Making, baking, and (un-)breaking things in Southeast Michigan.
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After a bit over a week here it’s time for Roxie to go back home. Danielle arrived here last night right as I returned from Brian’s birthday party, and after some gift returning / shopping stuff she left today with Roxie in the back of the car.
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Here, have yet another photo of Roxie, this time with her leaning strongly against my leg wanting me to pet her. One can even see the line down her back caused by her sleeping inverted, leaning against the couch a few minutes earlier. And the nose. The nose!
(For what it’s worth, she’s now laying with her head between the bike wheels seen there chewing on the remains of a rawhide from earlier in the week. She tends to eat all but 1″ of them, then leaves that bit laying around until I won’t give her a new one.)
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Normally Roxie drinks out of her water bowl, but given the option she’ll also gladly drink out of bathroom sink faucets. When doing so she doesn’t lick the tap, she just laps heartily at the stream of water.
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I just finished watching The Business of Being Born. Despite what the trailer (which will automatically start playing if you visit The Business of Being Born’s website) seems to imply, this film was about modern day midwifery. Sure, the film does touch on the idea that the dramatic rise in number of Caesarean section births is a product of hospitals being more focused on getting women in and out as quickly (and as profitably) as possible, but that strike me as the focus.
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I spent a good part of yesterday and today disassembling and reassembling the Bianchi D.I.S.S. that I acquired on Monday. While it looked pretty good to begin with, the drivetrain (save for the chain) was actually pretty dirty. There was also a bunch of black dirt (chain lube / dirt gunk) hiding all over the frame and drivetrain. So, I took pretty much the whole bike apart, cleaned everything, then put it back together. (Here’s a photo of the shiny clean crankset, chainring, and chain.)
This included torquing everything to spec, re-seating the tires (with logos aligned, of course!), flipping the stem cap around so the logo faces the right way up, re-fitting the Oury grips, adjusting the brake levers, and all the other niggling things that are part of putting a bike together. The grips were fitted by first cleaning them, rinsing them with alcohol (99% isopropyl), then wetting them with alcohol and sliding them on. They appear to be drying nicely, although I’ve read that it may be best to fit them with either rubber cement or a spray adhesive. If this doesn’t hold, I’ll try another method.
It’s now all ready for riding, I just have to wait for a bit less ice on the ground and I’ll be able to ride. This bike might also be perfect for trying out the On-One Mary Bar which Bob loaned to me a few months back.
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Sometimes when out for a walk Roxie will start playing with her retractable leash, eventually getting herself tangled up in it. It’s fun for a while, but when I have to stop every three minutes and unwind her, it’s a bit of a hassle. She’s good about it, though.
Here’s another photo of her, a bit less tangled.
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I spent lots of New Year’s Eve working on cleaning up the new-to-me Bianchi D.I.S.S.. As part of this involved removing the rear wheel I was able to take a photo showing off the “100% Chick Designed” logo which is placed on Bianchi frames designed by Sky Yaeger.
Yes, this is very much the bike version of a crotch shot.
Happy New Year everyone, and Happy Birthday
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After running around and playing on the slippery basement floor Roxie took a break to lay on the futon with her head propped up on the pillow.
Here is another photo of her in the back of my car when going to Frasier Bicycle. She really likes to go for car rides, so whenever I go somewhere lately I take her along then just leave her in the car. She loves looking at things.
Leave a CommentSitting here at work is proving to be pretty quiet today, except for a few minutes ago when I heard a sound as if someone was rapidly banging on the window somewhere across the floor. When I heard the sound repeat, but much closer to my desk I got up to investigate. When I got to the window a woodpecker was sitting on the outside window sill banging away at the glass.
I tried to take a picture, but it flew away right as I got the shot framed.
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I’d intended to hold off on purchasing a new bike for a while, but over the weekend Nick pointed me at this thread at mmba.org where someone was offering up a Bianchi D.I.S.S. (Disc Integrated Single Speed) with decent specs and in approximately my size (large) for US$300. It looked to have some good quality parts on it (including pedals which fit my current cleats), so I made arrangements to check it out and possibly buy it. Conveniently, I was owed just about the sale price by my parents so I was even able to purchase it without affecting CC or bank account balances.
Shaun (the seller) and I met up today and when I took a look at the bike it seemed to be just what I’d been wanting a few months back when I was considering a much more expensive Raleigh. It needed a bit of adjusting, but after tweaking the brakes, tightening the crankshaft, tightening up the chain a little, putting some screws in the bottle cage mount holes, and adjusting the stem it feels like quite a nice fit and was definitely a good buy.
The only thing I have left to do is reseat the rear tire (it’s a little off and has a slight skip) and possibly rebuild the rear hub (bearings are audible; or maybe that’s the freewheel). There is one non-fixable problem with it, as the tool surface for dust cap for the crank is stripped, but as the crank can still be adjusted it’s not an actual problem. I might replace the dust cap anyway, if I come across one.
Oh, and one of the best parts? Since it’s a single speed it has sliding dropouts, and these normally make it a pain to seat the rear wheel after removing it. However, this bike has a Surly Tuggnut on it, which doubles as a bottle opener. I don’t really have an interest in drinking and riding, but I did make a point of using it tonight, with nothing less than Arbor Brewing Company’s Tree Fort Beer.
Here are a couple more photos I took of the bike and its various bits tonight:
· Bianchi D.I.S.S. which I purchased for $300.
· Detail of the Salsa seat clamp on the Bianchi D.I.S.S., along with the Cars-R-Coffins art.
· Surly Tuggnut on the Bianchi D.I.S.S.. Yes, it is also a bottle opener.
· The dust cap on the crank set has been stripped. I’m not sure how this happened, but at least I can still remove the crank.
· Edoardo Bianchi badge on the head tube of the Bianchi D.I.S.S..
· My somewhat modified Specialized Rockhopper and Bianchi D.I.S.S., sitting side by side in my office.
· Bianchi D.I.S.S., photo #1 sent to me prior to the sale.
· Bianchi D.I.S.S., photo #2 sent to me prior to the sale.
After getting home with the bike I put Roxie in the car, locked myself out of the house (thankfully my parents happened to be near by and helped me out), then drove over to Fraser Bicycle & Fitness and picked up a bike stand, floor pump (because the SKS Airworx one I got before doesn’t work right), and some spare bottle cage bolts. Roxie loved the ride.
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