Catskills Nomad

[Danneaux]

Jim, you wrote...

I've  been following the chain lube discussions! I'll pick something & just take my chances!

Despite all the discussion, I think our NZPeterG had it right when he said...

At the end of the day any lube is good as long as it's not dry the chain will last....

When I was at uni, a friend from Taiwan always chose to lube his chain with...butter! It was a daily ritual. Another friend from India used clarified butter (ghee). All went amazingly well for each until they ran out of their preferred varieties and had to use American margarine. The salt added to the gelled vegetable oils really did in their chains in a matter of days. Till then, the butter worked amazingly well, though as expected, it drew flies in the warmer months.

Not that you should follow these examples, but if your chain starts squeaking in Dairy Country...!

Best,

Dan.

[jags]

ANTO where are you going with my butter
eh just going to put some on my bike honey 

[JimK]

I dream about all sorts of fantastic bike trips but in reality I don't get very far from my front door! Fortunately there is a lot of beautiful country close by!

[Andybg]

Stunning picture Jim

Life itself is an adventure and sometimes the most surprising and beautiful things can be found just around the corner.

The bike is still looking fantastic.

Regards

Andy

[jags]

Magic place Jim
i'm a bit like you jim BIke wise that is  but i dont have to travel very far to be in my favourate place,
stick a few more photos up there Jim boy , i still haven't got a clue how to post pic's mores the pity, Dan did try his best but i'm a lost hope.
anyway i know what my pic's look like it's yours i want to see.

[Relayer]

I dream about all sorts of fantastic bike trips but in reality I don't get very far from my front door! Fortunately there is a lot of beautiful country close by!

Hi Jim

Does this mean you don't unhitch the S & S couplings, put it in the trunk of your car and go exploring further afield very often?

I have roof bars for my car which I seldom use, and mostly ride from home>  I thought it was just me, and I often think I should put the bike on the car more often and go further afield.  It isn't so inconvenient, but I don't know why I don't do it.   

Jim G

[Matt2matt2002]

Great picture Jimk.
May I ask about your chain?
Is it gold color?
And roughly how long does it take you to un-couple your S&S couplings and pop the bike into a tunk?

Matt

[Danneaux]

I dream about all sorts of fantastic bike trips but in reality I don't get very far from my front door!

But Jim...your "everyday setting" is someone else's Dream Destination! Just imagine...New England in the Fall with all the beautiful turning of the leaves! Wow. We have pretty Falls here in Oregon, but photos like yours still make my heart skip a beat and cause me to think, "Hmm...'wonder what the airfares would be this time of year?"

I'm reminded of the (para)phrase, "A prophet is without honor in his own land". Well, our own home settings are a bit like that. Being commonplace to us, they don't seem so exotic anymore 'cos we're used to them. Everyone's fantasy destination is someone else's humdrum-daily. I imagine there's folks on the French Riviera who think, "Oh, just another day. Now, if I could only visit beautiful green Ireland or see Oregon's forests, or Scotland's rugged coastline!" One of my favorite places in the whole world is San Diego County in Southern California. I was amazed to find everyone depressed during what they call "May Grey" and "June Gloom" a roughly two month period when there is persistent high-cloudiness ( http://meteora.ucsd.edu/cap/gloom.html ...and... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_Gloom ). What about the amazing beaches? The beautiful desert? The wilderness of the Cleveland National Forest? The rainless, 73°F/23°C days? Nah. It's cloudy; "I'm soooo down thanks to the weather". Bah. I'd move there in a heartbeat if I could afford the housing, May Grey/June Gloom or not.

Nice to see you adding to the "Catskills Nomad" gallery, Jim; a very nice job as always.

All the best,

Dan.

[Andre Jute]

Super photograph as always, Jim.

[JimK]

May I ask about your chain?
Is it gold color?

No. It's a KMC Z610HX DropBuster BMX Bicycle Chain that is quite new and clean. It's nickle plated I think. Could have been reflecting the color of the leaves. Yeah, the Catskill are spectacular for a week or two this time of year!

And roughly how long does it take you to un-couple your S&S couplings and pop the bike into a tunk?

In case you missed it, here was my little photo essay on the S&S couplers:

http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=3035.msg16606#msg16606

The fussiest part of the process is reconnecting the wires that go back to my rear light. There isn't much slack in the wires and somehow my clumsy fingers... I always end up cursing. But still that is under a minute and the whole process probably under five.

Somebody suggested back then that I could just rotate the handlebars instead of removing the front wheel, to get the bike into the trunk. Yes indeed, that works and is definitely easier!

So yes I have used the couplers a few times. I got the soft sided case but haven't tried it yet. Plus lots of maps of Tibet, Central Asia, etc. Dream, dream! But indeed I already live in a wonderful place for riding etc. If people want to go for a ride they might just come here to do it!

[Matt2matt2002]

Thanks. I had seen the link / sequence but thanks for the reminder.
Looks so so easy.
If you had turned the bars what spanner would you use?
Matt

[JimK]

If you had turned the bars what spanner would you use?

Yeah, it really is easy. Turning the bars is just a matter of loosening those little bolts that clamp the bar to the steering tube. I think that's a 4mm Allen key. I have a multi-tool and just find whatever fits & don't really look at the numbers. Too small for my failing eyes anyway!

[JimK]

Ah, I tried to follow an old road... just a dotted line on the map. Very rough going! I had to push the whole way - just a mile or a bit more, but steep enough and very rocky with several quite challenging fallen trees to negotiate. Mostly I think the Nomad came through OK but I did lost an electrical connector... at the base of the down tube where the S&S coupler is, the wire back to the rear light has a connector. I wonder if I shouldn't reroute that wire along the top tube & somehow along the bottom of the rack. Less in harms way! Plus maybe a bit easier to get to when putting the S&S couplers together again.

[Danneaux]

Oh! Jim! What a marvelous old road and photograph, as well. did you try the route going down? Yep, rocks the size of shoe boxes...big enough to qualify this as an Adventurous ride, for sure!

<nods> Yes, moving the electrical connector might be a good idea, though did you see what it caught on? It might have been a one-off sort of pull-apart...

All the best,

Dan.

[JimK]

http://www.mapmyride.com/routes/view/154597935

This was an attempt to close a loop - it's up by the turn off Route 214. I did get through, so there was some down as well as some up. The photo is actually from an easier part. There were some really big trees across the trail that required both detour and lifting up and over. I didn't notice the broken connector until I got home. Yeah, I sure would not take a route like this intentionally! But that is a lot of the point of the Nomad. I like a bike that I can explore with, take some risks.

Thing is, getting a connector back on that wire... is going to be interesting! No real slack to work with. How much rewiring will I be stuck doing, like it or not?!