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Jul. 22nd, 2008 @ 01:47 am Bike light
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I also think I fixed by bike light, which had been nagging me for ages. I don't know that I'm ahead on things I should have done, but it's always good to make steady progress.

Thanks to alex for the best suggestion, of using tinfoil. But in the end, when I actually examined the innards in detail, I discovered the problem was not, as I supposed, that the batteries slipped sideways off the contacts. Rather than they are held in place at one end by a conducting plate, and the other, by a conducting springy tongue, and when you cycle over a bump, the battery moves laterally, temporarily compressing the insufficiently springy tongue, and momentarily losing contact with the plate.

As I'd thought, it would actually have worked better if there was a physical on-off switch, rather than an electronic one. The electronic solution is conveniently extensible, if you want to let the same button cycle through flashing modes, etc. However, the physical on-off switch would have had the advantage of remembering its state after a temporary power outage. Which shouldn't matter, but made the whole system just a little more fragile.

Fortuitously, having identified the problem, it was eminently susceptible to the most trivial of solutions. I inserted a little bit of folded paper behind each tongue, and lo, it had much less give, and the battery has no tendency to move in it's slot. It stayed on even when I tapped it, but I didn't feel confident calling it fixed until I'd ridden it an it kept working, which it now has.

ETA: Although come to think of it, that can't be the whole story, because it didn't used to just turn off: when it was tapped, it would sometimes cycle between "bright" and "faded" and "off". Anyway, the same solution seems to have cleared that up too.
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May. 20th, 2008 @ 01:46 am Bike minutiae:
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Bike minutiae:

* The back light sometimes goes off when cycling. I infer the batteries jar momentarily loose when going over a bump, and the "on" state is lost. They feel a bit loose. Is there an obvious fix? I tried taping the batteries in place and it made no difference.

(I sort of want some electrically conducting putty to go between the battery and the contact :))

* Last month, the front gear cable snapped off from the handlebars. The bike man from university cycles fixed everything (thank you!). This week, the rear gear cable snapped. I'll take it back and get it fixed too, but any suggestions as to why?

Is anything likely to cause both to fail? Did something snag the chain? I might have changed gear up from the highest gear on one of them, but I don't think I did on both of them. Did someone sabotage my bike, but sabotage the gears instead of the breaks? Do the cables just last a very specific number of months??
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Apr. 9th, 2008 @ 07:25 pm (no subject)
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It's always disconcerting when a bike tyre punctures "bang" when you're riding it. But it's disconcerting in an entirely different way when it does so when you're asleep[1]

Me: zzzzzzzzz[2]
Something: BANG!
Me: Wuh? Fztl? WTF!
Me: I don't know. Was it [in rough order]:

* a gunshot [fairly unlikely]
* a car backfiring [not very likely, but what "gunshot" made me think of]
* someone teleporting in [I read scifi]
* someone teleporting out [I read scifi but not enough physics. Also this way is marginally less worrisome but more frustrating. In fact, the previous was closer.]
* something eventually falling over, after several hours of gradual decline
* an explosive water pressure failure type failure event
* something obvious that I haven't thought of [maybe this should be top of the list]
* a dream?
* something interesting to blog about?

Bike tyre: is flat
Me: Hm, it wasn't like that before.
Me: I have a theory.

And the day *before* the gear cable snapped. *shrug* It's going to the bike man for the gear cable and having its tube replaced and I hope they're unrelated.

[1] And not riding it.
[2] Or maybe not, I don't know. The key point being I was asnooze. I was probably dreaming about mechacarrots or theology or something, I don't remember.
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Jan. 24th, 2008 @ 05:52 pm (no subject)
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Tiresomeness:

* Bike puncture
* First line of defence, self-sealing inner tube. Failed (in fact, I think this was an old puncture which had been fixed fine, but finally failed again, permanently).
* Second line of defence: spare inner tube. Unusable due to shraeder valve too wide to fit hole in wheel.
* Third line of defence: get new inner tube and spare. Valves are broken and leaking sealant
* Fourth line of defence: Patch inner tube. Lasts long enough to go to the shop, and looks like it will last permanently
* Fifth line of defence: Still need spare tube. Go to get replacements for busted inner tubes. *Next* two are the same, fortunately I check in shop. Decide batch from factory is buggered. Find one that seems unbuggered, refund other.

Also:

* Old mobile telephone giving up the ghost. Doesn't like to charge.
* New mobile telephone getting back the ghost. After a few days, boots when put battery back in, and seems ok.
* Although, front buttons "talk to people" and "stop talking to people" are inoperative. Which you don't need, but is annoying.
* Any suggestions? I think probably due to some wine spill (no fault, just unlucky I had left it on the table) so not defective. Didn't iirc pay for any insurance policy.

Although:

* Acquired stacking trays for letters and living-room-stuff that now have a place in which they can be
* Phone works
* Bike works
* Productive at work
* Talked to glasses direct
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Jan. 8th, 2008 @ 10:02 pm (no subject)
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I was browsing the newspapers in the kitchen at work.

Cyclists

I happened upon the original opinion piece I recently heard a minor furore over, where a Times columnist proposed stringing piano wire across country lanes to decapitate cyclists.

Or maybe it wasn't coincidence, maybe someone else had looked it up and left that issue out. It doesn't matter. Nor does it matter how scientifically accurate it was[1].

The hyperbole didn't seem particularly unusual; plenty of provocative humorous columns propose physical violence, and I think it's clear without actually advocating it.

Setting aside the generalisations, it seems that a majority of cyclists he sees are acting carelessly, and that's basically what he means by "cyclists". Add people with the exactly reverse experience and terminology, and you have an instant flamewar, given that the way everyone hears each others statements becomes more and more provocative given the difference in terminology.

However, there does seem to be a genuine underlying conflict, in that if sane people A and person B choose to cycle and drive respectively along the same road, their decisions impose a trade-off in inconvenience on each other. Naturally one wants to find a fair balance, but the magnitudes are extremely subjective, so everyone thinks everyone else is being unreasonable, even if they're not being deliberately so.

Most people naturally see their own experience, and that they see, as representative, and even if not, may not have the knowledge to see and generalise other people's situations.

And then it's like the small annoyances of sharing a house with someone -- you recognise your differences on the big issues, but the apparently unimportant ones where the other party is being apparently irrationally intransigent niggle more and more until they flare up into national flamewars.

Comedies

A review of "Balls of Fury" said it was a parody of sports movies like "Dodgeball" and "Blades of Fury". Wait, "Dodgeball" wasn't a parody? Or it's a parody of parodies?

Is there an objective divide between funny films, comedies and parodies? I think there's a spectrum between funny and comedy, though you can generally pigeon-hole it when you see it. And I can see a division between comedy and parody -- Wimbledon is undeniably a comedy, and a romance, but also a sports film, but it does try to depict a genuine tennis tournament. But I can't think of a line that doesn't make Dodgeball a parody as well as a comedy.

Is there a middle ground? Perhaps; even parodies can have tension, but I can't think of any (even theoretical) good examples.

[1] Though if anyone wants to link to any figures vis-a-vis:

* Carbon footprint of recreational cyclist fuelled entirely by imported energy drinks, vs. a car
* Environmental/aesthetic/road-hazard detriment of plastic drinks bottles vs. bleeding cyclist
* Proportion of cyclists vs of motorists who litter thoughtlessly

I'd be curious. I'll provisionally assume he's correct that where he is, whether or not in the country generally, the most litter came from cyclists, as that's what he says he's observed personally.
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Dec. 10th, 2007 @ 01:54 pm (no subject)
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I cycled out for a very pleasant afternoon of bridge, pizza and Balderdash[0] with a friend in Cherry Hinton. The evening itself was very nice. The trip was problematic.

The route was lovely -- slightly longer than normal, but long and straight and flat, a joy to cycle upon. I always think of Cherry Hinton as far, but it isn't really, and from here it's barely further than town.

I even made sure to pack a pump, screwdriver, book, and map, and cover them all with a plastic bag, anticipating breaking down on the wrong side of town from home. And to note ("take" would be an overstatement) down the destination's address, phone number, bus times, and directions. I thought it might rain, but cycled anyway.

The journey *out* was made entertaining by the sudden and complete rain, necessitating a constant stopping to shiver, and wipe mist of my glasses every few roundabouts.

And, as I only discovered later, the other two friends from the same part of town, who were driving, constantly overtaking me. I was cycling, but had forgot my notes, but remembered the way fine[1], but had to keep stopping. Their map had been curtailed, and they had to reconstruct the route by dead reckoning.

The way BACK was made entertaining when, after leaving the party, negotiating the slight delays, etc, noting the near absence of rain, looking forward to cycling in a direction with *down* hills, and *left* turns and *the bloody cycle bridge on the side of the road where you might be able to use it*, found an unrecoverable puncture. Joy, irony. I'd *brought* my pump and screwdriver, in expectation of some problems, but it was too dead to hold, and I don't try to patch anywhere but my own warm kitchen, if there. Fortunately, the "big taxi" plan was very kindly obviated by friend with car managing to squeeze the bike into the back seat.

[0] The game, not just normal conversation.

[1] I was pleasantly pleased by google maps. Where Fulbourn Old Drift crosses the main road, it is hedged off to prevent cut-throughs by cars, though this is hard to see on the map, and you mainly spot it when the route-finder sends you all along it, and back. However, when you zoom in, you can see that the cycle way *does* go round the hedge, you can even see the little give way triangle!
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Sep. 12th, 2007 @ 02:36 pm (no subject)
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I'm used to backing off from learner drivers and avoiding intimidating them. I wasn't used to doing it on a bike; the many road humps were slightly too much for it.

Later I saw a discarded red 'L' lying in another road. I inferred very good or very bad news :)
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Aug. 31st, 2007 @ 02:27 pm Reversed Bike Lights
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Last night I think I saw someone different with reversed bike lights. I may have been mistaken -- it was only for a moment.

However, it reminded me of the puzzle of why. My best ideas, none very plausible, were:

* They didn't know which way they were supposed to be
* Mental instability
* Hunting down slow moving pedestrians (like an Owl's call is supposed to sound like it's moving away)
* An obscure personal joke, superstition or philosophical metaphor
* Some sort of optical effect or time-reversal

Although I don't know if the second and third are really different.

However, this person I saw cycling the wrong way down a one-way street, and a sixth and seductively plausible cunning reason for doing so suddenly occurred to me...

PS. That is, assuming that you don't care about any potential danger, but are just worried about being stopped by the police, and assuming that given the number of people without any lights at all no-one will do more than ask you WTH if you reverse them, and assuming that at least sometimes you go the wrong way and aren't stopped because it looks like you're going the right way, reversing the lights might reduce your sanctions.
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Jul. 24th, 2007 @ 01:00 pm Can you push your bike by the saddle?
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I never used to. When I didn't ride a bike, I tried it once and discovered it was harder to balance than wheeling the centre of the handlebars, and never thought about it again.

After all, I rarely pushed my bike very far, and only if I was juggling awkward things or lacking hand insulation would it matter. It's only slightly more convenient, so why try?

At some recent point (about a month ago) I discovered I could do it. I figure it's possible that:

(1) I could do it the second time I tried, whenever that had been.
(2) I'd subconsciously been honing my balance from riding (and trying to ride <1 handed)
(3) I'd been practising pushing my bike without remembering that
(4) The first time I tried, the front wheel lurched sideways, and you can counteract that, but it looks like the bike is going to fall over so you might not.

Or probably some combination thereof. I still can't quite ride no handed though; that actually does require practice (afaik).
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Jul. 9th, 2007 @ 04:19 pm Traffic "calming"
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On Friday I was cycling up the top of Campkin road, and passing the "road narrowed" zebra crossing, when I found a white van heading straight for me. Fortunately, we could both stop, and I squeezed off onto the pavement and all was fine.

The thing is, me being obviously in the wrong, would have been very annoying. Him been obviously in the wrong, would also have been very annoying. But as he passed, he called out of the window. It was either "My god, I'm sorry, mate!" or "Can't you fucking read, mate?" but I can't tell which, and being left not knowing whether to be sympathetic or angry with him was VERY VERY annoying.

(Give way markings and a sign saying "give way to oncoming traffic" in that direction, and not in this direction, incline me to the view that he should have stopped.)
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Nov. 14th, 2006 @ 01:16 am Bike
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My bike brake was rubbing. And I fixed it. Without any mistakes, or any help. And now it goes fast again. It's little victories that make life good :)
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Jun. 11th, 2006 @ 09:01 pm Weekend
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On saturday I joined people at Relativity for croquet and other games. It was very fun; I haven't played much croquet, so plunged into it and satiated myself, playing until I'd been standing up for so long my feet were hurting.

Today I found myself mid-afternoon with fewer less < eight hours of things which I really urgently had to do today, and took off up the river to waterbeach. I'm not sure I ever *have* gone for a ride just for fun, as opposed to going for a walk, but the adjusted bike seems fine, and it was really nice.

I felt quite good, because yesterday was fun, I have a relaxing day today, the next two weeks promise to be fun, many nice events, meeting up with a few old friends, meeting up with a couple of new friends, and over the summer when life is a little less hectic have some good plans (details to follow).

Of course, then I got carried away, spent hours out enjoying the sunshine, and had to cut out a few of the less urgent things.

ETA: And while cycling, I wore shorts with trainers and socks. Also, I have kissed a man, have a friend who's a conservative, and have eaten food containing animal rennet. And I'm not ashamed of them, except the last one. Hah, take that, family! :)
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Jun. 6th, 2006 @ 01:03 pm Greenenders, The Mutant Bicycles: the latest in the véloceraptor[1] cycle
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Imagine this post with pictures of me, pictures of lusers, and pictures of bikes overlayed with pseudolatin captions and bright arrows, a la the start of Wile E. Coyotee and Roadrunner cartoons.

I have graduated from a complete novice who doesn't know what a computer is to someone who stores all their files on the desktop[2] -- I have wedded my two broken bikes, suffusing myself with Mbtwness

Much better than walking consists of:

* The cheaper frame
* The front wheel which was on it (though I can't remember if that was the original, I've swapped them a couple of times, finding a wheel not on a bike easier to change/fix inner tubes on.
* The (derailleur) back wheel from the other bike
* The spare, unused, chain

So, it doesn't have gears, well not more than one, but is ridable to a bike shop which is a major gain.

Remaining lying in my shed are:

* The better frame
* A sturmey-archer back wheel, with the hub worn so it doesn't take a new chain
* A derailleur

[1] Being a pun on mutant, as in monster, as in veloceraptor, and vélo, bike. OK, I know that's a stretch, since (a) they're etymologically related anyway (b) veloceraptor doesn't really make any sense there and (c) the new bike isn't *very* fast, but I'm sure you all see where I was going with it.
[2] Someone who is annoying in that they ignore how their tool is supposed to work, but respected in that they did work out what they wanted to do and force their world into compliance, which would be being a hacker if it was just a bit more obscure problem than "saving a file and opening it again"
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Jun. 3rd, 2006 @ 05:50 pm Bike chain help
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I hate being the equivalent of someone who buys a computer and then doesn't know what a file is, but can I solicit another snippet of advice?

I have a Sturmey-Acher hub, the chain that fitted which snapped, and on examination has several links broken on one side. The chain which fit the old, broken bike, and the spare chain don't appear to fit.

( Cut for details )

An hour of googling doesn't answer the simple question "Which replacement chain should I buy"? Is there a dummies guide which would tell me the basics? I'm don't know which variables are used as opposed to being universal.

Is the hub worn so only one chain fits it? Does the chain only fit because of the broken links? If so, how the hell did it fit in the first place?
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Jan. 23rd, 2006 @ 03:08 pm Weekend
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Saturday

I never did get to the beer festival. I prefer summer anyway, winter is so crowded and hot, ironically. I met Risa and AJ and satanicsocks and friends in the Maypole (cocktaisl!) and caught up on old times a bit and got to go "Awwww!" :) And then went to relativity afterwards, when I had to put my innuendo engine into reverse, and spot statements that could plausibly be interpreted as *not* refering to bondage or mathematics :)

Firefly

Well, it's hard to list episodes that aren't my favorite, but Mrs Reynolds and Janyetown have to be two of the funniest, conveniently right next to each other.

I cooked, um, something with vegemince, onions, mushrooms, etc, and rice, with a few bits on the side. Something between bolognese and stew? Curry without the meat or the curry? How would you describe that? Anyway, it was quite nice. It was the first time I did that exactly, and I'm glad it was ok. Though I thought it could have done with some change, I'm not sure what -- maybe tomatoes? Certainly more spices for me :) Different veg? While the others didn't have any suggestion.

Scratch

I have a short vertical scratch on my forehead. And no idea why. I'm not sure if I knocked it against something when I was concentrating on something else and didn't notice, or scratched it with a fingernail while asleep, or kicked in the head and had my nuclear wessels stolen while I had amnesia, or was kidnapped by aliens and a spore put into my brain.

Bike

On sat I put the bike back together, and it's cyclable, but there was still something wrong. AJ nailed it first thing -- the wheel wobbles; peddling hard tilts it and rubs it on the frame.

Cat

Apparently our street's little wandering friend was hit by a car, I don't think he's coming back :(
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Jan. 20th, 2006 @ 06:34 pm Golden spanner award.
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I removed the chain guard, gear wire attatchment, chain and back wheel, and couldn't see anything obviously wrong. I put them all back again, and found that the wheel was tilted into the frame, and I couldn't take the nuts off again because my ersatz spanner from the bike repair kit had finally worn away at the corner. Taking the time to walk to B&Q and back, with an adjustable wrench, I redid that. It superficially worked -- the wheel span, the pedals turned the wheel. Then I tried to tighten it up.

To put the wheel not touching anything it has to be screwed tight with the axel half way up the slot in the frame. I thought I had it, then it slipped when I tested any weight on it. There are innumerable nuts and washers on the axel, together with the wheel and the sprocket[1], and when I looked it didn't feel right. But it seems possible I can get it fixed myself. However, I won't be cycling tonight.

The other thought is that my munged bike is in the shed with a twisted frame, but has a presumably servicable back wheel with non-hub gears and trimmings; I don't know if it's conceivable at some point to transplant this, ending up with a monster in the shed with ever more broken parts.

[1] I still can't believe that's a word.
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Jan. 18th, 2006 @ 07:14 pm Bike
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Now, I feel *really* stupid.

When I bought my bike, I got a cheaper one (not second hand, at the low end of new road bikes) on the grounds that as I didn't know what I wanted it would do, and I could buy the right bike at some future point. This may have been a mistake. They didn't *say* it was crap when I bought it, but I've had a few problems.

Before christmas, something (I thought in the gears) was sticking a bit, and I took it for a first service, when they adjusted the brakes and a few other things, and I thought it was ok. But very soon, I thought it was again. It was just a bit, and I couldn't compare it, so I wasn't sure if I was imagining it, and the bike took me places, so I didn't investigate.

Yesterday, I thought it was getting worse, and then there was a big 'clonk' and wheel has physical resistance to going round. I left it at home, because I couldn't face sorting it out last night.

The gears are hub gears. I didn't even know what these were before. I don't know if it's possible for me to have been doing something that damaged them, or if they are amenable to maintanence.

And if I want to ask someone, I'm not sure where I should go. Before Cambridge Cycles assured me there wasn't a problem, which I now rather doubt, so I'm not sure to what extent to trust them on this. If I asked them to examine the gears and they just didn't, and then they failed, it would be reasonable for them to do it for free now. But I don't know how obvious the problem was. I assume a service includes spinning the wheel, but maybe not riding the bike round the parking lot to see if it goes well.

I guess they could replace the gears if I asked, but I'd still be equally ignorant. I don't know enough about it, I couldn't have said if the stickiness was just what that bike was naturally like after a few months and I should have known that, or easily fixable, or not.

I seem to be exceptionally bad with bikes. I don't think cars would be necessarily better. It always seems like:

Steve: Hey, Ed! You'll never believe it, a guy here wants to buy a bike! A bike!
Ed: What? I thought you said a *bike*!?
Steve: Yeah.
Ed: What? What have you (or he) been smoking?
Me: Um... why do you have a big sign saying "Bikes" outside?
Ed: Oh, I'm not sure. Steve?
Steve: Didn't Ron K. Bike used to own this hardware store?
Me: And no-one else made the same mistake? Led astray by the long rows of bikes with prices?
Ed: No.
Steve: Look, mister, I don't know what you're trying to pull. You're in *cambridge*. You want a bike? Where do you go for books? Borders or something?
Ed: Ha ha ha.
Me: :(
Ed: Look, even if we did have bikes, you think you're going to get one for a man, 5'11 tall?
Me: For god's sake, who do you think rides bikes?
Steve: IME women and men under 4'11" or over 6'1".
Ed: Duh. And we have to order those from Seringapatam.
Me: Agh!
Ed: This isn't going to work. Just get on your... wait, this cliche won't work.
Steve: You need a bike like a fish needs... wait.
Me: I have money? You want money? Women? Men? Firefly DVDs? Wholesale?
Ed: No go. You're treating this like some kind of bike shop. What are you, stupid?
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Nov. 19th, 2005 @ 01:47 am I have a new bike
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And the house of Reflex, begat Todd, of the house of Dawes, who begat Esaw bin Todd, of the house of Probike. I have a new bike :( And new lock, and new lights. Look at the shiny lights.
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Nov. 11th, 2005 @ 04:43 pm Susan's bike is cuddly, or, Jack and Phoebe's adventures in Hacksaw Land (which is a state of mind)
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I met bachlover for Dojo's again, and when I got back to my bike, the key wouldn't turn. I immediately formed several hypotheses, Watson, where ennumerate as follows:

(1) I was turning it the wrong way
(2) I had wandered into an alternate cambridge where my key was very slightly different
(3) I was trying to unlock the wrong bike
(4) Someone had damaged the lock trying to pick it
(5) Someone had damaged the lock our of spite
(6) Someone had damaged the lock out of a cunning campaign to pursuade people it's better to leave your bike unlocked and have it stolen occasionally than have it be buggered every time.
(7) Someone had damaged the lock intending to come back with a hacksaw later.

I quickly eliminated (2) and (6) as implausible, (1) and (3) by inspection, (7) by hope, and concluded (4) or (5) meant I was stuck.

I wandered over to the Carlton, where Susan gallantly offered to lend me her emergency bike, and maybe provide fortifying alchoholic chocalte liquid stuff.

As promised, this was very pink-and-white, very rickety, somewhat flat and had worn brakes. The chain came off about 5 times in the first two hundred yards, but then we reached an accomodation, and it got me safely home with no incident. It's quite restful to cycle slowly for once, and concentrate on how it's faster than walking not slower than instant, and do some plotting (Got a Big Bad :)). I decided it was a bike with some character, a la Phaeton in Robert Rankin.

Today I cycled into town before work, bought a hacksaw, and vented myself on my old lock. It doesn't take very long at all. As a precaution I took the receipt and manual for the bike, but no-one challenged me, except for one boy who said "That looks rather illegal," to which I responded "It does, doesn't it?"

I suppose it's a bad risk to steal a bike in broad daylight if only because the owner might come back, but still I wanted to grab people to shake them and say "Look at me! Ask me if this bike is mine, or something, won't you? I could be stealing it" OTOH, that might give the wrong idea.

Spookily, Mair also had to do this today.
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Sep. 22nd, 2005 @ 02:30 pm My morning, as a sitcom ("Greenenders", with thanks to Pete)
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Some people have lives told in Shakespearean style. Bleak house. Austen. Saki. Anything. I have sitcom. Oh well :)

This will be represented as a rapid sequence of scene cuts, as I move from one bike shop to the other. Some humour will be evinced in repetition, some in breaking the repetition.

** 'blinds' transition **
Me: I see you have a selection. What's the difference between this £100 bike, and this £130 bike?
Him: *gormless look* It costs more. It has a, uuuhh, *looks at bike* better frame. And different coloured gears.
** 'blinds' transition **
Me: So, do you have any bikes less tall than I am for under £230 pounds?
Him: No.
** 'blinds' transition **
Me: I'm looking for a town bike?
Him: *shocked look*
** 'blinds' transition **
Me: I'm looking for a bike?
Him: I'm sorry sir, this is a hardware store.
** 'blinds' transition **
Me: Two all-beef patties special sauce lettuce cheese pickles onions on a sesame seed bun.
Him: I'm sorry sir, this is subway.
** series of shots of me muching through a sandwich looking tired **
** 'blinds' transition **
Me: I'm looking for a town bike?
** long pan down ten meter long row of off-road bikes costing £300 **
** 'blinds' transition **
Me: I'm looking for a town bike?
Him: Why are you late for work?
Me: Well, I was *going* to ride in...

*sigh* And all those 0.14s transitions took me half an hour of walking. At least I had a book and a plot to write. But I'm 5'10 or 5'11, I'm not *that* short.

I thought it might be as easy as last time. Where else should I go?
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