beginning Battery Voltage: 13.8 Ending Voltage: 12.9
Lowest Temp 82 F Highest Temp: 98 F (OUCH)
Stats from the GPS: Total Miles: 12.55
Overall average speed Moving Avg Max Speed
4.6 MPH 8.1 MPH 27.2 MPH
Total Trip time Moving Time Stopped Time
2 hours 44 mins 1 hour 33 mins 1 hour 10 mins
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