Jan and I decided to use a tandem today, but since it's a year since we've ridden one, and the Thorn really needs some attention because the pilot's right crank has decided loosen itself repeatedly, I got the Circe out. It was at that point that I realised that Some Nefarious Git has been in our garage.
We have an old-fashioned up-and-over garage door, with a solitary catch in the middle at the top. It's not at all difficult to open these from the outside, so I've taken to putting robust bits of metal in the way of the door, by hanging them over the spring. But when I got into the garage via the side door today, and wanted to open the up-and-over door from the inside, I found that my homespun "security" devices had been moved. Whoever had been in, it certainly wasn't that recently because there were some quite advanced cobwebs all over the place. As you have probably surmised, dear reader, we don't go in our garage very often and it's full of TPCs dating back a decade or more.
I had a bicycle count, and I couldn't see anything missing that would have upset me if it wasn't there. Both tandems are secured by our Docsquid Ground Anchor. The 1960 Mercian was still there, and the Ridgeback I bought for my daughter, and she didn't ride very much, was also there. So I extricated the Circe and took it up to the house for some TLC before riding. I discovered that the front tyre was flat, so pumped it up, and also that the rear brake needed more fluid, as squeezing the lever made no difference at all. But by the time the brake fluid level was OK, the tyre had gone flat again. We abandoned our ride and went in the car instead.
I've just fixed the puncture. It was quite a signifiant perforation through the side wall, and clearly wasn't there last time we rode the bike. I think it was inflicted on our bike by whoever it was who effected an entrance some time ago. It seems OK now.
