August 19, 2015
Chiang Mai: ok, maybe I'm even dumber than I thought...
It's difficult to admit, but I think I may actually be dumber than previously disclosed in this journal.
Riding to Wang Chin the other day I pulled into a petrol station to use the free air. Often they have a fancy gizmo with "dial your tire pressure" capability. I dial up 50 psi and all is good.
Yes, you know what happened, don't you?
This station only had the compressed air outlet with no gauge and no "dial your tire pressure" capability. And yes, I think I overfilled the tire and that in turn led to a bulge in the side wall of the rim. It was an old rim and probably fairly thin metal, but yeah, how dumb am I? After reducing the tire pressure, I rode the rest of the way into Wang Chin with only the front brake. And next day, the steep downhill into Lampang was a real hair raiser with only the one brake.
So, I caught the train from Lampang to Chiang Mai. 23 baht for me and 90 for the bike, plus a 20 baht "handling fee".
I had some business to attend to in Chiang Mai. First stop was the hospital where I got my third and final rabies injection. Now I can travel through the small villages with less trepidation. I gave my dog whacking stick to a Dutch couple on a tandem who was having to deal with the daily dog attacks. The gift was warmly received, especially by the stoker - she's the one who has to deal with the dogs. I'm back to a new umbrella, the old one expired in Bangkok... you only get so much mileage out of a $2 umbrella.
Second task was the sourcing of a new wheel. I ended up reusing the old hub (Deore XT with plenty of life left in it) with new rim and spokes (Mavic xm719 with DT double tapered spokes). Chaitawat Cycles in the old city centre did the job. I was very explicit with what I required and they did have the rim and led me to believe that they also had the expertise. But in hindsight I probably should have just purchased the rim and had it built elsewhere. Mong Cycles (close to where the now defunct Top Gear cycles used to be on Chang Moi Road) or Triple Cat cycles (off of Tunghotel Road north of the rail station) can do the job. Both are new and just setting up business in town. I didn't find these two until after the wheel was built...
Next day... Bike wheel: Mark II
Both Mong and Triple Cat offered to review the job, so I took it to Nu of Triple Cat. Good thing I did because it failed even the most cursory of inspections. They had used mostly the spokes I had specified, but sneaked in a couple of generic duds as well. And they just laced them, failing completely to tension and true them. In fact, they couldn't be tensioned because they were the wrong size spokes. Shiny shiny spokes laced to a shiny new rim sure looked pretty, but the wheel would have failed catastrophically at the first pot hole. So I get to spend a couple more days in town, as we had to order the spokes from Bok Bok bikes in Bangkok. Now, in double hindsight, I should have just got on the phone to Granny Bikes or Bok Bok and ordered a wheel from one of them. They have the facilities, expertise and the parts to do the job right - the first time.
Oh well, it wouldn't be an adventure without at least a couple of mechanical failures.
Hopefully I'll have the whole wheel thing sorted in a couple of days and I'll be out of here heading for the border. I'm running out of time on this visa.
Stay tuned for the next exciting instalment....
Meanwhile some photos of Chiang Mai.
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