bike repairs
Sat May 26 17:34:03 EDT 2018
It's been a busy day so far.
I did a little bit of lawn mowing. The decrepit batteries did not, of course, last long.
I took a last look at my bike's drive train, trying to figure out where the noise is coming from in the lower gears. Still failing at that, I had an excuse for a ride to Vienna, VA. I didn't realize this was one of their street-festival weekends, so that put pedestrian congestion on the W&OD trail just where I'd be leaving it. bikes@vienna was surprisingly unbusy - good biking weather, long weekend; you'd expect lots of people would be there with last-minute repairs. But no, no customers waiting around, and they were able to look at my bike right away.
The derailleur hanger was bent; I suspected that, and that accounts for not being able to get to the lowest gear. $25.
The chain had stretched; also not surprising after 18 months of consistent use. New chains (and links) were $66.
After that the click was quieter, but not gone. Turns out the culprit was a large idler pulley. $39.
Labor and tax brought it all to $166. An expensive trip. But it's also paying for the expertise and diagnosis. (It would have been a very long time before I suspected that idler.) I could have gotten all the parts for much less on the Internet. And I can do the installation and adjustment - although not as fast. And if we don't keep any local shops open, we won't have access to the expertise. As it is, I had to go to NJ and NYC just to get test rides on some of the bikes I was considering buying.
The bike was much quieter on the ride home. ☺ As a bike should be. There was some light rain, though. (The weather people have been saying thunderstorms today, and I'm hearing rumblings now.)
I stopped on the way back to try to trash-pick a plastic chest-of-drawers. I've been taking a couple of these (also trash picked) to Pennsic, and they are great for keeping clothes and what-not more organized in the tent. (And while I haven't had problems with water in the tent, they would be good for keeping clothes dry in such a situation.) But it was far to unwieldy to bungee onto the bike's rack. So I went back for it with the car. And on the same trip also trash-picked a 10-gallon fish tank with pump, filter, rocks, furnishings - just lacking water, fish, and food. anniemal can always use another tank for mice, although it will need some kind of different lid.
Another incentive for biking to Vienna was the Fed Bike Challenge. There's 20 points for every day with any rides, and a point for every mile, so I'm getting nearly 40 points/day. I've got a couple of extra days from Fridays I worked past midnight and came home on Saturday. I've got more points for days than miles. This is one of those things where you do get points just for showing up. Riding today will make up some for missing next Monday, which is a holiday. 2 years ago I went on a long bike ride that Monday (and again had to navigate Vienna's street festival). This year I'm using the long weekend to go check on the house in NC. We probably had computer-maintenance projects scheduled this long weekend the last 2 years; this year we've got something major next weekend. (Slipped 2 weeks; doing it this weekend wasn't advisable.)
Saturday 19:20
I put 25 bike shorts in the washer. (That would be 5 weeks of commuting.)
Saturday 21:08
The bike shorts are hung to dry.
Sunday 05:56How Fitness App Strava Led Police To A Cycling Suspect
An incident with a known time and place, and an unknown party - but the unknown cyclist had logged his ride - publicly* - on Strava.
This relates to another unexpected use of Strava data:fitness-tracker use ... may have exposed US military bases and sensitive humanitarian-aid sites around the world.
Strava Data Heat Maps Expose Military Base Locations
The US military is reexamining security policies after fitness tracker data shared on social media revealed bases and patrol routes.
*"Public" in the sense of viewable by any Strava member. Anybody with an email address can become a member.
Sunday 13:42
I just noticed that my watch band broke. While I wasn't even wearing the watch. (Which I suppose is good, because it could have fallen off on a trail and gotten lost, or in traffic and gotten run over.) I did notice cracks in the band last week.
Why can't they make watch bands that last as long as the watch? Especially the bands that sculpt into the watch body, so you can't just go into a store and pick up a suitable replacement?
Sunday 16:08
I don't see much TV lately, but today's different. There was a drug commercial on, and I wanted to double-check the side effects I heard:Myrbetriq
Angioedema: Myrbetriq may cause an allergic reaction with swelling of the lips, face, tongue, throat, with or without difficulty breathing.
Inability to empty your bladder (urinary retention): Myrbetriq may increase your chances of not being able to empty your bladder if you have bladder outlet obstruction, or if you are taking other medicines to treat [overactive bladder].
Egad, they have commercials for drugs for our pets too now. Plenty of negative views from a web search on Apoquel (treatment for canine atopic dermatitis, providing relief from allergic itch).
(Oclacitinib)
Sunday 16:47
Monetizing: ION (network) - if you cut the opening/closing themes, there's more time left for commercials. You can still display the show's credits compressed to about 5 seconds in a small font at the end of the last scene.
Sunday 19:27
There have been tons of drug commercials this afternoon - for people and for pets. Drugs and home furnishings.
Entyvio (vedolizumab)
Although it has not been reported with ENTYVIO, it may be possible for a person to get progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) (a rare, serious brain infection caused by a virus). People with weakened immune systems can get PML, which can result in death or severe disability. There is no known treatment, prevention, or cure for PML.
The most common side effects of ENTYVIO include common cold, headache, joint pain, nausea, fever, infections of the nose and throat, tiredness, cough, bronchitis, flu, back pain, rash, itching, sinus infection, throat pain, and pain in extremities. These are not all the possible side effects of ENTYVIO.
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/986533.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]
It's been a busy day so far.
I did a little bit of lawn mowing. The decrepit batteries did not, of course, last long.
I took a last look at my bike's drive train, trying to figure out where the noise is coming from in the lower gears. Still failing at that, I had an excuse for a ride to Vienna, VA. I didn't realize this was one of their street-festival weekends, so that put pedestrian congestion on the W&OD trail just where I'd be leaving it. bikes@vienna was surprisingly unbusy - good biking weather, long weekend; you'd expect lots of people would be there with last-minute repairs. But no, no customers waiting around, and they were able to look at my bike right away.
The derailleur hanger was bent; I suspected that, and that accounts for not being able to get to the lowest gear. $25.
The chain had stretched; also not surprising after 18 months of consistent use. New chains (and links) were $66.
After that the click was quieter, but not gone. Turns out the culprit was a large idler pulley. $39.
Labor and tax brought it all to $166. An expensive trip. But it's also paying for the expertise and diagnosis. (It would have been a very long time before I suspected that idler.) I could have gotten all the parts for much less on the Internet. And I can do the installation and adjustment - although not as fast. And if we don't keep any local shops open, we won't have access to the expertise. As it is, I had to go to NJ and NYC just to get test rides on some of the bikes I was considering buying.
The bike was much quieter on the ride home. ☺ As a bike should be. There was some light rain, though. (The weather people have been saying thunderstorms today, and I'm hearing rumblings now.)
I stopped on the way back to try to trash-pick a plastic chest-of-drawers. I've been taking a couple of these (also trash picked) to Pennsic, and they are great for keeping clothes and what-not more organized in the tent. (And while I haven't had problems with water in the tent, they would be good for keeping clothes dry in such a situation.) But it was far to unwieldy to bungee onto the bike's rack. So I went back for it with the car. And on the same trip also trash-picked a 10-gallon fish tank with pump, filter, rocks, furnishings - just lacking water, fish, and food. anniemal can always use another tank for mice, although it will need some kind of different lid.
Another incentive for biking to Vienna was the Fed Bike Challenge. There's 20 points for every day with any rides, and a point for every mile, so I'm getting nearly 40 points/day. I've got a couple of extra days from Fridays I worked past midnight and came home on Saturday. I've got more points for days than miles. This is one of those things where you do get points just for showing up. Riding today will make up some for missing next Monday, which is a holiday. 2 years ago I went on a long bike ride that Monday (and again had to navigate Vienna's street festival). This year I'm using the long weekend to go check on the house in NC. We probably had computer-maintenance projects scheduled this long weekend the last 2 years; this year we've got something major next weekend. (Slipped 2 weeks; doing it this weekend wasn't advisable.)
Saturday 19:20
I put 25 bike shorts in the washer. (That would be 5 weeks of commuting.)
Saturday 21:08
The bike shorts are hung to dry.
Sunday 05:56How Fitness App Strava Led Police To A Cycling Suspect
An incident with a known time and place, and an unknown party - but the unknown cyclist had logged his ride - publicly* - on Strava.
This relates to another unexpected use of Strava data:fitness-tracker use ... may have exposed US military bases and sensitive humanitarian-aid sites around the world.
Strava Data Heat Maps Expose Military Base Locations
The US military is reexamining security policies after fitness tracker data shared on social media revealed bases and patrol routes.
*"Public" in the sense of viewable by any Strava member. Anybody with an email address can become a member.
Sunday 13:42
I just noticed that my watch band broke. While I wasn't even wearing the watch. (Which I suppose is good, because it could have fallen off on a trail and gotten lost, or in traffic and gotten run over.) I did notice cracks in the band last week.
Why can't they make watch bands that last as long as the watch? Especially the bands that sculpt into the watch body, so you can't just go into a store and pick up a suitable replacement?
Sunday 16:08
I don't see much TV lately, but today's different. There was a drug commercial on, and I wanted to double-check the side effects I heard:Myrbetriq
Angioedema: Myrbetriq may cause an allergic reaction with swelling of the lips, face, tongue, throat, with or without difficulty breathing.
Inability to empty your bladder (urinary retention): Myrbetriq may increase your chances of not being able to empty your bladder if you have bladder outlet obstruction, or if you are taking other medicines to treat [overactive bladder].
Egad, they have commercials for drugs for our pets too now. Plenty of negative views from a web search on Apoquel (treatment for canine atopic dermatitis, providing relief from allergic itch).
(Oclacitinib)
Sunday 16:47
Monetizing: ION (network) - if you cut the opening/closing themes, there's more time left for commercials. You can still display the show's credits compressed to about 5 seconds in a small font at the end of the last scene.
Sunday 19:27
There have been tons of drug commercials this afternoon - for people and for pets. Drugs and home furnishings.
Entyvio (vedolizumab)
Although it has not been reported with ENTYVIO, it may be possible for a person to get progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML) (a rare, serious brain infection caused by a virus). People with weakened immune systems can get PML, which can result in death or severe disability. There is no known treatment, prevention, or cure for PML.
The most common side effects of ENTYVIO include common cold, headache, joint pain, nausea, fever, infections of the nose and throat, tiredness, cough, bronchitis, flu, back pain, rash, itching, sinus infection, throat pain, and pain in extremities. These are not all the possible side effects of ENTYVIO.
[This entry was originally posted as https://syntonic-comma.dreamwidth.org/986533.html on Dreamwidth (where there are
comments).]