User:Ephphatha

I generally only attempt hashes that are within cycling distance of Bathurst (the green area marked to your left). I usually travel with a camera, GPS and CB Radio (but rarely use the radio). If you want to meet up you're welcome to email me. I am always idling on irc in #xkcd or #geohashing, so feel free to ding me in there. Don't expect an immediate response though.

I really, really need to remember to change to the page that shows position when photographing my GPS. Then again, I have reported three failures and one success... You'll either have to trust I'm telling the truth or I'm the worst liar in history. I also need to remember to print out or sketch a map of the area using Google's satellite view. The road maps are about as awesome my similes. (Must find my compass as well, I keep losing stuff.)

(I borrowed ideas for the formatting of this page from Ekorren and Koepfel. Don't hurt me :P)

Expeditions

Link	Summary	Distance
2009-05-21_-33_149	On the outskirts of Kelso. A close midnight hash for hashday.	14km
2009-04-30_-33_149	Just opposite Raglan, too close to not try.	19.5km
2009-04-17_-33_149	On a hill halfway between O'Connell and Lagoon.	44.2km
2009-04-15_-33_149	Heading north this time, mother nature was a bitch that day.	35km
2009-04-09_-33_149	The same path as below, but a little further to ride.	31.6km
2009-04-06_-33_149	A short ride out to Chifley Dam.	27km
2008-10-02_-32_149	Drove up to a small town on the road to mudgee.	162km
2008-10-01_-33_149	Technology failed me. Well, I actually failed and misread the co-ords.	85km

Distances with a decimal point are exact based on my GPS's calculations, otherwise it's a guess based on the reported distance given by google maps. I also don't give myself ribbons, so if you think I deserve one feel free to add it to the expedition page like I did with the geohashing day ribbon.

Remember to bring...

At the very least:

GPS
A map of the area surrounding the hash
Camera

If traveling by bicycle:

Bike
Gloves
Portable music player
Sunglasses
Water bottles (x2)

Just in case:

Compass
Torch
Tripod
CB Radio

Bicycle Maintenance

I'll add some photos later. If anyone wants to tell me what I'm doing wrong and what the right way to do things is, feel free to edit this section or post a note on my talk page. (If it grows into something worthy of it's own section, that'd be great too).

Derailleur Adjustment

To adjust the rear derailleur, shift into the highest gear and see which of the first two screws on your rear derailleur causes it to move. Adjust that screw till the derailleur cog sits over the gear on the cassette. Shift into the lowest gear and then use the other screw (if you only have two screws it's easy enough to find) to do basically the same procedure.

To adjust the front derailleur, shift into the middle gear and adjust the upper limit screw a small amount at a time, shifting into the high gear, then back to the middle gear to make sure it shifts properly. Then repeat for the lower gear. You could also try shifting to the lowest/highest gear and adjust the derailleur until it doesn't rub on the chain but still sits as close as possible.

Cleaning

Generally I just flip the bike over and rinse it off with a hose. Haven't had any problems yet. To clean dirt that wont rinse off I use a mix of dishwashing liquid and warm water, but only on the frame. I generally just use a brush to clean dirt off the chain and gears, reapplying oil afterward.

Brakes

My brakes started squeaking recently, looked on the internet and apparently the best thing to do is sandpaper them. Really. I gave it a shot and haven't had them fail on me, in fact they're even better than new.

Grab a scouring pad, a cloth, and a piece of semi-fine sandpaper (320grit was what I used). Run the scouring pad around the rim of your wheels and wipe off any muck with the cloth. Then run the sandpaper over your brake pads until the glossy layer comes off. (Probably easiest if you remove the wheel). You will have to replace your pads if they have worn all the way down to the groove in the center. But hey, no more squeaking brakes, and they stop better than ever.