Tuesday, December 8, 2020 -- Manhattan Beach Pier

The flag is at half mast (yesterday was Pearl Harbor Day).

The wind is blowing towards north & is very dry (Santa Ana winds).

Warm today (around 80 F).

Looking north towards the Santa Monica Mountains.

My usual benches were taken so I sat & rested on the one open bench facing north.

My plastic patch and super glue "bodge" repair of my right shoe looked like it was holding.  But, when I checked after taking the shoe off, when I got home, it did not hold and had come apart again...     

I redid my "bodge" by applying a lot more superglue this time and putting a clamp on it to set overnight.

Will try it out again tomorrow...

Before going for the ride, I made a slight adjustment of the derailleur.  I turned the top screw clockwise 1/2 turn and the bottom screw 1/2 turn counter-clockwise.

It seemed to make a slight improvement on the ride.

In certain gears, the chain still "skips" or tries to shift at times.

I may also order another missing link and see if it makes a difference. (Previously, maybe a year ago?, I had problem due to the missing link not being the correct one...)

One other thing I thought of trying is to flip the missing link around to see if it makes a difference...

They've been working on this hillside shoring project for months now.  Looks like they're getting close to finishing, at least at this spot...

 

Adjusting the rear derailleur on the Cannondale...

The first thing I tried to do is adjust the rear derailleur cable.

There's a micro-adjuster for the cable tension/position at the rear derailleur where the cable goes into the derailleur.

In the picture, it's the black plastic piece.

It can be rotated at about 60 degree increments to slightly adjust the cable position.

Adjusting didn't seem to fix the issue.

In some gears, things are OK.

But in others, there's a "skipping/slipping" feeling/action.

There's a few other things I'll check before I mess with the actual cable position on the derailleur or adjusting the derailleur itself...

Meanwhile, I can still ride the bike but have to stay away from about 1/3 of the gears (out of the 10 speeds).

 

BBQ'd Ribeye Steaks...

 

Friday, December 4, 2020 -- Manhattan Beach Pier -- No wind at the pier...

The parking lots at the pier are pretty full.

Two 4-door jeeps (one with a bike rack & bikes on the back).

The flag is still...

There's still people out and about, either walking, jogging or riding...

 

Rode the Schwinn Paramount to Copenhagen Bakery

Rode the Schwinn Paramount to Copenhagen Bakery to pick up some desert.

It's setup with flat pedals so it can be ridden wearing normal shoes and clothes...

It's just less than 2 miles so about 10 minutes on a bike.

(It would take about 30 minutes on foot and about 7 minutes by car.)

They gave me a large bag with handles that kept the box flat.

It was perfect for hanging on the LH brake lever "hood."

I took a backpack to carry it back but I would have had to put the box in sideways, which would have "smooshed" the pastries a bit...

The bike rode nice.

It's only about 10 minutes to the bakery but no issues on the ride.

The shifters are on the downtube.

The seat is pretty firm and not really good/comfortable for just riding around in normal clothes...

The bar tape near the right hand brake lever is where my hand sits when riding and the hand movement is raising up the edge of the bar tape.

Maybe I didn't wrap it tightly enough?

 

Spare Bicycle Shoe -- also breaking in the same part!

My regular bicycle shoe broke last week.

I happen to have two identical pairs (I had bought a second pair a few years ago as a backup when I found them on sale.).

I started using the backup RH shoe & now the backup shoe is breaking in the same part!

Different failure mode.

This one is tearing, instead of breaking at the stitch line...

Oh well...  Problems seem to come in bunches...

 

Thursday, December 3, 2020 -- Manhattan Beach Pier -- Santa Ana Winds & a Flat Tire...

Kombucha day...

I'm getting used to the taste.

Didn't notice the Mask Sign before...

Got a flat on the rear tire on the way back home.

Stopped at this area next to the bike path to do the repair.

Just finished replacing the rear inner tube.

The cause of the flat was a piece of glass that was imbedded in the rear tire & pushed in just enough to make a tiny puncture into the inner tube.

I took the piece of glass out of the tire tread & replaced the inner tube.

The old inner tube.

Had to use the tire levers to remove the tire.

Used the CO2 cartridge to inflate the tire.

I also carry a pair of rubber glove to keep my hands clean during such an occasion.

But the gloves were old and a bit too small so they tore during putting them on and doing the repair.

Got my hands somewhat greasy but I also carry a paper towel so was able to wipe off most of it.

The Santa Ana winds were blowing (meaning the wind is coming from the east/land-side and blowing out to the sea).

This is a "reverse" patter to the typical wind at the beach.

95% of the time, the wind is blowing in (coming from the ocean/west and blowing inland).

The water is on the right (just over the sand berms).

The flag at the lifeguard station near Marina Del Rey is blowing "out."

 

Replaced the worn chain on the Cannondale

The dark chain is the very dirty old worn chain.

It used to be silver like the new chain shown just below the old chain.

The new chain is a little bit long for the bike.

Will shorten...

Closeup showing how dirty the old chain got.

I had cleaned it about a month ago.

I'd been using a "wet" lube.

The lube seems to really collect and hold onto the dirt/sand.

Will switch to a "dry" lube.

Used the Park Tool chain tool to shorten the new chain.

Made it exactly the same number of links as the old chain.

The old "missing link" was severely worn.

The old ones are on the bottom of the picture.

I had a spare new link (shown on the top of the picture), which I'll use with the new chain.

New chain & missing link installed.

With the new chain, the rear derailleur is now not shifting correctly!

Will have to mess around with adjusting the cable/derailleur...

I bought a couple of different "dry" lubes.

I've used the Finish Line product before.

But, not the Dupont one.

The Dupont one appears not to be specific just for bicycles.

Wanted to try the Dupont to see if it makes any difference versus the Finish Line...

 

TV Console...

Bought the TV stand/cabinet used from Facebook Marketplace.

About 1/2 price versus new (at IKEA).

We picked it up at a house in the Walnut Creek area.

It's just the right size to hold the TV that they just got on sale.

The coffee table was also from Facebook Marketplace, used, that she picked up last week.

Shelb ordered a bed frame for the mattress that she also recently bought.  The frame should come by December 4th...

Before the TV Console...

Shelb wants to get a large dining table for the kitchen area.

Plenty of space for one...

 

Made Mis-Ramen for Shelb...