Trailer & Training Plans

 

Proof of concept for the trailer antenna rack. Making it one piece at a time until I know it's going to work, then seven more and the four cross pieces. Pain in the ass - not only trying to figure it all out but having to work on it outside while dealing with the April weather.

Things are starting to pile up now. Finish the trailer and trials bike, yardwork, household chores, school, gym, and start training for a bike ride coming up in about a month. The ride isn't too far off, and they have a 16, 32, and 63-mile ride. I'd like to be able to do the 32 miler. It wouldn't make much sense to drive there to just do the 16 mile ride. I'm going to start hitting the trainer down the basement and see just how out of shape I am and then decide if the 32 miler is feasible. If it doesn't work out, at least I'll be getting my legs and my cardio tuned up.

Getting Close

 

I got the rear wheel under the trials bike yesterday after polishing up the rear fender. The skid plate came in handy to keep the bike stabilized while working on it. When I finish up with the fork legs I can put the front end back on and I'll be ready to drop the engine in, hook up the shift linkage, install the wiring, and put some fuel in the tank. Should run after that.

I went to the ham radio club meeting last night and talked to the big boss man about the trailer project he wants done. I looked at the trailer the other day and I think I've got it figured out what I need to do. He's looking for a "ladder rack" on top to haul antennas when they're operating remotely. The tricky part will be mounting it securely. We'll see. I've got a month to figure it out before he's taking it on the road.

Bike & Hike

 

I went "walkies" with Coach Jen and a couple others yesterday. We put in almost 5 miles - Jen and I are planning on getting out on Sundays on a regular basis, as well as putting in some miles on the bicycles. I came home and worked on the bike a bit. I found some Ceriani stickers for the fork legs on Ebay so those are on order. 

I'll do a little more work on the fork legs today, maybe put the back wheel under it.

Good Day for Working

 

I was behind this old rust bucket GMC the other day with a cute little blond behind the wheel and had to smile. With the Hoosier Tire sticker in the back window, the truck could be hers, but she's probably some lucky young man's sweetie. Lawn mower and more in the back, gettin' it done on a nice spring day. My kind of woman.

Beautiful day yesterday. Worked in the shop for a bit and had the big door open. Hopefully I won't be running the heater again until late fall. I knocked out a couple things on the mill. The plate on the left will be two pieces used to mount the quick-change in the jitney. The one on the right is another piece for the lab tech at the college. This should be the last piece needing any machine work. Assembly should be straight forward welding. I'll give him a hand with whatever help he needs with that as well.

I started putting the trials bike back together and didn't get very far before running into a snag. When I finish welded the frame the side plates with the bosses for the swing arm pivots warped quite a bit. The alignment for the pivot bolt was off a little, but the real problem was the distance between them closed up to the point the swingarm no longer fit in the opening. After a little head scratching I decided the easiest fix was to knock the bushings out of the swing arm and face them off in the lathe. Worked,

but it took a little more persuasion to drive the pivot bolt in than I would have liked.

Mowed the front yard after that. The yard's a mess. Between the bare spots that were under the trees I had taken down last year and the mole infestation I'm going to have some work to do. 

Dogs, Welding and Arithmetic

National Pet Day today. I celebrated by taking Larry to the groomer - he showed his appreciation by shaking all the way there and then refusing to look at me on the ride home.

It's National Welding Month - I celebrated by getting a flash burn on my eyes at work the other night. One of the occupational hazards of working with a bunch of rookies. 

And speaking of rookies, many of the students I encounter at the college are stone cold rookies when it comes to being able to do math and/or read at anything close to grade level. I'm placing much of the blame for this on the schools. I taught 36 years at the high school level, 8 years at the community college level and I haven't seen any improvement in the student's abilities to read or do math problems typical of what is required for the trades since I started way back in 1976, but still they graduate from high school.

In Indiana, in order to graduate with the Core 40 diploma, you must take Algebra I & II and Geometry. Integrative Math I, II, and III can be substituted. I'm not familiar with Integrative Math, so I can't speak to that, but requiring two years of Algebra is pointless for the majority of people entering into the trades. It's bad enough they can't do simple math problems associated with a trade, but they don't seem to think it's an issue. And unfortunately, their reading skills aren't any better. However, there is hope for a solution, and it comes from Mississippi of all places. The Magnolia State has shown tremendous growth in their reading and math scores. Let's hope other states do something similar.

It's not just me

Fingering it Out

 

The TIG Finger showed up the other day - could've used it when welding the bike frame, especially since my depth perception still isn't at its best. The screwdriver bits are JIS bits - Japanese Industrial Standard. They look like Phillips bits but are made for the screws that hold Japanese motorbikes together. I got some JIS screwdrivers for Christmas a few years back but the bits will be useful in the drill motor, impact driver and Tee handle. I don't currently need them but I've got a couple of Jap bikes in the shed that if I live long enough may get moved into the shop.

Easing back into the training program. Brunch today was a fried egg sandwich on dark rye with a slice of cheese, and a couple of vegan sausage patties. I've been starting with some Tai-Chi exercises and  dumbbell curls along with doing some work at the boxing gym once a week. I'm starting to feel some improvement but I've got a long way to go before I get the job as the circus strongman. 

I think I might give up the race walking this year. I haven't put much effort into it the last couple of years, but I do want to do a couple of long bike rides - maybe a 50 miler or a metric century (61 miles). Time to get on a regular schedule: exercise first thing in the morning, breakfast, then put in at least four hours daily working on the projects.

Floorboard

 

The sixties pumped out some good music. The Seekers also did Georgie Girl, neither one are normally played on the classic rock station I listen to. If I had my own radio station they'd get some air play.

Busy day of doing nothing yesterday. A trip to the massage parlor in the late morning, doctor's office after that, a bit of household chores, and then out to the shop to top off the day.

Pattern for the floorboard - simple enough design. Two bends on a 45-deg. angle and a hole for the shifter. The pattern I made for the boot and riser is 6" but it looks like 3" would be all I need. Instead of the square to round transition, I'm thinking maybe make the front part round and then half-way back make the sides straight but taper from the 3" height down to nothing on a 45-deg angle. That would give me a flat surface to mount my ignition switch - engine turn that surface, of course. As the dash is laid out currently the tach is mounted in the middle, but if I move the switch, I could move the tach over so it would be easier to read.

I need to make at least one more support under the floorboard and I'll put some reinforcing beads in it.

I'm going to try to continue working back and forth between the bike and the car. As soon as I get the forks cleaned up it won't take long to finish the bike. Then move it out and the BSA in.