Arcturus' Travels » Path (The Green Dragon)

Tandem Migration:

Gary — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 05:17:46 +0000

It is not what you think. We are not riding the tandem bicycle south for the winter. This year for the first time we are taking our Honda Civic, “Little Blue,” south with us. Since I still insist on taking my trailer with my shop along, that means Judy has to drive the Honda in tandem with the coach.
Here are some of the changes:
First: we have gone retro on the tandem bicycle. The “Purple People Eater,” (our 1995 vintage Co-Motion upright tandem bicycle,) came out of a seven year hibernation to take over from the “Path the Green Dragon,” (our hand crafted recumbent tandem bicycle built in 2001.) “Path” has always been strong willed, and a handful to keep him on the straight and narrow bicycle path. Now with my P.D. I have poor balance and take the whole road to herd him along. “Purple” is much milder tempered and he only eats purple people.
Second: We have done a good job exploring areas that are bicycle friendly. Now with “Little Blue” we will be able to expand our horizons. Oh yes “Purple” will get to go along on the back bumper. I am modifying the bicycle rack to fit him. It turns out that bicycling is one of those excellent exercise regimens to help control the tremors from Parkinson’s.
Third: We plan to move less often and stay put longer. Who knows we might even find a host position that suits us for a couple months.
Driving two rigs does change the game plan a little. I lead the way with “Arcturus.” (Yes we really do give everything a name.) Judy follows with “Little Blue.” She has her paper maps and written directions in case we get separated. We have Walkie-Talkies but they are only good for two miles under ideal conditions. That means no hills or crooked gorges. The backup plan includes a cell phone for each of us and Bluetooth hands free sets. You should see us old dogs learning all this new technology. I bet I have installed the Bluetooth devices six times already, and I still don’t know why they disconnect themselves. I’ll bet I could fix them with a hammer and a wrench.
We spent the day in Redding, California. We have stopped over here at the Elks Lodge a couple times already. There is a very nice and interesting multi-use trail just behind the Lodge property. We did a twelve mile ride on “Purple” along the Sacramento River and crossed the beautiful sundial bridge. We did the same exact ride last year on “Path.” I am pleased to report that “Purple” was very well behaved and didn’t even nibble at the people we passed on the trail.
I am a little worried about Judy, however. There are a couple streaks of purple in her silvery hair. Do you suppose that “Purple” might mistake her for a true purple people?
Goodbye for now from sunny California.
Gary and Judy

Tandem Milestone:

Gary — Thu, 06 Oct 2011 03:04:23 +0000

Today I finally was able to install the key assembly in the power train for the new tandem. This assembly is a jack shaft that allows the blending of power from the rider and the auxiliary electric motor. That is the rider can power the wheel with no auxiliary power. The auxiliary motor can power the wheel and the rider can coast. Finally both can power the wheel at the same time.
At the same time the shaft itself functions as the pivot for the rear wheel suspension. This is good because the chains don’t vary in length as the suspension flexes.

This is the New Power Distribution Assembly

The next task is to configure the front wheel drive. It will be pedal power only. The tricky part will be that the pedals will remain fixed to the frame and the chain will have to bend with the steering. I have ridden another person’s bicycle with a bending chain drive so I know it will work. I just have to position some idlers at the perfect point.
It was exasperating trying to compete this task today. The rainy season has started in Hillsboro where we are staying. We would get a delightful “sun break” and I would unload the bicycles and start working on the shaft with the lathe. About then the light would go away and a cold rain squall would descend on us. I would quickly return the bicycles to the trailer, lock up and retreat to the warmth of the coach. Half an hour later the sun would be back. Out comes the bicycles again and I would get back to work. Repeat the scenario several times.
The other complication occurred when I started to drill the setscrew pilot holes in the collar that locks the shaft in place. I wanted three equally spaced setscrews in the collar. I have the perfect tool, a dividing engine that allows you to rotate the part with exact precision. I dug it out of the tool chest and was horrified to see that it had rusted in the damp air. I spent about two hours disassembling the tool and polishing each part and carefully oiling and reassembling it. When compete I mounted the collar and drilled three pilot holes at exactly 120 degrees from each other.
We need to get out of this damp weather and back to the warm dry part of the country.
These years I have written extensively about “Path” the green dragon. This is our recumbent tandem bicycle. I designed and built “Path” back in 2001 and he has been our trusty steed these ten years and 13,701 miles. Path replaced our regular garden variety upright tandem named “The Purple People Eater,” (because it is purple, of course.)” Purple” has 8,428 miles on his odometer. Last week “Purple” came out of retirement and will replace “Path” as our ride of choice.
What I need to explain is that “Path” is harder to balance on. There are two reasons. First: we are closer to the ground so you have to correct for errors in balance quickly. Second: because my feet swing with the whole front end of the bicycle to steer, it takes more strength and coordination to ride a nice straight path at the edge of traffic. Over the past year my balance has been deteriorating and it now takes most of the lane to keep my balance. In April of this year my diagnosis was confirmed, I am in the early stages of Parkinson’s disease.
The new tandem will be designed for Judy to be the captain. I will become the stoker. As soon as we can finish up the new tandem we will probably retire “Purple” again. In the meantime I expect to hear “Shift!” from the back seat every time I start lugging the cadence, and I will have to remember to yell “bump” when a chuck hole rears up.

Tourist Destinations:

Gary — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 22:58:59 +0000

Yes, we often show up in odd ball destinations like Wickenburg, AZ, visiting obscure attractions like the “Jail Tree.” This week, however, we set our sights on a top tourist destination, Mackinac Island in the Mackinac Straits between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron in upper Michigan. By the way up here it is pronounced “Mackinaw,” the “c” at the end of the word is silent. The name is a shortening of the original Indian name Michilimackinac which means “place of the great turtle.”
The area has a colorful history controlled from time to time by the natives, French, British and Americans. The island has been a tourist destination since the Civil War and was made the second National Park in 1875. It attracted the rich and famous of the day.
Mackinac Island has a singular distinction. It has no cars. Well we did see a modern ambulance, but other than that we saw no cars. Horses rule the day. The streets indeed are littered with “horse exhaust.” Even that is picked up by… yes, a horse drawn wagon. The story goes something like this: In the infancy of the automobile one resident brought a horseless carriage to the island. The machine frightened the horses and several were injured as a result. The city fathers got together and banned the contraptions from the city and have upheld the ban ever since.
The result is a booming bicycle rental business and thousands of bicycles parked along all of the main streets in town. Path was certainly in his element. We did a romp around the eight mile shore line trail with new friends Randy and Cindy. The loop trail is perfectly flat and at least 16 feet wide. We saw sights like Arch Rock and Devil’s Kitchen.
We spent most of the day in Fort Mackinac. They have historic re-enactments throughout the day. Cannon firing, musket firing and Court Martial re-enactments by people in 1850 American Army uniforms. The previous day we visited Fort Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City at the northern tip of the Michigan Mainland. The re-enactments here depict the French time period and the actors wear French uniforms from the 1750’s. This fort is a total reconstruction. The British took over in 1761 from the French, lost it to the Chippewa in 1763. They regained control in 1764 but got worried at the end of the American Revolution and moved it ‘Lock, Stock and Barrel” to Mackinac Island in 1781 and built Fort Mackinac. What they couldn’t move thy burned to the ground. Understandably Archeology plays a big role in Fort Michilimackinac and many archeological displays are included in the basements of the various reconstructed fort buildings.
Enough with the history, already! We are finding many new things to sample. A local delicacy called pasteys, made of rutabagas, carrots, onions and some sort of meat and sealed in a pastry shell. Our new friends introduced us to “Pudgy Pies.” This is a toasted sandwich made in a special cast iron clam shell with very long handles and cooked over the campfire. Yummy!
If you didn’t get this last night it is because we again have no cell phone and no internet. We are in the U.P., which is the Upper Peninsula. The people are known as “Uppers.” This is in contrast to the people south of the Mackinac Bridge. They are known as “Trolls,” i.e. below the bridge or “Fudgies” because they come to Mackinaw City to get fudge. The Upper Peninsula at first look seems a little more rural and laid back, the southern areas more industrial. They all agree that we are a long, long way from home in Oregon.
Goodbye from Lake Michigamme near Lake Superior in U.P. Michigan
Gary and Judy

Trial Fit:

Gary — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 03:25:49 +0000

Today I reached a significant milestone in the design and construction of the new bicycle. I put the major components together this afternoon for a trial fit. There is a photograph of the new bicycle on the blog. The components are the wheels with tires, the front fork, the main frame with a small front sub frame and the rear suspension frame its Fox Vanilla Shock and one seat.
As you can see in this photo there are no cranks or pedals and no steering. There are cranks, chains, brakes and shifters in the boxes. We have been hauling it all around for a year now. The trial fit was to see that the step-over height matched my design and that everything fit properly.

All the Major Pieces Get a Trial Fit

I did discover a problem with the width of the front fork dropouts. I allowed an extra millimeter for shrinkage when brazing. Unfortunately it shrunk three millimeters. It has to be 165 mm wide between the dropouts for a rear wheel to fit. (Fronts are normally 110 mm but my front wheel is driven by the captain.) I hold the dropouts firmly in place when I braze the tubing joints. Everything gets real hot and expands during the operation. The brass cools and the parts shrink back when they get cold. I think I can thin the locking nuts down on both sides of the wheel and get things to fit. Right now I have to use a crow bar to spread the forks enough to get the wheel in. Not a good plan for the roadside tire patching operation.
After placing the new bicycle back in the shop trailer, Judy and I went for a ride on Path, our green dragon recumbent tandem bicycle. There are about five miles of roads in the campground where we are staying near Congress, Arizona. We rode all the roads in camp at least once each and logged a total of six and a half miles. This is our first ride since I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. My balance has been questionable since the first of the year and we have not ridden as much as normal. Today my balance seemed better and we got along very well. Hooray! Just to be sure, however, the new bicycle is designed so either of us can be the captain.
The new bicycle does not have a name yet. We will have to see what his personality is like when we get him all together and go for that first ride. Path may be getting suspicious with the new set of wheels hanging out in the trailer, but so far I don’t think he has a clue that he will be replaced as top dragon.

So long from sunny Arizona

Gary and Judy

Rage Over a Lost Penny

Gary — Sat, 12 Feb 2011 04:26:03 +0000

I guess I know about how Beethoven felt when he wrote the piano rondo, (“Rondo alla ingharese quasi un capriccio in G major, Op. 129”, better known as “Rage over a Lost Penny”.) I have been making little doo-dahs for the new bicycle. I needed a dozen or so braze-on binder bosses and a dozen or so water bottle bosses. What I have been doing on the cold mornings is to get in my trailer with the electric heater. I set up the Smithy Lathe with a steel rod and start turning out bosses. Today I was finishing up some water bottle bosses. They are three eights of an inch in diameter necked down to nine thirty-seconds. They are about five sixteenths of an inch long and are drilled and tapped for a five millimeter bolt. I whack it off with the hack saw and dress it up a bit with a file. It takes me about fifteen minutes to create each one.

Poor Man's CNC Machine, Note Tools Lined Up in Order of Use. Binder Bosses in Foreground

You guessed it. I whacked one off and it spun out of sight behind the lathe. Now there is not much real-estate back there so I should be able to find it. A quick visual inspection revealed that a quite a bit of lathe turnings and other debris had accumulated in that cramped space. I tried getting at it with my fox-tail brush and dust pan but they were simply too big and awkward. I finally found a wall board taping knife and a paint brush that fit perfectly. An hour later I had a nicely cleaned space, but still no sign of the wayward water bottle boss. I got out my magnetic wand and searched under the motor and in all the crevices and still no boss. By this time I could have made about six more of these little suckers, so I gave it up as a lost cause.

Tool Line-Up for Poor Man's CNC

Here are the Binder Boss and Water Bottle Boss Ready to Braze Onto and Into the Bicycle Frame

Path got a nice little tune up today. Earlier this week I removed the front suspension arm and wheel to get accurate measurements of the joint. I need to replicate the joint on the new bicycle. What I discovered is after nearly ten years the bearings were in really bad shape. There was nearly a sixteenth of an inch of radial play in each of the bearings. That means the suspension arm can wobble, tip and veer as I try to steer the bicycle. I bought new bearings and installed them today.

We immediately took Path out for a romp around the island. Wow, what a difference!

Even ordering the bearing turned out to be a challenge. The shaft size is three eighths of an inch and the outer race press fits into a one inch shell. All of the sources had no bearings that fit that specification. A couple nights ago I woke up with a brilliant idea. I would fit the one inch shell and then sleeve the shaft to fit. I couldn’t wait to search the internet the next morning. I searched for a one inch outside diameter ball bearing and to my amazement the first bearing in the list fit a three eighths inch shaft. Not once but each vender had the same sizes when you search by O.D. There must be some logic there somewhere, I just can’t see it.

It is time to wrap this up and ship it off. We are still at the Beachcomber Resort in Lake Havasu City and the weather here in the Sonoran Desert is getting warmer. Today broke into the seventies.

Gary and Judy

Something New

Gary — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 03:03:10 +0000

In six years of travels we have never leased a lot for a whole month and stayed put. Oh yes we have stayed in one area for a month or longer, but always in places that limited our stay. We would have to move every couple weeks to go to the dump station, or to reset the clock. These locations always are close to our children’s families homes in Hillsboro, OR or Gilroy, CA.

This time we are staying on a lot in the Beachcomber Resort in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. It also is close to a relative, Judy’s sister, Sonja lives in the same park. The purpose is to give me some quality time to commune with “The Son of Path;” Or as Judy puts it, get my new bicycle done.

Judy looks over lot 353 at the Beachcomber

We have moved onto a lot that once housed a Park Model Home. I have had to call the maintenance people at every step of the process it seems. I did find the electricity alright, but when I started to use the water I discovered the previous tenant unhooked from the water with a Saws-All. I walked over to the office and engaged the help of Herb, the handyman. Early next morning I had a brand new water standard with two shiny new hose bibs.

It was time to wash the coach and trailer. Since everything is paved here I needed to open the sewer to dump my wash water in. I got out my big pump pliers and tried to unscrew the four inch sewer cap. I gradually worked up to my biggest pipe wrench and a two foot cheater, a three pound hammer, penetrating oil and a propane torch. Nothing could break the cap loose. I walked over to the office again. Herb and his helper finally got it open with a Saws-All.

My guess is that they have not rented this lot in a while.

I did manage to get my very dirty trailer washed and it is gleaming beside our very dirty coach. We are looking forward to sunshine and 70 degrees today, so the coach will get its due.

On a different subject; all of our friends are welcome to log in and comment on these stories. There is a “Register” button in the right hand sidebar. Click that and follow the directions. Choose a name and enter your e-mail address. Then you must solve a “Captcha” word puzzle. You will be sent a temporary password and you log in with that. Be sure to change the password to something you can remember and also be sure to put in your name and some details so I can identify you. I have been getting some spammers recently and I go in and disable them. If I cannot identify you from your e-mail address, I might disable you. To get reinstated, just request a change of password. I get an e-mail when this happens. When you log back in please fill in your name and add a little to the bio. That way I will be able to recognize you. I will immediately unblock you if I have you blocked.

Meanwhile, if you get into Lake Havasu City in February this year, be sure to look us up. We are in the Beachcomber Resort on the island.

Bye for now and feel free to register and comment. Another option is to click my Facebook link and join me there. Sorry, I don’t twitter.

Love Gary and Judy

Flying Again

Gary — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 19:56:09 +0000

After eighteen days on “Shank’s Mare,” we are once again flying down the road on “Path,” our recumbent tandem bicycle.

Here is a brief recap. We were in Lake Havasu City and headed for the grocery store with the cargo trailer in tow. I let the front end of the tandem drop off the curb into the crosswalk. I had the brake fairly tight and had one foot on the sidewalk. The left chain-stay on the front suspension broke right at the brake boss. To get back we loaded the tire and the front end of the bicycle in the cargo trailer and walked it home.

I stripped the old parts; the dropouts, the suspension shock, the brake bosses and the pivot assemblies off of the old suspension and proceeded to build a new stronger version. I carefully painted it three coats of green paint and gave it an extra day to dry. I was so proud of my new stronger version until I assembled it on the bicycle. I suddenly remembered why the old version was asymmetrical and had no brace on the right side. The chain needed to go right through where the new stronger braces were placed.

I carefully charted out where the chain needed to be, and with saws and files I removed a section of one brace and removed the other brace entirely. I had to strengthen the one brace with a section of flat iron and braze everything back into place.

Rebuilt Brace

This morning I put it all back together and we rode around the campground loop twice just to see if things are workable. Hooray! Everything is working in perfect harmony. I wasn’t so confident as to paint the piece before assembly, so now I must take it back apart and repaint it.

It doesn’t look like rain for the next few days, so perhaps we will ride the shiny metal version for a few days to celebrate the event.

We have just finished up a week with friends at the Escapee, Chapter 32 Rally at Pass Mountain Regional Park in Apache Junction, Arizona. We hiked many of the park trails including one hike of over nine miles. Now we have moved across the valley to White Tanks Mountain Regional Park just to the west of Surprise, Arizona. The reoccurring rain this winter has created a lush green desert all around us. The Saguaros are fat with water, the Ocotillo cacti are leafing out and the desert plants are starting to bloom.

The Long Walk

Gary — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 21:36:51 +0000

Sometimes things go against you and you have to take a long walk to keep from doing something stupid. Today was one of those days.

From my last blog you know that we broke our bicycle. For the past ten days I have been working to repair the damage by creating a replacement suspension fork for Path. My goal was to create a new part that was stronger and more rigid in all dimensions. I have indeed created a replacement part that achieved those goals. I coated it with three coats of paint and it is a thing of beauty indeed: Aye! in spite of having to use “rattle can” technology.

Ah yes, this does not seem to merit a “long walk.” Well you see there is this thing called the “chain line.” Indeed to transfer power from the pedals to the wheel, the bicycle chain must flow unobstructed from the chain-rings to the cassette. Now I remember why the original design only had a brace on one side!

New suspension looks good, but...

My exceedingly strong and beautiful-to-behold swing arm is of limited usefulness. Primarily down hill where one doesn’t need to pedal. Well actually the chain will traverse nicely from the very largest chain-ring, with 52 teeth to the very smallest cog, 12 teeth. To find the mechanical advantage in this mechanism one must divide the smallest into the largest.

This gives four and a quarter against. That is one turn of the pedals turns the wheel four and a quarter turns.

View of the Chainline

One revolution of the wheel moves you almost 60 inches down the road. Each turn of the pedal takes you over 20 feet down the road. This is fine for downhill racing with a nice wind at your back, but is sure doesn’t get you up the hill. Our normal “granny gear” is about one to one.

My choices are; one, talk Judy into doing all the up hill work and I will cover the downhill legs, or two, take the hack saw to my new suspension and revise it somewhat. I would take a pole on the subject, but I think Judy still has the winning vote.

We have finished up the Bluegrass Festival in Lake Havasu City and we are now attending to a group rally near Mesa, Arizona. In a few days I will get another chance to work on the project. Meanwhile we will still be walking.

Good Day from Gary and Judy and from strong but powerless Path.

P.S. make welcome Herb and Darlene, latest members of our blog family. We spent many hours jamming together over the past few weeks.

Herb and Darlene: If you register you can create a comment and say howdy to all the nice people.

Gary

Basket Case

Gary — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:57:09 +0000

History repeats itself occasionally. Today’s story is reminiscent of June 15, 2005 in Medicine Hat Alberta. On that occasion Path had a major catastrophe and we wound up carrying him back about 4 miles. Yesterday again we were about 4 miles from home when Path dropped to his knees again. Judy and I were not injured. However, we were about a mile short of our destination, a grocery store. We had the trailer on behind to carry the load of groceries. We turned around, placed the front wheel in the trailer and rigged the front end of the bicycle so it could ride in the trailer beside the wheel. Same as before it took us a little over an hour to walk back to camp.

Gary and Path on the Long Road Home

Analysis of the failure revealed a stress crack in the suspension right at the brake boss. The crack had finally grown large enough to break straight across when I dropped the front wheel off the curb. We were preparing to cross the street at a crosswalk. Path has been a faithful steed for 13,070 miles since our first ride on February 14, 2002.

I am the basket case, however. Today we are struggling with whether or not to rebuild Path or pull out all the stops on constructing Son-of-Path. Here are the competing plans:

1. I have the steel and parts to rebuild the existing suspension arm. It will take me a week or so to complete. The question is; Will Path become as good as new, or are there other stress cracks under the paint getting ready to fail?
2. I could complete the suspension arm that I have been working on for Son-of-Path and modify Path to use this suspension until we are ready to change to the new bicycle.
3. Should we get the Purple People Eater, our Co-Motion upright tandem out of retirement and use that for the next few months while I continue to build Son-of-Path?
4. We could also buy a couple of used mountain bicycles to get around on while construction continues.
5. We could walk a lot.

Judy and I will be debating these options and setting up a plan over the next few hours. You are all invited to make comments. I can’t seem to imagine life without a bicycle.

Meanwhile we are still hanging out in the state park in Lake Havasu City. We are ready for the next Bluegrass festival to start forming up on Monday. Actually all that picking and grinning cuts in to my shaping and brazing time. How on earth did I ever find time for forty some hours of work in a week.

So long for now, Gary and Judy (and poor injured Path.)

Broken Front Suspension Arm

Closeup of Brake Boss and Broken Chain Stay

Stupid Mistakes

Gary — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 05:49:24 +0000

Low hanging hitches and long overhangs team up to set a trap for the unwary RV’er. Just two years ago I snagged my hitch on a curb and bent the hitch receiver on Arcturus.

You would think that once would be enough. Nooo… I had to go and do it again this last week. I have to use a drop hitch to make the trailer tow level and spread the weight between both sets of tires.

Using the Leveling Jacks to Place Blocks Under the Tires

This makes the hitch vulnerable to curb cuts and steep aprons trying to get out of parking lots. Bending the hitch does two things, it angles the hitch up so that the trailer rides mostly on the rear tires. And the ball is no longer vertical.

How to get un hooked: Well we used the leveling jacks to get a plank under the tires and raise the hitch. I also placed a sacrificial skid block under the hitch. It took several repeats of the above combination of jack and block before we could get loose.

Skid Block Under Hitch

Once we got to the FMCA rally in Indio I went looking for some help. I found Wally at Metalrevelations, a metal art studio, on the internet. Wally was qualified as a heavy steel fabricator from his work on Space Mountain in Disney Word and Disney Land. They also had time to take my job on short notice and… they were close. We loaded the 50 pound stinger in the bicycle trailer and towed it behind “Path” the eight blocks over to their shop.

Compare the before and after photos below. The before hitch is from a 10,000 lb load leveling hitch assembly that I picked up. It allowed me to get the trailer tongue level, but had a lot of heavy metal hanging down in the slip-stream.

The new design brings the hitch back level and only has the nut hanging down. I plan to bolt a sacrificial wooden skid plate under the steel plate to protect the hitch bolt. That will have to wait until we get back together with the shop trailer. We had to drop it over a half mile away at the rally. No room for 53 foot long combination rigs around here. We will be leaving here on Sunday for Blythe California and the next Bluegrass festival.

Hitch Before, Note How Much Hangs Below the Nut.

Hitch is Now Level