July 5 Epilogue - the bike

I forgot to mention my trusty bike in my last post.  The last two days have been hard on her what with the rain, the mud, the sand and the gravel.  It began making a noise today or should I say the front wheel began making a noise.  I knew what it was... the front hub bearings were not happy at me.  😳   They were shouting out a rather annoying thumping noise.  It got progressively worse as the day went on.  When I got into our destination town I Siri'd local bike shops.  "Cycle and Things" came up and I gave them a call.  Asked them if they did emergency repairs.  The person I talked to said sure bring it on by.  I further asked if they had a mechanic and parts for a 105 hub who could work on a cup and cone setup. (I know, I'm speaking bike now). He responded that he doubted I had that bad of an issue, it was probably just an adjustment.  So I brought my trusty steed by.  It turned out that it was a two employee bike shop and I had talked to the owner.  They were great, the two employees.  They tore apart the front hub and found water and grit had gotten in the bearings.  The mechanic asked how old the wheel was.  I told him that it was less than a year and a half old.  His response was classic...  bullsh#t he said.  He did some measuring on the rim surface, dropped out the ball bearings and pronounced the wheel to be at the end of its useful life.  He said there was no way the wheel was a year and a half with that wear.  That's when I told him the wheel had taken me the length of Africa, through five countries in Central America and Australia.  I told him the wheel had well over 12,000 miles on it.  The two employees were shocked and the stories began.  The repairs took 20 minutes and only $20.  But the conversation took over an hour and a half.  They got me back on the road but reinforced the rims and the hubs have had the wear of a lifetime.  He said I got more than my share of rides out of them.  It has been a good set of world rides...  I guess it is time to look for something new to take me on my adventures.  😞