Clematis

Today was spent in the garage. First I removed the sensors and cable harness for my bike computer from my old mountain bike and attached it to my new hybrid bike which I'm replacing it with. I then tried to move the rear-rack over, but the hybrid has disk breaks and has a very strange rear end so I'm not sure how to fit a rack to it yet... I then took my new bike out for a longer spin round the village. Compared to my road bike it goes up hills better as it has lower gears than the road bike. Compared to the mountain bike it goes down hills faster because it has higher gears and narrower tyres. Compared with both bikes it has better breaks too!

Next I took the rear wheel off my old mountain bike to see if I could fix it. Basically the rear axle has bent - it's an old style free-wheel design and a common problem. It turns out I already had a spare axle so I decided to see if I could fit it. The bearings were okay but the bearing cage on the gear side had disintegrated into a mangle of malformed metal and I'll need to get the free-wheel off to replace it - which is easier said than done...

It's been dry today but it has been blowing a gale all day, so most of my flower pictures didn't come out usable. I also didn't fancy my luck a photographing bike parts without making a mess of my camera. When I reassemble the wheel I may try to blip bits as it will be clean. Today's blip is from a clematis that grows along the side of the driveway. Previously the plant has been okay but the flowers opened only to screw up and die - this year it's looking a lot happier.