So, today I wandered down and adjusted the brakes on my bike which, yesterday, had moved from their usual barely-adequate* to their alternate state of ‘unfortunately we are unable to meet requests for speed retardation at this time. Please contact your booking agent to find out when braking might become available again’. They’re nearly worn out, so I best order another set – I still get through them painfully quickly, albeit with no-where near the frequency that they were destroyed when I first got the bike. I’m tempted to get another set of wheels and fork out for having them rebuilt with the original axles, but I like the black spokes and the originality of the wheels. Yes, yes, I could do it myself. No, I’m unlikely to at this point.
Much joy, however, in that my bike has upped it’s gear quotient from the previous single speed to somewhere around 1.7 gears. Most of the time I can now get second, should I want it. Not all the time. She has a sense of humour about such things and will offer me second gear reliably through my ride to work on slight inclines, and will then, just as reliably decline me anything but top gear for the steepish hill at the end. However, it does seem to be improving with use. I have this faint hope that one day I’ll have all three gears. Now that would be nice.
I also had a look at** Kathryn’s bike’s gear shifter – with the intention of fitting the new cable. The new cable is now half-fitted, but the spring on the shifter broke in the process (it was quite rusty***) so I’ve ordered a ‘compatible’ shifter for it. At this point I am beyond concluding that I should have just started with a better bike and well into ‘I will damn well make this thing work’.
I also (fwiw) restarted the minor, today. The GT550 having sold means it’s time to clear up the garage and get the minor running again. Also I have to pay my car insurance soon (although I’ve not yet steeled myself to look in the envelope with the quote on it). She wasn’t keen, and sounded a little rough, but she did start – the battery’s back to trickle charging now… :)
I also had another look at the clock. This would perhaps have been more productive if it hadn’t started immediately the moment I took it upstairs. Grr. I’m not sure if I’ve got some tiny bit of crap in there when I attacked the case (not unimaginable). Or whether it’s some problem that it had before I fitted it (it being a £1 clock mechanism). I shall have to investigate further, because I popped it back on the mantlepiece (assuming I’d dislodged whatever ailed it) and it ran for 30 minutes and then stopped again. Feh. It is, however, as stated, silent (or at least very, very quiet). This would be more impressive if it worked.
* In the dry they’re fair, in the wet they’re poor, in the snow they’re laughably pointless.
** broke.
*** I know, shocking. Who’d’a’thunk it.
