A warm and blustery day here chez Casa Reynard, sunny in the morning and rather squelchy in the afternoon. It is now dry again.
Did not sleep well. A combination of brain not switching off, the old too-hot-too-cold malarkey, and a pulled muscle in my derriere. Think I only got about three hours, so been feeling rather deflated today. I did meet up with a friend for our weekly dog walk. We had a nice bimble around the community orchard and the nature reserve, and I got my leg pulled about N+1
Lovely luncheon of a stilton & chutney sandwich, an apple and a
Tinkered with the mower this afternoon. Yes, the battery definitely needed charging if the readings on the charger are anything to go by. I suspect that the jammed cutting deck made the engine draw more power from the battery in order to keep going. I've also found a loose connection, so I shall also deal with that. I will however label the wires, just in case it's the circuit for the under-seat sensor for the safety cut-out. I have that disconnected, because I'm too short to put weight on that consistently, which means the mower stops if I move from the middle of the seat.
Some tinker time was also devoted to Rocky the Hardtail. Have gotten rid of most of the surface crud, checked the tubes, re-seated the tyres, inflated them, and freed and greased the seat post. Removing dirt and lubricating pivot points and inside the cable outers means that both the front and rear shifters & derailleurs now appear to work. And I've fixed the front brake - the cable had slipped in the nut that keeps everything under tension, so an easy enough repair. I will need to replace the brake cables though, as the front cable is frayed where it's been slipping through that nut, and some bright spark has cut the rear cable right at the nut. Which means there's a) no adjustment and b) it's going to slip free under load sooner rather than later.
That said, an hour's fairly basic fettling has given me a rideable bike. Next step is a test ride (note to self, don't forget tools!), and we'll see where we're at. A more serious clean and grease will definitely be on the agenda. As will be the aforementioned brake cables, plus new pedals, some mudguards, some touch-up paint and a saddle. But I can use one off one of my other bikes for now.
Also dropped off a portion of cannelloni and a portion of apple crumble to the above friend.
Now sat down with a
and watching the Diamond League athletics.
I must be officially getting old!
