We now have the coach cleaned up so it is time to get down to the business of building the new bicycle. I have been picking away around the edges for 20 months now. I have the wheels built, one and a half seats built and a bit of the rear suspension built. I have been toting all of the component parts around in the trailer for almost 12,000 miles. I have drawn and redrawn the plans a half dozen times to incorporate the latest ideas or eliminate some interference or another. It is time to fish or cut bait.

The largest component in the bicycle is the Boom Tube. It is the backbone of the bicycle and it is about seven feet long. The photograph shows me cutting the steel blank from a one and a half inch diameter 4130 chrome-moly steel tube. I cut several pieces to make each of the parts of the Boom Tube and I have been mitering these pieces to fit the Head Tube and front Bottom Bracket. The Head Tube contains the bearings for the front fork to pivot and the Bottom Brackets hold the cranks for the pedals.

The bottom bracket must absorb the stress of the rider’s pedaling. With each crank of the pedals the frame wants to bend right at the joint. To provide extra strength at this point I will lug the  joint. I mitered a second piece of tubing that slides over the boom tube. It is only an inch long. The photographs show how the lug is slid onto the Boom Tube first and then the Boom Tube and Bottom Bracket are brazed together. That will all be filed smooth and the lug will be slid down to the Bottom Bracket and it too will be brazed in place. The lug gives more than double the surface area for brazing and creates a nice strong joint.

We are having a bit of the tail end of the big storm raging across the states. Our piece is cold and quite windy. We expect to get freezing conditions tonight so I took in all my water filtration equipment. The Canadian and Midwesterners around the resort just smile when you ask them if they miss all the cold and snow.

Love to all, Gary and Judy