This week: hand plain making, gutter digging and chop the seat & speedo. Reading Dervla Murphy & Cervantes, another go @seat chop. Swap Salsa for Surly Krampus

After yesterday's bit hectic day on the road, and it being wet, I determined to have a day about home. 

For some reason l took to the digger, put the skinny bucket on and resumed digging the gutter down the top emptying into the dam. The only snag was having to clear out fairly large rocks, but that's easier with Digby. L did the job in two shifts, because I got hungry. 

On one of my breaks I started work on a hand plane for body surfing. This way I can literarily "go surfing" with a shopping bag's worth of equipment. Besides, a good body surfing session can be had in poor conditions. 

I poked around with chopping my Honda too. Speedo:  l got busy tracing the original wires and making a diagram before getting the new part out and realising it wasnt right. Advertised on EBay as suitable for VT750, the thing had a cable drive. I wrote them, but didn't hold my breath.

Seat: the new seat has a sprung base and l had to do a Houdini escape from my old ways of thinking to work it out. naturally, despite being marketed as suitable for the Shadow, it needed modifications; cutting, beating and welding. the "gas tank" has arrived at an area post office and should be ready tomorrow. its a very unexact hobby, but creative How the hell do guys get those showroom choppers made?!

The tank should be arriving soon, as should the struts.   

THURSDAY
Mornings lately begin with a rosary and a read (Dervla Murphy and Cervantes). With the cooler weather & realization that waiting for inspo, vision or aide to chop my bike will never happen, l will revisit the seat chop. I've got to get creative & be mongrel. 
Tempting too to hack out my hand plain, so l may go there for light relief.  

11:55pm Thursday.
Feeling great about the chopped seat. I know my tank is nearby and I'm keen to hack away at the rear guard.

Outside its raining.sparsely with big drops and the electrical activity that began in the far south many hours ago, is now quite close overhead. So many flashes andctge rumbles are very cool. 

FRIDAY
earlier I took Salsa Beargrease fatbike for conversion to 2.5" wheel size. Well, it was going to cost more than what I paid for the bike and with a possible buyer through the bike shop, I am looking at buying a new Surly Krampus with money from the sales of Salsa and Brompton. Which is cool. The bike mechanic suggested the K over the Bridge Club due to the higher end components. He possibly felt that stepping off the S to a BC be a downgrade. I was thinking the same, as the BC in plane black looks a bit flat. So today I negotiate with Rachel and then call Ghost Gum to move on the Krampus.  

PROCRASTINATION
topic emerged on fb this morning. How we bikepackers keep putting off the big trip; when I have more training miles, more money, someone to ride with etc. But that under this unceasing delay is a later of doubt, or fear. The Good News is that, once we begin we adapt to the new reality ... and success is ours. We may not actually complete the goal, but we will have begun, learned lessons and broken the ties that held us back. 
 

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