It's the Little Adjustments

It's the little adjustments that make a bike your own.  Epic Bikes set the ICT up right, but they can't know about when I broke my left wrist in 4th grade and so I prefer the left brake lever slightly higher.  Nor do they have my notebook with 30 years of "now it feels right" measurements all on paper.  Again, they set it up right, but not exactly dialed down to right.  Right in the ballpark though, and a good starting point.  Perfectly rideable right out the door.

One example of this dialing in that will actually show up on camera is with the back rack.  Here's the before pic:

and after:

Apart from the time of day (and wow did that change the apparent paint color), the change is subtle.  Initially, the rack bolts protruded just enough to occasionally knick the inside of my knees.  Rearranging things so that the support rods run to the inside of the frame bosses changed all that for the better.  I don't mind occasionally bumping a smooth seat stay when standing up, but scraping across a square-shouldered bolt head was a little much.

Anyway, it's these sorts of things that need dialing in for the first month or so, before a bike is ready for serious use.  Don't ever be afraid to take a wrench to your new bike.  It's yours, after all.  Might as well get it right.

More Meh, this time on VHF

SG comments on how the VHF contest weekend was going Saturday: about what I expected.

VHF has its uses, but they are mostly limited to practical line-of-sight work here in the flatlands of the Gulf Coast.  The fun propagation effects you get in mountainous terrain just aren't here.  Best part of the whole post was the term "August 43rd" to describe the weather.

Anyway, after reading SG's comments I didn't bother and moved on to other matters.  September here in the Infra-Deep South is a frustrating time of waiting, and trying to keep spirits up while getting plans and gear ready for cooler weather.

Meh.

Not nothing, but nothing to freak over.

Rode the fat bike today, made a few more adjustments.  More tomorrow.

Down at the Bike Shop

 Last week they received the summons:

And this week they delivered.  Hoo boy, did they ever deliver:

Yes, that's a palm tree it's leaning against.  Of course it's a palm tree.  Rum bottle not included.

It's a Surly Ice Cream Truck fat bike.  For starters, it's near stock with only the addition of the manufacturer's fat bike-specific rear rack and a set of Race Face Ride pedals.  Epic Bikes in Tallahassee delivered it pretty well dialed and ready to go.  Too bad it was raining so hard yesterday, or I would've ridden Munson on the way home.

So, there's the obvious question of Why?  Simply because, while there are no real bike trails nearby, there are any number of crappy, sandy, multi-use woods trails around here as well as several suitable stretches of beach.  None of these are all that great for hiking, but with something that can cover some ground a bit faster, now that can make them interesting and worthwhile.  At least, that's my hope.  Well, cooler and dryer weather is right around the corner, and we shall see.

More later.  I need to go find a rum-themed bike bottle.

Four Out of Three

Earlier, I briefly mentioned that I had a batch of ham students going for their test Thursday evening.  All three passed the foundational Tech test, and then two tried the next step General test with one passing.  I'm proud of all of them.  Now the real work begins – getting them on the air.

Bonus Tab-Clearing Post: Leon Sinks Geological Area

Planning on a day trip once the weather cools a little.  Links:

• https://www.fs.usda.gov/r08/florida/recreation/leon-sinks-geological-area
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Sinks_Geological_Area
• https://floridahikes.com/leon-sinks/

Wow but that is a beautiful picture of Big Dismal, shamelessly stolen from the first link:

Expect a follow-up post in the coming months.

Peak Hurricane Season, and...

Noted not gloated.

(Was that ever a saying?  It sounds so trite and flippant that it should have been, decades ago.)

Anyway, on to today's NHC forecast:

I'll take it!

I've got a batch of students going in for their Tech ham license test this evening, and many-many more interesting things for  later this week.  Stay tuned.