Wandering with Tedder and Tamara

Not much of note happened on Tuesday (the 15th), except that our package of parts came! The package of parts from Eugene came! Our friends at Cycle Parts Eugene have treated us very kindly on this trip. The parts were small, but they will help us quit worrying about premature wear on the rear bearings.

I slept in quite late because I didn't go to bed until the sun was coming up. I've been having such a tough time sleeping.

We had a good time in the evening with the other guests of the hostel- especially Scott (from NYC) and Eva (from Germany).

The only other thing of note was Tamara did a bunch of research for school. In some ways it is kinda nice to be making “post-trip” plans, even if we don't have them nailed down.

5/16

Well, today was the second of our major Repair Days for the bike. I was somewhat dragging my feet, not wanting to do it, but I'm glad to have it all done.

First, Katia, one of the hostel owners, drove us across town (well, she drove, we followed one the bike) to a machine shop. She stayed and explained that we needed holes tapped. It's tough because it involves words that don't fit into our travel-oriented Spanish vocabulary. The older guy who was doing the work (and presumably owned the very nicely appointed machine shop) spent about 10 minutes on the bike, found a handful of 8mm bolts, and sent us on our way without letting us pay for it. I gave him a handshake and left with a very warm feeling. We've found that Ticos (Costa Ricans) are very nice, generous people.

Once we got back, we grabbed the two-part epoxy that we recently purchased, and then repaired the throttle lock, hole in the side case, and my shoes (the tread was coming off). It was quick stuff- I mixed one batch, and it was setting by the time I started working on my shoes.

Next we installed the parts that came yesterday. That meant dropping the wheel, replacing a spacer and a bearing seal, then putting it back together. It's so much easier with my trick lock nut and wrench- no pins, no crescent wrench, just like using a normal bolt.

I don't think we mentioned the tool tube repair from a few days ago. Dad (Fred) sent me a 4” ABS cap, pre-drilled with some light steel cable. I assembled the cable and installed the cap. Since we've lost three caps already this trip, I think the cable will keep us from losing yet another one. We weren't able to find an exact replacement anywhere in Central America, and the bodged caps that we used were fairly heavy, which made it easier for them to rattle off. We also drilled a small hole in the front of the tool tube to drain water. I need to make a rubber gasket/seal like Jim has done.

We also had kids and a cat hanging around while we were doing it. The owners' baby loved being lifted up onto the bike. I think the entertainment for her was being lifted- but she did like sitting on the seat. The cat, Gata (funny if you know spanish), likes us and is always hanging around. I lifted her up and into the topcase for the photo. She wasn't exactly thrilled, but was at least willing.

Our final big errand of the day was to get a box and mail a package of gunk home. It was right around $40, which we didn't think was very terrible. International postcard stamps are a bargain- about 27 cents.

We think this is our last night in San Jose. We've really enjoyed the hospitality of the Kabata Hostel, but it's time to move on towards Panama. Not sure if we'll make it to Panama City tomorrow or not- the border crossing is always an interesting variable- but in some ways it'll be nice to be on the road again.

Special note on the pictures: I hate it when someone posts pictures without at least some commentary on them. So, from top to bottom:

• Bike on our improvised centerstand/workstand. It's just one of the side cases.
• The owners' daughter.
• Rear wheel spacers: new and old. Note the wear and accumulated metal on the old one.
• Sidecase damage. This is the right case, the one that hit the huge boulder.
• Tool tube keeper. Small-gauge stainless steel wire.
• More damage to the right case. This is from the impact with the axle bolt. You can see a few tiny holes, which we covered with epoxy.
• Our feline friend, Gata.