Friday January 7th 2022

There were a few very brief periods of rain overnight as the cold front passed through the area. The only impact on the today’s weather was the wind direction switched from the south to the northwest. It was still a warm day with a high temperature in the upper seventies.

I’ve been carrying my bicycle with me on the Rambling Road Trip. It rides between campgrounds on a rack attached to the back of my SUV which I tow behind the motorhome. At most stops I take the bike and the bike rack off the back of the car, but I seldom use the bicycle. It stays locked to the picnic table or the ladder at the back of my motorhome.

A couple of weeks ago, at Myakka River State Park, I tried to use the bike. After I filled the tires and hoped on the bike, I discovered a problem. The front brake was seized. This had happened once before. Water runs down the brake cable and gets caught in a metal tube just before the caliper connection. Rust builds up between the cable wire and the tube. Last time, it was a simple task of adding a little pressure and some oil. This time it wasn’t as straight forward. I ended up drenching the area in WD40 and putting it aside until another time.

Today was the day to work on the bicycle. I disassembled the connections around the offending area and tried to work the cable free. It was still refusing to cooperate. This time I left the offending area to soak in a little dish of penetrating oil overnight. I’ll try again in the morning. The next option is to buy a new brake cable. I also need to replace the rotting bicycle seat. It may also be time to seriously consider if it is worth dragging the bike around the country with me.