Okinawa Projects

This is a combination of old posts from a blog I wrote at Okinawabikelove.com (now discontinued website).  These are some of the projects we completed during our 4 year stay in Okinawa.  Where we discovered we love DIY projects!

Carry Freedom Bike Trailer --- 5/12/2014

One afternoon my partner and I were discussing purchasing a bike trailer for bike hauling/touring purposes.   In the midst of our web query of various options, we stumbled across a build your own bike trailer design by Carry Freedom.  The purpose of this non-profit venture by Carry Freedoms in their own words: "Places that need a bike trailer the most, often have the least capacity to build or buy them.  Carry Freedom developed the Bamboo trailer to allow anyone the ability to build a strong adaptable trailer from anything."  Right on Carry Freedom!  After perusing the plans, and given that we live on a tropical island where bamboo grows naturally, it was decided.  We would build our bike trailer.  We are very impressed with how well it works.  

Supplies 

Frame

Adding wheels

Sinew

Project:  Bike Wheels   8/1/2014

The allure of building your own wheels does not disappoint.  I first learned how to build wheels at Sunrise Cyclery in Minneapolis.  My teacher was, and still is, my bike sensei Jamie McDonald.  He has built hundreds, maybe even thousands of wheels.  The pair below is my 3rd pair which brings my grand total to 6.   However, that number would increase if I counted the multiple times I built up a wheel and realized my spoke length calculations were off and my spokes were too short/ long. Although it may seem like a challenge, building wheels is a fun, doable, and rewarding project.    

  

My Supplies:

Rims:  Velocity A-23 rims.  The rear, an A-23 OC (off center.) Why did I go with an A-23 OC for the rear wheel only?  Because of this tutorial from Bill Mould.
Hubs:  Hope RS Mono front and rear
Spokes: Single butted spokes.  28 in front, 32 in back.  I would have preferred to use a double butted spoke like the DT Swiss Competition.   However, they were too costly to ship to Okinawa and the three shops I tried to purchase them in on island either did not carry them or too much was lost in translation while trying to describe what I was interested in.  
Spoke Prep:  I used linseed oil.  Spoke prep works as well. The function is to lubricate the spoke threads for building                                                                                                                 but harden or get sticky over time to prevent spokes from                                                                                                               loosening while riding.

Tools:
-Spoke wrench
-Spoke tension tool
-Spoke nipple driver or flat head screwdriver
-Truing stand

 Steps to Building a Wheel:
Step 1:   First, calculate the proper spoke length necessary for the hubs and rims you are using.  The front wheel will have the same length of spokes on each side while the rear will have a different length for the drive side vs. the non drive side.  There are many spoke calculators out there to make this step easy.  Here is a spoke calculator that I like and used for this project.
Step 2.:  Dip spokes in linseed oil to lubricate and proceed to drop spokes into the hub every other hole.  

 Step 3:  Pick a spoke and thread it (loosely) into the first position on the rim.  The first hole to the right of the valve stem.   Thread the rest of the spokes into the rim every 3 holes.

Step 4:  Twist the spokes away from the valve stem hole and flip the rim over.  Drop the remainder of the spokes into the hub.

Step 5: Pick a spoke.  Thread under, under, over and through the middle rim hole.

Step 6: Follow the spoke directly to the right of the valve down to the first spoke it crosses on the hub. Drop a spoke through the other side.  Pull the spoke through the empty hole on the rim next to the valve

Step 7:  Drop spokes through every other hole

Step 8: Feed all spokes through the rim in the middle of the parallel spokes

Step 9: Flip wheel over and drop the remainder of the spokes in the hub ( head side opposite of the other spokes ) and drop through the big V after a pinch

Step 10:  Feed all spokes under under over before tightening

Step 11: Set the spokes into the rim by squeezing each side of spokes together pressing them into the hub flanges

Step 12: Tighten all spokes to your fingernail placed at the bottom of the threads on the spoke.  The more consistent your tightening here, the easier your job truing the wheel will be

Step 13: Tension the wheel by turning each spoke 1 or 2 full revolutions.  Keep this as consistent as possible.  When the wheel starts coming into tension, in Sheldon Brown's words, " There are 4 different things that you need to bring under control to complete the job: lateral truing, vertical truing, dishing, and tensioning. As you proceed, keep checking all 4 of these factors, and keep working on whichever is worse at the moment."  Check out his take on wheel building here

Home Project: Paddle Boards   3.13.2016 

I remember the scene clearly, my partner and I were sitting on the couch surfing the web on a breezy day in October.  We were trolling the inter webs interested in purchasing kayaks for fun/fishing.  Out of the blue, he suggested, "how about we build paddle boards?"  Without hesitation I enthusiastically replied "sure!"  And it was settled.  

This post will mostly be a photo journal of the process of building these boards rather than an explanation of each step.  For that, we watched a LOT of youtube surf/paddle board building vids and read blogs ect.  We had 0 experience building paddle boards before we started this project.   Although, my partner was employed for 4  summers during college building fiberglass bathtubs.  Which proved to be a handy knowledge base.  This project took a 8 months of a to complete and was a

 ton of work.   What a relief to arrive at the fun finished product!  

Step One: Choose board style and make blue print.  Find board materials.  We used foam board insulation from a  hardware store.  Make blank.  Glue foam together to make desired width/length.   We used epoxy as our glue for blank construction.

Plans for the design

Size of boards is specific to performance goals

Step 2:  Shape and sand foam blank.  We used a sure form file and 60 grit sandpaper.  Also add wood inserts for mounting hardware if desired.  These wood inserts are specifically for mounting tie down rings for securing cargo on a fishing paddle board.

Step 3: Fiber glass the board.  We used 6 oz fiber glass cloth and epoxy resin from a local surf board shop.

Step 4:  Sand fiberglassed board.  

Step 5:  Install leash cup and vent and fin box

Step 6:  Paint board.  We simply used spray paint with a clear coat on top & Poska Pens for finer designs.

 Step 7: Add standing grip pad and any other deck hardware.  We used 3M stick SUP padding.  

All done!  

Mountain Summer

Sometimes a place is so captivating that it provides inspiration to update a long forgotten blog.  Visiting such a place combined with a short hiatus between classes & whalaa!  A post update after 2.5 years!  

First of all.  We are still here!  We love Japan and Okinawa and our request to extended our stay was approved.  

Secondly.  

After three years living and traveling in Japan and we found our "spirt home."  Sapporo, Daisetsuzan..Hokkaido.  If we could retire anywhere in Japan.  Unanimously, it would be here.  Home to the largest National Park in Japan and replete with outdoor activities and some of the most delicious and fresh food in all of Japan.  

We were so enamored, that not even two months after our first visit, and less than 2 weeks after we

climbed Mt Fuji, we found ourselves boarding another plane bound for Sapporo.  Our goal this time,  to complete the Grand Traverse.  A 7-9 day

hike across several mountain ranges in the park.    

Spending A Beautiful Night at Urassahi Campsite 

Notice the steaming vents on the right side.  Many of the mountains in Japan including Mt. Fuji, are active volcanos. Cool!

Top of Asahi Dake for the 2nd time this summer.  Much better view this time!

Heading to our campsite for the night.  Just beyond the snow patch.  A couple guys hiked skis up the entire steep climb up for this

Sunset from Kurodake the night before the storm

Mother Mountain weather did not approve our passage.  On day three in the mountains, we were forced to descend at Kuro Dake as not one but two typhoons heading directly toward us would soon make hiking conditions perilous.

We encountered these happy hikers the morning the typhoon started announcing it's presence

Suddenly, we were without a plan retreating to the lively city of Sapporo as the first typhoon hit.  Drowning our sorrows in delicious bowls of miso ramen and liquid gold (Sapporo Beer,) we stuck our noses in the world wide web to figure out plan B.

Hokkaido Specialty, Miso Ramen

Hokkaido Specialty @ Sapporo Beer Factory Museum

After much deliberation.  We concluded that we would head South.  Away from the weather and toward an area of Hokkaido we did not get to see much of on our first visit earlier in the summer.  The following is the remainder our trip.  In picture form.  One photo per location.  

Hakodate 

Hakodate is the Southern most port city in Hokkaido and is know for it's fresh seafood.  We climbed up "Mount" Hakodate to take in the Michelin 3 star rated view from the top.  It was beautiful.  But crowed!  99.9% of the 200-300 + tourists crammed on top paid to take a tram ride up and down and missed out on my favorite part of the evening, the hike up and down.  A much more peaceful experience than waiting in a line squeezed between loads of tourists waving camera phones in the air snapping pics at the top.

Next Stop: Lake Toya

While waiting for a bus to our campsite for the next couple of days, we ate the famous "Ghengis Khan"  dish of Hokkaido at a restaurant.  Upon seeing our need of tutelage, this helpful woman showed us how to cook the massive pile of raw vegetables and lamb meat in the dome shaped pan at our table.

Last stop: Noboribetsu

Noboribetsu is famous for it's natural hot springs.  This photo shows "Hell Valley."  10,000 gallons of hot water come from the natural hot springs outside of the town per day!  Incredible to hike through and see all the hot pools, lakes & geysers.   Not to mention bathe in 8 varieties of different types of water at one of the most famous onsens in all of Japan.