Fixing the Trek, Internet, Garden, And Everything Else In Life....

Internet from Home?   Or Anywhere!

Greetings from HOME!   That is correct!   We finally have the internet!   But before we celebrate too much, (Because EVERYONE wants to read my clever blog posts.) There are a few catches that limit the fun and good times.   (There is no happiness in America,  on the Pursuit of Happiness...)

Cheryl says," Fix Your Bike!"

Cheryl bought a Hot Spot on her phone.  It was (And still May Be) a gamble since our reception out here in the sticks of Iowa is sketchy at best.   She was forced to purchase a new phone and set things up while I worked, alone, at Pearson.  Bu now we can take the Internet with us wherever we want...  And, if things work out, we will be paying LESS than we were with MediaCom the Evil Corporate Monopoly that was Trying to Break Into Our Small Aparment And Mess With Our Service Until We Upgraded!!  I felt like it was being married to the MOB!   Only without the weddings and baseball bats.

Let's get to work.

With our connection re-established, but limited,   I now felt confident to tackle a few of the problems that have been impossible to address while we were working.  One of those tasks was getting my bike fixed.

Wrong Bearing size.

I'll spare the details of the past.    Let's just say that the bearing assembly in the handlebars was broken.  And with bearings missing,  I felt like I was riding on a sheet of Ice whenever I would ride along with Cheryl. No very fun. 

Where do we get Single ball Bearings?

How about trying Steel Shot?

I head to the bike shop and they are USELESS!  Meaning, they sell me the wrong bearing and do not have the actual one I need.  So... I have to get Creative in my sollutions.   Because Cheryl has to run long this weekend and she has threatened me with physical violence if I am not there with fuel and hydration.

Disassemble Bike.

Removing Extension.

We ordered some bearings from Amazon.   3 MM and... (Drum Roll..) they were too small.   I check them out and figure a BB would have worked better.  And "DING!"   A moment of inspiration hits me.  I'm ashamed to say it had taken that long, but my mind has been fried since the Pearson gig.  Sometimes creativity is hurt when you have to score 400 papers a day.

See my "earlier atempt"?

Let's get those bad bearings out of there.

By the way, finding single bearings ANYWHERE you would normally think to find them is impossible.   Hardware, automotive, Even BIKE SHOPS!  Do not have the bearings as single units.  So off to the Outdoor Sporting goods to find 4 MM BB's from Shot gun reloads.

Gerry Rigged version didn' work very well.

Add new Grease

  As it was, these bearings came in steel,  where somewhere between 4-5 MM and fit perfectly.   I disassembled the bike and loaded up the bearings  with some bike grease to hold them in place.  I took it out for a spin and everything works.  Perhaps later, I will find the actual part to go in there, but for now,  I will give it a test tomorrow and see how things handle.  If it is good enough,  I will leave things as they are.

Add in bearings one at a time.

All done! 

Assemble!   Let's check it out.

In other news,  the garden has run its course and I think we have harvested the last of the tomatoes.  The rain really did a number on the ones that were remaining.  Most of them split and got fruit flies in them.  I was getting kinda sick of tomatoes anyway, so it all worked out.  I will leave the rest for the Bugs.   Including this really awesome Spider that I discovered this afternoon.    Yellow and white stripes with a black base and striped legs. He/She is only about 2-2.5 inches from tip to tip.  Not the largest spider I have seen, but certainly the most colorful  one for a while.   We also have had White-lined Sphinx Moths visiting our cardinal creeper.   As well as the Hummingbirds. 

Spiders have taken over the garden.

She shows up better with paper behind. 

As the weather is getting cooler, I'm sure the Hummers will be heading south soon.   And while I have a break in the heat, I want to work on a few of the little things on Subie.   I have not been able to change the oil in a while.   Almost 1500 miles past due!   ( I hate how jobs steal your time...) And then there are the brakes.   It has been almost three years since I replaced the shoes.   With all the driving we do on Subie, I'm sure they are at their limit.  So tomorrow will be the first time in a long time that I will be able to get back under the hood.   I hope I will be successful in all my endeavors.

Very colorful!   And scary! 

So that is all for now.  Cheryl wants to Upgrade my phone and get a signal Booster so that we can actually use the internet without having to camp out in the middle of the yard.  Apparently,  the signal does not like coming through the window unless we are right on it and the window is open.   Hooray for Rural Life! 

Pirated signal from a Bagel shop. 

So now you can look forward to many more posings from me.  I have so many pictures that were not able to make it in posts over the past two weeks.  It seems so long.   But fingers crossed that things work out.   Thanks for stopping in .

UPDATE!   Low signal forced me to post this from Breugers Bagels.   Seems Cheryl's hotspot did not like downloading my pictures.   We will have to get those signal booster soon!