Aftermath: Bike Maintenance

It was pretty fortunate that I still had a long weekend off before going back to work - because I was exhausted. It wasn't like the distances or the load (or certainly the climbing) were that much - but the combination of five days of a dusk-to-dawn riding and the unexpectedly cold conditions wild camping really took it out of me.

I spent a good three days in a bit of a daze, as well as stuffing my face with every high-calorie food I could lay may hands on.

I retrieved the Shift from the back of Caroline's car, but couldn't bring myself to properly re-attach the headset etc. But by the following weekend amazingly I was ready for another ride. The weather was lovely and me and Caroline were going for a spin up to Grafham Water. I had re-assembled the Shift, but to my slight alarm found that the back wheel was wobbling around on its bearing. I, ahem, tightened the hub by hand and went on the ride anyway!

Investigating when I got back, of course the hub unscrewed in my hand and the bearing balls bounced all over the floor. I found all but one of them, but to be honest they'd had a pummelling over 5 years of use, and I could do with replacing them anyway.

Dismantling a cup-and-cone hub and repacking the bearings isn't something I'd done for a good few years, for the simple reason that my basic but rock-solid Shimano hub hadn't needed any attention. Bearing balls are dead cheap, so for some reason I decided to spend the extra £3 and buy the fanciest steel ones I could find (almost certainly this makes no difference).

Never let it be said that I don't possess balls of steel

With the guidance of Sheldon Brown I got the axle out and gave it a good clean. Lots of grease and a full complement of 9 fancy balls on each side. My mechanical prowess was only marred by putting the axle in the wrong way around, and only noticing when the brake was really out of alignment. Quick swap and all was good again...

Now I've ridden this on two 50km rides - the wheel is lovely and smooth, and all the balls have stayed in the hub, so I'm calling it a success...

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Lyle McLeodJon, I really enjoyed following along with you on this trip. Well written journal, entertaining and informative. Never knew that 'by' was of Norse origin and meant 'place'. Now I do, and this was just one of many nuggets of knowledge I picked up. Your trip was also a bit of a nostalgia trip for me. Way back in '82 after graduating from Uni I set off on a four month bike 'tour' of Europe. It was much much more of a 'random walk' than a 'tour', but after buying my classic green Elswick Stag at John's Bikes in Bath, I spent the first two months bouncing around the UK. I first headed north and made it as far as Oban and then headed south to Dover. On that southward journey I ended up riding a good chunk of what you did on this tour. York to Hull... The Humber Bridge ... with a good wind blowing that was an experience... and it was almost brand new then, then the Lincolnshire wolds, Boston, Kings Lynn. I could go on but suffice to say your journal brought back a lot of good memories.
Safe travels,
Lyle
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3 years ago

Deleted AccountGreat trip and Journal Jon.
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3 years ago

Jacquie GaudetI really enjoyed reading this, Jon. I look forward to an extended UK cycle trip someday (I've never been).

Don't forget to replace your chain!
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3 years ago

Jon AylingThanks everyone! Sorry it's taken ages to reply to your great comments - work has been a bit frantic for the last week or so - but really appreciate all the kind words.
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3 years ago

Jon AylingTo Lyle McLeodThanks Lyle! Really glad you enjoyed it, and the account (or my blurry photos) were enough to bring back memories. Great to hear about your tour in the 80s - up until last year, I'd spent shamefully little time exploring the country on my doorstep, and I still haven't ridden in Scotland - would love to get up to the highlands and islands and ride back down as you did. Cheers! Jon
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3 years ago

Jon AylingTo Deleted AccountCheers Andrew! Thanks for following along and your comments have made me smile!
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3 years ago

Jon AylingTo Jacquie GaudetThanks Jacquie, glad you enjoyed it. Yep, me too :-) I really should plan a longer ride in my home country. For reason I'm put off the classic LEJOG (even though my mother lives about 5 miles away from Land's End, so would make a good based) - maybe I'll do East-West instead?

Yeah that chain's days are numbered!
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3 years ago

Jacquie GaudetTo Jon AylingWhat puts you off LEJOG? I first heard about it from another customer in a local (Vancouver) bike shop several years ago (before I discovered that other journal site) and have been interested ever since.

But then, although I’d love to ride across my own country, the options put me off: busy, often shoulderless highways with few alternatives in many areas, long distances between services, etc. I think I could manage most of it, but I haven’t heard anything promising about Manitoba or northern Ontario.
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3 years ago

Jon AylingTo Jacquie GaudetDon't get me wrong, it is a classic route, and by all accounts it's varied and interesting (and makes sense as a way to see a lot of the country).

I think it comes down to the things you mention: some of the LEJOG routes, especially those that try to do it in limited time, stick to highways and try to cleave directly across the country - when I'd rather be taking a circuitous route and exploring. And it's also just a (sometimes perverse) desire to find the route less travelled!
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3 years ago