Twizel, Home, Twizel, ...

Yay! At the end of the second week of a three week project implementation in Twizel. Luckily I have been able to come home for the weekends (what is left of them that is once you take out travel time home & back).

I think for the third & final week I actually will get some variation by being in a different motel room this week! Room 2 had become my home away from home (and I am not being cheeky about the motel, the rooms are very nice just not really designed for 3 weeks inhabitation – at least the studio rooms that is).

The project is going very well, which is good. Being away from my family for extended time (by our standards) is not fun though. Luckily I finish before the long weekend with New Zealand day on Monday (Waitangi Day to be correct). We are all looking forward to a nice long weekend together and returning to our normal routines.

29. January 2006 »

Welcome 2006

2006 – started with me working, it may have only been for an hour, but hopefully that is not a sign of things to come (it is for January, but I knew that already, so I am talking about post Jan).

We all had a great Xmas with both sets of parents here & my bother Dunc. Great food, drink, presents, & company. Could not really ask for much else. Brook naturally received the biggest haul of presents – it took him 2 days to get everything opened!

New Year’s was very quiet in our household – Joss unfortunately getting a tummy bug on the 31st but luckily in was mostly better come the evening.

1. January 2006 »

Back off road

Yip, I finally got around to replacing the cassette and chain (plus I put on a new tire) so now I can take the bike off road again!

Got some tools and away I went. All went well except a hiccup with the chain – I assumed the rivet that came with the chain was a connector rivet (hey I had done it multiple times before) but it stuffed a link. So luckily I had brought some replacement rivets – the proper part for the job, and after replacing the stuffed link it was good as new.

24. December 2005 »

7 days to Xmas

I said it before and I will say it again… Man this year has gone fast! 7 days to Xmas and 14 to the New Year.

The week has been busy getting the place tidy and jobs finished before we have family here at Xmas. So we are just about ready. Brook has been amazingly good not going on about the presents under the tree. He often will “read” the gift tags and shuffle through them to know which ones are for him (the vast majority). Oh to be 4 years old again.

Today we got Joss a new bike which she is very pleased about. It is a recreational mountain bike by Bauer. The old bike was well past its best before date. So that makes it a lot more enjoyable for family rides.

Speaking of rides, I have finally ordered a new cassette and chain for my bike (torpedo7 again). Just need to get a few tools and it should be back in full action again soon. Shopping online for bike tools is not that good in NZ (at least at the three shops I know).

And I got an email from Dan, an old vasity mate this week. That was a great blast from the past. It is good to keep in touch with old mates.

Merry Xmas!

18. December 2005 »

First go at packing a hub

I got my wheel back – the hub in pieces. There is pitting on the hub cups and on some ball bearings, so the hub does need replacing. So much for the “service” 6 weeks prior! 6 weeks is a long time, but it was on road riding only since my chain broke after being serviced and I lost a couple of links so have not been keen to have it off road. That will be the last time I go to Penny Sport Cycles (Christchurch) for any maintenance.

A new wheel is cheaper than a new hub and wheel rebuilding. Crazy! So I decided I had nothing to loose repacking the hub myself and delaying the inevitable. A quick check on the Shimano website and I can only find an exploded diagram, no instructions. Worst than that, I had 2 extra pieces than the diagram! A google search did not yield a brilliant solution either. The best I found was these two articles: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tooltips/hubs.html and http://www.sheldonbrown.com/cone-adjustment.html.

So after a lot of looking I think I got it all sorted and then did a quick trip to a different cycle shop for some grease and cone tool. About an hour later I have the wheel back on my bike. There is some play in the bearings and it definitely is not as smooth as I remember it. Not too sure how much that is the pitting or my lack of experience. I decided to leave it as it is for the time being. The play is not noticeable when riding, although there is a noise when under a decent peddle load. Think I will ride to work for the week checking the play and see how it is then.

Things I learnt

• PSC is crap for maintenance. The smallest 2 rings on the cassette were loose before and after the service which I took as normal. I did not need the tool to take the cassette off; I undid it with my hands. And after doing it back up the rings are not loose.
• If you have never taken the hub apart, do not undo the freewheel (drive or cassette) side, best to leave it all together on the axle. There is little reason to take those bits off, and at least you will know it is positioned right on the axle to be even on both sides.

11. December 2005 »

Bike troubles again

I took in my rear wheel to get a replacement spoke and straighten – and they say the hub is stuffed. So I am not sure what I will do – rebuild it or buy another hub. But with the other maintenance I have put off, this is getting very expensive. Hopefully they have not got the hub in parts so I can at least ride it whilst I save the cash!

9. December 2005 »

December already

This year has just zoomed by and there are only 27 days left of it! Looking back it has been a good year, although a very busy year. The remaining days are going to be just as busy, but just as good. We have both families coming our way this Xmas which is great.

This weekend has been busy with re-gravelling the footpaths around the house. A lot of shovelling and raking but it was worth it.

I have yet to fix my bike which is a bit slack – maybe next pay day! It will be great to head round the forest again.

Next year is already promising to start of busy with me involved in a big project in Jan/Feb – most of which is in Twizel. Hopefully it will quieten down after that.
Later C.

4. December 2005 »

Brook's Train Collection

Brook is into Thomas The Tank Engine. Here are the trains in his collection from the wooden railway series:

Engines

1. Bill & Ben
2. Daisy
3. Douglas
4. Duck the Great Western Pannier Engine
5. Duncan
6. Edward the Blue Engine
7. Emily
8. Gordon the Big Express Engine
9. Harvey
10. Henry the Green Engine
11. James the Red Engine
12. Lady
13. Mavis
14. Mike
15. Peter Sam
16. Percy the Small Engine
17. Salty
18. Skarloey
19. Thomas the Tank Engine
20. Toby the Tram Engine

Others

1. Alfie – the excavator
2. Annie & Clarabel – Thomas’s coaches
3. Bertie – the bus
4. Breakdown Train & Flatbed
5. Box Car
6. Bulgy – the double-decker bus
7. Cargo Car
8. Cranky the crane
9. Elizabeth – the steam wagon
10. Express Coaches
11. Hand Car
12. Harold the Helicopter
13. Jack – the front loader
14. S.C.Ruffey the truck
15. Sodor Line Caboose
16. Terence – the tractor
17. Thumper
18. Trevor – the old tractor

Track

1. Arched Stone Bridge
2. Condutor’s Figure 8 Set + Expansion Pack
3. Condutors Shed
4. Knapford Covered Bridge
5. Mountain Tunnel
6. Quarry Mine Tunnel
7. Rail Crossing
8. Special Engine Shed
9. Turntable
10. Wacky Track

2. November 2005 »