Okay, I finally,
FINALLY made some progress on
The Prowler earlier this week. Took a while to time everything right, but on Sunday, I met with my good friend Allan once again to make some progress on my bike.
Before we began working on the bike though, Allan wanted to take me for a ride in his Cessna 150! (I edited out the call sign on the side, per his request.) I have never flown in such a small plane before, and after getting inside of, and then later climbing out of the cockpit, I've come to the conclusion that my dad's 1931 Ford Model A has more passenger room by comparison! In fact, I actually stand about as tall as the top of the wings. I was a little nervous flying in such a small plane, especially since I was trying to avoid getting in the way of the controls on my side, but it turned out to be a really fun experience! We only flew about 2,300-2,600 feet above the ground, which is super low compared to all the passenger jets I've flown in before. We were still high above the ground, but I could still see everything down below us. I shot a handful of pictures on my Nikon, and I shot some videos on my phone, but half the time, I was just looking around and enjoying the ride. The only scary part was when we began our landing approach. In a plane this small, you can feel the wind pushing against the plane, and combined with Allan cutting back engine power and decreasing altitude as we came back down, there was definitely a moment where I regretted watching all those "Air Crash Investigation" shows. Thankfully, the landing was nice and smooth, and I could breathe a sigh of relief.
After our thrilling flight over Lake Eufaula, Allan showed me his latest motorized bike he built out of a frame and some wheels I had helped him find a few months ago. I got to say, I think it's his best one yet! He even let me test ride it around the complex, and this bike has a KICK to it! I give it any gas, and I can feel myself begin to slide off the seat! I had tried to take more photos of this bike, but I didn't realize until I got home that half the photos were overexposed; I had forgotten how difficult it is to shoot photos of anything painted black. Still, I at least got some good photos of it.
The progress we made on Sunday was subtle, but critical.
First, Allan and I straightened the right rear dropout as best as we could, so now the rear wheel axle should seat properly.
The thing that we spent most of Sunday's time fixing was the repop Monark springer fork, as we found that pretty much
everything was bent or twisted in some form or another. Allan and I spent hours using his vice and a magnetic bubble level getting this fork straightened out. We also solved the lock nut/spoke clearance issue by adding a couple thin washers to either side of the axle in-between the rockers. I still don't know why the springer's not springing, but I figure it just needs grease on all the pivot points. Either way, the front wheel rolls now, and it rolls in the right direction at that!
After Allan and I wrapped things up on Sunday, I stopped by one of my old college campuses and rode both
The Prowler and my AMFLITE Falcon on the trail surrounding the campus. Mom met up with me soon after, and we rode both bikes together for a few laps. She rode
The Prowler, and I rode the Falcon.
After we got done riding the bikes, Mom went home while I ran by a couple hardware stores looking for tools and hardware for the current project. What's funny is that while I was at Lowe's, I struck up an hour-long conversation with one of the cashiers when he commented on my Rat Rod Bikes shirt and JEGS ball cap. He asked if I knew anything about this VW shop in town, and we ended up chatting about classic cars and bicycles all the way into closing time! So, I might've just made a new friend thanks to my choice of shirt that night! All in all, Sunday turned out great. But I'm not done with the updates yet! There's even more progress to report, and that's coming up next!
