There's less than a week until we leave, and we're both scrambling like mad to finish our bike prep and get the rest of our gear squared away. This is pretty bad, as it's good practice to finish at least a full week, if not two, in advance of a trip. This gives you ample time to shake out any of the bugs in the modifications you've made, repairing any issues in the comfort of your home garage. Matt's leaving Friday since he has further to go to the rendezvous point; I leave Saturday.
I finished all the wiring on my bike (Kimpex heated grips with Heat-Troller, Signal Dynamics voltage LED) very late on Sunday. Amazingly enough, everything seems to work correctly—no blown fuses or smoking accessories. Earlier in the day I had mounted the new TKC-80 tires, and while re-installing the wheels I noticed that the rear wheel didn't spin freely any longer. The new tire, while taller, didn't seem to have any clearance issues, and I double-checked the spacers on both sides of the wheel, making sure that they were in place. It wasn't until the next day that I thought to double-check the brake pads. Sure enough, the inside pad was a bit crooked in the carrier. I set it straight and the problem was gone.
The front, however, also manifested a problem. While replacing the front caliper, one of the bolts that mounts the caliper adapter to the fork leg stripped out. (Recall that I have an oversized front rotor on my bike.) I called CycleBrakes, who sold me the rotor kit, and was told 1) they don't normally sell the adapter separately, and 2) the person who could possibly authorize such a sale is on vacation until Wednesday. Harumph.
I've taken a couple of rides with the bolt as it is and so far have had no problems. The bolt will turn in either direction, but it won't tighten nor loosen. At this point I'm probably going to just put a blob of RTV over the head of the bolt to keep it from falling out and call it good.
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