Author: Buck

I’ve had a pretty good spell since my last blog. I got the waterproof trousers and a yellow warning for rain off the Met Office, so a solid test. On the way home, through rain, constant spray, and puddle splash on the motorway the only issue was my socks got a wet patch on the top. So my boots, combat high, aren’t fully waterproof. Oh, and my helmet needs replacing. The padding has gone, so it falls down over my eyes a bit, moving the de-mist visor insert too low. I had to ride with my head tilted back. Always something. Then I had the local half marathon. I jogged the 2 miles there, and was well early (3 minutes to off) but oddly the starting pens were already full. I had to start behind the 2.10 pacer. There were about 1,700 people starting (half and 10k) and I must have been behind about 1,500 of them. It took me 6 minutes from the start gun to cross the start line. So the first 4 or 5 miles I was battling through tightly packed slow people. I was holding a 7.45ish pace which I thought was reasonable for my fitness. I picked two people who seemed to be holding a good pace for me as markers and stuck with them. At about 6 miles, up the hills around Appleton, they dropped to an 8 m/m pace. I thought I had more in the tank so I went for a neg split. I was doing 7.30 even with the hills. By 9 miles I knew I had enough left to make it, so I went for it. I threw in two sub 7s and then on the last miles, into the wind I held 7.05. I think that’s the first time I’ve ever been miffed with myself for going out too slow. Usually I go too fast and blow up. That was a real surprise. I can only think it’s the beasting on MyWhoosh (cycling app) that have toughened my legs and improved my stamina. It’s a big boost for my sub 3 aspirations. That’s why I set off at such a modest pace, I didn’t think I had any more over the distance. I’m going to try again, a solo, flat-out half, to see where I am. I got my eyes tested and got a new set of glasses. I’m not so sure of the varifocal split (too much middle/ reader, not enough distance), but at least I’m rid of that annoying scratch, finally. I’ve seen a video on YouTube (got to wonder how many disaster stories start with that) on how to get professional respray results using spray cans. I had a plate on the front of the Triumph that I was meaning to respray anyway, so I’m using it as a proof of concept experiment. If I like the results I can scale it up and do the Harley. That would be cool. I’ve done what the video […]

After all my speculating on the wealth I was about to accrue, the agency have let me down. I got 5 days on the week I was expecting 6 (the 6th is where you earn £34 an hour), then last week I only got 3 days, this week I’m going to get a maximum of 3. I booked lots of appointments for Mondays as that is my day off, but the agency keep asking me for Monday, so I think I’ll add that to my available days. This makes my next thing more difficult. I’ve decided to get back to my challenges. After a year of slacking, I’m going to get back on the sub 3 quest. I don’t know if I’ll have the time to be able to train as consistently as is needed but I may never have that time, so now is as good as any time to start. I did Camille’s bread and butter 8 miles with 10x 100m strides (sprints) today. Well, most of it. I did the miles and 8 and a bit strides then tachycardia felled me for about 15 minutes, so that was that. Back it tomorrow, then rest up until Sunday’s 17 mile half. (It’s 2 miles to the local half, so I jog there and back.) I’ve had some fairly good news with the Sportster. I went out for the ride and the handlebars are in the right position now. The levers pull without pain. It’s a good riding position. I think I’ve nailed that. But when I took it out I noticed the headlight was out. It was stood for 20 years, the wiring is a bit delicate, I was fearing the worst. I got bored and decided to have a look this afternoon. I was expecting to have to start prodding wires, checking connections and generally failing to understand what the hell was wrong. I’d already looked for the number for the Harley garage to get them to fix it. Anyway, I took the headlight out, then thought I’d best rule out the obvious. I plugged a different bulb in and it worked. It was just the bulb. Unfortunately it’s a sealed unit. The bulb is built into the glass of the headlight. So you can’t just change a bulb, you have to replace the whole unit. I looked on AHR customs and they do a plug-and-play LED light replacement. I’ve ordered it and hope it will fit. If so, that’s the Harley good to go again. Now I’ve got the right handlebars I’m going to order a shorter brake hose for the front brake. The lowered bars make it bend in an upside down U shape. That can’t be helpful. Also on the bars, I’m going to look at how I can get my indicators to work with mirrors on the handlebars. At the moment the indicators are attached by a bolt that runs through the hole into which the mirrors are supposed to screw. If I […]

I’ve been having an on/off relationship with my Sportster. It’s on the road, and seems to be running ok, but the handlebars have been souring the deal. The pullbacks leant you right back in the seat so made for a really uncomfortable riding position. I changed them for cheap eBay flat bars. They were comfortable but too short. The grips protruded inches over the ends of the bars. I bought the dearer ones from a reputable Harley dealer. These are long enough, but the groove in the bar, where the wiring runs, necessitated a the bars to lean down a bit and the angle of them made pulling the clutch lever in a misery. It really hurts your wrist. I’ve been chugging in the wrong gear to avoid pulling it in. I went out for a spin yesterday to keep the battery charged. By the time I’d got back I’d had enough. I spent several hours looking for a new set. It’s not easy because I specifically need 1″ diameter bars, with the wiring groove. I think the later models (mine’s 1991) have 7/8th” bars and no grooves. I finally tracked down a second hand set of genuine Harley flat handlebars from a 1993. My model ran 91- 95. Only £23! Perfect! Then I saw that was a conversion from dollars as it was from the States. Which was £56 postage. And probably import taxes. I was going to do it. Then I noticed the seller had put up a video of the bike running before they’d stripped it. It looked a perfect position. Then I looked at the bars on their own. They were the same as the ones I have on my bike. Huh? I went out and loosened the bars and moved them to the right position. This meant the controls, because of the wires, were twisted around into an unusable position. I loosened them off and pushed them round. The wire stays in the groove. It must just pull some slack in to work. The bars are now comfy and I can pull the clutch from a natural position. It’s been raining so I’ve not tested it on the road, but I think that’s the biggest bugbear fixed. For free. So that’s a win, but how bloody embarrassing. All that time, all the different ways I tried to get around the problem, and it was just a matter of twisting the controls to the correct position. Another free win came after I worked myself into a frenzy. I was obsessing over a new bike with a fairing for winter commuting. It started with lusting after a Triumph Tiger 660 Sport. It’s a lovely bike, with a fairing, 80bhp (so 16 more than the Bonnie) and it’s a triple which is fun. I’d talked myself into it. It’s Goldilocks. Triumph, not too much power, not slow, all weather, pretty. Unfortunately they’ve only been making them for 3 years so it’s over £5k. I was getting proper fixated. […]

I’ve stopped worrying about the seal on the Bonneville now, I had a bit of a giddy ride and it held up fine. A couple of weeks and a few hundred miles of thrashing and it’s good as gold. Sorted. My other concern of late has been money. I extended our overdraft facility as we were getting low on funds. This is the first time we’ve been overdrawn in many years. It’s surprising how you adjust. For years we were dirt poor. I remember walking around in a pair of jeans with a safety pin in the broken fly because I couldn’t afford a new pair. The last bunch of years I’ve been on high paid lorry driving gigs so we’ve always had a grand or three in the bank. Rich, to me, is seeing a thousand pound pushbike and just buying it. You know you’ve got enough in the bank to cover it, and you’ll soon make the money back. To go from that kind of (relative) wealth to putting off getting an eye test and a new set of glasses (even though there is a small but annoying scratch on this pair) because you’re worried you’ll run out of money is… unpleasant. I wouldn’t say we are breadheads, we give money away (to charities, and family when needed. It’s a good feeling to be able to help out.) and our wants are pretty modest. We’ve not been on holiday in 2 years, Wendy has had the same £4k car since she passed her test. I do have something of a motorbike addiction, but generally I sell them for something like what I paid for them. So it’s not like we are in thrall to more money and constantly better things, but it is a nasty feeling to suddenly have to think about what you can afford to buy, and how much you can afford to give away. Which is a rambling prelude to me saying I’ve stopped worrying about money as well. I’ve gotten 8 out of the last 8 shifts I was available, and they’ve asked me to work 3 other shifts as well. One of them I had a hospital appointment (which I’d booked as a paid holiday) so I couldn’t, but I’ve worked the other two shifts this week. Assuming I get my available days (Thursday, Friday, Saturday this week, Sunday for next week) that means I’m on for a 6 day week this week. This is huge because everything after 48 hours is on overtime rate, so all the 6th shift will be at £30+ p/h. I did a 6 day week on nights and took home £1,336. Took home! If I get the 6 shifts and take home, say, £1,200 that will sort us right out. We’ll go from being overdrawn last week to over a grand in the bank (after weekly expenditure) in a fortnight. Then I can relax and just do 4 on 3 off if I want, we should still […]

The seal on the Bonnie is still holding. It’s been over 100 miles of not showing it any mercy and it’s still bone dry. I’m at the stage now where I’m not worrying about it. I think that if the process can get me a rock solid seal for 100 miles, even if it fails, in principle there is no reason why repeating the process, but with more epoxy putty and more liquid gasket, won’t fix it permanently. As a precaution I dropped some oil and took my time filling it to just over minimum. That should reduce the risk of pressure causing a failed seal. While I was at it I lubed the chain. The drought is supposed to be ending, so I need to be prepared for rain. I’ve done a quick job on the Sportster. After realising the clutch lever position was the same on all my previous bikes as it is on the Harley, I looked in the manual to see if I’d set it wrong. I had. I had it taught, you’re supposed to leave 1.6mm slack between the cable end and the clutch lever block. That sounds like nothing, but it has to be pretty slack to get that gap. It means the first part of the pull of the lever is without resistance. Which is a definite improvement when it’s such a reach and so hard to pull. The cable lube arrived today but I’ve not applied it yet. There are a list of jobs I want to do to it for the aesthetics, but right now the only practical thing is to sort out the handlebar position. Once I’ve done that I’ll have to get appropriate sized front brake line and throttle cables. I also need to fix the bar end mirrors, but that’s probably not a purchase. I can probably do that with washers and silicone sealant. Again, I don’t want to make a permanent fix if I’m going to be changing handlebars. All the jobs are dependent on money, obviously. There is no rush to buy all the bits for the Sporty. The Harley has been running fine, so it is a good backup for work as it is. All the work I want to do on it can wait for the money. Which brings me to work. After the first week of days, where I was fretting because I only got one shift, I’ve worked all but one of the days I’ve been available. 4 days last week. I’ve worked it out, I seem to have paid breaks and and I am on about £20.20 or so an hour. For my 4 days last week (two of which were relatively short, 8.5 and 10 hours) I made £815. That’s £42,380 a year. For a 4 day week. On days. That’s a whole lot of extrapolation from one week’s work, but I have to have tomorrow off for a hospital appointment, and they sent me a shift. That’s 6 of […]