Totally Tubular

Our car was in the shop with a bad speed sensor in the antilock brakes. Normally this would not be a big deal, except the speedometer simply does not work. In true BMW fashion, it is an intermittent problem. I tossed Sjur's tubular tires on fixed gear number two and rode it to the auto shop for a test ride. Before leaving I thought I would top off the air. At first I thought the pump was not working, until I realized that Sjur had already pumped them up to some insane pressure-- likely beyond what my gauge could handle. The other night I replaced the bent chainring with a straight 42T. I ran a 17T cog in the rear. It was very easy to spin out, but riding up hills was noticeably easier. I don't know that this would be an everyday setup, but it is certainly more useful than my 14 that has seen no use since moving--- or even the 15.

I dropped the bike off at home-- it was raining again. I took Julian to the hardware store to return the torch, then stopped by the bike shop with my rough Campy/Fir wheel that I was rebuilding with a proper track hub-- as soon as I could have the cog removed. I explained to the shop what was going on with the wheel, and I am quite sure they had never seen a suicide setup before. They had a torch and heated it thoroughly to free the cog-- although it still required considerable effort. Once removed, I could see that some of the aluminum threads were coming out in the hub. The bearings need to be completely rebuilt anyway, and I don't like the idea of using the suicide setup. I will probably toss the freewheel back on, and it can do light duty on Lise's singlespeed. The shop guy didn't charge me a kroner for his effort. I felt a twinge of guilt, but it didn't last long.

During my errands, the car speedometer was not working-- again-- after spending over 2100nok for its repair. We are leaving town Sunday. I do not need any speeding tickets! At least I can estimate 90kph by RPMs and gearing. I regret paying the shop on site. They handed me an invoice, and I could have paid in online-- or rather NOT paid it until it was actually repaired. They shop guy said the replace the right rear sensor. Lets see--- that leaves the left rear now? I had explained the nature of the problem when I dropped it off-- that it sometimes works, sometimes doesn't.

What could cap off a perfect rainy day other than Pluto Nash being shown on TV? Seriously-- what were they thinking? What other movie has a rating of 6% at rottentomatos.com? OK, Battlefield Earth and Ecks vs. Sever fare even worse.