A crash and a month later

Yep, I did it again. It seems I'm prone to yearly self-inflicted crashes. Last year it was on my Viscount Sprint, cycling straight into a bollard and fracturing my hand; on a Friday mid August this year my hand-eye coordination failed and, instead of gripping my handlebar, my fingers grasped into the void and off I came. No fractures, just a big bump on the side of my head and a shock. Got lucky, I'd say.
See, who needs cars or other road users? I'm perfectly fine to injure myself without anyone else.
Anyway, after a day's recovery on the sofa, and lending the red flash, the bike that miraculously survived the incident, to a friend, who then had an accident on a motorcycle the Sunday after mine, wasn't to be seen for a whole month. I cannot stress enough how much I missed that bike. Seriously, if one of my Viscounts isn't where it belongs--in reach and safe--I get agitated. A lot! Particularly this one means a lot to me as it's a frame Steve prepared for me, and is my very first self-built bike, including the wheels. Not to mention the costs. And its parts are basically nicked from Shawn, who was my first Viscount and the beginning of a beautiful love.
Okay, I'm aware that I'm sounding a bit a lot like a crazy person. If you've been visiting regularly and wondered if I'd lost interest in Viscounts because I haven't posted in a two months or so: let me tell you, there's nothing that could put me off those bikes. Absolutely nothing! I rode the blue one and the Viscountess to work and, every time I see another one on the roads, I'll chase that owner up. Or, if an unsuspecting customer walks with one into the shop ... well, take a blind guess. Something which happened just this week. I swear the poor guy didn't know what hit him when I marched out of the workshop, eyes literally popping out of my head with excitement while I bombarded him with facts about his ride. Afterwards he quietly said, 'I'm feeling unworthy of this bike, maybe it's better you have it.'
'Yes,' I wanted to say, 'give it to me!' On the other hand, I thought this would be immensely rude, even though he'd been given the Aerospace through freecycle. Of course it would have been gone to a good home, no arguing that. Ah well. I hope after the information I've fed him, he'll take good care of his newly obtained choice of transport.
Speaking of looking after your bike: my red flash came back to me in a bit of state; for as long as I'd had it, I'd never left it exposed to the elements. My poor boy had been sitting in a garden since August and I can't say I'm too happy about it. In addition to that, he was suffering with a bent front caliper and brake hanger, and an out-of-whack rear wheel.

That not how a brake hanger should look like

Spot the left caliper

No idea what happened, but it looks like he's been squashed with/into something. I doubt it was because of the fall, as the caliper doesn't show any scratches/damage, as you can see in the picture above. There are, however, two deep scratches at the down tube, just behind the shifters (not caused by them!). As you can imagine, I wasn't too amused.
But I did what I had to do: fix it. Went to Micycle to use their workshop and hammer/bend the brake hanger back to almost normal, bend the caliper, true the wheel, give it a good once-over and clean before taking it for a spin to Dalston in order to meet my friend Ben from Bikebox to say hi.

I'm all over in love again!

Those two were rather sweet, taking photos of my bike.

On my way home I stopped at Clissold Park to show off my shiny bike and, while taking pictures, two boys (you can see them walking away in the second picture) were admiring my red flash, asking if I'm selling it. No, sorry, mate, not gonna happen.

Why you can't have enough Viscounts

Viscount Aerospace Sport

It was only a few days ago when I sang high praises on the Panaracer Pasela amber-walled tyres. I've ridden mine since October and only had two punctures so far. Correction: three, including today. So you can probably imagine how miffed I was when I had a flat rear. No, don't even think about my arse!
With a shrug, I put the red flash back into the shed and pulled out the blue Aerospace Sport. Went to the shop, played with bikes and wheels all day then, on way back, I thought the squeaking noise coming from the front of my bike didn't sound healthy, so I stopped to investigate. Bugger! That stem was way too far out. How did that happen? I have no idea. Whenever I rode it it was fine. Now that damn stem has an imperial-sized bolt and, unfortunately, I don't have the right-sized tool for it (yet). I'd put it off to buy one because everything was fine. Pushed the bike home, cursing under my breath.
Note to self: get imperial-sized allen keys, woman!
I won't be able to fix both bikes until Sunday as I'm busy with other things tomorrow. But how lucky am I to

Viscount Aerospace Pro

have the Viscount Aerospace Pro still sitting in my shed? Okay, its wheels are a tad on the risky side (spokes too loose and pretty rusty), and the handlebar tape has sort of come loose but, who cares? I haven't ridden that bike in ages, it may be good to shake off some of the cob-webs. As you know, it's my restoration project and needs the wheels cleaned and rebuild as well as various parts re-chromed; I also have new cotton-cloth handlebar tape sitting here, waiting to be used.
Let's see if that bike is actually rideable--I haven't checked. If everything fails, I still have my mamachari ...
Anyway, once the special Viscount tool arrives, I'll give the blue one a proper once over, then swap the stem for a shorter SR, with blue plastic handlebar tape (not sure how it will feel), and service the bottom bracket. When I've got my other bikes built, I'll have the blue one resprayed, too. That'll be six Viscounts in total then. And one Lococo, which means I'll have a bike for every day of the week. How cool's that?

A date that has to be ear-marked!

On the 6th of July last year was the first ever Death Fork Rally (DFR), a get together of Viscount and Lambert owners, initiated by Busaste, the God of all things relatedViscount or Lambert; a walking knowledge base, if you will. From what I've heard and seen, if was a huge success; everyone enjoyed a wonderful--albeit rather hot--day out, and pouring over each others' bikes. Unfortunately, I couldn't  make it, but promised,  myself and the guys--and girl, to be there this year. And boy am I excited to go! I've 'known' the guys from the forum since June last year, and have conversed with quite a few via e-mail, even met some of them, and I can vouch for their loveliness. All of them are welcoming and helpful if you have problems or questions. Nothing's too much for the lot. 

So if you have a Lambert or Viscount, and fancy to meet some other enthusiasts, then please note down this day: 28th of June 2014.

Here's the wonderful poster the lovely wife of Triitout made:

We haven't agreed on an event yet, but it's going to be somewhere in the midlands, with easy access by either train or car, and with a possibility to stay overnight. For further information and updates, please visit: Viscount and Lambert boards.

It would be nice to have you. x

... but I just wanted to cycle to Greenwich!

That was the plan. No, wrong; originally I wanted to pop by at scrap yard in Leyton. Didn't really happen. Instead I thought I'd cycle to Greenwich as I haven't been there since 1996--sad, I know--and that despite my having very good memories of my first visit to London. All I wanted was to take the red flash out and enjoy the sunshine--anything to ride my Viscount, really. Yesterday, I went to Battersea, but I've cycled that route enough for now and wanted a change of scene. Unfortunately, I never arrived in Greenwich, which was, once again, down to my inability to orientate myself. I stopped at Borough Market and had the fine idea to buy some special German ketchup, but couldn't find neither the market stall or the German deli's shop. Not even after a few rounds on that damn market. Lost again! Great! Sod it, I thought to myself, the sun's shining, get out of here and on the road. Went through Hoxton and Shoreditch and then made a little turn to the right and eventually ended up in Victoria Park where I stopped for a latte and lemon drizzle.

Anyhow, those relaxed times will be over soon when my mate Ben and I are opening our workshop container in Dalston--hopefully happening by end of this month or beginning of April. It's called Bike Box which will basically be Ben doing repairs and custom builds and me, building 27-inch wheels like there's no tomorrow. I've been riding around on mine since October (longer rides and bumpy roads) and I'm rather happy with how they're holding up. So if you know someone who's re-building an old frame and is looking for 27 1 1/4 alloy wheels, tell him/her to look no further. Of course, if you insist to get your bike done be me, I'll probably not say no. :-)

It ain't no virgin anymore

Over the past few days I've finished the build of the new bike. As you know I had started with the project at my local bike shop and prepared it to the point that I could just slap the rest of the components/cables on and it would be ready. I decided to do it in my kitchen, and discovered that a gap in appliances make a wonderful bike stand.

 

Along the way, I learned that good cable cutters (preferably Shimano) are an essential for the (home) mechanic, so will have to try to get my hands on a pair soon. With inner and outer cables dangling off various places, I went to Finsbury Cycles to borrow theirs. After that, I was off to Mamachari, to work on the gears and chuck the front wheel into the truing stand. I'm rather proud to announce that my rear wheel is quite straight; the front wheel needed a little adjustment, but wasn't horribly out of true. Not bad for a first time wheel builder, eh?

I fiddled a long while with the gears, and had to bend the chain ring, too but, eventually, got everything sorted and let Noah take it for a quick test ride. I may be a mechanic myself, but I've not exactly worked on hundreds of bikes, and since I was going on a ride today, I wanted to be sure everything's fine. Luckily it was. 

Met with one of my cycling club members and off we went along the canal, through Hyde Park, stopped for a quick latte, and then went back. It was a joy. I must say that my heart beat a little faster knowing that I have build that bike. Anyway, here a few pictures of us (the bike and me!).

Viscount Aerospace Sport

Stella & the Viscount

Smiling despite the cold

Guess I have to work on that pose!

Pictures that don't need explaining

I took this one recently to put on my Twitter profile.(@viscountstella) Since it's rare to get your hands on original Viscount-branded brakes, I thought this would make for a really nice picture. 

Unbelievable as it is, I think the rain compliments the shot. At first I wanted to use this one, for I love the colours of the head badge so much:

But, somehow, the Mafac brake, even though a great brand, disturbed the picture. This is Shawn, by the way, the bike that now has a pair of brand-spanking new, shiny wheels, built by my very own hands. 27" 1 1/4, of course. Now he looks like a proper Viscount Aerospace Sport (1976). Although not 100%. I'll probably replace the brakes for some NOS Weinmann ones, as I couldn't get the front one to shut up. It's screaming and squeaking like hell, announcing me from afar. No idea why, as it only started with the new pads. It was all fine with the old ones. But I thought it may be better to get the right pads for alloy, as they're better for the rims. Anyway, I couldn't tighten the arms as the threads seems to be worn. Can't blame them, they've probably done their duty and saved Shawn's previous rider from many crashes.

Unfortunately, the weather didn't permit for some nice pictures of the bike in its full beauty, but I'll deliver them as soon as possible. (You hear that, weather? Tomorrow calls for sunshine, right?)

Seriously, what were you thinking?

And a little rant I had recently:

Hello, Universe, do you have a minute or two? Great, because I had a shite day and I'd like to get something off my chest. If you don't mind, I'm having a w(h)ine now.
You know I'm eternally thankful that you lay the grounds for my becoming an author and editor; despite having a break from writing, I know there are still enough novels slumbering in me and they will, at some point, demand their way out. 
But, I'm wondering what warped sense of humour you must possess to have made me meet Shawn and fall head over heels for him? I mean, what the fuck? Seriously. Okay, I've loved cycling all my life and my bikes always meant the world to me, but this? Of course I'm enjoying the change from mountain bike to road bike, and I haven't looked back, but you are aware that I'm shoulder-deep in bicycle parts, tools I never knew even existed, and when I spoke about bottom brackets with a handy man today, he shook his head, saying it's going way over his head.
Personal progress aside: Do you know how frustrating it is to have three complete bikes and none of them is in perfect working order? Do you know how annoying it is to not know how to fix them yourself, even though you want to? And how much I want to scream when people, working at a bike shop, look at either a hub or bottom bracket of a 1976 Viscount, scratching their heads, saying they've never seen something like that in their life and don't know what to do with it? I've been the, admittedly proud, owner of Shawn since end of April but,  for the past two weeks, he's been sadly abandoned, because he was suffering major bottom bracket illness--one I couldn't fix since I had no idea how. In the meantime I had to acquire another Viscount since I need to get around London, you see? I also have another Viscount frame sitting in my bedroom, waiting to be brought back to life, and another frame is with a wonderful man, who's doing some CPR to it. Now this also costs a lot of money, you see? Money I don't necessarily have. But you, Universe, have a devillish merry time to make me go through all the suffering a non-experienced bike owner, now wanting to become a mech, apparently needs to go through. No need to ask you if you think it's funny; I can hear your laughter from there, wherever that is!
Up to yesterday, I was quite enjoying my new 'calling', but today, you went overboard, throwing some more obstacles in my way--for good measure, I assume--so that I not only hurt myself (the wrist's now swollen, I hope you're happy), but also question what I'm doing here, covered in grease. Thankfully, as I just learned, you only gave me a scare and I assembled the bottom bracket correctly, with the two grooves on the right side, but did you think it necessary, after two hours of hard work getting the job done, to make me give up because I only have a rubbish spanner to fit the cranks? Or was it you telling me that the work on the BB isn't done yet? Thanks a bunch. Had you made it slide in smoothly and right in place, this wouldn't have been necessary.
Yes, I'd love to be the woman, when it comes to Viscount bicycles, but can't you make it a tad easier for me? Can't you see, I'm working hard, learning fast and am trying my very best to get up to speed with all the information I can gather. Do you always have to make it so much harder for me? How about you throw a little bit of magic in my direction? That would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance. Tomorrow, I'll expect for everything to go easy. In fact, I'd like for the rest of my life to be a doddle. How's that, eh? And while you're at it, I'd like a few more grand so I can get some proper tools to get the jobs done. Don't forget one of those beautiful crank sets I'm after, okay, preferably with a bike attached to it. Just thought I'd mention it.

Chardonnay cheers,

Stella