Thursday, August 17, 2006
Eco friendly Curly
Reducing my carbon emissions.
How did this start?
I guess it was because I wanted to spend more quality time with my children really, Junior Curly is nine years old and Missy Curly is almost five. Junior loves to ride his bicycle, Missy loves to push along on a scooter, either way, I struggle to keep up with them on foot. Having recently fixed the six speed derailler on Junior's cycle I thought let's see how my old machine looks.
My old bike has hung on a hook on a wall for eighteen years without being used, dusty and rusty with deflated tyres, it looked pretty damned sorry for itself. My main fear was that the inner tubes may have perished, shrunk, or cracked open. My fears were needless, after inflating the tyres I found every thing to be o.k. with no air leaking. A quick clean up and she was ready to test. Great, on the road but when I applied the brakes they emitted a terrible squeal, the brake blocks were made of leather and after years of inactivity they had gone rock solid. This was a Raleigh Triumph Tourist, drop handlebars, 12 speed gears, lightweight alloy frame, complete with dynamo and lights (still working too.) However the breaks were just too noisy!
So I went out and bought two pairs of modern grooved rubber brake blocks that looked about the right size, got them home and set about changing them and adjusting the calipers - hey presto! Curly can now compete with the Dave Cameron's of this world and make a contribution to the reduction of carbon emissions!
A green Tory on a keep fit regime (not me, him!)
_________________________________________________________________
How did this start?
I guess it was because I wanted to spend more quality time with my children really, Junior Curly is nine years old and Missy Curly is almost five. Junior loves to ride his bicycle, Missy loves to push along on a scooter, either way, I struggle to keep up with them on foot. Having recently fixed the six speed derailler on Junior's cycle I thought let's see how my old machine looks.
My old bike has hung on a hook on a wall for eighteen years without being used, dusty and rusty with deflated tyres, it looked pretty damned sorry for itself. My main fear was that the inner tubes may have perished, shrunk, or cracked open. My fears were needless, after inflating the tyres I found every thing to be o.k. with no air leaking. A quick clean up and she was ready to test. Great, on the road but when I applied the brakes they emitted a terrible squeal, the brake blocks were made of leather and after years of inactivity they had gone rock solid. This was a Raleigh Triumph Tourist, drop handlebars, 12 speed gears, lightweight alloy frame, complete with dynamo and lights (still working too.) However the breaks were just too noisy!
So I went out and bought two pairs of modern grooved rubber brake blocks that looked about the right size, got them home and set about changing them and adjusting the calipers - hey presto! Curly can now compete with the Dave Cameron's of this world and make a contribution to the reduction of carbon emissions!
A green Tory on a keep fit regime (not me, him!)
About Me
Curly Born in 1956
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