6th June Assembly of the Bike

Good preparation takes longer than the delivery.E. Kim Nebeuts

I woke early, feeling rather nauseous – not sure if it was the 3 wines I had had on the flight out plus jet lag or the stunning bedroom décor, probably a combination of the two.

First task, after a much needed coffee in the clean but soulless kitchen, was to ensure that the OSM (Open Source Mapping) Canada/ Western US map was showing correctly and furthermore that the uploaded GPX TD 2017 route and the potential individual day tracks appeared correctly on the Etrex screen. They all did thankfully, so that was two major hurdles overcome.

Next I had to ensure that the battery/USB charger, with US/Canada adapter, worked. This too was a vital component of the trip as all electrical devices; GPS, phone, batteries (AA & AAA), front light, headlight etc. needed it to work. Fortunately it functioned satisfactorily but it did seem to want to charge 4 batteries rather than being able to work with just 2.

Then I needed to ensure my phone was not on roaming – check.

On exploring, I found that the accommodation was functional, utilitarian and very dark. A quick look outside showed why – the house is somewhere in the picture behind the tree/shrubbery honest!

There was however a very sunny, light and airy rear decked area, which proved perfect for the unpacking and building of the bike. In retrospect I think packing the box with significant amounts of expanded polystyrene was possibly overkill but as it was vital that the bike survived intact I was happy with the additional time involved keeping all the litter under control.

I had wondered how I was going to dispose of the large box and extraneous package material but solved the issue by ignoring the problem (this strategy seems to be working well). Fortunately, about half way through my bike build, a municipal bin lorry started down the back street, curious mechanism for emptying bins on the side. This afforded the perfect opportunity to dispose of all the cardboard etc. in one go – things were looking up.

Note to self…DO NOT attempt to unpack and rebuild bike while tired, dehydrated and jet lagged.

Despite concentrating hard I seemed to be wading through a fog. Fortunately I had had the foresight to photograph the brake / gear shift arrangement on the handlebars. This proved invaluable when it came to reassembly but it didn’t stop me initially putting the handlebars themselves on upside down!! This explained why I could not work out why the brakes would not fit properly.

I was all fingers and thumbs when it came to routing the chain and I lost a quick release link off the decking in the process – needless to say I had 2 spares but that was an additional item I needed to replace.

With my previous seat problem I was paranoid about ensuring that the seat height was correct – the correct seat positions had also been photographed. However I noticed that the seat post securing bolt was starting to strip – the Allen key did not engage perfectly so I resolved to replace this too.

Having rebuilt the bike, attached the various bags, GPS and front light I set off to the local bike shop (LBS as we cycling officianardos say) to replace the retaining bolt.

En route I climbed over a bluff on the south western fringe of Calgary and had an excellent view of the centre (see photo). After replacing the retaining bolt and getting another quick release chain segment at the LBS I had a bite to eat in a local café and meandered back to my accommodation along the Bow River. The bike seemed to be correctly set up and was working fine.

I saw a couple of Canada geese with multiple chicks. Best place for them – Canada as they are not my most favourite bird.

I stopped off to buy some food for my evening meal and retired to bed early.

I was tired, but pleased as
a. I had finally arrived
b The GPs, bike and electrics all seems to be in good working order.

End of day ‘minus 3’ as it were.