A Daddy-Daughter Weekend Recap

Yep, we survived our weekend together.  I figured I'd be working in the garage for most of the day while Char sped past on her bike. But for the first time in months there wasn't a kid in our neighborhood for Char to play with. That was okay with me. I like to stay as far away as I can from 'tween drama. 

Most of my activity ideas went out the window. Charlotte didn't want to see a current movie without Daphne. The rain kept us from Adventureland, miniature golf, the zoo, and feeding the ducks. 

We did a lot of things I didn't take pictures of. It's hard to use your camera when someone is holding your hand or laying on top of you on the couch. 

We did make it to the Vintage and Made Fair in Adel. Char wears those Harry potter glasses everywhere. I cannot tell you why.

The double decker bus was there again. It's filled with vintage women's clothing. Here's Char playing between the two "dressing rooms"on the top level.

 We bought some presents.

I bought this can of Super Lube for my desk at school.

It's actually a radio.

Yes, we went to Goodwill. No, I did not buy the poop emoji pillow. Can you imagine putting your head on someone's used poop pillow?

I tried to be responsible. We did her math homework together, and I made sure she practiced the piano.

Different Goodwill. Different day. She thought putting Xmas lights in a bottle was very creative, but she didn't want to buy the "lamp." She just wanted to pose with it. (You can't see them, but she's wearing socks that match her shirt.)

One plan that came to fruition was a visit to the Operating Room arcade in Ankeny. I wouldn't have picked it out for her, but one of Char's favorite games is Super Bikes 3. 

We went shopping at HyVee, and I basically said yes to any snack that she asked for. We didn't go too wild, tho. We brought home peanuts, cheese balls, a bag of Munchos, and a regular bottle of Gatorade (not the G2 stuff Mom buys.) We also bought a box of Donettes. As a cereal, they look awful. I do think they'd be good in a snack mix.

Charlotte said, "That was the most satisfying shopping experience that I have ever had," while we were walking through the parking lot with our groceries.

Daphne got home on Sunday afternoon at 5:00. I think we all looked a little relived when her car pulled into the driveway. I asked Char how she would rate our weekend together, and she said, "I'd give it a 100 out of 5!" 

High praise, indeed.

Take a Deeeeep Breath.

As of right now, this is the only picture on my phone:

I did the math, and this is blog post number 1000. That's a bit hard to believe. When I started this blog 7 1/2 years ago, I didn't envision I'd still be blogging. But here I am. Anyway, I knew if I wanted to get to blog post #1001, I'd have to do something about my phone. 

My phone is a Samsung Galaxy Note 5, and it has 32 GB of memory. Until today, the memory was so full, I had to delete pictures so the phone would function properly. I had used up 31.1 GB.

I tried using the Android File Transfer program, but I couldn't get it to recognize my phone on any of our computers. I could text one picture at a time to my laptop. I did that with the 70 pictures that I took in the Black Hills. Man, was that tedious.

I don't trust a cloud, so I finally asked my buddy Rob, who had given me the phone, what I could do. He pointed me to Techkey's OTG USB Flash Drive 64GB Memory Stick for Android Phones. Amazon sent it to me in one day, but instructions were not included. I watched several YouTube videos. Nope. I read several tutorials. Nope again. Finally, I found this page ----> link. Okay! Now I know how this works.

I took a deeeeep breath. Then I hit the "Move" function. I nervously fidgeted as 1,923 pictures and 76 videos of irreplaceable memories were whisked off my phone and onto a $10 flash drive. 

Years of birthday parties, Christmas programs, family vacations, school concerts, family visits, posing pets, summer camps, firework displays, fair foods, and our lives swirled down an electric funnel into a small, plastic repository that wasn't kind enough to arrive with directions. 

When the move was complete, I carefully unmounted (their word) the flash drive from my phone and plugged it into my laptop. From a loaf of San Francisco sourdough...

to the Aragon's head tube...

It was all there. Whew! 

Thanks, Rob! I copied the folder of phone pictures to an external hard drive. My phone is at 17.39 GB, and I'm ready for Daddy-Daughter weekend. "Hey Charlotte! Stand over there by the..."

A Daddy-Daughter Weekend

Daphne is driving down to St. Louis today to help Grandpa Andy and Grandma Maureen pack for their move to Des Moines. Daphne offered me a bachelor weekend of just taking care of our pets, but I didn't think Char would enjoy 11 hours in the car and filling cardboard boxes.

So, it's going to be a daddy-daughter weekend. I have a few plans for us. We'll have to see what the weather does. 

Charlotte colored this picture in church for me last year. She thought it was so funny to give me grey hair.

Actually, she gave me grey hair in real life, too. My first few daddy-daughter nights terrified me. I was only comfortable when she was in the car seat or in the crib. I don't feel that way anymore. Charlotte is fun to be with, she has good ideas, and she has a good heart. Still, it won't be as easy without Daphne around.

Yes, parenting is a lot of hard work... but you also get quite a view.

The Aragon Project: Back in the Saddle

I wanted to get a another replacement rear wheel for the Aragon, and I thought I had found another donor Schwinn on Craigslist. When I arrived to buy the bike, I discovered that the seller had removed its wheels. What? I have my suspicions about what happened, but I won't go into that.

Instead of explaining, the owner gruffly offered to look through his collection of parts to see if he had a 6 speed rim. What he found wasn't exactly what I wanted. The wheel was narrower than what I have on the Aragon, but I was facing more 5 o'clock traffic, and I didn't feel like coming home empty-handed.

It is nice not having to dismantle another working bike for its components, but I was regretting my $15 purchase on the drive home. But then I noticed that the wheel's skewer was stamped with the company logo for Campagnolo.

Campagnolo is an Italian company that makes high-end bicycle components, and "Who Hoo," the Aragon is going to get fancy. I installed the wheel as soon as I got home. I didn't bother cleaning the wheel because I didn't know if it would play nice with the Sugino sprockets.

The other side of the skewer looks neat, too.

The freewheel is a French made Maillard Helicomatic.

The Helicomatic does have the six gears that I wanted, and it is very quiet.

The Aragon was cruising the neighborhood after an adjustment to the rear derailleur and the rear brake. Luckily, the French freewheel and the Japanese crank paired nicely.

The size difference between the two wheels is noticeable. The front is 27 x 1 1/4. The rear is 27 x 1 1/8. The diameter is the same. Maybe it's the tires? I'll have to do some more research on sizes. Otherwise, I'll need another wheel that matches either the front or the back. This time I think I'll stay away from sketchy Craigslist sellers and visit a local bike shop.

So, the Aragon is back on the road for $15, and I feel good about that. I can go out into the garage and look at the bicycle with much less guilt.

The search for parts might not be over, but that's okay. The search is half of the fun.

The Aragon Project: A Setback

Better is the enemy of good.

The next step was to exchange the spoke protector. It's a purely cosmetic change. The plastic one on the Aragon is chipped, and I wanted to replace it with the metal protector on the bent rim. I thought the rim looked good, but I wanted the rim to look better.

To get to the spoke ring, I needed to remove the freewheel. The tool I needed arrived in the mail at noon. I'm still having trouble getting use to mail coming on Sundays.

The tool worked well on the bent rim's freewheel. I was holding a dirty freewheel and a polished spoke protector in just a few minutes.

The tool could not crack loose the freewheel on my good wheel, though. It slipped out over and over again. You can see how worn down the prongs became after a few tries.

I put everything back together and rode around our neighborhood. I figured I'd take the rim to a local bike shop and let them sort it out. But then I had an idea. I could use my vice

I tried bolting the tool to the freewheel and clamping the bolt in the bench vice. I tuned the wheel and thought it was working. But I didn't think it through and turned the wheel too far. The tool snapped apart, and the bolt that runs through the hub was damaged. The hammer I hit it with also didn't help. In defeat, I removed the tube, tire, and reflector and threw the tool and the rim in the trash.

I was so proud of using that rear wheel, and then I went ahead and broke it. I suppose it serves me right for not reading the instructions in my old bike repair book carefully enough.

I watched a Park Tool youtube video, and then thought I knew it all. This is the second time this bike has had a ruined rear wheel. I'm not back to square one, but it feels like it.

I should be used to these kinds of setbacks. When you are learning to work with cars, pinball machines, and bicycles that are between 30 and 60 years old, you have to expect a few hurdles. I learned from my mistake, and when I find and buy a replacement wheel,  I'll try to remember that I was going to spend money at a bike shop anyway.

Still makes me mad, though. I wanted to ride the Aragon tonight. 

Goodbye, Summer. Hello, Fall!

Last weekend was the last one for summer. We spent part of Saturday at Adventureland. 

It feels like it was just yesterday when we were there for our first day of summer.

We shopped at Costco, and the Queen of TP posed on her throne.

We've been doing this for four years...

Charlotte asked me, "Hey Dad, why did you take a picture of me wearing a costume and practicing the piano?"

I shrugged and replied, "Just because. Why are you wearing a costume and practicing the piano?"

She shrugged and replied, "Just because."

Summer is great, but I'm not sad to see it go. I'm not a summer-at-the-beach kind of guy. Shorts are fine, but I like it when the temperatures drops, and I can wear jackets and jeans.  I'd rather see breath puff from my mouth than have humidity blast me in my face. I don't like to shovel the driveway, but I also don't like to mow the yard. So that's a draw. Sure, I'd like to be home with my family, but we all need a break from each other. I'm fortunate that I have good friends who work at UHS, and I like the students in my classes. 

Fall is my favorite season. It runs from Sept. 23 to Dec. 21. During this time, we will have our anniversary dinner, Halloween candy, Thanksgiving turkey, and the cherry on top is that fall ends on the first day of winter break. Christmas will be hiding around the kitchen corner holding a plate of frosted cookies. There will be corn mazes, apple orchards, and pumpkin patches, too!

There is so much fun heading our way. 

The Aragon Project: Ready to Ride

The Aragon isn't "done," but I can safely ride it. Last night I lubricated the chain and adjusted the rear derailleur to reliably move the chain to all six freewheel gears.

Here are some before and after shots.

I could have used an aluminum handlebar, but the Aragon's steel handlebar was a bit wider and felt more comfortable.

I added MKS Sylvan Touring Pedals to the Traveler's cranks for a sleeker look.

The brake lever hoods add a nice finish.

September 7: Fresh from a Craigslist sale.

September 20: Fresh from a ride around the block.

Part of the fun with projects like this is seeing what I can learn to do. Removing cranks and servicing a bottom bracket were new experiences. I hadn't worked with center-pull brakes before, and I haven't adjusted derailleurs, either. I'm not an expert, but when I look at this bike, I now understand what I'm seeing.

There's no rush, but I need to replace the damaged spoke protector (plastic disc that is on the right-side of the spokes of a rear wheel). I'm going to see if the metal spoke protector from the bent rim will fit. It would give the aluminum rim an even more retro look.

I am also going to replace the tires. I have a pair of Kenda gumwalls in the garage, but it seems like a waste not to use the current black tires for now.

The Traveler's pedals will go back on if I choose to sell the Aragon. They will clean up well and work just fine.

I spent $68 on this project. The pedals, stem, and saddle that came from my parts stash cost $39. That's brings my current total to $107. Add new tires and the Schwinn pedals, and I'm at $112.

If the rear rim hadn't been bent, then I wouldn't have bought the donor bicycle. I would have spent $127 to get the Aragon on the road. I don't think it would have turned out as well. I know it would have been heavier. It wouldn't have 12 speeds, either. When life gives you lemons...

Plus, I have some more parts to add to the bin.

The Aragon Project: Assembled

I was able to get the shifter and brake cables situated last night. The donor bike's bar tape was in decent shape, so I wrapped that around the handlebar. The brake hoods are new.

I'm on the hunt for an aluminum seat post. I polished the original post and seat clamp, and they will work for now. The Columbia seat came from Goodwill. I haven't decided if I'll use it or a vintage Schwinn saddle.  

Although it was dark, I took the Aragon out for a test drive. I had to laugh at myself. The stem wasn't tight enough, and the handlebar went crooked almost immediately. Embarrassed, I returned to the garage and tightened the stem's bolt. With that fixed, I tried again. I made it around the block, but I still have some adjustment work ahead of me.

According to the original owners, the Aragon was purchased in Des Moines when the seller was in high school. He said he took it to college, and then never rode it again.

Here's a guess. I think the owner bought a new bike in '82 when he was a high school junior. He then took it to ISU and bought the '84 Ames bicycle license as a freshman. Then the rear rim was bent. Being a college student, he didn't have the cash to fix it. He brought the Aragon back home and eventually forgot about it.

I may be wrong about when the bike was damaged. But even so, last night's ride was probably the first time the Aragon has been ridden in over 30 years. That's pretty cool.