Month: January 2021
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Good thing it wasn’t windy
‘Cuz that woulda sucked The Halfakid and his Tomo showed up on our doorstop this morning, and we rode out together to Tokyo Disneyland. I’d done a good job of planning this ride because the Halfakid had to leave home and hour and a half before I did, and meanwhile the temperature had risen from…
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Clean up and prep
The weather was clear today, but cold and windy. I spent the time cleaning up and prepping both bikes. When I last rode Kuroko, I noticed that my shiny clean cogs had turned black. I must have gone a bit overboard with the chain lube. So I had some cleaning to do. In addition to…
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Pump replacement
I’ve been having more and more difficulty getting the Topeak pump head to seal well on the valve. I thought it might be the tubeless valves I’ve recently put on Kuroko, but we’ve had the same issue with the Halfakid’s bike, and then Halfakid no Tomo. The pump head will seem to be sealed to…
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Otarumi Touge close!
The Halfakid let me know that he and Halfakid no Tomo were planning a ride to Otarumi Touge today, and said they’d be in Nikotama at 8. I let Nana know and she and I got up before 6 to get ready: me to prepare for the ride and Nana to make onigiri. I was…
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Oiled and ready
I’ve got a ride planned with the Halfakid tomorrow, so I took advantage of unseasonably warm weather today for a little light maintenance. On our last ride I heard some squeaking from Kuroko’s chain, so I brought her up to the Workshop in the Sky for some fresh oil. I’m happy to report meanwhile that…
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Tamagawa all the way
I contacted the Halfakid last week to let him know I’d be biking on Saturday, and he responded that he and Kare no Tomo were planning on riding the length of the Tamagawa cycling course. We arranged to meet at Futako Tamagawa at 8 a.m. The day dawned clear and cold, at -2C with some…
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Why ‘Dionysus’?
A friend recently asked why I’d rechristened Ol’ Paint as Dionysus. Is it just the pleasure thing, or do you feel like you’ve got the sword of Damocles hanging over your head as well? Buck So I responded with the explanation I had made on the occasion of her debut ride: “torn to pieces and…
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初走り
First ride of the New Year The forecast was for clear skies with little to no wind today, with a high of 10C, so it seemed a good chance for 初走り, the first ride of the New Year. It took some doing for me to get going in the morning, though, as the temperature was…
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Tubeless once more
When I replaced Kuroko’s troublesome Babyshoe Pass tires recently with more readily available Panaracer rubber, I gave up getting the tires to mount tubelessly after a few tries and set them up with tubes. Today, I had sunny skies and windless conditions to give it another try. I’d read someone’s suggestion to use straps to…