I’ve got the mechanics down for removing the pedals, and can always get them off with the heavy duty spanner we carry along. I just need to remember to not walk away and leave it on the ground when I’m done! Seems like a simple enough rule, but in my defense I could hardly see things down on the ground because my vision was so bad at the time. I’m glad I wrote so much down at the time, because it’s getting hard to remember how awful that entire month was now.

Pulling the stem is a real problem though with the newer Bike Fridays. The first NWT’s we got back in 2009 had a leverage point where you could pry the stem up from below with the spanner, but now there’s no option but to muscle it free. Another change I don’t like is that I miss the old split handlebars, which were much easier to pack into the suitcase.

I’m the same way. I liberally grease the pedals whenever I install them, and don’t tighten them much past finger tight. Its been nine months since they were installed though, and a lot of tightening happens.

I recently sold a bike to a 75 year old friend. Perhaps with age you learn to work smarter and not harder. Having my own pedal removal story from years ago, I learned to be liberal with the lube when installing pedals. They generally come off with a minimal amount of work. Blair came equipped with not only a full size pedal wrench, but a rubber mallet. He went tap, tap on the wrench, and that was it! No brute force needed!

Really nice bird shooting this day! But the reason for this note is to say thanks for mentioning the pedals/pedal wrench. We had been planning to make sure our pedals really would come off, for the possibility that the bikes would need to go in a bus somewhere down the line. This afternoon we have a bit of time, so on reading your post I went out and had at it with the wrench, which we do have. Yup, one pedal (put on last year by a gorilla mechanic) did not want to budge. But I fought with it long enough that it gave in. It's often a matter of getting the crank just so you can apply maximum force.

Your difficulty getting the stem out is one you have had before. As you've described it, that's where you do need the gorilla mechanic. Bike Friday is very prone to this problem, eh.

I had one of these nest in my front yard maple tree in Corvallis, that was a big surprise!

The early bird catches the.....bird?

Looking good!

Thanks for the photos. I missed seeing Saguaro East this trip. My list of places for next year is growing.

I'm glad one of us thought to get a photo at lunch. Great to see you guys again!

Beautiful photos, and I love the idea of driving up to do the ride at the top. I'm putting this on the list for next year

Great!

That’s what I thought. I don’t remember ever seeing a sky quite like this. It only lasted for about five or ten minutes.

Hey, we just hit 115 for the year today also. Good luck with those remaining Sweetwater possible.

Wow!

She's right, I approve. As a color expert, I can say blue is her color.