Your street photos brought back very distant memories (1981) but I'd like this sign better if it were in French. Or are hashtags only in English? I'll have to check.

The goings on and fortunes at Bike Friday are a topic that could be of some interest to present and future owners. Perhaps I will do a forum post about it. What triggered that for me was not the steering tube (this time) but the fact that I reached out to them for help when my assist conversion failed. They began by just flatly blowing me off, with "it's not our system so we don't support it", but when I came back with "if you have some more reliable, higher quality parts for this I would like to buy them" they came back with "we don't sell these parts". In fact we now see that they no longer sell any parts! They have taken down their parts section on the website. wtf!

At least you know he has nothing to hide...

Steep!

The fan light above the door is interesting because of the lack of skill it displays in the execution.

Steel wool? What a concept?

It’s not a recent deterioration at Bike Friday. I had this stuck stem issue at least twice with my first NWT, including our memorable first tour of Sicily. We found a motorcycle mechanic who used a mallet to hammer it into place at the start of the tour, and to hammer it out again at the end. The older stems were actually easier - they had a cotton pin or something that with the right sized spanner (which we eventually carried) you could leverage it out with.

The pedals are interesting. I always tighten them very lightly so I can free them again, and always forget to tell our LBS not to crank so hard on them when they reinstall them. I figure it’s a macho pride thing. Here, see if you can wrench them lose again!

And the suitcases are interesting alright, and a bit baffling. Photos do help, and I have my own gallery I refer back to. Suzanne’s suitcases are the same model we started with, and have plusses and minuses. The dimensions are just slightly different than the newer (now also obsolete) model that came with our 2nd generation bike. Perversely, Rachael’s smaller bike is a tighter fit than mine. I packed hers first, and then had a very restless night certain that there was no way mine was going to fit. No problem!

Hmm. Another tour, you say? We’ll have to think about that. Sounds like a good idea!

Faucet nose! Like that term, and will have to look for a chance to use it in a sentence. Get well!

I feel bad. Just for you, maybe we’ll drag our feet just a bit before closing the book.

Thanks Fern, and thanks for following along. It feels epic to us too. Culling through the 12,000 photos on my iPad on the way home, I can hardly believe all that happened on this tour. We both feel very fortunate and very grateful.

I primarily use a Panasonic Lumix ZS60, which to me feels like the ideal for cycle touring. The one I have is failing, which they’ll do after every few years of intensive and fairly careless use, and I’m happy I was able to replace it. They newer models in the line are similar, but bulkier for no good reason that I can see.

Thank you Scott and Rachael for another great ride and journal. Always a great read and amazing photography. (What camera do you use?) I feel as though I too have completed an epic journey. I cannot wait for the next to begin. Happy Birthday, Scott. PS: I cannot help with the bike :( I'm in the Surly club.

I hate to see this thing end. I'm so selfish.

When we first got our Bike Fridays we were dismayed to see the low quality of many components. I even wrote an article on this is Crazyguy (now lost, I think) "The Joys and Trials of Buying a Bike Friday". One of our beefs was that so rustable collar that gave you the grief this time. Like you and others, I am always steel wooling and greasing this thing, but to little avail. I initially wrote to Bike Friday about it and got a reply from Hanz Scholz, I think, with the amazing assertion that Bike Friday is a small company and can not afford to source quality metals.

About the pedals, we too wrestled with the disadvantage of carrying a honking great pedal wrench. We settled on the self delusion that we could have a wimpy wrench, but would remember to loosen and tighten the pedals periodically. Of course that will never happen, so I settled on a lame solution: I only tighten the pedals ever so lightly - risking having them loosen and fall off - and then my wrench is actually a very light 15 mm cone wrench, useless, except for loosening improperly tightened pedals (and for bearing cones!).

Finally, about the suitcases. We so much empathized with your trials in getting the bikes to fit. We used to have elaborate maps and photos to help us. And we had a long letter to TSA enclosed, in case they would be so foolish as to pull any carefully fitted parts out. It was worse, too, because Dodie's custom frame is much different from mine, requiring two different packing strategies. We finally gave up on it, and went with the Bike Friday bags, for the folded bikes. But these were weak and tended to rip. Now we just put the unfolded bikes into the airline supplied giant plastic bag (to catch any parts their handling sets adrift) an hope for the best.

Happy Birthday, and congratulations on catching up with me at 76, at least for about 2 months anyway. I can well associate with your sickness, as I am also recovering from a faucet nose and ugly cough. Stay warm!

Happy Birthday Scott, and welcome home both of you! Looking forward to reading that final wrap-up, and maybe some tiny hints as to the next tour?