Ladies and gentlemen, Phoebe Mercury

wheel crack

P8211123, originally uploaded by arnica montana.

not just cheap drug, I found this gem after doing the RSVP. during the ride, I noticed a thump thump whenever i applied my rear brakes. once i got the bike home, i checked the rim and found a section where the rim had cracked. it is hard to see but along the rim where the break pads touch the rim, is an inch long crack. Yikes, don't even want to think about what could have happened..

So i am going to duct tape it really tightly and apply some superglue to the edges and I should be fine.

done deal.

helmet head

helmet head, originally uploaded by arnica montana.

Phoebe and i vistited the home of Dutch Bikes of Seattle. David was nice enough to let us test ride some of his cool imported Dutch bikes.

phoebe and big boy dutch bike

phoebe and big boy dutch bike, originally uploaded by arnica montana.

This is the "transport." it is very tall and very comfortable. some of the neat features that come standard are:
8 speed shamano nexus hub
front and rear roller breaks
dyno hub lights
brooks saddle
canilevered front rack that can hold up to 125 lbs.
rear rack.
fenders
covered chain guard.

very fun bike to ride

more pictures of big boy dutch bike

big boy dutch bike, originally uploaded by arnica montana.

big boy on "transport" bike

big boy dutch bike, originally uploaded by arnica montana.

backfeit

backfeit, originally uploaded by arnica montana.

this is the cargo bike. it is very cool.

Phoebe and I plan to ride this during the Tour de Fat. if you want to do so too, I am sure David can be talked into letting you increase the publicity for his bikes.

go to http://dutchbikeseattle.com/ to find out more.

Noise Update

There has been recent activity regarding that annoying noise in my car.

Shortly after creating this blog, I called Click and Clack (PRI) in hopes that I could gain my deserved and as of yet unfulfilled fifteen minutes of fame. I left a message and gave them the URL to this blog. Alas, two weeks have passed and no call back.

So on to the update.

First, thanks to all you grease monkeys who took time to respond to my lame blog (or as I call it, la-blog) and attempted to diagnose my problem. I got quite a few emails as well. Some responses were serious, most were not. All responses were and are greatly appreciated by yours truly. The most accurate diagnosis was, "it's your heater blower motor. The bearings are worn out. Replace it," given by father, father in law and other "car" people.

The lovely and talented Aaron "Crash" Cassell sent me a link to a site that listed the steps to replacing blower motors in Volvos of my age and class.

So one unrainy day, I took the old motor out, drove to Shucks Auto Parts and swapped it for a new one for $50. Took it home and an hour later I had a quite car.

Thanks for your help everybody. And feel free to let me know of your own car noises. Together we can make a differential.

My Car Has Annoying Noise Coming Somewhere From Heater Vent

When I turn on the blower of my 1987 Volvo station wagon, a very annoying noise fills the car. It makes no difference what setting I use. Defrost, heat, cold air, floor heat, upper heat; the sound is the same with each setting. The only difference in sound sometimes happens when I choose low or high blower settings. The low blower setting sometimes gives a low tone like a baratone blowing a kazoo, and the high blower setting gives a high "boiling tea kettle" tone. Most of the time, no matter what the blower setting, the tone is tea kettle. Sometimes for moments at a time, there is no noise but that only lasts for seconds.

It seems the noise is coming from the front passenger side below the glove box. The truely lame part is that I can't use my heater unless I have ear plugs in my ears and I never have ear plugs in my ear.

Please post your suggestions if you have any idea how to get rid of this noise.

View the movie of the noise in my car via YouTube.
View the movie of the noise in my car via my server.