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Thursday 10 October 2013

Around Andover Again

Today I had a long day, cruising around Andover on the bike. I used 2 1/2 batteries again.
67 finds and a smattering of DNFs.

Because I opened up a battery, I discovered that they contain seven cells. At peak charge, that means 7 x 4.2 volts = 29.4 volts.  When they get down to their nominal 3.7 volts (25.9 volts), there's not much left. The voltmeter that I put on the bike is really useful!

There were a number of catastrophes during the day. The first was almost as soon as I set off - one of the bolts supporting the back rack went AWOL, and since the rack is supporting two batteries and my toolkit, that's about 15 pounds. So the back rack fouled the rear wheel, and I had to carefully cycle back to the car for repairs. I found a handy nut and bolt elsewhere on the bike that wasn't critical, and used that to support the back rack - this got me through the day.

The second catastrophe was my left boot; one of the metal strips that holds the bootlace got bent, and the bootlace wouldn't stay attached, so my boot was falling off. I stopped as soon as I could, and used the multitool that I always carry, to fix the boot.

The third catastrophe was probably the worst. As I was gaily sailing along, something hit me in the face, and then I felt a sharp pain in my jaw. I think I've been bitten or stung, I don't know what by. It's still irritating me; I'm hoping that it self-repairs overnight.

Stuff for the new battery pack has started to arrive. I have the 25 amp fuses and holders, and I have the 4mm and 2.5 mm cable for wiring everything. I expect more stuff will arrive tomorrow ... I hope!


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