Vattugatan 15, Stockholm, Sweden

A summary of my biking to Husby Gård. See the map below for the exact route. It was all filed using the GhettoPro Zero, and the only correction I've don is to straighten the video as the camera ended up tilted on my helmet. The total size of the source video was 6.1 GB. Since I used a small memory card the first ten minutes or so were automatically deleted by the camera to make space for later video.

The music track is "City Flight"[a] from the album Ambient Pills Update[b] by Zeropage[c]. The track, and this movie, is released under the CC-BY-3.0[d] license.

Then I replaced the by now very worn tires with a pair of Continental Contact Travel 37-622[e], trading some off-road ability for greater speed on-road.

By 2019 the bike was showing its age. The gear shifters didn't work well - the front gear could not go above the middle chainring and the rear not below the fifth. Expecting that the whole groupset[f] (gear shifters, sprockets, the whole lot) would have to be replaced, I decided to turn the bike in for maintenance. If I could get it fixed for less than 3000 SEK, that'd be worth it. I found a nearby bike repair shop - Cykloteket Service Store[g] - booked a time for maintenance online, and when the day came I rode the bike over there and turned it in.

One day and 1200 SEK later, I had what was basically a new bike. That's less than $10 / year in maintenance!

I was very impressed by the service. For example, I expected the gear shifters to need a complete replacement. In reality, they just needed a bit of cleaning and some oil. Cykloteket could have replaced them, charged me for it, and I would have been none the wiser. But they did right by me.

When covid-19 hit in 2020 public transport went from routine to something to avoid, and the bike stepped up. It was now that I really started using it regularly, and to go longer distances. As a result, I did some comfort upgrades. First I replaced the seat post with a damped one[h], and added a padded seat[i]. Together these made the biking shorts I had previously worn unnecessary.

Then I did the most complex operation so far: I replaced the front fork with one with shock absorbers. This took a lot of measuring and guessing, as mountainbikes had gone from the threaded forks and quill stems of '04 to the threadless forks and Ahead/threadless-stems of today[j]. Unlike the first fork replacement, I had to replace part of the top headset bearing and the steering stem. The measuring and guessing worked out in the end, though, and after a couple of failed attempts I was the proud owner of a hardtail bike with front shock absorbers[k].

This change really made a difference to the ride comfort. Biking over roots, rocks, and bike path curbs suddenly felt very smooth where before I'd feel the bump in my hands.

I also bought a new chain lock that I could easily transport (unlike my old u-lock that I had to carry in a backpack), so I could lock the bike while out and about.

Just look at that delicious bokeh!

Nineteen swabs later.

Music: Waltz Into the Moonlight[l] by Tryad[m]. The music, and this movie, is released under the CC-BY-SA[n] license.

Cozying up in one of my Moroccan babouches, a present from Orientalista[o] for writing articles for them.

Surgery complete! The "pegleg-tripod" (with two damaged legs) to the right.

Two jars of honey, in an urban setting this time. The blurred shapes of Hötorgshusen can be seen in the background.

Here's my first attempt at focus stacking using the rail: A random potted plant. Being able to compare this to not using a focusing rail, I can say that this was a whole lot easier. I shifted the camera about a third of a millimeter between shots and then stacked it all using Hugin[p] and Enfuse[q]. The Enfuse command line was --exposure-weight=0 --saturation-weight=0 --contrast-weight=1 --hard-mask --contrast-window-size=9. As you can see, it didn't quite get rid of the out-of-focus areas; they can be seen as haloes around the buds. It does give the shot a very dreamlike appearance, though.

Day 1: Preparing the hallway and switches, electrical outlets, etc...

Day 2: Preparing the living room.

Day 2: Painted the edges & switches.

Day 2: Rolled the hallway with the first coat of paint.

Day 3: Living room done!

Day 3: Hallway done!

Day 3: Kitchen done!

Day 3: Happy!

Day 3: Preparing the office. The wallpaper had to be cut and covered with spackling paste, which is drying here.

Day 3: Spackling paste, being sandpapered.

Day 3: Done sandpapering. This is where a lot of the dust went. I wonder if the spackling paste isn't mixed with Bolivian marching powder, because by you just keep going like a sandpaper robot...

Hey, there's a concept!

Day 3: Two layers of paint later.

Day 4: Touch-ups & done!

Outside Kista Centrum.

My little Christmas star, with the Haymarket houses in the background.

Christmas lights at The Coffee Place.

Christmas lights at The Coffee Place.

Test image using Macro Zoom mode.

Test image using Macro mode.

In case anyone is wondering, the sign says (approximately) - "cozy wozy".

Update 2010-06-21: Yes, li'l Cozy Wozy is still alive and well.