General Bike Ravings

Bumped into MarkW at the Avondale shops yesterday. Was a perfect day for a long ride, but both of us were just running errands.

I asked Mark to remind me how to determine the optimum tyre pressure for my bike. Here's the formula (so I always know where to find it):

• Fill tyres up when cold
• Go for a long ride to warm tyres (at least 20 - 30 mins at motorway speeds)
• Re-check the pressure when the tyres are hot (using the same gauge)
• The difference

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Turns out I only break my bike when it's stopped.

1) Hit from behind by a car when I stopped at a stop sign (bike written off... entire rear end and left hand side were squished... not to mention my fractured ribs, bruising and concussion)

2) Bolt sheared off from starter clutch and got flung around inside engine. Ended up replacing the whole engine.

3) Even the tyre developed a slow leak and deflated while the bike was parked at work.

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I was filtering between two lanes of stationary traffic today, at a red light. There was a light truck in the right lane, positioned all the way to the left of his lane. As I got closer I realised there was no way I was going to be able to get my mirror past his mirror, so I was going to be stuck between lanes when the lights changed.

But as I came up beside the truck, the driver saw the problem. Next thing I know his mirror was making a whirring sound and folding forward out ...

Yesterday I left work early to go to a job interview. When I went out to my bike the back tyre was flat. I rode carefully to the nearest petrol station (in Wairau Road, Glenfield) but as soon as I put air in I could hear it hissing out again! I went inside the station to use the phone book so I could call and explain to the interviewer why I couldn't get there (interview was downtown.) By now I was feeling a bit hot & flustered and not sure what to do next.

There were ...

An unusual case of Sunday trading affecting many sports bodies came before Mr S. L. Paterson, SM, in Hamilton yesterday, when the Hamilton Motor-Cycle Club (Inc.) (Mr N. I. Smith), admitted a charge of keeping open for transacting business on a Sunday.

Sub-inspector W. G. Bennett said that on Sunday, November 12, the club conducted a sports meeting at its stadium at Whatawhata and collected an entrance fee at the gates and sold programmes.

Mr Smith said the object of ...

I'm working in a new office with a door that doesn't lock. Makes me nervous about leaving my gear here when I go out for lunch-meetings-whatever.

Here's a description of the gear I usually wear to work in case the worst happens and it goes walkabout...

Helmet: HJC CS-12, black with tinted visor
Gloves: Spool size 8, black leather
Trousers: Dririder Nordic 4, black
Jacket: Spidi On Track, navy blue with silver/black winter liner
Boots: ...

I'm not very good at this blogging thing. All kinds of momentous stuff has happened since my last entry and I haven't bothered to blog it. Things like:

• Got hit by a car in May, I had concussion and a fractured rib. Volty was written off by the insurance company! I bought her back, fixed her up and she's back on the road again with few clues to her adventure.

• In July I did my 6R test and passed - no more L plate! Since then I've been allowed to do more than 70kph

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