October 21st: Rest Day in Dianbai 电白
Day 8
Where is Cher?
Finally our first rest day and as Cher pointed out even office workers get 2 days off per week. We only peddled a half-day and what we are doing can hardly be called work, a rest day is always welcomed. After spending the better part of the day typing up our last 7 days we located an “internet cafe,” in what looked like an abandoned industrial building. Following a set of trash-riddled steps along a concrete corridor, we found the owners sitting behind a counter in complete darkness. We soon found out the power just went out in this half of the neighborhood a few minutes ago. We had to wait another day to upload our adventures. I spent the second half of the day maintaining the trikes. Using the Chinese version of WD-40 I degreased and lubed the chains. Our drive train should last at least 8,000 miles, maybe more depending on how often we keep the grit from sanding down the parts. After 7 incredibly dusty days and starting from a state of extreme cleanliness, everything was black and caked. I’ve found that using a synthetic wet lubricant is the best, even though they have the tendency to attract dirt. The dry lubricants wear out too quickly and don’t dispel water quite as well. Focusing on Cher’s trike I found her rear derailleur was sticking and after disassembling the cable and housing I discovered her cable completely rusted. Oh sweet preparation! thankfully I brought a spare and without incident was able to disassemble her twist grip and replace the cable, after clearing her cable housing of rust with the degreaser and lubing it. I’m guessing that due to the vertical position of the twist grip and the small hole for the cable end at the base of the grip, that during our numerous rain storms in Taiwan that water was able to drip through the hole and was funneled into the cable housing. A small piece of duct tape over the hole fixes this. We have finally adjusted to the travelling pace. We can peddle all day without having to stop repeatedly to tighten this or adjust that, which we did 4 to 5 times a day during our first 5 days. With this in mind I’ve gone over the trikes testing every single nut and bolt to ensure they are tight. Our bodies are also running well and haven’t had any aches or pains worth mentioning. Trikes truly are comfort machines and we feel that we have chosen wisely, despite the constant curiosity they draw.
Not much of a rest day since we spent the entire day from 6am till 9pm working. However, this has been our normal schedule. We usually stir at 6 am and we are in bed by 8pm. Having had plenty of exercise everyday, our sleep is usually sound. That with our home-cooked healthy meals, and a budget which doesn’t leave room for nights out drinking and partying, this is going to be a healthy life-style.
