There have been a lot of adjustments for our family since moving to Belize. Some examples: the people are friendly, but do things differently than we are used to; the food distribution system is radically different, and in many instances, the foods are actually different (more on that in a future post); the education system is different; but perhaps most strikingly and pervasively, the climate is really, really different.
We moved here during the rainy season. In addition to the frequent rain, it is always humid and almost always pretty hot. A normal day here over the past 2+ months features temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s, lows in the low 80s, and humidity in the 80-90% range. This feels really hot, particularly to someone relocating from the cool northern latitudes of Seattle.
The result of this hot humid weather is that things just...dissolve here. I don't know how else to describe it. Basically, if it can rust, it will, and if it can't, it will grow mold, or just kind of disintegrate. Case in point: our bicycles.
The weekend we moved here we bought new bicycles for the entire family. They are cheap (and cheaply made) beach cruisers manufactured in China. Every week I hose all of them down, wipe them down with a rag, clean all the moving parts, and lubricate everything. However, late last week, I was having trouble steering and Amy's wheel was making a very disconcerting series of noises. My handlebars were conveying a sort of munchety-crunchety vibration, and I knew the bearings in the headset were shot.
What I did not expect was the sheer level of destruction in just TWO MONTHS. I do a fair bit of bike maintenance on the family fleet of bikes back home, and I've seen things break, but never like this. The rapidity of the dissolution of the bearings in my headset and in Amy's front wheel is breathtaking. I have yet to overhaul the bottom brackets, but I fully anticipate a similar level of mechanical carnage.
So, I am learning a lot about cup-and-cone bearings and the wonders of grease!
We moved here during the rainy season. In addition to the frequent rain, it is always humid and almost always pretty hot. A normal day here over the past 2+ months features temperatures in the high 80s to low 90s, lows in the low 80s, and humidity in the 80-90% range. This feels really hot, particularly to someone relocating from the cool northern latitudes of Seattle.
The result of this hot humid weather is that things just...dissolve here. I don't know how else to describe it. Basically, if it can rust, it will, and if it can't, it will grow mold, or just kind of disintegrate. Case in point: our bicycles.
The weekend we moved here we bought new bicycles for the entire family. They are cheap (and cheaply made) beach cruisers manufactured in China. Every week I hose all of them down, wipe them down with a rag, clean all the moving parts, and lubricate everything. However, late last week, I was having trouble steering and Amy's wheel was making a very disconcerting series of noises. My handlebars were conveying a sort of munchety-crunchety vibration, and I knew the bearings in the headset were shot.
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| Shiny new headset bearings from S.P. Hardware on the left, old busted retainer and rusty bearings on the right |
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| I pulled the axle out of Amy's front wheel to find only 7 bearings, a paper-thin retainer, and a briny mixture of salt, sand, and watery grease in the cup |
So, I am learning a lot about cup-and-cone bearings and the wonders of grease!
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