| Where has this year gone? My new grandson is on the cusp of turning 1, the junk mail is appropriately full of Christmas junk, my 12-month Cardiology review has categorised me in the tickety-boo cohort, and the sun is out at last. |
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Life just keeps getting in the way of riding bikes, rego (and cough, cough, insurance) has come around and again I look at the poor forlorn things sitting in the shed gathering dust. While it's definitely a first world problem, having toys and not using them seems a travesty of sorts.
We all know that in many a blokes' world, he who owns the most toys, wins. I've never really been overly materialistic but having toys is no good unless there is play time. I'm not sure that a shed load of toys and not time to play with them is a win!
I once went to a motivational 'Life Balance' session at a conference, one thing that stuck with me was – "You'll never lie on your death bed wishing you'd spent more time at work".
Motorbikes are for going places in my book, I like the first few laps of a track day but I get bored with going around the same circle after a while. It's similar in my own district. Like you, I have a couple of local rides but after a decade the gloss of a quick spin wears off. I'm gaggin' to get out, past the familiar 'must do' transport sections and find new roads, new views and experiences. |
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Canvassing Change After fifteen years of sourcing our pannier fabric from a mob called Wax Converters Textiles, we received notification that they have gone to the wall and closed up. The 'original' fabric has been super dependable and fulfilled my expectations, 'above and beyond'. You can probably imagine that after I spent a couple of hours curled in the foetal position, rocking and sucking my blanket, I recovered enough to run about in a furious tizz.
What the...? How the...? When the...?
After a bit of frantic research we've got two candidates to replace our supplier. They sent us a few metres of each for us to trial. |
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| Oblique cuts represent a closer analogue to real world scrapes and tears. |
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The first step was checking the specs and production data and comparing it to our current fabric. We then started to wreck small swatches. This involved slashing at it with a box cutter at different angles. We then dragged a sharp object across it trying to 'snag' a tear. We layered up 4 thickness and attacked it with a wad punch, attempting to be as consistent and repeatable as possible. Next it went home with me, taken out to the shed and was held against a lanishing machine with an 80 grit belt for 5 seconds in a number of places.
I cut two sets of bags, one from each fabric sample and made them up. My next task is to take the bags out, stress them, get them wet and dirty. Finally, they'll get loaded and tied to the tow bar of the van and get a trip up and down a dirt road. It's my excuse for a ride... And I'm sticking to it!
In the meantime we snapped up a bit extra of the old stuff to buy us time. |
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| Two different fabrics reacting differently to getting some serious rain |
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We've recently taken delivery of this new alloy based chain breaker/rivet tool. I don't know about you but I've been stranded beside the road a few times when a chain link clip has taken its leave. It's embarrassing waiting for traffic to pass to sneak out into the road and retrieve a chain snake basking in the sun.
The last time was enough, I rivet my chains every time nowadays!
A quality tool makes it a doddle and this one, weighing in at 630 grams is just about light enough to take along on the bike. Having one in the back-up vehicle (if you should be lucky enough) would be a must. |
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Do You Service Your Helmet? |
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| I'll bet you're pretty conscientious about getting your bike in for service when the time comes. But... how often do you service your helmet? |
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We all sweat in our stack hats, depending on how much you sweat, will affect the pH of that sweat. Light perspiration tends to be moderately acid whereas heavy sweating tends toward neutral to slightly alkaline values. Hair follicles secrete sebum, a mix of wax, cholesterol, fatty acids, glycerides, squalene. Sebum also plays a role in body odour.
Adventure helmets suffer the most as all that stuff gets mixed with dust and bugs. Not only do the liner pads deteriorate the EPS ((that white foamy polystyrene stuff between the shell and liners) also degrades quicker... and that's what saves your life.
Pulling out cheek pads and crown liners can be a bit concerning and fiddly but it gets easier each time. Like all things disassembly, take it slowly, watch YouTube and take photos as you go. Avoid using harsh detergents on the liner pads. I once washed them in laundry powder before a trip to Unzud and all I could smell for the whole trip was Omo! I binned the hat before I came home. |
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General garden variety crap makes its way into vents, seals and visor mechanisms. When was the last time you took off the visor, cleaned the functional bits and used that little bottle of oil they give you? If your helmet allows, remove the vents and give them a gentle blow out with the compressor. I always get a surprise when I see what emerges. It's nothing to see a desiccated bug or five expelled.
Go over the helmet and give it a good once over, I clean mine, scraping the detritus from creases and joins, checking for damage as I go.
Your helmet is a crucial bit of kit and needs love too. |
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| The glorious wildflowers of Oz - Photo Mark Hallett |
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Unpacking everything you own to spend a night in a motel or a mate's place has knobs on it. I like to have one small, comprehensive pack that contains everything but my spare shoes. One that I can grab out of my bag, hang from a bathroom hook and live out of.
Enter our new Pack'n Roll |
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Pack it, Roll it, Stash it and ride off.
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Following on from last month's spray... If you remember the idea was that we get credits to offset the occasional blemish when we are courteous out there on the roads.
During this weeks commute to work I've decide that those of us with those credits in reserve should be able to drive p1ssed as farts!
Let me explain.
Tuesday I followed a woman off the freeway exit, we turned left and proceeded up a local 80kph road 3 or 4 kays where she turned right. From the moment I tucked in behind her to the right turn she was doing her hair and using all the lane in the process. As she turned right I could see that see was watching a movie on her phone mounted on the dash at the same time. Yep she continued pfaffing about with her locks as she navigated a busy roundabout while turning right.
Wednesday - A Hi-viz clad young man in a battered, VW Golf followed so close to the car ahead that he looked like he was being towed. Occasionally it looked as if that trailer had blown a tyre as it lurched right into the right shoulder. It was peak hour, the freeway conga line was not going to behave like the Red Sea for him no matter how much of a cock he was. When a break did come along, he jagged (sans indicator) between left and right lanes like a dazed rabbit kitten.
Thursday - Coming the other way in a Tossla, a young woman was clapping, hands above the head and swaying vigorously, rock concert style. No, she wasn't waiting at the lights or in traffic, she was errr... driving (an inaccurate description) how about drivers' seat passengering.
I reckon I could be a six pack in, steering with my knees, 'juggling' a kebab and still not represent a similar danger!
Come the revolution! |
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| Sturt Desert Pea, the botanical equivalent of the Platypus - Photo Mark Hallett |
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Tow Strap
There seems little point re-inventing the wheel here, we've just taken delivery of Giant Loop Tow straps.
They are nice simple device designed to wrap up in a convenient travel sleeve.
Grab yours and be the person who gets free beers! - CLICK HERE |
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| BTW, if you want to make it a bit more personal, it's easy as fillin' yer nappy. Snaggle something online and get us to send it direct to the recipient.
If you pop a note in the comments section, we'll even gift wrap it for you and add a note! |
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Just a heads up for locals, one of our kids is getting married on the first Saturday of (7th) December so we've put back our open day to Saturday the 14th. Phew, just time to get those last-minute gifts for Santa to put in yer stocking.
We will be open on the first Saturday of November (Cup Weekend)...And Monday 4th.
Copyalater
Andy
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