Building My Own Boogie Board Bicycle Rack

With my flab on the increase, a lifestyle adjustment is in order .  Much as I enjoy my new scooter http://alackofcleardirection.blogspot.mx/2015/09/new-ride-vento-hot-rod-classic.html, I get as much exercise out of it as I would playing video games.  It's perfect for transporting my boogie board the 20 minute drive to La Bocana but a one hour bike ride would be much more satisfying.

The only way I could carry the boogie board on the bicycle was to tuck it under one arm and that just wasn't practical.  I tried balancing it on the passenger spikes with a couple of bungees latched on the seat post.  That worked for about 15 seconds. 

Down in Puerto Escondido, I'd seen a few guys with surfboard racks on the side of their scooters.  It seemed like a great idea.  Of course, with a scooter, you don't need room to pedal.  Hmm.  I checked on the internet one night.  Sure enough, people in the States have designed racks for bicycles too.   The cost of postage is often more than double that of the product from to the States to Mexico so I headed to Surf Town, Puerto Escondido, our own international surfer mecca.  Surely, if I could find one of these fantastic contraptions anywhere, that would be the place.  I had pictures of what I wanted on my smart phone just to make myself understood.  Nobody at the surf shops had ever heard of them and sent me way up the hill to a couple of bike shops where I was assured the only way I was going to get what I wanted was to pay some welders to make me one.  Incidentally, I learned from one bike mechanic that Puerto is not a big bicycle town so there has never been a demand for such a thing before.  The hill I climbed that day explained why.

Back home I hit the internet again and this time I hit the jackpot.  A man has this great Youtube video demonstrating how to build your own.  It's genius.  There are a few other DIY rack vids as well but his is the most solid design.  The others are a bit wiggly.  If you read his full description, you'll find very practical detailed instructions that aren't necessarily apparent in the 3 minute video.  Check it out.  

 

 

Because of the shape of my frame, I couldn't follow his instructions without some modifications.  His frame is a consistent one inch triangle.  All of his PVC pieces are one inch, the perfect width for a rack and I doubt you would want it any thicker.  My frame has all different widths from one inch to 1.6 so even if  I went for a 1.6 thick frame, I'd still have problem getting pieces to fit together.

 

I considered buying myself a new bike but all of the bikes at our local store had the same style of frame as mine so I had to scheme a way to make this guy's invention work.  Hence, my very first, probably last, instructional video. It doesn't show the whole process, just the adjustments I had to make for the original video.   If your frame is like his, the first video is all you will ever need.  If you have one like mine, my vid will show you everything else you need to know.  

 

                         

 

The first problem was solved at the hardware store where the man sold me a 1.5 Tee with a one inch sleeve.  Everything else was one inch, just like on the video.

 

There were a few more snags ahead and I started to get discouraged again but I consoled myself that even if the whole enterprise was a complete messy failure, the actual investment in materials hadn't been that much to begin with.

 

At first I couldn't get the all important first Tee joint up high enough on the frame.  It was obstructed by a little metal cable guide that I couldn't just brake off.  I thought about it.  How important could that piece be?  Probably essential.  Instead I took the easier route with my hacksaw and cut a tooth out of the PVC.  Voila.  We're looking good now.

  

The next problem was that the same Tee jint pinched off my front derailleur cable, limiting me to one front gear.  That was something I could live with if I had to but I managed to carve a groove for the cable in the center of the joint and I was back in the game.

 

 

   From there I was able to follow the instructions as given and everything worked out great.

 

I got more and more excited as each piece came together and realized it was really going to happen. 

It was dark before I finished.

Almost finished here.  I got to use my new-to-me power drill for the first time to make holes for the bungee cords.  The foam insulation pipe covers on the top picture were added the next day for traction.  Plus, I think they look cool.

I haven't been to La Bocana with it yet but I've taken it for a test ride around the neighborhood and it works very smoothly as long as I pedal with my heel and not the toes.  The board doesn't wiggle a bit.  I have to allow for my increased girth in traffic.  I'm sure I'll get used to that in no time.

Tomorrow morning will be my maiden voyage.  I hope La Bocana isn't too rough and scary.  It has different conditions throughout the year and I think we're due for wide sand and long stretches of shallow water.  I'd hate to get out there and then have to chicken out but I won't go in if it looks too psycho.

Scary Carretera to Zipolite

A good night sleep makes all the difference between a great or mediocre day so all weekend plans are dependent on when my eyes open without the insistent nagging from the voice alarm woman. A late morning just means smaller activities. Last Sunday I woke comfortably before dawn. The night before I’d thought about running the scooter down to Zipolite with my boogie board and the idea still sounded good so I ate quickly and got out the door just as it was turning light.
I’d had a terrifying ride on that road before, on a day trip to San Augustin, and I was counting on the early hour to cut down the traffic this time. It worked. Anyone wanting to make a run from Crucecita to Zipolite or Mazunte, all you have to do is get out early. Once you pass the airport, things are saner any time of day.
The entire trip took about an hour and 15 minutes with 3 stops to let the engine cool.
This was my first stop. I heard what sounded like the rumble of thunder but kept going. It could have been anything.

Zipolite has a new park area with a beach style gazebo.

The place was deserted.

Just a couple of cool dogs near Lola’s.

The water was high and rough for my cautious tastes. I wonder if that isn’t a seasonal thing. I made a beeline for this beach last year at this time when I returned from Korea and it was the same.
It’s been a while since I played in the waves and I was out there long enough to get a good burn on my back. Idiot. Even water proof sun screen needs frequent applications in the Pacific Ocean. A lifelong burner should be able tor emember that.
A big wave sweeping up to the restaurants with a current that insistently pulled me towards some rocks was my signal to pack it in. That much wave play gives a boy an appetite and I almost swallowed a substantial meal whole at Shambhala. The rumbling I’d heard earlier had been thunder. Clouds over the mountains were looking serious. It was time to go. I still don’t have a helmet and rain drops have a nasty slap when the scooter's in motion.
My muffler had come apart and the bike blatted so loud it wasn’t worth trying to listen to the MP3 player. At least there was plenty of warning of my approach at tight bends for any children chasing balls on to the road. I got caught in some rain but raced away from it and kept those clouds behind me. No coffee breaks for the machine this time. I made it home alive with an hour to spare before sundown.
I had such a great day and that was all on less than one tank of gas. I went to fill it on Monday, figuring it had to be as dry as William Burroughs, but I could have run it back and forth to UMAR all week.

Barra de la Cruz

Been meaning to visit la Barra since I got here. It's about 40 minutes from Crucecita and definitely worth the trip. I rode the scooter. The happy go lucky Huatulco split double-laned highway won't take you all the way but the regular road isn't half as scary as the one towards the airport. Drivers seemed more sensible and patient and there weren't as many of them. Beautiful countryside along the way.

Traffic was sane enough for me to try making a vid of the journey with the new Olympus in my left hand. It didn't interfere with steering too much. I'm not a daredevil. The problem was that the lens is in the upper left corner and I ended up with several minutes of my finger and the sound of the engine. You 'll have to take my word about how scenic the trip was.

The exit to la Barra is just about impossible to miss. Follow the Corona arrow to the right and down a poured concrete road until you reach the base of the hill. You're practically there. Pay 20 pesos at the gate and drive on through.

Turn to the right to circumvent the wetland lake. Surfers all start out at the cove at the end. Some of them end up swimming the lake as a shortcut on the way back. I'd rather walk myself.



The beach is huge. I'm guessing about 3 kms minimum but this is the cove where everyone goes. No bad currents as far as I can tell and the surfers can almost walk out to catch near perfect waves. They get quite the ride, often all the way back to the lake.
This leaves a lot of private beach space for anyone heading in the opposite direction.



My Olympus waterproof camera wasn't all it was supposed to. It died that day by the time I got home, probably from a small leak. Got my money back though. These pictures of Barra de la Cruz and my self portrait with the gob of lotion under my eye are all I have to show for this latest attempt at a camera.

Rio Copalita/ la Bocana

Day trip to La Bocana/Rio Copalita. Just before descending the final hill off the highway, there's this bright yellow structure to mark a scenic pullover lookout where you can see almost the entire beach and the river cutting it apart about a quater of the way. This is the tail end of Huatulco in that direction. The beautiful curvaceous highway comes to an abrupt stop after this point. Too bad. I wish that road could go on forever.




Another 26 km beyond is Barra de la Cruz, a beach I've been wanting to visit since I arrived here. Maybe I'll make it tomorrow. I need to get earlier starts to my days. It's back to reality on Monday and I won't be able to ignore the alarm when it goes off.

William joined me at La Bocana yesterday. We took turns playing with the boogie board and he made a good effort to catch some fish. It was the perfect way to kill an afternoon. Serious clouds stacked up out of nowhere and we hit the road. Saw lightning on the way home but it didn't break until some time past midnight.

This beach was reason enough alone to buy the scooter. It's a casual distance by scooter and the boogie board rests easily against the front. It's also the only beach in Huatulco where you can play in the waves. We have calm beaches for swimming that are almost always too crowded and beaches with steep inclines where the waves crash high right on the shore. Two exceptions are Violin and Organo. They don't get the same amount of traffic because to visitors they're only accessible by charter boat but we've all benefitted from Matt's explorations and know the trails.

As for today, maybe Conejos won't be too crowded.

Zipolite Sunset

One of my friendly neighbors at the Brisa Marina was out on the shore line to capture a magnificent sunset when I walked into her frame. That's me on the left, packing in the board for another day, on my way for a shower. Only two more days of vacation after that night. It must have been the next day that some ******* stole my sunglasses while I was in the water. They were just cheap ones, easily broken, so I had them carefully laid out on my shirt, in full view. I saw a group of guys walk suspiciously close to my stuff as they passed by into a cabana area. that's when he must have swooped down and snatched them. Just a crime of opportunity. They didn't go through my bag or my shirt or I would have lost cash and an MP3 player as well. I saw the guy when I was packing up for a break from the sun. He was leaving the cabanas with just one of his friends, both of them around early to mid-twenties, super cool badass dudes. It wasn't the sunglasses that gave the game away. They were kind of generic looking. It was the grin the bastard gave me. He turned his head to flash them at me as if to say "Ha ha. Fuck you." His little buddy smirked at me with a little toss of the head. I thought out loud. "Those guys look like a couple of *******s." I was glad to see that comment wiped the grins and smirks away. They looked kind of threatened. They might have thought I was stalking them. I just happened to be walking that way along the shore behind them. They started sticking their skinny arms out as if they were muscle bound. No more cocky smirks, that's for sure. I don't fight but they didn't know that. And I certainly wasn't going to challenge them without proof. Those glasses were so cheap and ordinary I couldn't prove they were mine. It put me in a bad mood. I grumped and complained about it to people. One young lady nearby said someone stole her hammock. Three people I've known lost laptops. It brought my petty loss in perspective. Still, the image of their make believe tough guy taunts... On the bright side, one of the people I know who lost his laptop got it back and the thief is festering in a Pochutla jail, waiting to be shipped back to France.

Getting Wet

Other than insurance against dropping it in streams, there's not much point to owning a waterproof camera if you stay on dry land all the time. The first time is a little unnerving. It's an act of faith in technology and the Olympus doesn't look like much. There's no visible rubber or anything.

I finally took the plunge at Playa Entrega in Huatulco, playing around with Will, Jasmine and Chester, the very big puppy. I've even had it in the water at Zipolite with my boogie board and now there are three Youtube beach videos from the water.