I wanted to get out on Hornsby to test out the shifting, which I’d spent some time sorting out in the Workshop in the Sky following an amateurish incident. The forecast was for a high of 13C today, but the sun was taking its time waking up this morning — it was still just 4C at 9 a.m. But I was determined to get out on the bike, and I was looking forward to the ride, with not a hint of the motivation issues I’ve had for the past year and more.

I was quite surprised on mounting up at 9:20 that the rear tire was rubbing the frame — I’m sure it wasn’t when I wheeled the bike out of the parking area, so it must have been loose enough that the wheel shifted when I put some power into it. I quickly straightened the wheel and retightened the quick release lever, but it was not a favorable portent for the rest of the ride.

This was soon borne out as the chain had some trouble staying on the lowest cog on the short climb up Samegahashizaka, near Akasaka Palace (the state guest house). I was able to soldier up the rise in the second-lowest gear. When I reached the crossing at Akasaka-Mitsuke, I hopped off the bike and added tension to the shifter cable, knowing I’d need the lowest gear on the subsequent climb.

That went well enough, but after that it was apparent that all was not well in the shifting department. It would take two shifts to get into gear, and at times I had to settle for a gear other than the one I wanted. I continued on in this fashion until I reached Shiba Park.

After fiddling a bit with the shifter cable tension and drinking some water, I continued on towards the Imperial Palace. The shifting was behaving a bit better, but the wind was buffeting me from all directions. I decided on a route which would eliminate the exposure at Tokyo Big Sight, but still allow me to take in Tokyo Skytree and Todai — the Tokyo University campus.

Alas, by the time I arrived at the palace grounds, the shifter was acting up once again, and the wind was proving even stronger (and more unpredictable) than previously. Abandoning my plans for Tokyo Skytree, I determined to continue around the palace towards Budokan, and then home.

At Kudanshita I left the road for the sidewalk to climb Kudanzaka, in case I had trouble with the gears. Hornsby obediently remained in the lowest gear, allowing me to continue up the slope at a walking pace. After getting some snaps of Budokan and Chidorigafuchi, I sat down on a park bench to finish off Nana’s world-famous onigiri and plot my return.

While I noshed on rice and mentaiko, I had a look at Hornsby’s rear derailleur. I got out the minitool and screwed in the B-limit screw a couple of turns, providing a bit more clearance between the jockey wheels and the largest cog. And then I dialed out just half a turn of the cable tension. That might be just enough to get me home without further issues.

The onigiri done, I messaged Nana I would be home about 12:30 and set out. The shifting felt a bit better, if not yet perfect. I had a couple of humps to get over near Hanzomon, and there was no problem with the gearing there. (The traffic is another question.) From there until I got home, the only issue was the wind, which continued to buffet from all sides and at unpredictable moments, at times bringing my pace to a crawl.

What can you do with a drunken shifter?

I’ve been debating a replacement for this drivetrain since I got it. It’s always been really good, but not as good as I thought it could be. Since moving the drivetrain from Dionysus to Hornsby, I’ve only had issues. I should probably have more patience — today’s problems were arguably my fault for not having tightened the rear wheel enough after the last maintenance — but I’ve had a look around and the replacement I’ve been considering isn’t as expensive as I’d thought. And I’ll just leave things there for the moment.

Hoppin’ along

This was my first ride since being waylaid by born spurs. I’m happy to report that, as I expected, the lack of pressure on the heel during cycling meant there was no issue. Meanwhile, the bone spurs are keeping me out of Nam, so there’s that.