An Interesting Week In The Life Of Dan

Warning! This blog entry contains information on several subjects. If you are looking for something specific like sailing or cycling, you may have to read through some uninteresting subjects to get there. You have been warned!

The last week has been interesting with some trials along the way. Where to begin? Ok, a few weeks ago, I developed a toothache. It seemed like a molar that had had a crown installed three years ago was developing cold/hot sensitivity. A couple Facebook friends encouraged me to see the dentist ahead of my normal appointment in Oct. Sure enough, the dentist did not like what he saw and sent me to the Endodontist(dentist that specializes in root canals). So, on Friday I walked into the office at 0720 and walked out at about 0845 with a numb mouth and a much lighter checkbook. I went home and slept most of the morning. BUT, the tooth did not stop hurting as promised. I feared that another adjacent tooth was acting up. It was really tiring to put up with the pain. So today at 0720, I got back into the Endodontist and told him my sad story. He checked the teeth with cold and there was no sensation. What he did find was that the filling that he filled the hole in my tooth with was sitting high, so he ground some off. Now the pressure is gone and my cold fruit smoothie is actually soothing!

So if the root canal wasn't enough financial stress, some boat gear is acting up. The hydraulic cylinder that controls the tension in some rigging that holds the mast up started leaking around the seal. I did some research and also with some advice from an acquaintance that runs a sailboat rigging company, I found that "sure, any hydraulic shop can overhaul them. They just use standard seals". So I took the cylinder to the only local hydraulic shop for overhaul. They said that they could get on it in a few days, but after eight days I called them on Thursday. They said that they would get on it that afternoon. That afternoon I got a call. They could not get it apart. The threads have galled. So with a race pending next weekend, I retrieved it and reinstalled it on the boat tonight. Hopefully it won't leak to much. After the race, I will probably send it to a "Authorized repair facility". And if they can't repair it, then I will price out a new one, OUCH!

If things were not going strange enough, last night, I got hit with malware on the computer. I was searching for some transmission drawings on the internet and hit a site that started trying to scan my computer for errors, trying to sell me data recovery software and showed all kinds of warnings. I could not close it out. I performed a virus scan and a hard drive scan. The scans made it appear that all my files were there, but I could not find anything! Most of the night, the scans ran but this morning it was no better. After returning from the dentist, I had a thought and ran a "System Restore" to a time before the event occurred. Sure enough the computer was restored to the configuration from the previous day. The malware was gone and all my files are back. The only thing missing is my Favorites on my browser. I need to fiqure out if those can be reloaded. I am happy this worked, I thought I was going to have to take the computer somewhere and pay to get it fixed.

So, while the computer was restoring this morning, I decided to take a bicycle ride. Two things I was wanting to try: some different wheels and the new pavement on Illahee Rd from Sylvan Way to Ocean View Road. A few years ago I bought a wheelset from Ebay. It is a nice set of wheels (Mavic Open Pro with Campy hubs) that are very light and showed no wear when I bought them. I probably only put about 100 miles on them with some old tires and zero miles since I installed new tires. The wheels I have been using on the white bike are Mavic CXP33's with Campy hubs. They are a semi aero wheel. I also bought that wheelset on Ebay and have put quite a few miles on them. Another cyclist had broken a wheel and I offered to loan him the Open Pro wheelset. He did not accept the offer, so I decided to try them out myself. I started out for a 21 mile ride to Keyport and back. Sure enough, the new pavement was smooth and fast. After about five miles, the bike got hard to peddle and soon I could not peddle at all. What is going on? I coasted to the side of the road and got off. It did not take me long to see that the retainer that screws into the end of the hub to hold on the rear cassette cogs had come loose and was jammed against the rear frame dropout. I removed the wheel and tightened the retainer by hand. Since I did not have the appropriate tool, I returned home to repair the bike. After tightening the ring with the special tools and after lunch, I once again set off on my 21 mile ride, this time without incident. The replacement wheelset has higher gearing(11 X 23 rear cogset) than my other wheelset, so the riding was more interesting than normal But the new wheels are light and roll easy and smooth and the total mileage for the day was 32miles with two climbs up the hill from Illahee to Sylvan Way.

Now if I only had the new radiator for the Bronco...... It has been two and a half weeks sent I sent the radiator in for warranty!

Tightening the retainer with the special driver, chain whip to hold the cogs and yes, a crescent wrench!