12.23 Studios

(08/07/24)

Ok, I admit it; I've been a lazy bastard the last few weeks while tweaking my food plan and doing another round of blood testing on doctor's advice to get a more accurate reading of my A1c. The doc said I should only test it before breakfast, so I did for about 10 days and got an average of 6.6. That's much better than the last official test, but not enough to suit me.
I'll get another official test in a couple weeks, so I'll continue the current regimen, but I haven't been riding at all lately. Some days it's harder to walk six blocks without getting fatigued, which is discouraging when you consider that cycling is one of the things you do to fight fatigue...
Anyway, I decided to fix a particular hole in my repair kit.
The three most common bike repairs on the road are flat tire, broken chain and a broken spoke. I have a hand pump, but it's harder now to push 50psi than before, so I started looking online for a mini foot pump and found one by Rockbros for under $30, but I discovered it's only sold online, with the final price about $50. I'm sick of buying stuff online, so I spent a week or so hitting lots of local bike shops for a portable foot pump. As expected, none of them had the Rockbros pump, and the closest thing available was in only one shop...

The Topeak Mountain Morph portable foot pump, sold at Valencia Cyclery down near UCSF's Mission Campus...

At 13" it's just barely portable, and it's just under $50...

I tried to strap it to the bike without removing one of the bottle cages - fail. It just barely fits in one of the panniers of the Topeak trunk bag, so it works...

(08/10/24)

Meanwhile, I've been chewing on the whole issue of the long-delayed video blog launch...
It's not just the minor mishigoss getting in the way of production - lately I've been wondering if it's worth the time and effort to do something that will have such a small audience interest. If I'm just keeping in touch with a few friends and family, the Facebook and Instagram accounts should be enough to post a few videos clips and blog entries. I'll never make enough regular content to monetize on YouTube, etc...
Yeah, enough complaining. I did create a YouTube channel for the vlog with a cute title and all, I just gotta push through these summer doldrums and get on with it.

(08/18/24)

Ok, getting on with revamping my road repair kit...
While I was chasing down a mini foot pump, I also picked up a chain master link tool and looked around for a few extra master links. I already have one that came with the new chain I bought last year, but none of the three shops I visited had any. The third one said as long as I had a chain breaker and extra links I didn't need one. Anyway...

My revamped road repair kit:
[L to R] - Extra Spokes, Spoke Wrench, Allen Tool, Foot Pump, Chain Breaker Tool, Master Link and spare links, Master Link Tool, Phillips Screwdriver, A pair of Monkeywrenches, Spare Innertube, Patch Kit, Pressure Gauge, Tire Levers...
A big baggie holds everything except the foot pump and spokes. A foot long piece of 1/2" pvc capped at each end will protect the spokes in a pannier, next to the pump...

Meanwhile, I have an ongoing issue that nobody in bikepacking had dealt with - dentures while touring...
Not only what to eat while on the bike and for dinner at camp, but nightly cleaning without a sink or running water. I've only had my corrected dentures since January, so while going through the long process of adjusting and eating with them (and no, the upper doesn't stay in by itself), and looking in vain for any info from other bikepackers with dentures, the only rule I'm sure of is that you can leave the dentures in over one night, but they gotta come out to be cleaned on day two...
So far I've tried and had to rule out dental strips for not working at all; denture adhesive holds just fine, but it's taken months to work out the right amount and application pattern to keep the upper in place for eating chewy foods (big bites of pizza and sandwiches for example are out); denture powder holds ok, but chewing anything solid is still a challenge. As far as cleaning, powder is easiest and the adhesive is the most involved.
I'm currently imagining how to make either of these work on the road and at stealth camp, but I'll see how things shake out when I actually get my ass cycling. I just got blood drawn for the next round of official lab tests and have a few more doctor visits to go, but summer is almost done, the crowded bike tour season is winding down, and I'm overdue for scouting rides...

(08/21/24)

Ok, when I made my grocery run back to the old neighborhood I dropped by the not-hardware store to complete my road repair kit...

I picked up a 2 ft. length of pvc pipe and end caps, measured and cut the pipe, and was pleased that the 10 spokes fit nicely without rattling...

The caps are nice and tight. I marked the 'top' end with this little wheel...

Ok, the road kit is now ready to go in the pannier - one less excuse for going on a scout ride...

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