Day 58 + 59: Rest days and bike shop
Went to the Fass bike shop this morning. By many accounts, this is the best bike shop in the Baja peninsula and an unofficial checkpoint. Everyone calls into this shop even if they don’t need anything.
I was greeted by a friendly man called Salvador. I gave a run down on what I thought was wrong and he gave me some good advice.
He checked the chain which we found was at the point of needing to be replaced. Knew I needed new brake pads, but in an attempt to clean the bike a few days ago, it seems like I ruined the rear brake disk so that needs to be replaced too.
He also correctly gave out to me for not tightening bolts as the rear rack was about to fall off. Said I need to check these bolts daily.
I left the bike with him and he was done with all this work in a few hours. He also fixed the bend derailleur hanger (again) explaining why I couldn’t get into the lowest gear. This is the 3rd time this has happened. He also explained that my derailleur hanger is super uncommon in Baja and I should carry a replacement, especially as it is getting weak and not made from the best materials. If this breaks in the middle of no where, I would be walking to the nearest down and waiting for one to be shipped to me.
He also explained why my chain was collecting so much dust. Is to do with the chain lube I am using. He explained the benefits of using a wax based lube, which he applied to my new chain and I bought a small tub of this and disposed of my existing half bottle of shitty chain lube.
I also wanted a new rear tire as it is getting quite bald but I am running 650b’s or 27.5’s. These are super uncommon here and he had none and said I would be unlikely to find any. So he suggested ordering them in for me and when they arrive, he would contact me to find out where I am and send them to one of the towns in front of me. We agreed to order that spare derailleur hanger too.
The next 2 days are taken up with resting, sleeping, eating, and mindlessly looking at my phone. But the great thing about calling day(s) “rest day(s)” is that you feel a lot less guilty about being a lazy little fucker and doing absolutely nothing all day, as the goal is rest. Well, that is what I am telling myself anyway.
Tomorrow I am back on the Baja divide.