Marathon

I watched a bit of the Chicago Marathon yesterday morning. The winner set a new world record - just 35 seconds over 2 hours and he's young. Barring injury, on the right day he could be the first man to break the 2 hour mark. Short write-up on his record setting day here. The photo is yours truly modeling the tee shirt from when I ran a marathon. They didn't need a stopwatch for my time, however. They could have used a sundial. Never the less, it checked a box on the bucket list.

The Sportster project is turning into a marathon as well. I got the mounting tabs made up and tacked on. The welding went better this time after I changed out the #10 lens to a #8 in the welding helmet. Next up is the bracket to bolt it to the fender. I've come up with several ideas but I want something that will allow me to unbolt the rack without having to get at the underside of the fender. There's just not enough clearance between the fender and the tire to get my hand and a wrench in there.

I'm meeting a former student this morning who's a beekeeper to pick up some honey. There was an article in the Epoch Times about honey. According to the article, even though it's a sugar, it can help control blood sugar. Plus, it has many other benefits. Since it's supposed to help control blood sugar, I can feel OK about using in my morning cup of tea and my oatmeal.

I'm going to the health club later in the day for my first actual workout. Coach Jen has agreed to meet me and give me some advice and help develop a plan.

More Rack

 

I got the tubes fit-up inside the outer frame yesterday for the Sportster rack. Pretty straight forward cutting and coping. The pieces are just tacked in. I had some trouble seeing what I was doing when welding, though. 1/16" tungsten and .035 filler should be exactly what the doctor ordered but with the low amperage, my view through the helmet was too dark. I'm going to see if I have a lighter shade I can swap out before doing the finish welds. Again, silver solder is still an option. I'm planning on making a couple of tabs to bolt the rack to the license plate bracket today. When I get the back tacked together I'll have a better idea of what I need to make for the front bracket that will mount the rear seat bolt and cover the two holes in the fender.

Looks like it's going to be chilly for a few more days - temps in the forties early in the morning. I pulled out the heavy coat to mow the lawn yesterday. Probably have to mow only once more with the colder temps and shorter days. I'll be shoveling snow before too much longer.

Rack

 

3/8" x .035" wall 304 stainless steel as delivered.

Same tubing after bending into the framework for the Sportster rack. Took me a little bit to get it bent like the pattern. The die starts the bend about 3/8" behind the keeper, so the layout of the tube has to take that into account. Not really a problem with the first two bends, but after that the distance between the bends has to be spot on - came out pert near perfect. I need to decide if I'm going to TIG weld this thing or silver solder the parts. Silver solder's not the best choice for a butt joint but the center tube will be bridging the seam. The bicycle rack in the previous post was all silver soldered - looks good and it has held up real well.

In addition to working on the rack, I got the generator reinstalled and did a couple of jobs on the home front. Big change in the weather yesterday - almost cold with rain. Definitely time to get on the winterizing jobs. I want to put a new door on the back of the house. I've been putting it off due to the bad shoulder but I should be up to it now. Maybe bring the grandson in on the job.

I saw an ad in the AMA magazine for a rather odd but perhaps extremely useful motorcycle if you need something for trail maintenance in the hills or hauling gear as long as you're not in a hurry. Take a look at it here.

Books

 

I've been trying to increase my output on the books again. My buddy Kevin and I were both doing 50 books per year a few years back. However, we've both slowed down. Kevin has an extremely good reason with work and family obligations. Me, on the other hand, I spend way too much time on the computer or just screwing around. I won't get 50 in this year again, but I should make one every other week. As most always, my selections are all over the map. I finished the Runner's Brain and am currently about three-quarters of the way through Riverman by Ben McGrath. Next up will be Breathe, a Life in Flow about Rickson Gracie.

I'm all signed up at the health club - got my key card for 24 hour access. It's a bit of a drive so I'll probably limit myself to two days per week. It's well equipped with machines and free weights along with a heavy bag. Actually looking forward to getting some muscle back. 

My tubing showed up yesterday. Planning on spending some time today getting started on the rack for the Sportster. Big changes in the weather coming. I need to get that thing buttoned up before it gets too cold - lots of other projects in line.

WW3

 

Going along with my last post, some more advice on prepping. He's covered quite a bit of material on what could happen if there's a nuclear strike. That was a big thing when I was young and the leadership of our country was worried about the USSR dropping the big one on us. Seems it's becoming a real concern once again. 

My book from Starting Strength came in. I've just thumbed through it but it looks like it's going to be an interesting read. It's divided up into three parts: Why, What & How. Lots of benefits to having a few muscles.

Sportster & Fall Prep

 

I ordered some stainless steel tubing to make the rack for the back of the Sportster. Same stuff as the rack I made for the creamsicle. I worked out a preliminary design the other day but I'm still a little fuzzy on fastening it down behind the seat. The tubing will be here in a couple of days. I'll have the details worked out by then.

Surly sent me some links to suppliers of front tires. I need to make a decision on what I want and buy it and a tube before it's out of stock. I don't know if the availability is a result of supply chain issues, low demand for "restoration" builds, or businesses just don't want to carry much inventory on slow moving items. 

I got the computer part of the health club sign-up taken care of. I'll get to the gym and finalize that end of it tomorrow. I've never been much of a health club or gym kind of guy, other than a boxing gym that is. However, I really need to get some muscle built back up. I'm planning on hitting it two days per week until spring and supplementing with walking, hiking, rucking, and some cardio from skipping rope, race walking and hitting the heavy bag. Diet + exercise = Fountain of Youth. 

The revolution is here now. If you haven't done so, make sure you have food, water, medicines, some precious metals, including lead, emergency items, and security. Get your ass in shape so you can take care of yourself and your loved ones, both people and pets. We had the power go out due to a winter storm a few years back. We did OK but I was just about ready to tap the water heater because our emergency water stash had run out. Takes a lot of water for drinking and sanitation. Either 1 or 1.6 gallons every time the toilet gets flushed.

I do a run-through of the supplies twice a year when the time changes, so it's almost that time. Fresh batteries in the smoke alarms, flashlights and radio as needed. Swap out the Clif bars and ramen noodles in the bug-out bag. Make sure the tractor is ready to go in the fall for snowplow service, including spare gasoline that's been treated with Sta-Bil. 

When it gets bad, and it will, no-one is coming to help you.

Tires

 

I did some more on the Sportster engine on Friday. Things went a little smoother than the previous day. I still need to install the generator and I'm missing one of the pushrod tube clips that spring load the tubes to get them to seal top and bottom. I checked the boxes that came with the bike but no luck locating it -one step forward, two steps back. At this stage of the game, I'm not planning on running this thing until next season, so plenty of time to address the missing part.

The new tire showed up on Friday, Dunlop K81. A "vintage" tire these days but the hot set-up back in the day.

I've been looking for a suitable front tire but the "vintage" ones are all out of stock, at least from the suppliers I've checked. The original Goodyear is a mm90-19, which should be the same as a 100/90-19. When putting in a search for that size, the Shinko 712 comes up pretty regularly. I'm going to continue shopping but the Shinko would be a decent choice. 

Going hiking today and since it's the first of October, I'm going to see about getting signed up with the health club through my Medicare insurer. Time to put some muscle back on and get out to the range for some firearms practice. I haven't shot any since I had my cataract surgery. Wouldn't hurt to find out whether or not I can see the sights and the target.

I don't normally like to speak ill of the dead, but I got a chuckle out of this one.