There was one anoying breakdown during my recent trip. This was very minor and not worth digging down to my tools to fix, but repeating failures made it annoying. It was my suspenders. As I was bicycling down the highway, periodically a suspender strap would fly loose. A pair of plyers could fix that, but why stop and dig out my tool box for such a minor thing.
When I got to Listowel I noticed one of my trailer tires was worn right out and thought I better get it replaced before it blew out. I bought a new tire at CT and went to a spot on the bike trail to do the repair. All done, I packed my tools away and repacked the trailer. Then my suspender strap flew off and I remembered I should have fixed it while my tools were out. I decided to go back to Walmart to look around and I looked for a loose pair of pliers that I could borrow to fix my suspender. An employee asked what I was looking for and I told him. All pliers where in sealed packages, so I admitted what I wanted to do explaining my pliers were packed away at the bottom of my tailer. He picked up a pair of needle nose vise grips that worked for my purpose.
Half way between Drayton and Alma is the place where I had to fix a bearing on a previous trip. I was now going the opposite way, but as I got closer to Alma I began to hear noises that sounded like a bearing begining to go. When I installed the tire I had spun the wheel to be sure everything was turning freely. It was the inside bearing on the opposite wheel that I had replaced a couple of months earlier. Perhaps it was the outside bearing on the same wheel, but no, the sound seemed to be coming from the wheel with the brand new tire. The noises came more often and eventually it was steady. As I got on the trail to Fergus at Elora, I noticed a wobble that indicated the bearing was completely gone. Luckily it had not seized up as the last one did. This was going to cause a delay, but since I was still rolling I reasoned that I could make it to my sisters house OK. (My sister, Evelyn, owns Jester's Fun and Games. Stop in to see her if you visit Fergus. They are the number one stop for Fergus on Trip Advisor.)
Next morning with the help of Tim, my brother-in-law, I got the bearing replaced and was on my way by 10:30 am. I made good time getting to Guelph, was shopping early afternoon and got to my sister, Mary's house, by mid afternoon.
When I got to Listowel I noticed one of my trailer tires was worn right out and thought I better get it replaced before it blew out. I bought a new tire at CT and went to a spot on the bike trail to do the repair. All done, I packed my tools away and repacked the trailer. Then my suspender strap flew off and I remembered I should have fixed it while my tools were out. I decided to go back to Walmart to look around and I looked for a loose pair of pliers that I could borrow to fix my suspender. An employee asked what I was looking for and I told him. All pliers where in sealed packages, so I admitted what I wanted to do explaining my pliers were packed away at the bottom of my tailer. He picked up a pair of needle nose vise grips that worked for my purpose.
Half way between Drayton and Alma is the place where I had to fix a bearing on a previous trip. I was now going the opposite way, but as I got closer to Alma I began to hear noises that sounded like a bearing begining to go. When I installed the tire I had spun the wheel to be sure everything was turning freely. It was the inside bearing on the opposite wheel that I had replaced a couple of months earlier. Perhaps it was the outside bearing on the same wheel, but no, the sound seemed to be coming from the wheel with the brand new tire. The noises came more often and eventually it was steady. As I got on the trail to Fergus at Elora, I noticed a wobble that indicated the bearing was completely gone. Luckily it had not seized up as the last one did. This was going to cause a delay, but since I was still rolling I reasoned that I could make it to my sisters house OK. (My sister, Evelyn, owns Jester's Fun and Games. Stop in to see her if you visit Fergus. They are the number one stop for Fergus on Trip Advisor.)
Next morning with the help of Tim, my brother-in-law, I got the bearing replaced and was on my way by 10:30 am. I made good time getting to Guelph, was shopping early afternoon and got to my sister, Mary's house, by mid afternoon.
