Sunday 23rd August 2020 - Nice local Tandem ride.

Busy weekend and despite the weather we did manage to get out for a bit of a ride.
Just a meander around the local back roads on the Flying Scot tandem but still it was good to be out.
It still needs the bottom bracket replaced but am just waiting on the TA crank puller so I can take it out and measure what I need.
It will soon get a full strip down when I do the BB, change the front handlebar and levers and maybe change the bar end gear levers to downtube as well as new cables etc.
For now we have it good enough to do day rides etc and will tweak it to suite ourselves as we go. Caleb is certainly loving it though, always happy and smiling, rushes in the door whenever we get home to tell mum of his adventures. I'm glad as he was keen beforehand but you never know until he tries it for himself. So for now all good. He has also picked up the tandem way of riding really quickly and we don't have any problems with staying in sync when stopping or starting.
Anyway here are a couple of photos as usual and also me sporting my new Audax Ecosse wool jersey that finally arrived Saturday.
Hope you have all had a good weekend and managed to get a ride in at some point.
Jamie

Saturday 15th August 2020 - Flying Scot tandem shakedown ride

After a morning with visiting family the weather soon cleared up here to lovely sunshine and just a light breeze so Caleb and I decided to take the FS Continental out for a shakedown ride to town to get an ice cream. 

Calebs crank shorteners worked great though I still need to put a narrower TA bottom bracket on the front as when putting pressure on you can hear it clip the front chain. It really needs the narrower bb as I have only managed to make it work by pushing the eccentric bottom bracket in the front way over to the right. Solid but maybe not the best for long term.  Gears need completely sorted to work right with bars and levers up front also needing changed. I will most likely strip it completely when I put in the new BB and deep clean and refresh everything. It is pretty oily and greasy all over despite cleaning when we got it home.  Caleb did really well especially as we went the long way and he had a few climbs to manage, he is fine on his small touring bike but was just as instantly at home on this. Even for myself there is a bit of adjusting and making sure you communicate as your working in....tandem ;) Really pleased he was so happy and seems like a good successor to our Big Dummy cargo bike for our further adventures.
Had dinner and now the clouds have come back in and it looks like winter mist out there! 

Jamie

Wednesday 5th August 2020 - Mid week off and bike fettling

While having the week off with family and doing lots together, this afternoon was getting those small bicycle jobs out the way. The weather has been really bad the last four days since I started my holiday, suprised, not really :) We are hopefully away tomorrow in the canoe for a day or two as like most people around the world our summer holidays were cancelled and put on hold due to covid 19. This and the fact that Heather is just out of shielding as well as a huge influx of tourists to the north of Scotland means we are quite alright with not travelling or staying outwith our area for the time being. With our usual campgrounds, wild camping spots, lochs etc currently being overun, coupled with todays news of Aberdeen and possibly other areas going back into lockdown makes it safer to stay local or at the very least just stay in the north for day trips. 

So todays cycle jobs started out with a bit of spraying some clear coat over the decals on the Flying Scot Ventoux. I really needed to finish doing this before I started building it and as I now have decided on, and put together the components it was definately time. So these were masked off and a quick spray of Plasticote clear to seal them and then let to dry for 2 hours. 

While I was at it I really thought I better mask off and clear the 'have a nice ride - Ken Taylor' signature on my Jack Taylor Sports model. It is almost 12 months since Ken signed it for me at the JT weekend so thought it prudent to get it done while I had the clear out. Then there was a bit of sun came out and I managed to sit outside at the bench and clean up some of the Shimano 600 Arabesque gear for the Ventoux. It came up really nicely as it was just quite grubby, so a good clean, degrease and quick polish. The only problem is one of the downtube shifters is misssing a washer so I will have to source another one. 

By now the postman had arrived and with came our parcel from SJS Cycles, our crank shorteners for the tandem! Great item, great instructions too which mad instillation simple. Our only problem and a decent one at that is that the crank arm that now has a bolt on the back where the pedal normally mounts is hitting the chain. Tried a few things like tapping the eccentric bottom bracket over a fraction, which allowed us to ride but every now and then it would catch a link and stop the chain dead. Lucky we were just going up and down the road testing. At least it allowed us to dial everything in and Caleb is happy with his pedal height and position etc and was a very happy little man with the tandem for sure. Tommorow I will take the bottom bracket out on the front chainset and order one about 5mm narrower which should pull the chain over enough to miss it completely. It is a TA chainset so will need to source the appropriate bottom bracket. We are getting there though. 

Then as I was putting the Ventoux and the Sport away once dry I thought I should offer up a set of guards that a freind, Chris or Peachy as he's known, gave me. They are shorty Bluemels but not just any shorties, they are matching canary yellow. He says the rear one will suite as it will allow the signature to be seen. Not usually a fan of shorties but they do suite. 

Anyway that's a few jobs sorted. Stay safe 

Jamie 

Saturday 1st August 2020 - Evening ride on the Jack taylor Super Clubman

Well back out this evening before dinner as a busy day meant if I wanted a ride I had to squeeze it in late on. Only problem was the sun had slowly been disappearing for the previous few hours and I left home under ever darkening skies. Managed to get a good few miles in headed south until I crested a hill to see the rain heading north. Luckily up here you can see it coming from a good way off. I turned and headed home, no rush as I was already getting a few drops but not hanging around either. Very similar scenic photo stops as one of my Jack taylor posts a couple of months back. Very different looking though :) The Super Clubman was it's usual well handling joy to ride. I really am finding this my most enjoyable ride, it just handles so sweetly and maybe it's just the right style to suite how I ride these days but everything from the handling to the fit is just spot on. Jamie