Refining my tool kit

[Joy Beeson]

Thursday, 17 June


I found a better bag to put my tools in.

Since I haven't found a suitable saddle bag (all seem to be either too
small or huge) I've been putting my tools in a drawstring bag, looping
the drawstring through the handle on my rack, rolling the bag up in
the drawstring, and strapping it down with a bungee that also steadies
my cable lock.

The orange bag I'd been using is too deep, and in addition to making
it difficult to get at the contents, it has to be rolled and rolled
around said contents before it's small enough to pass through the
drawstring.

I was throwing away a little bag that had contained a pair of belts,
when I realized that it was a tough drawstring bag, and just the right
size. Well, it's a tad small for an eight-inch Crescent crescent
wrench, but I can put it in diagonally.

So I threw it onto my rack, and today (anticipating a long ride the
day after tomorrow) I switched the stuff over.

The first thing I found was a sample-size bottle of Eucerin, the
culmination of a years-long search for a leak-proof way to carry olive
oil to clean my hands with. But I'd forgotten it completely, since
the lip-salve box of A+D Ointment in my pocket is easier to get at and
easier to use. And it's probably dried up by now, so I set it aside.

That left me with a bobbin of nylon thread in a "pill pouch", a cable
tie, a ten-millimeter combination wrench, an eight-inch crescent
wrench, and a Rema patch kit. Since I no longer carry a frame pump, I
ought to cast that out too, but I've added to it a band-aid, a
merthiolate swab, a chip of soap. three Presta valve caps, a
valve-stem nut, and three greenbacks. Hey, there's room for the
thread in there too!

I carry a pair of folding pliers in my wallet, and they have been
handy on many occasions. I also carry scissors, nail clippers, a
tape measure, and two knives on my key chain.

--
Joy Beeson
joy beeson at centurylink dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/

[John B.]

What do you use the 8 inch Crescent wrench for on a bicycle?
--
Cheers,

John B.

[Joy Beeson]

On Fri, 18 Jun 2021 11:57:48 +0700, John B. <sloc...@gmail.com>
wrote:

> What do you use the 8 inch Crescent wrench for on a bicycle?

The *handle* is eight inches.

I must look around for a six-inch wrench when I pass by Lowe's
tomorrow.

I've spent all day getting ready for this ride -- but ironing my veil
for going into stores entailed ironing two shirts that I washed last
Monday.

And putting salt into my emergency-food bag led to neatening up the
go-bag I'll put the emergency food into next week, and that somehow
required me to put away the dishes Dave washed yesterday. I forgot
how putting dishes away got onto the to-do list while I was still
doing it.

This will be my first quarter century of the season.

I had to put a gratuitous garage sale on my map to get the milage up.

The barbecue-kit sale at Duck Down and Above is over today. I hope
this means that the special well be something worth riding to Leesburg
for next week.

[John B.]

On Fri, 18 Jun 2021 22:52:13 -0400, Joy Beeson
<jbe...@invalid.net.invalid> wrote:

>On Fri, 18 Jun 2021 11:57:48 +0700, John B. <sloc...@gmail.com>
>wrote:
>
>> What do you use the 8 inch Crescent wrench for on a bicycle?
>
>The *handle* is eight inches.

Yes, I know what a 8 inch crescent wrench is. Crescent is of course
the name of the company that originally made the tool and, of course,
it's name is based on the approximate length of the wrench. Depending
on the maker it has a jaw opening of about 1" to perhaps 1-1/4"

But the question remains "what is it used for on a bicycle" :-)

>
>I must look around for a six-inch wrench when I pass by Lowe's
>tomorrow.
>
>I've spent all day getting ready for this ride -- but ironing my veil
>for going into stores entailed ironing two shirts that I washed last
>Monday.
>
>And putting salt into my emergency-food bag led to neatening up the
>go-bag I'll put the emergency food into next week, and that somehow
>required me to put away the dishes Dave washed yesterday. I forgot
>how putting dishes away got onto the to-do list while I was still
>doing it.
>
>This will be my first quarter century of the season.
>
>I had to put a gratuitous garage sale on my map to get the milage up.
>
>The barbecue-kit sale at Duck Down and Above is over today. I hope
>this means that the special well be something worth riding to Leesburg
>for next week.
--

Cheers,

John B.

[pH]

You could always substitute a *six* inch Crescent (tm) wrench for the 8".

I'm curious why the tape measure...do you like to check the local fish
market for legal size catch before you buy? (just kidding)

But you could also substitute a dollar bill for a tape measure: It's 6"
long. So fold in half for 3", triple it up for 2" and fold that in half for
1......multiple bills for longer lengths.

Of course, you'd have to estimate your fractional inches.

This all applies to "weight watchers", so you may not care at all.

pH in Aptos

[Joy Beeson]

On Sat, 19 Jun 2021 20:32:18 -0000 (UTC), pH <wNOS...@gmail.org>
wrote:

> I'm curious why the tape measure...do you like to check the local fish
> market for legal size catch before you buy? (just kidding)

I use it while shopping, mostly, but the last two times I got it out
of my pocket, I used it to measure the width of a bike lane.

Found one of the notes:

:: Saturday, 23 January 2021

:: Left 11:22

:: 12:09 Paws 'N Claws

:: 12:18 stopped to measure "buffered bike lane" on Market street. 27", 43", 71"

:: 12:35 - 12:39 Old Jail

:: 12:45 - 12:59 courthouse steps

:: 12:31 Home


The "buffer" was twenty-seven inches, the lane proper was forty-three,
the over-all width was seventy-one. I *think* that I measured from
the outsides of the four-inch stripes, but that isn't mentioned in the
note.

The Old Jail Museum has outside steps suitable for exercise -- since
the door at the top is nailed shut, I wasn't likely to get close to
anybody. (I'm still wondering why there's a doormat in front of the
door! Probably to make it look as though it were in use.)

[pH]

Ah, thank-you. Well, the dollar bill trick would certainly be too tedious
for that.

pH