Selfie of two cyclists in front of Haneda peace shrine torii gate

Haneda and maintenance

Today the Halfakid had to be home by noon (for a virtual nomikai, as it turns out), so that pretty much ruled out all destinations apart from Haneda. I left home at a quarter to 8 and soon met up with the Halfakid. He was ready to go (for a change) and we were soon zipping through traffic on our way to the Tamagawa cycling course.

The weather was very warm and somewhat windy. It was nice when the wind was with us, of course, but at other times we had difficulty keeping our average speed up. The crowds on the paths presented another challenge. We didn’t encounter as many people overall as we did on last Sunday’s charge up to Otarumi Touge, but I think we ran over came across more father-son groups, with five- and six-year-olds zig-zagging across the path in front of us while Papa’s attention was on a passing jogger.

Selfie of two cyclists in front of Haneda peace shrine torii gate
Just me ‘n’ Thomas De Gendt chillin’ at Haneda

Despite these obstacles (and a detour caused by construction on the path) we made good time to Haneda, arriving in less than 90 minutes. We had an early lunch of Nana’s world-famous onigiri, with the Halfakid wolfing down three in less time than it took me to eat two. We were soon up again and on our way home, alternately being helped and hindered by the wind as we dodged pedestrians and slower bikers.

At the only climb of note on the course, rising up out of the Tamagawa valley and Futako Tamagawa, the Halfakid rocketed past while I shifted to progressively lower gears. When I caught up with him at the top of the grade 500m later, he said he hadn’t shifted down at all — just powered through it. We rested briefly before continuing home in traffic. I dropped the Halfakid off at his apartment at 11:30.

Cleaning and adjusting

Tomorrow we have rain in the forecast, so I thought this is a good chance to do some cleaning and adjusting. Koroko’s shifting performance has been error-free since I installed the Sugino crankset and matching bottom bracket. The front disc has been making a grinding noise during braking, though, so I thought it might be time to replace the brake pads. (I just replaced them in July last year, following the Lejog attempt.

Bicycle fork without wheel; disk brake pad inspection
Wheel off and brakepads out

It just took a minute or two to get Kuroko into the workstand and remove the front wheel, and another minute to get the brake pads out. The pads have plenty of thickness left, so obviously this is not the problem. I decided to put the pads back in, clean the brakes and adjust them.

Spray brake cleaner over bicycle brake disc; brake lever secured with rubber band
Disc brake cleaning and adjusting

The brake cleaner warns to use it in a well-ventilated area, and they are not kidding! Anyone who has wasted a childhood gluing together plastic model kits will be familiar with the smell, and the cleaner has it in a very concentrated dose. Fortunately the Workshop in the Sky is open to the air and the fumes cleared quickly. After spraying it’s just a matter of waiting a minute or two for the cleaner to evaporate, then wiping the disc with a clean shop cloth. After that I put the wheel back on the bike and adjusted the brake. I got a thick rubber band to hold the brake lever while I adjust the brakes, and this worked out well. Since I was already cleaning and adjusting the front brake, I did the back as well for good measure.

Finally, I loosened and readjusted the new crankset. It’s been working fine, but now that I’ve got nearly 200km on it I’m sure it’s had a chance to bed in a bit. Once I’d done that I gave it a couple of test spins, and sure enough I’m getting an additional revolution or two of the cranks now than when it was new.

GPS route of Haneda round trip ride
Haneda with the scion

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