Trouble with the bicycle on the last days of the journey

Yeah - no trip without at least some trouble :D
So Next day I took off the wheel and hitchhiked the 25km to Kuusamo. There is the one and only motorbike/bicycle/smalle engine repair shop in the region. Well, there was no freehub sparepart, the only thing he could offer was a new hub (which would require to re-spoke the wheel) in 3 days including all the work. That would completely ruin my plans. Since the bicycle is pretty new and had only seen a few km, I suggested to take the freehub apart, clean it and see what happens.

While the guys went to work I visited the nearby 99,99% vegan restaurant. I sat down, enjoyed some goodies and a coffee when I got a text message, the wheel is ready... and is it working? The message did not say that. So I walked over and to my surprise the freehub worked again. So it was dirt after all and nothing was broken. I was very happy and relieved.

I went back to the restaurant for lunch with Anna Catarina who gave me a lift from Kuusamo to Ruka the day before. She drove me now also back to my cottage, I had a short business telco and then I went to install the wheel. That was when the trouble continued: IT DID NOT FIT IN ANYLONGER!!!

How was that possible? Did I loose a part when taking off the wheel? Did the bike shrink? I had no idea. The problem was that the brake disc touched the brake caliper, so that the wheel did not turn anylonger. I was frustrated ... all alone and lost in the deserted holiday village. After some search I found a neighbor and borrowed a bicycle from him to go to the shop for some additional tools to take things apart. Well, the nearby small grocery shop did not have any tools and lucky me I found an electrician who worked late and I borrowed some tools from him (on trust base that I bring them back asap). Well, none of them helped.

I removed the brake caliper and then the wheel fit in, so I could at least ride (but without rear brake). On the next iteration I figured to make(!!!) a washer and by doing so I got the 1mm space I need to fit the brake caliper again. Ok now the wheel fit in and I got the brakes working. Strangely the chain now fell off when shifting in the highest gear and it did not go to the lowest gear. It looked like the entire wheel had moved to one side a good deal. How was that possible? I adjusted the gear system so that the chain would not fall off, the rest - I did not care. I was too tired to think. I did a test ride and returned the borrowed tools and since the guy was still working, I asked him for a proper washer and yeah, he found one :) By now, it already was late and I was too exhausted for sauna. So much for a nice evening in a cottage with own sauna :-o

Anyway, next morning I would be able to cycle to Kuusamo to visit the repair shop again. That of course meant I had to change my plan and not ride via Kemijärvi, but via Posio and Autti instead.

After some exciting 25km, I reached the repair shop and showed the guy the problem. He had some trouble to understood where the problem comes from and then disappeared to the back for a while. When he came back, he only commented that the axle was installed the wrong way! Really? An expert! That incident again encourage me even more to maintain my stuff by myself in future as much as possible. Well, one more experience to s... happens :D

Anyway, now off to Rovaniemi via Posio and Autti. Santa was waiting :D

And here a few pics from those days

Big fellow hitchhiking to Kuusamo. Thanks to the first guy, he made a sign for me to get easier to Kuusamo :D

The one and only repair shop

The 100% vegan restaurant which also serves honey for tea (nonono - honey is not-vegan!!!)

A clean and working freehub

While I was working hard a reindeer came by :-o

My borrowed bike ;)

My self-made washer from one ring of my plastic cover (kevyt peite)

Here we go again .... lalala

Good tasting vegan food in Kuusamo :) ...

... and the main course

Some goodies for Skippy and me ... for some sweet time together ;)

Wisdom of the day: Carbohydrates are the foundation of vegetarian food. Prefer whole grains.