I'm not exactly sure what I have done but it seems to be better. The cable came loose so it is possible that was the problem with the bike coming back from the store. When I recover from that ride, I will give it a try now that I have fixed the cable. At least I hope I have.
I also tried to ride the WW bike. It did okay at first then it died and I think I flooded it. I might just go back to where I was before and put the 33 engine back on that bike. I haven't decided where I am going to put it. The test bike (old three speed) is shorter than the huffy and it is easier to get in and out of the shop. That is it's big plus.
it would be nice if it were shorter still. I think I need to look into a twenty inch girls bike and then change the front fork for the huffy one. it would make me an almost scooter sized bike. That might be interesting. I'm going to give that some thought before I finish the 33 chainsaw bike.
Friday, October 31, 2008
the 42 cc and a tension headache
I rode the 42cc to the store just now. I knew after a hundred yards that the tension was too great, but I pushed on. It almost killed me coming home. Coming home is up hill all the way and with the tension so tight it bogged the bike down. I didn't think I would ever get home alive. I am still choking for air lol.
I'm going to spend the afternoon adjusting that thing for sure.
I'm going to spend the afternoon adjusting that thing for sure.
gina's bike walter
Walter slept on the futon cushion on the floor Sunday night. On Monday he made the furniture store with same day delivery his first stop. With the cavernous little house in his mind he tried to think what furniture he should buy. He just could not picture any of the sleek looking furniture in that wide open space. The tiny kitchen was no more than a third of the back wall on the left rear of the house. It did have a very small refrigerator and stove. Both appliances were meant for an apartment of about the same size as his little house, so the balance was good.
It was a good thing because Walter know from nothing about decorating. After thirty minutes of wasting his time and that of a salesman, Walter left empty handed. He didn't know what to do next. The one thing he was sure of was that he needed a bed. He also needed a place to make a sandwich.
One of the appeals of the small house was a one car free standing garage. It had been used as a shop/storage building in the rear of the house so long that the driveway leading to it had disappeared under the lawn. Walter moved all his tools the day before so he was ready to build things. That also stayed in the back of his mind while he shopped. Walter's big problem with that was he lack any real skills. Most of what he did was wood butchery.
After his initial shopping debacleWalter was riding around aimlessly on his bike a couple of hours later when he saw the yellow metal building. The sign read Wholesale/salvaged building material for sale. In much smaller print were the words we deliver. That was enough to get Walter's attention.
Walter was surprised to find mostly old doors and window inside the warehouse. It seems that not a lot of other things were of any use to him. He didn't need anything from the bins of copper and galvanized pipe or the piles of hardwood flooring. He bought seven paneled doors from the warehouse and thirty used 2x4's. The price for it all was just over a hundred dollars. The surplus warehouse arranged delivery for the next morning.
Walter stopped on the way home for items from the hardware store. Those were more expensive than the purchases from the surplus building supply store. Walter knew there were going to be many more things he needed but he had a one track mind. That one track mind, even though deeply depressed, had helped him to survive. He could only dwell on one tragedy at a time. He probably would have been overwhelmed and killed himself if he fully grasped the size of his loss.
"Where's your bicycle," the waitress at the family style restaurant asked.
"I had an errand that required the car this afternoon. I was out buying things for my new house."
"New house wow, congratulations."
"Oh it isn't much but I like it. Its less than half the size of the house I lived in before."
"I'm sorry times are tough for everyone."
Walter almost explained that he hadn't lost the big house but he decided not to bother. She was just a waitress. "Yeah, I suppose that is true. Anyway how about a BLT with French Fries?"
"Sure, won't take but a minute."
Walter enjoyed both the food and the iced tea. Iced tea was something he loved but never made at home. It was gallons of diet coke instead.
It was a good thing because Walter know from nothing about decorating. After thirty minutes of wasting his time and that of a salesman, Walter left empty handed. He didn't know what to do next. The one thing he was sure of was that he needed a bed. He also needed a place to make a sandwich.
One of the appeals of the small house was a one car free standing garage. It had been used as a shop/storage building in the rear of the house so long that the driveway leading to it had disappeared under the lawn. Walter moved all his tools the day before so he was ready to build things. That also stayed in the back of his mind while he shopped. Walter's big problem with that was he lack any real skills. Most of what he did was wood butchery.
After his initial shopping debacleWalter was riding around aimlessly on his bike a couple of hours later when he saw the yellow metal building. The sign read Wholesale/salvaged building material for sale. In much smaller print were the words we deliver. That was enough to get Walter's attention.
Walter was surprised to find mostly old doors and window inside the warehouse. It seems that not a lot of other things were of any use to him. He didn't need anything from the bins of copper and galvanized pipe or the piles of hardwood flooring. He bought seven paneled doors from the warehouse and thirty used 2x4's. The price for it all was just over a hundred dollars. The surplus warehouse arranged delivery for the next morning.
Walter stopped on the way home for items from the hardware store. Those were more expensive than the purchases from the surplus building supply store. Walter knew there were going to be many more things he needed but he had a one track mind. That one track mind, even though deeply depressed, had helped him to survive. He could only dwell on one tragedy at a time. He probably would have been overwhelmed and killed himself if he fully grasped the size of his loss.
"Where's your bicycle," the waitress at the family style restaurant asked.
"I had an errand that required the car this afternoon. I was out buying things for my new house."
"New house wow, congratulations."
"Oh it isn't much but I like it. Its less than half the size of the house I lived in before."
"I'm sorry times are tough for everyone."
Walter almost explained that he hadn't lost the big house but he decided not to bother. She was just a waitress. "Yeah, I suppose that is true. Anyway how about a BLT with French Fries?"
"Sure, won't take but a minute."
Walter enjoyed both the food and the iced tea. Iced tea was something he loved but never made at home. It was gallons of diet coke instead.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
tomorrow I ride
there will be no welding practice tomorrow. I have a self darking shield type helmet on the way. Until it gets here I will just be riding my bikes. I do plan to ride down to pick up some pain and a water bottle of some kind to make a gas tank. If I get the 33 bike frame painted I might finish the build on Saturday then test the engine over the weekend.
I'll keep you in the loop.
I'll keep you in the loop.
today's issue
had to break the day in half to take care of some family business at lunch. I did give the welder a try this morning with very mixed results. But it did better this afternoon. I'm still not consistent with it, but I expect that to come later.
I haven't ridden for two days now and I'm getting antsy. I think tomorrow I will ride since I can't try welding. My welding lens got broke. I think I dropped the shield and it broke. Oh well I want a self darkening one anyway.
I haven't ridden for two days now and I'm getting antsy. I think tomorrow I will ride since I can't try welding. My welding lens got broke. I think I dropped the shield and it broke. Oh well I want a self darkening one anyway.
gina's bike Walter
The house on Macy street had started life as a very small two bedroom, one bath house. Somewhere along the way it had been gutted. All of the interior walls had been removed. That particular renovation, though probably wonderful for the owner at the time, had wrecked the saleability of the house. It proved to be a hard sell especially in an already weak housing market. That more than anything else accounted for the low sale price. That low sale price had attracted Walter to the house in the first place.
The first thing Walter realized was that none of his furniture would fit in the house. Nothing at all was going to work in the tiny space. That was actually a good thing. It was time for a new beginning, he decided. It would be hard enough without the constant reminders of a better time. Very few things would come to the new house except his clothes and a few things he really did want to remember.
Walter arranged what would amount to an estate sale. The first thing he did was to have the Salvation Army come in and take away all the things he refused to haggle over. Walter had been warned about estate sales. He also arranged for the same people to return after the sale to pick up what was left.
After that for the next week he met and haggled with people over his lifelong accumulation of stuff. Stuff he felt he would be better off without. He did not allow anyone into the garage where he had moved things he wanted to keep. In the garage he stored the everyday dishes, pots and pans, linens, towels, and his accumulation of tools, along side boxes of his clothes. At least the ones he hadn't given to the Salvation Army. The garage also housed his five year old car and Gina's bike.
Even during the sale, he found time to ride the bike. He just put a note on the door, "I'm on an errand, I'll be right back." The errand was a ride around the neighborhood with a short stop at the nearest fast food drive thru. He and his bike had become a fixture at that drive thru.
The sale was a nightmare on the final day. It was a Saturday of course and the people made him crazy. Walter lived a couple of blocks into the "right side" of main street. People from the "other" side of main street flocked to his house to strip it. Most likely some things went to their cars without being paid for. Yes Bobbie came to help and even brought Sarah. They did help a great deal, but it was still a nightmare.
Since his bedroom suite was sold to a young couple, Walter spent Saturday night in a motel. After breakfast he returned to the more or less empty house. His day was burned by getting the last items ready for the Salvation army pickup the next day, and moving things to the house three blocks into the "other" side of town. He was still on the fringe of the good area but not quite into the high dollar district. The big house was just on the fringe of the "right side" of main street but still just on the fringe.
Walter decided he did not want to return to the motel, so he bought himself a futon mattress at a local furniture store, which happened to be open on Sunday. Walter could have had a bed delivered to the house on Macy street any time during the week of the sale, but he had a one track mind. His simple mind had probably kept him from going insane over that last year. Walter dealt with one thing at a time but he dealt with it completely then filed it away.
The plan was that on Monday the new house would occupy his mind for a few days. Walter for some reason looked forward to that, a year ago he would have been mortified by the prospect of shopping.
The first thing Walter realized was that none of his furniture would fit in the house. Nothing at all was going to work in the tiny space. That was actually a good thing. It was time for a new beginning, he decided. It would be hard enough without the constant reminders of a better time. Very few things would come to the new house except his clothes and a few things he really did want to remember.
Walter arranged what would amount to an estate sale. The first thing he did was to have the Salvation Army come in and take away all the things he refused to haggle over. Walter had been warned about estate sales. He also arranged for the same people to return after the sale to pick up what was left.
After that for the next week he met and haggled with people over his lifelong accumulation of stuff. Stuff he felt he would be better off without. He did not allow anyone into the garage where he had moved things he wanted to keep. In the garage he stored the everyday dishes, pots and pans, linens, towels, and his accumulation of tools, along side boxes of his clothes. At least the ones he hadn't given to the Salvation Army. The garage also housed his five year old car and Gina's bike.
Even during the sale, he found time to ride the bike. He just put a note on the door, "I'm on an errand, I'll be right back." The errand was a ride around the neighborhood with a short stop at the nearest fast food drive thru. He and his bike had become a fixture at that drive thru.
The sale was a nightmare on the final day. It was a Saturday of course and the people made him crazy. Walter lived a couple of blocks into the "right side" of main street. People from the "other" side of main street flocked to his house to strip it. Most likely some things went to their cars without being paid for. Yes Bobbie came to help and even brought Sarah. They did help a great deal, but it was still a nightmare.
Since his bedroom suite was sold to a young couple, Walter spent Saturday night in a motel. After breakfast he returned to the more or less empty house. His day was burned by getting the last items ready for the Salvation army pickup the next day, and moving things to the house three blocks into the "other" side of town. He was still on the fringe of the good area but not quite into the high dollar district. The big house was just on the fringe of the "right side" of main street but still just on the fringe.
Walter decided he did not want to return to the motel, so he bought himself a futon mattress at a local furniture store, which happened to be open on Sunday. Walter could have had a bed delivered to the house on Macy street any time during the week of the sale, but he had a one track mind. His simple mind had probably kept him from going insane over that last year. Walter dealt with one thing at a time but he dealt with it completely then filed it away.
The plan was that on Monday the new house would occupy his mind for a few days. Walter for some reason looked forward to that, a year ago he would have been mortified by the prospect of shopping.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
2 count em 2
I have two more projects before I assemble the 33 bike in it's new incarnation. probably more will pop up but I have two for now. I need to buy some spray paint and shoot it for color. Right now it is flat black and i have that on the weed whacker bike. I have a different thing in mind for this one.
Also I want to build a gas tank for it. I have a new easy to build tank in mind. I am going to build it before I paint the bike. I want it to seem to be a part of the frame. Here is a drawing of the design....
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