Day 105 - a lazy day in Bogor with a Christo-inspired cathedral - Unfinished Business

August 13, 2023

Day 105 - a lazy day in Bogor with a Christo-inspired cathedral

I am in Bogor and have stuff to deal with. First, my visa expires in ten days and so I may as well go now. My plan is to fly from Jakarta to Singapore in the next couple of days, spend a couple of days, and then return. On entry, I get a new 30-day visa that should be plenty of time for 1500 km, even with inevitable hitches along the way.

I do have one potential problem - a bottom bracket with substantial play. On the positive front, it does not seem to be getting worse even with very hard cycling. I realised today that I won't get one in Indonesia because my bottom bracket is a little unusual. I can track them down at the usual online bike shops, but Daisy assures me that anything posted to Indonesia will be in the system for a very long time. In fact, she says, you may never see it. Thus, the best chance of getting a new bottom bracket is Singapore. A friend has suggested bike shops to try and I am in the process of contacting them. If this fails, then I will be heading off with a dodgy unit and keeping my fingers crossed. If the fan is tarnished I will finish my trip the hard way - bus or whatever.

I woke up feeling somewhat dull, which I attribute to yesterdays pollution. I think it's much worse being a cyclist than say a mere resident in this place. I suspect that slowing the metabolism and thus breathing in fewer contaminants means you're much better off.

This is my excuse for a lazy day, although Daisy and I visited bike shops. I suggested phoning and she assured me that it was probably pointless. The people we spoke with indicated that they could get the part but it would take a long time.

I might add that we traveled on public transport and my mere presence terrified some women covered head to toe. I was offended by the fact that they felt that they had to swap seats.

That was the morning gone so we went for lunch - gado gado and juice, tea and coffee, at a roadside warung. Here's our vendor.

After a pleasnt rest we went to the Catholic Cathedral, an absolute picture with a Christoesque makeover. Let me show you.

Cathedral glass that seems somewhat deficient. I'd like to see at least a lamb and preferably a disciple.

The cathedral showing the majesty of its bamboo lattice.

It gets rather tricky in places. I'm sure that some readers will praise the cross-bracing.

A similar shot demonstrating the application of chaos theory at the upper echelons.

The bamboo is secured with rope made of fibres from Arenga pinnata, a feather palm. Daisy tells me, reassuringly, that it's very strong.

Daisy demonstrating the carefully thought height of the bamboo. It's a tricky climb to the first rung, which will weed out novices.

Now, to all you conservatives with a fear of ladders and all things vertical, let me assure you that we examined the lattice and decided that it is fit for its purpose - painting the cathedral. Nevertheless, we did express concern about the height of the first rung and the general spacing of the rungs. Likewise, we commended the rope used to lift cans of paint. It means that painters can climb without being hindered by a 10 L can of paint.

One thing you notice from the cathedral and cycling into the city is the tree-lined streets.

Here's a fine idea on the median strip of a busy road.

Our next stop was a park near the railway station. Daisy tells me that open space is in short supply in Bogor. This bit was well-used.

The station - 140 years old and that's why it's still standing, claims Daisy.

That ongoing challenge to photograph a line of motorcycles.

Lots of people, lots of kites and much fun.

We met these fellows who set up a free library here whereby people can sit down and read.

Another exciting feature at the park was a bottle recycling machine that gives a refund.

That was our day, although we did drop into a fish market on our return journey so that Daisy could get some replacement goldfish; her previous fish succumbed to a frog. Add them to the list of species to fear.

Here's the fish vendor catching Daisy's new fish.

And here's a tank of genetically altered fish.

I have no bicycle or truck of the day but I did learn something new about distance. I like to think of distance being measured in metres or kilometres, but time is creeping in. How far is Dapto? It's three hours.

Well Daisy told me a new unit of measure. How far is the bicycle shop? Not far- a bit over one cigarette!

And on that note, let me finish with art.

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John SaxbyHi Ian,

Following up on a notice on the Thorn Forum by Graham Smith, about your bottom bracket problem-in-the-making.
Did a quick search for sources of 73 mm Square taper BBs of different spindle lengths. Following sources offer them. The First two are in Montréal, (QC) Canada, the 3rd in Des Moines, Iowa, in the US. I expect you could get one shipped to you fairly quickly. They all offer a range of spindle lengths. (I use a 118 mm spindle on my Mercury Mk 3, same as I had on my Raven. Both bikes use a Spa Cycles crankset, with a chainline of 43 mm with a 107 mm spindle. To get the 54 mm Rohloff recommends, I added 11 mm to the spindle length, giving me 118.)

Here are the three bike shops:

https://www.veloibike.ca/en/bb-shimano-bb-un300-british-square-taper.html

https://www.clcycle.ca/en/boitier-de-pedalier-shimano-bb-un300-bottom-bracke.html

https://www.modernbike.com/bottom-brackets+spindle-interface-typeequalssquare-taper-iso+shell-widthis6873+brandisshimano

Hope this helps, good luck, John Saxby, Ottawa, Canada
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8 months ago

Ian WallisTo John SaxbyJohn, thanks for that. I'm aware that I can get a bottom bracket. However, I have two limiting factors. The first is limited time on a visa. The second is the Indonesian Postal Serbice. Daisy, my Indonesian friend assures me that I cannot get anything posted. It will take ages and may not arrive. This applies to packages posted in Indonesia. My hope is Singapore.
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8 months ago

stav zotalisso refreshing and uplifting reading your posts Ian. You have an incredible way of looking and being in the world
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8 months ago