So, yesterday was spent doing some ‘preventative’ maintainance on the bike. If you can really call it preventative after riding it a week having left it sitting for 2 and a half months and having not done any maintainance for a while before that…
I adjusted the brakes, which took longer than might be expected due to the unfortunate fact that they were only just off, and only just moving to on; and when I adjusted them so they were only-just-off but could move to fully on they jammed. In fact, I don’t recall ever greasing them…
…So I spent some time unsiezing the brakes. They’re still ‘sticky’ but it’s a lot better than it was. It was slightly embarassing to go for my test circuit of our roundabout, put my foot on the brake and then not be able to start moving again.
I also spent some time doing the DAF. The rust is over quite a large area, but it’s also ‘a big flat panel’. Well, actually it’s got an L shape to it at the end, but I reckon it shouldn’t be too expensive. I need to ring round some welders… I don’t suppose anyone knows the actual rules on ‘to and from a place of repair’ for non-MOT’d cars. Can you take it ‘to and from’ one for a quote? (I’m assuming not, though I can drive it *to* a place of repair when I’ve chosen someone).
meh.
Anyhow, the DAF runs – and starts easily – and is quite cute really. It also moves, it’s a bit odd to drive after the Viva and the Minor, but it trundled the 2 feet down the drive and back up the drive without too much trauma.
Kathryn spent the day sorting out the back garden. We’ve modified and simplified plans for the back garden; mostly to cut costs. I don’t think there are any shots of the back garden at the height of ‘stuff piled everywhereyness’; but she (and I helped a little bit with the bigger chunks of shite) moved all the rubbish into a heap where the dog-hut (which she took down) was. In the process of this, we noticed that when the people-building-a-house behind our house did their de-tree-and-fence work, they have undermined the foundations for the shed. There’s now a fracking-huge crackin the back wall, so I’m going to go and demand monies from them for the shed.
Aaanyway, so she cleared the ground, and having been defeated on the DAF brake service (because, well, I don’t actually appear to have ramps, jacks or axlestands here, something which I find a little surprising) helped dig it over. Then we went to b&q and spent 26 quid on compost/plants/seeds and a rake.
We were going to plant them this morning before heading to the zine symposium…but the grey sky are likely to make us leave it… that and it’s a bit late….
