I went to install my pump (Topeak Road Morph), only to find I had lost the kit for attaching it to the top tube. After considering ordering a replacement set (~$5 online), I chose to install it in place of one of my bottle cages. The LHT has 3 spots for bottles, which after doing a few long rides seems excessive. I barely got through one bottle on each of my last 40+ mile rides. So here is is on the bike:
I should also mention that I used the pump to inflate my tires last time. It was surprisingly easy to use, though the pressure gauge didn't seem super reliable, it did a few big jumps even though I wasn't pumping.
Next I went to fix the fenders. I think I mentioned in my last post that 10 minutes into my first ride with them the spokes came out of their housings. When they popped out, I also lost the bolt + fastener which was supposed to hold them in place. I decided to take a different approach this time. First, I got some "blue stik", the stuff you use to attach posters to walls, and covered the end of the spoke. The idea being that it would help hold the spoke in the plastic housing.
Once inserted, I wrapped some electrical tape first around the end of the housing, and then around the spoke. Electrical tape is pretty good at sticking to plastic, metal, as well as itself, so thought it would be a good candidate for this odd job.
My brother had told me about his experience commuting in Portland and how it was important to keep the chain clean, so I did a little research on the internets. The following video was quite useful (caveat: the host is pretty cheesy):
You start by holding the chain with a rag while backpedaling.
Once you've got a decent amount of gunk off, you backpedal again while dripping chain lube onto the chain (at the gearset).
Wait five minutes or so to let the lube work it's magic, then repeat step one with the other side of the rag to remove the excess lube. Pretty simple.
Next I installed my new handlebar bag, an Arkel Big Bar Bag. I was going to go with Ortleib because I wanted to try out a brand other than Arkel, which both my sets of panniers are, but after looking at the installation instructions I reconsidered. There is some load bearing wire you have to wrap around your bars which looked much more complicated than the Arkel clamp + shim system. Both bags had the main features I wanted (zipper opens towards the rider, waterproof map insert), but Arkel just looked easier. Here are the clamps on my bars:
Once the clamps are in place (I put them as far in as possible), you need to adjust the slots on the back of the bag to the correct width. I just loosened them up, attached the bag, then tightened them back down. Here it is on the bike:
That was super easy, except to make space for the clamp on I had to reposition one of my brake lines, which was now causing the front brake to interfere with the wheel due to the added tension. So next I looked up brake adjustments. It turns out mine are cantilever, and I used this video for guidance:
Basically you unscrew one bolt with an allen wrench, give either more or less line depending on whether the breaks are too far in or out, then tighten the bolt back down. Success!
The last piece of equipment I installed was a rear light. It's a cateye that came with a pretty clever install kit. It looks like it fits 50mm, 80mm or single holed racks using all the same parts. You just screw into plastic nut-like thingies that go on the opposite side of the rack mount. Here it is:
All this stuff took less than an hour, it's cool that bike (and accessory) design has become so simple.
So with all this done, I loaded up my panniers with all my camping stuff (more on that in a future post), a change of work clothes, and my laptop, and threw them on the bike.
The front panniers are now T-28s, I returned the B-26's since I found the latching system to be too crappy.
The next morning I set out again from SF to Google, but this time I had found a new route. Actually I found three new routes at sf2g, but the one I chose was titled the "BayWay". It really does hug the bay, you're on the east side of 101 the whole time. You start out through the mission, then go up bernal heights, before dropping back down into south city. After that you go right past SFO
then along bayshore for a long time. Some parts are on bike paths, but by and large you are on the frontage road on the east side of 101.
I thought the route was a lot simpler than the previous one I took, but I wouldn't say it was easier. Perhaps it's because it's closer to the bay, but it felt like the wind was in my face the whole time. This could have been because I had way more gear on the bike this time, but by the end I was pretty tired. I went through three energy bars on the way down, and I felt like I really needed them even though I had breakfast before I left. Door to door it took just about four hours. Here's a shot at the finish:
Doesn't it look like the Google beach cruiser in the background?
The bike ran great with all the additions. The gearing felt and sounded really smooth after the cleaning. The breaks worked fine with the adjustment. And the fenders didn't try to come off this time. With all the additional weight I expected the handling to be affected, but I didn't really notice anything. It's definitely less nimble, but for some reason it felt more sturdy into and out of turns.
I had considered trying to ride home, but I was pretty beat and low on time (I'd expect it would have taken me more than four hours to get back), so I ended up taking the bus back. Next time I either want to try the round trip or the skyline route.
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