After a nice but busy day I managed to get out for a ride just before dinner. Typically as I was riding south I came across the rain headed north
Managed to finish my ride and get in with just minor wetness before it really came in. A nice way to finish the day with riding the Super Clubman.
Hope everyone else's weekend has started nicely as well, but maybe had the sun last a little bit longer
Made it up the Sidlaws for a couple of hours. Amazing how the wee man can have you up at 6.30 but it's still after 9.30 before you're actually ready to leave the house.
Very overgrown up there this year. Don't know if it's lack of foot traffic early in the growing season due to covid or if most people just stick to the main paths these days. Did my usual run down from the quarry to the bombholes but ended up at a different exit. Thought I'd just missed my turn but repeated it later and the old path has been completely swallowed by gorse. Was trying to think how long it was since I'd been, but pretty sure I'd been up with Peem just last summer.
Been busy the last couple of weeks taking trips all over the west coast from Oban to mull and mora to mallaig to Skye and upto Dingwall on the east coast with the family since we can never took a bike sadly but I took a rod and caught plenty mackerel.
Now to start building these and stop buying frames lol
Well having had this week off work I should have known some of the weather would be pish but thankfully the last two days have gotten better, long may it continue.
I have been busy with other things earlier in the week and have been out riding on Saturday but since then it has taken until Wednesday to get back out. Have also been doing lots of those little jobs with the bikes that need doing but just never seem to do.
Wednesday seen me spraying the lacquer over the decals I had put on the Flying Scot Ventoux way back earlier last year as well as masking up and spraying the signature from Ken Taylor on the back of the seat tube on the '63 Sport. I really wanted the Ventoux done as I have some really nice Arabesque stuff to build it up with but thought I must do the decals first and now after also cleaning and polishing the Arabesque gear I am almost ready to build, just need a washer for the shifters. When the 63 Sport was dry I offered up some bright yellow shorty Bluemels that Peachy had given me for it. Not usually a fan of shorties but these look good to me.
By the time I got this all done the sun came out and the postman arrived with the crank shorteners for the Flying Scot tandem, so that was the next job. Brian had loaned me his shorteners but they didn't fit both cranks. They are both TA cranks but one, the right is the later triple alloy version while the left is the tandem version hooked to the forward crank. In the end I bought a set from SJS Cycles that were to fit either due to the design and included the bolts for TA cranks. The design, ease of fitment, quality was all first class but we soon hit a problem, in that the left crank was catching the chain in front due to a washer needed on the rear of the crank arm, just catching but enough to catch fully every now and again. We managed a short ride and set them up so Caleb can now peddle easily and also dialled in his position but now had to fix the chain line some way.
I thought I found a solution today while driving and that was to get a shorter bottom bracket by about 5mm or space the BB out by a couple of spacers on the right to give us the space to suite. Pulled it out when we got in and then I realised I haven't had a TA crank extractor for many years, I gave the last one away due to never needing it, doh! Then I came upon the cunning plan that was more cunning than a cunning fox hatching a cunning plan, and that was to slacken the eccentric bb on the front chainring and push it to the right, maybe even tap it slightly to move it all a couple of mm's. I believe the distance I moved it was just slightly more than a midges baw hair, which seems to have been enough! So it was we had to have an evening ride to check
Earlier today seen us get the Old Town HW canoe onto the van ready for the next couple of days paddling. We did manage to get out to Loch More for a shakedown as the family has been in shielding for the past six months before we head to Loch Maree tomorrow morning. While the sun was out and the temps were up this afternoon so unfortunately was the wind, which made the loch so choppy it just wasn't worth it. So gutted as while I have been out in my other canoe, this wood and canvas HW hasn't been out since the end of last year. She was meant to have been repainted ready for her birthday from the off white and burgundy to the original bright white and burgundy. She might make it yet for the end of her birthday period.
Topped this off with a walk to the beach after dinner.
Anyway busy times in the Dyer household and a slow start to the week due to weather but now looks like it is going to be a pretty busy weekend.
Hope the weather stays good with everyone else.
Those crank shorteners are ingenious. Would love to have a rummage around SJS just to see all the obscure bits I never knew existed.
Jamie, you’re always going on about how many bikes and frames Epicyclo has, but I’m beginning to think you’re just deflecting the attention away from your own “collection”.
Those crank shorteners are ingenious. Would love to have a rummage around SJS just to see all the obscure bits I never knew existed.
Jamie, you’re always going on about how many bikes and frames Epicyclo has, but I’m beginning to think you’re just deflecting the attention away from your own “collection”.
It’s all about how you present the statistics though isn’t it? I wonder if like me, Jamie counts only complete bikes that can actually be jumped on and ridden that precise moment.... the rest are “parts”
That’s right Peachy, there’s bikes and there are parts, plus tandems and cargo bikes are only there because of the little man so shouldn’t be counted as mine, so to speak.
Only a couple are built and groupsets are for sharing
Peachy I hope to have it ready but not quite sure.
The venue has changed to Stokesley, will get details and send to you.
Jamie
IMG_3597 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
IMG_3597 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
IMG_3599 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
IMG_3600 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
IMG_3603 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
IMG_3604 by Jamie Dyer, on Flickr
never took a bike sadly but I took a rod and caught plenty mackerel.
