Public Service Announcement - Go Get Some Sleep, the Project Isn't Going Anywhere

[Gone in 60]

I was just reminded about patience. Ok, not a direct motorcycle reference, and yeah, bicycles again, but the principle is the same.

I've been rotating bicycle and motorcycle commuting for the past few months. Recently, I restored an old bike, and I'm really happy about how it came out. It moves fast with rather low effort, so this morning I decided to take it out for the 12.5 mile commute to the office and leave the "new" bike in the garage.

Most of the way in, I got a flat front tire. Bummer. But, I was on a river trail heavily used by serious cyclists, and it wasn't long before I was able to flag down another rider who was carrying a pump. I didn't see anything sticking out of the tire, so I pumped it up and made a mad dash for the office before it went completely flat again. I was curious, as the tube and tire are new as part of my restoration.

While I don't ride with a pump and patch kit, I keep a pump, spare tubes and tools at the office in case they're needed, and glad I had them today.

Taking the tire and tube off of the rim for inspection, I quickly figured out what happened. A sharp plastic clip had gotten inside the tire and sandwiched between the tire and tube, it had worn a hole in the tube. Where did the clip come from and why was it in there?

Thinking back, I had finished the last details of this bike at 3 am in the garage. There was no need to work late into the night. I was tired, bleary-eyed, swigged down a cup of coffee, and kept at it. I thought "I want to see this thing sitting on its own wheels before I go to bed!" That meant cleaning and repacking bearings and reassembling gears before I could get to the tires and tubes to put it all back together.

The clip held the reflector on the wheel. I pulled it off because reflectors are lame, and the reflector was in the way of polishing the spokes. I heard the clip plink around the garage but didn't pay much attention to where it went.

Finally, one of the last steps was to put the tube in the tire, mount them to the wheel and pump it up. Did I notice that the clip had probably stuck to the fresh rubber of the tube? Or inspect the inside of the tire? Nope. Just stay awake and finish the job.

When I staggered to bed, yup, it was on its wheels. I just didn't know that in my tired carelessness, it would need to be back off of a wheel before I knew it.

Get your sleep, people!

[Cormanus]

Very good advice, Mr Gone. I’d add “take a break”. I’ve been working on a repair project and have struggled with bits of. I’ve found two or three times that heading inside for a coffee or a rest can make a big difference.

[Gone in 60]

I did it again...

[Nachodaddy]

They should have a big rubber hand that comes up and slaps you awake when you press that button before you put the cup in place. To be fair . . . I have done this more than once.

[Gone in 60]

Not the first time for me... especially right now. Have a lot of stuff bearing down and trying to get through it. Keeping all of my brain cells moving in the same direction has been challenging.

[Whoops]

Very good advice, Mr Gone. I’d add “take a break”. I’ve been working on a repair project and have struggled with bits of. I’ve found two or three times that heading inside for a coffee or a rest can make a big difference.

My problem is when I come back to a project the next day, short term memory loss has given me a clean slate and I can’t remember what parts go where anymore.

[pdedse]

Very good advice, Mr Gone. I’d add “take a break”. I’ve been working on a repair project and have struggled with bits of. I’ve found two or three times that heading inside for a coffee or a rest can make a big difference.

My problem is when I come back to a project the next day, short term memory loss has given me a clean slate and I can’t remember what parts go where anymore.

My problem is when I come back to a project the next day, short term memory loss has given me a clean slate and I can’t remember what parts go where anymore.
Ain't that the truth. Anything beyond an oil change or other simple job, I've learned the hard way I need to take pictures of everything before I begin. While I'm disasselmbling things take notes, write drawings, measure existing spaces, etc. Write in caps / bold "DONT FORGE TO ...". Then 3 days later when I return to the project, I search everywhere for an hour because I can't find my notes and my phone.

I did it again...

My first look at the photo--I thought "oh no! oil leaking out of the forks!". Where are my glasses?!

[Gone in 60]

Very good advice, Mr Gone. I’d add “take a break”. I’ve been working on a repair project and have struggled with bits of. I’ve found two or three times that heading inside for a coffee or a rest can make a big difference.

My problem is when I come back to a project the next day, short term memory loss has given me a clean slate and I can’t remember what parts go where anymore.

My problem is when I come back to a project the next day, short term memory loss has given me a clean slate and I can’t remember what parts go where anymore.
Ain't that the truth. Anything beyond an oil change or other simple job, I've learned the hard way I need to take pictures of everything before I begin. While I'm disasselmbling things take notes, write drawings, measure existing spaces, etc. Write in caps / bold "DONT FORGE TO ...". Then 3 days later when I return to the project, I search everywhere for an hour because I can't find my notes and my phone.

I did it again...

My first look at the photo--I thought "oh no! oil leaking out of the forks!". Where are my glasses?!

Ha! Regarding the notes... my nickname for Mrs. G is "Scraps", because when she wants to remembe to do something, she'll put it on a small scrap of paper near the thing she needs to remember (to do something to). Nine times out of ten, I'll bump into whatever it is and knock the note off of it and find the scrap on the floor.