![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Cats, bikes, stuff
Feb. 28th, 2024 10:34 am1. The cats are continuing to cope with S's absence (and mine as well due to long work days) by playing with each other more. Here's a brief pause in the midst of a wrestling match this morning:
They still both want cuddles whenever they can get them, though.
2. The backpack-pannier had a catastrophic failure this morning:
That's one of the rack straps - the strap that holds the top of the pannier onto the rear rack. I had to put the pannier into the front basket, as seen here, just to make it the rest of the way in to work.
I have to conclude that the fabric and stitching are just not robust enough on this pannier for the way I use panniers every day, which is a shame, because there are multiple aspects of the design that I really appreciate, and I also enjoy the colorfulness. I probably just need to allocate time to do some of my own reinforcement, much as I did with the Arkel shopper-pannier way back in the day. I really hate the thought of tossing this bag in a landfill and buying yet another one after less than a full year of use.
Meanwhile, I'm thinking, the main thing that has worn out on my bike rain pants is the seat. So...maybe I just need to figure out how to replace the seat? This is easier said than done, because this is the bike saddle contact point, so fabric types and seams need to be strategically chosen. I'm reminded of my prior efforts to repair jeans that wore out in the crotch (also from wearing them while riding bikes). There are people who can do these types of repairs well, but that might require more time, tools, and knowledge than I currently have.
I also need to deal with Old Faithful, the Schwinn Collegiate. I was hoping to get the bike out for students to try it out, but the front tire is flat again after I reinflated it ahead of class time. I'm thinking it might be time to see about an updated front wheel for it.
3. In completely unrelated news, yesterday during the Animal Physiology labs, I actually had enough downtime that I spent a bit of time working on some lab archaeology. My lab has an old micro bomb calorimeter in it, so I just looked through what was there and put the instruction manual in the box with all the various parts. I also looked briefly at a chart plotter from 1984, and eventually decided it should get mothballed in a more out-of-the-way location.
And I found these cables:
Any idea what these might be for?
They still both want cuddles whenever they can get them, though.
2. The backpack-pannier had a catastrophic failure this morning:
That's one of the rack straps - the strap that holds the top of the pannier onto the rear rack. I had to put the pannier into the front basket, as seen here, just to make it the rest of the way in to work.
I have to conclude that the fabric and stitching are just not robust enough on this pannier for the way I use panniers every day, which is a shame, because there are multiple aspects of the design that I really appreciate, and I also enjoy the colorfulness. I probably just need to allocate time to do some of my own reinforcement, much as I did with the Arkel shopper-pannier way back in the day. I really hate the thought of tossing this bag in a landfill and buying yet another one after less than a full year of use.
Meanwhile, I'm thinking, the main thing that has worn out on my bike rain pants is the seat. So...maybe I just need to figure out how to replace the seat? This is easier said than done, because this is the bike saddle contact point, so fabric types and seams need to be strategically chosen. I'm reminded of my prior efforts to repair jeans that wore out in the crotch (also from wearing them while riding bikes). There are people who can do these types of repairs well, but that might require more time, tools, and knowledge than I currently have.
I also need to deal with Old Faithful, the Schwinn Collegiate. I was hoping to get the bike out for students to try it out, but the front tire is flat again after I reinflated it ahead of class time. I'm thinking it might be time to see about an updated front wheel for it.
3. In completely unrelated news, yesterday during the Animal Physiology labs, I actually had enough downtime that I spent a bit of time working on some lab archaeology. My lab has an old micro bomb calorimeter in it, so I just looked through what was there and put the instruction manual in the box with all the various parts. I also looked briefly at a chart plotter from 1984, and eventually decided it should get mothballed in a more out-of-the-way location.
And I found these cables:
Any idea what these might be for?
