Desert View - Day 89 - Tuned up

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7:02 am - Wednesday - February 7th - Grand Canyon - 20º F, 58% humidity, wind 3 mph out of the east....forecast is for sunny skies with a high of 53º F.  Up later today as it is our day off work.....heading into Flagstaff for a doctor's appointment.

The rising sun hitting the Watchtower 

It seems more redundant each day to report on another slow day in the General Store here at Desert View Watchtower, but it is what it is.  I began my day at the store by wet mopping the entire retail side of the store once again, which took me up to 8:30 am.  Then I spent another hour walking the store floor fronting product, returning product to its proper place in the store (customers tend to change their minds and just put down what they were carrying wherever they happen to be at the time), straightening out the many t-shirts on hangers, cleaning glass, brewing coffee for Deli (they don't open for business until 9 am each day, so it's up to me to make the coffee), etc.   That took me up to 9:15, and then I was out of 'stuff' to do.

I finally had my first paying customer sometime after 10 am, but it never really got what I would call busy, and my cash drop at the end of my shift reflected how slow it was.....it was only $40.02 for 4.5 hours, or a little under $10/hour.  TLE was right on time as always, and I was counting down my drawer a few minutes later.

I did have something to look forward to at home.....a fellow co-worker, Katie, had brought a mountain bike over, which recently had been gifted to her, to turn back into a working bicycle.  The threads on the left pedal were stripped so the pedal would not stay on the crank, the brakes were inoperable, and it was covered with rust......just my kind of project!

After eating lunch I headed out to the trailer to immerse myself in tuning up the bike.  The bike has 'v-brakes' (rim brakes) and they were kind of frozen so I removed them, cleaned up and greased the posts, replaced the brake cables and brakes, and then adjusted the brakes.....that took almost 2 hours.  I then rummaged through my spare parts barrel and found a 'left' pedal, which was almost identical to the right one, and installed it.  If you don't work on bikes you might not know that the left pedal axle is reverse threaded, and screws on counterclockwise, unlike the right pedal which has normal threads and threads on clockwise, so you have to have a pedal with an 'L' stamped on the end of the axle.  I have 4 or 5 pairs of pedals which I keep for just such an occasion.  I also keep shifting cables, and brake cables in stock (different diameters) as it is very common for a bike which has been sitting outside for months at a time to have the cables rust up and, therefore, cause the brakes to become inoperable.

I finally finished cleaning off the cobwebs and rust, then re-inflating the tires about 4:30 pm, and the bike was now fully functional once again......

The finished bike....ready to ride once again!

....this was not an expensive bicycle....probably was bought at KMART, or Walmart, but every bike deserves a tuneup once in a while, and I really enjoy the challenge!

TLE was home by 5:25, and another day living at Desert View has come to an end.....thanks for stopping by!

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