Messages

1

South Atlantic / Violations of Title 23 section 109m United states code.

« on: November 28, 2023, 08:38:32 am »

I'm in the everglades. I considered following interstate 75 highway 84 to Miami. This does not seem to be possible. This is a clear violation of the law in the title. I have a bit of a problem in that I have lost 3 of my email providers. I will not be filing a complaint until I can get a more stable email. I want to repeate here some one I think may be the Amish have sued some government I think may be Ohio and a federal judge ruled preventing horses and wagons from using public roads is a violation of the religious freedom on the United States constitution. Highway department officials are terrified of this ruling and they are under a gag order not to discuss it. Once again the constitution says the Postmaster General and only the Postmaster General has the authority to regulate traffic on postal roads. Highway 84 is certainly a postal road but I will need to be able to prove this. I have more laws very old laws that I will leave as a surprise to the courts. If any one in the highway department is your friend you may want to pass on this information so they can decide to ignore the unconstitutional state law as is being done in other states. Again I have already won this battle in other states. If I do get pulled over it will be under controlled conditions. The state police officer and highway department officials will be facing the death penalty. I also have a law that will let me disbar a judge.

2

Gear Talk / Cross Spoking the Rhyno Lite.

« on: May 14, 2023, 03:31:03 pm »

I built a new wheel using a Rhyno Lite rim but rather than use the spoke holes closest to the flange I used the spoke holes farthest from the flange. This gives the equivalent strength to a flange 5 mm wider. Most rims won't let you do this but the Rhyno uses brass ferrules. Santana Tandems uses a 60mm wide flange compared to a 55mm wide flange on Shimano spline brake hubs. This will make the wheel stronger but there is some disagreement on how much. I would say about 25 percent. I can't see and disadvantage to this design unless you are using very large flanges or very small wheels. Not my design it is at least 100 years old. As usual it will be tested to destruction. No photos I can hardy tell the difference from my old wheel.   

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Gear Talk / Re: My Pannier Design

« on: May 03, 2023, 05:52:28 pm »

On normal bags I generally puncture 2 holes at the top and bolt 2 conduit clamps to the rack. This is an anti theft device and prevents the bags from jumping up on a bump. Also I usually add a conduit clamp around the seat stay which prevents the bags from rotating into the spokes. With these bags I am going to tie the bags to the rack. Also shown you would have to remove the flashlight to get the bags off. This is 2 conduit clamps with 2 different types of bolts.

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Gear Talk / Re: My Pannier Design

« on: May 01, 2023, 05:55:28 pm »

Almost done. I am quite happy with the design. For the model two I am going to complete the bags first then add the straps last. This will make them replaceable and allow me to adjust the placement.  https://flic.kr/p/2oxiz5U

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Gear Talk / My Pannier Design

« on: February 28, 2023, 07:54:17 pm »

I've had bags on my bicycle for the past 30 years. Even when I'm not touring I keep them loaded for testing. These generally fail by pulling apart at the seams. So I decided to eliminate the seams and use lap joints. Every thing you see here is irrelevant this is just an exercise in lap joints. The rest of the bags design makes best use of materials I found on tour. If I do another one I will use a Nomex flight suit and the layers will be glued together with one of the spray on rubbers then sewed and sprayed again so it will be one complete piece. This is primarily a computer bag so I didn't want any bolts going through it. I have some plastic that will fastened to the rack and some that will go inside behind the computers. Each one of those straps are rated at 500 pounds and there are no breaks. I was going to fasten the buckles under the lid but then decided to attach them directly to the rack. There is no way I'm going to allow even the possibility of the straps getting into the wheel so there is additional sewing needed. The buckles came off of shopping carts. The plastic piece shown is called a keeper and can be used if you break a buckle. I found the lawn chair material after sewing the straps or I would have put them under the straps. I will use some leather to reinforce the corners and the lid hinge. Also on the new design I will use a slant design on one side to give heel clearance. I know they are ugly prototypes are allowed to be ugly. https://flic.kr/p/2ojzsfm https://flic.kr/p/2ojzt4v

6

Gear Talk / Crescent wide jaw adjustible wrench.

« on: November 01, 2022, 07:09:12 pm »

My tool kit has not changed much photo below. I lost my adjustable and had to buy a new one. I wanted the lightest wrench that would fit my headset which seems to be 34mm. I bought the extra wide which opens up to 1.5 inches. It says 39mm but mine is closer to 38.2mm. I wanted the Crescent locking adjustable but the 10 inch does not open up wide enough. Brookstone used to sell a simular wrench but there was a patent dispute. The Chinese wrenches will not be as strong and heavier that the American made which are no longer sold. I expect it will be strong enough and they did a good job reducing the weight. Also I like the new larger screw. I spent $10 extra for the black coated. This is bolted to the down tube with two hose clamps and a screw in the water bottle boss.  https://flickr.com/photos/63373992@N07/7122658997/in/photolist-bRpunt-AGna4m-oEQuyi-xzjuP1-MvVXCt-fraX88-2k4T9NY-mZvSwp-mZvh98

7

General Discussion / Cycling in the hurricane.

« on: October 09, 2022, 06:26:32 pm »

I want to be the first to admit I made a big mistake. I have been out in 80 mph winds twice. Once in Salt Lake City on the interstate. An 18 wheeler blowed over. I took shelter at a rest area. Once in South Dakota also on the interstate. I was in my lowest gear the 20 front 39 rear going about 6 mph when I got hit by a gust that stopped me dead. The wind lifted me up when I stood on the pedal. I also managed to get to a rest area. I was in Tampa when I heard about the hurricane and decided the best thing to do is to get inland to high ground. I thought the winds would generally be going in the same direction as the hurricane. But hurricanes travel slow and the winds go around in a circle. So I faced head winds. I made it to Lakeland. I bought some coffee and sat down and watched the wind for a couple of hours. It was almost keeping up with the interstate traffic. At dark I went to my hidey hole under an interstate overpass. I could have checked into a hotel but I didn't trust them not to blow over. I stayed dry and out of the wind and slept well. The wind woke me up several times and I estimate it at 80 mph. Officially Lakeland got 60 mph winds. Lakeland lost some carports but no roofs. 

8

General Discussion / Re: Average Weight Loss/Gain on Cross Country Tour

« on: May 18, 2022, 09:15:22 am »

I did 2226 miles in 22 days at the age of 47. I was a bit in a hurry since my sister needed me to sign some legal papers. My legs went from 26 inches to 23 inches. I gained the muscle back just as quickly. I have concluded if I ride 55 miles a day my weight stays stable.

9

General Discussion / 6 REI’s no bags

« on: May 18, 2022, 09:07:49 am »

Just rode from Indianapolis to Miami. I stopped in 6 REI’s looking for panniers. In every case their website said the bags were in stock. In every case the bags were not in stock. One employee said he used the last set to replace a warranty return. One other employee tried to sell me a single bag from a set. There is no excuse for this. They should hire my sister who runs computers for Eli Lilly.

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General Discussion / Re: Hillbilly dogs

« on: February 28, 2022, 07:50:39 am »

Spray some pepper spray on your bags. Dogs dont like the smell. I also have several different kinds of mosquito and tick repellent sprays on the bags. Also spray on some perfume which is antibacterial and antifungal. Dog noses are 100 times as sensitive as ours. There will be something in the mix that will cause them to back off.

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General Discussion / Re: Tandem for blind stoker

« on: February 28, 2022, 07:42:14 am »

Go to the tandemathobbes google group. They have a blind stoker who posts on a regular basis.

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General Discussion / Free Air

« on: February 28, 2022, 07:36:53 am »

Truck stops and Pacific Pride gas stations are a reliable source of free air. I just found a pump at Lowes and I expect they will be going nation wide.

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Gear Talk / Adapting ordinary sockets to hex keys.

« on: September 12, 2021, 08:38:08 am »

The whole idea here is to make a light weight tool set to take on tours. Useful sockets are 8 9 10 12 and 14mm. What you will need is a 1/4 inch square piece of metal. I found one in the road which was a key to a shaft. You may need to make one. You could grind down a 1/4 inch hex key or perhaps a 1/4 inch screwdriver bit. https://flic.kr/p/2moPbGZ

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General Discussion / Watch for sand on new pavement.

« on: September 07, 2021, 07:24:37 am »

I just did the Smokey Mountains. Both Cherokee and Gatlinburg are excellent destinations. However if you get the chance I recommend turning West at the northern visitor center and following the Little River Gorge. You are in a gorge 1000 feet deep at spots. I think you are required to use lights in the day time. They are paving. I have been through enough new pavement that my fenders are coated with tar. I stopped at the rest stop at the top for an hour then decided I wanted to get out side of the park before dark. I took off on the right coasting there is not much shoulder. By the time I get to the front of the line the flagger opened up the lane. So I took off at 40 mph. The speed limit is 35 and they let me have the lead. A nice ride on good pavement until I came to a patch covered with a light coating of sand. You can't skid or you will crash. So I put down one leg and braked lightly exactly like I do on ice. I got lucky and didn't crash. I let the 2 miles of cars pass me and proceded at a more reasonable speed. 

15

Gear Talk / Re: SiNi balls in the pedals after 1 year and 5000 miles.

« on: April 04, 2021, 07:45:28 pm »

The new pedals are VP 565 which sells at the MalWart for $22. I got mine at a coop in exchange for some wheel building. The old ones were the same except for the steel pins. Here is what happens if you crack a ball in half. https://flic.kr/p/2kRbhWR By the way I carry a 12mm socket which fits on the end of a 10mm hex wrench to adjust pedals. https://flic.kr/p/bRpunt