29 Mar 2012

23rd March 2012

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23rd 43-53F, 6-12C. windy, full sun. I tootled down near the unspoilt, rural coastline on hilly lanes. Saw a few hares bouncing about. The usual flocks of rooks foraging the fields. The all pervading stench of pig shit and chemical scent is everywhere. My clothes waft the stink every time I move. I can't explain it but my legs seem to have stopped hurting so much when I'm climbing. And no, I'm not taking pain killers. :-)

The head bearing has developed a nasty notch since I tightened it. So I'm going to have to take it off and fix the lack of seating for the bottom race. I never did use the Liquid Metal which I bought. Thinking I should wait for warmer weather to ensure quick hardening and dry surfaces. I can't believe how many head bearings I have got through in the last couple of years!

At last I have found a clear plastic pot for my thumb-sized video camera. A cocktail stick dispenser. Not optically perfect, but good enough. I tried the little camera as a webcam, with and without the pot, and the clarity and distortion  seems acceptable.

I'll put a bit of sponge in the bottom and top of the pot to keep the camera steady. Then mount the pot on the computer bracket. The screw top will make it easy to switch the camera on and off. Biggest benefit is killing the wind noise! I detest wind noise on videos even more than camera shake!  Pot size is 20mm diameter x 40mm tall. There is a bit of factory dust in the picture. It has taken me weeks to find a suitable container! All the glass pots were horribly wavy. 27 miles today.

24th 40-46F, 4-8C, breezy, heavy overcast, low cloud and rather misty. More pig shit. Despite the forecast for warm and sunny again it never cleared. At least, not until after I came home. Cold, with a light headwind in every direction. I set off in the Giordano jacket and had to return for the Aldi. Even wearing both jackets I never became too warm Not even on the hills. I deliberately wandered the lanes to try and increase my mileage. Now I have my camera pot I can't find an easy way of mounting it on the trike. I thought of a PVC pipe clamp but couldn't find one in the builder's merchant. I also need to be able to remove the camera or pot while I'm in the shops. 29 miles.

In the afternoon I stripped the head bearing and replaced them with bits from recycled bikes. I swapped the cheap centre pull for a classic Mafac from my junk bike collection. I also put another front wheel on. The £5 radial spoked Shimano wheel is still running perfectly true but the blade spokes are as rusty as hell. There must be a risk of breakage with so few spokes under such high tension.

25th 42-54F, 6-12C, breezy, bright sunshine. Yet more pig shit. I set off into the wind. With my eyes watering constantly despite the cycling glasses. The wind was roaring in my ears as I pointlessly chased a couple of young racers out training. I hadn't even warmed up and my legs were quickly aching badly.

They were standing, chatting at the top of a hill as I passed. Probably a meeting place for a Sunday club run. Having finished my first stint of shopping I headed uphill for the fun of it. I was going like a bomb! Well, by my own standards anyway. Then after chasing traffic along the main road I set off across country via the hilliest route I know.


Later, I heard raised voices behind me and looked round to see a gaggle of identically clad clubmen out training. Not wishing to make life too easy for them I picked up my pace. Expecting them to sail past me at any moment. They preferred to stay about half a mile behind me as I hovered around 20mph.

Then came my turn to my favourite hill. After the terribly rough approach I stormed up the first, steepest section. Then managed to keep it going as I reached my lung capacity without slowing. 20 years of smoking can never he recovered even decades after after the last puff. It is like hitting a wall. There is no reserve fuel tank of oxygen. Thankfully I still recover very quickly.

 A girl left the group behind me. Climbing out of the saddle to overtake me effortlessly. The club's honour restored.

I kept looking for higher gears and passing riders. I was panting hard now without gaining extra oxygen so there was no way for me to chase her on her multi-thousand pound, lightweight racing bike. Though I only had about 5lbs of shopping and probably 10 extra kilos of trike to drag uphill at that point. The rest of them stayed behind me stretched out on the hill.

As I turned off at the top the girl was waiting for her slower club mates. Then they regathered and followed me downhill and along an undulating lane through the forest. Where they joined up with a much larger group who passed me going the other way. I was still managing 18-23mph and they seemed quite happy to follow. As I finally hit the open fields the voices subsided and I saw they had turned off. Great fun! I was surprised how well I had managed to keep going. Though they were probably just nursing their slowest riders so early in the season. :-)

I really must do something about food on my rides. I'm losing all my energy long before I finish. It used to be the saddle and lack of fitness which limited the length of my rides. That is all ancient history with my present level of fitness and the Brooks Pro being close to perfect form. My usual small handful of biscuits, at half way, just isn't enough to keep me going for 3-5 hours from breakfast including all my shopping stops.


HĂ„rby, windmill capital of Fyn. 
Looking over a small part of the trading estate.
There are lots more wind turbines off to the left.

I start each day with a good bowl full of organic, home-made muesli. It just isn't providing enough energy to keep my strength up until I get home any more. I usually have a couple of rolls with marmalade with my milky coffee when I get home. By then it is far too late, of course! I have never taken feeding the active cyclist very seriously. This may well be my latest Achilles heel. I badly want to extend my effortless range. Until I do I shan't know how I will fare over my present 60 miles maximum. Only 28 miles.

26th 36-53F, 2-12C, cold, still, grey, stinking and very misty. It remained rather cold and grey until after I came home. A breeze had cleared the mist by mid morning. I didn't go out until after morning coffee. I spent an hour cleaning the trike and another hour tidying the bike shed.  Despite a bag full of shopping I had to add a 25 litre bag of compost to the load. My clothing reeks of pig shit. I have just broken the 100,000 page views barrier. 21 miles.

There's a Jack Taylor trike for sale on the CTC website: I shan't do my usual full coverage as there may be copyright issues.

Jack Taylor for sale on CTC


Jack Taylor trike.

27th 40-57F, 4-14C, sunny, breezy, stinking, with a cool start. Lots more dead toads on the road despite it remaining dry. Saw a couple of noisy Jays and quite a few geese out on the fields. I chose a different area to explore today. Very rural and avoiding main roads as much as possible. Plenty of climbing and descending. Another heavy load of shopping. Warmest day this year by at least a couple of degrees. Rain forecast for the next few days. 29 miles.

3pm: 63F! 17C! I drilled out the holes in the mudguard stays again to fit larger M6 x 30mm stainless steel screws and Nyloc nuts. These new screws will hold the stays firmly with very little torque. Smaller screws need to be tightened very hard to hold the stays in place. Though they still tend to rotate around the back axle clamps. The Higgins stays work well with this very large bag in keeping it in place. Without the mudguard stays the corners of the bag kept rubbing on the spokes.


After that I was up a tree for several hours. Cutting off massive, overhanging branches. It goes against the grain, but trees can get a bit silly if left to their own devices. If only we could have some strong south easterlies there are a couple of 40' high birches which have long outstayed their welcome. They are so tall and wide they could do some very serious damage to house and home. Not to mention the bike shed! Which they lean up against as if they owned the place.


28th 41F, 5C, sunny, stinking and still, stinking. The forecast rain has been cancelled but it will gust to over 40mph this afternoon. Just another day in paradise. Go west young man. Enjoy the free ride home.Well nearly. It felt much colder than the 40 degrees F would suggest. It was lucky I had my Gel gloves because my hands were still cold and the Giordano jacket felt about as warm as a string vest! The hat, jacket and gloves all came off at the shops. Back in just the helmet and fingerless mitts. It's no wonder I get odd stares!

I wonder how long it will take to get my knees brown this year? I still had a tea stain, tide mark, a couple of weeks ago, from last year. I always laugh as I pass the sports centre to see a row of sweating bods pedalling furiously away. With a little imagination they could be as cold and miserable as I usually am. Only joking.  19 miles? It felt twice that just going into the wind. :-)

 Pm. They came around to spray poison and pig shit on the surrounding fields again this afternoon. The wind was gusting to 20m/s! About 45mph! With the trees bending back and forth too much to put a ladder up against them. There were kids playing in the neighbour's gardens at the time. We were cutting overhanging branches again but decided to go indoors for our own good.

29th 44-49F, 6-9C, very windy, heavy grey overcast, stinking. The promised rain did not appear. Which is almost a shame because it would have helped to damp down the universal stench of pig diarrhoea.

The gusts were truly fierce at times. When I was hit by side winds between exposed fields it felt as if my helmet was going to be ripped off. I managed my route quite well to reduce the distance I had to travel into headwinds. I went off road into some woods to practice on vicious slopes. The firewood, tree fellers had messed up the route with tractors so I had to backtrack. 21 miles.

30th 44-51F, 7-11C, mostly overcast but clearing to full sun, stinking. Blowing a gale! I wanted to avoid a headwind but ended up doing about 12 miles straight into it. I set off down two different farm tracks trying to avoid the headwind. By the time I'd reached the point of no return the track had turned straight into the wind!  Talk about rough! I must be flaming mad! I was crawling at 5mph up 1 in 5s trying to avoid stones on rutted, heavily cambered gravel. My eyes were watering so much, despite the cycling specs, I couldn't see where I was going. Uphill and down dale between isolated farms and cottages. Ended up almost where I'd started but on the wrong road! Grrr? 32 miles.


31st 38F, 3C, yet more gales forecast with sunny periods, stinking of pig shit. Tomorrow's forecast is for snow or sleet! With gusts up to 20m/s (40mph). For yet another day in succession.

All the plans of trikes and men! I set off into an icy gale. Ten minutes after leaving home I was being scoured by vicious, icy hail as fine as sand. My poor, bare knees turned  bright red and were stinging like mad! Clouds of hail were being blown across the road in stripes by the fiercely cold wind. I thought it couldn't last and pressed on. The roads were still dry at that point.

Then it started snowing! Shooting diagonally across the road in a wall of white. Soon the fields were white and still it snowed. The Aldi jacket was fine but my feet were soon saturated and aching with cold. My shorts and gloves were patchy white and sopping wet. My hands started to ache so badly I had to turn back. There was no point in continuing. Am I having fun yet? :o)

I had no overshoes, no over-trousers, no front mudguard, no serious gloves. So you could say I was quite well prepared. I would have been had the forecast been correct. Only 6 miles. Now the sun has come out and the white covering everything has completely vanished! Should I go out again? Eeny meeny miny .... no-no-no-no-yes.

10 more miles pm. Still blowing a gale! Still stinking of pig shit. I opened the window after my shower and it was like a muck spreader was in the garden. I see the government is paying out millions of taxpayer's money to support gas extraction from pig's diarrhoea. Odd how they manage it in India and Africa decades ago.



Don't forget to join the new upright trikes forum:

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27 Mar 2012

Blue Bob Jackson on eBay



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 Blue Bob Jackson Trike on eBay


"BOB JACKSON TRICYCLE Starting bid £600. Buy it now £850.

THIS IS EQUALLY SUITABLE FOR RACING OR TOURING

THIS TRIKE HAS HAD VERY LITTLE USE AND IN FACT ONLY ON AN OCCASIONAL SUNNY DAY
 

IT IS IN PERFECT WORKING ORDER AND HAS SOME VERY NICE CAMPAGNOLO COMPONENTS

THE ERGO LEVERS WORK THE GEARS WELL AND IT COMES WITH A WIDE RATIO BLOCK AND A CLOSE RATIO FOR RACING.
 


SO WOULD SUIT ANYONE BETWEEN 5ft 5ins as I am 6 ft. Saddle height in the picture is 70 cm ctr bkt to top of saddle

PAINTWORK IS REALLY QUITE GOOD AND STILL IN EXCELLENT CONDITION VERY FEW MARKS AT ALL

THE WHEELS IN THE PICTURE ARE CXP 30 AND HAVE ROAD TYPE TYRES FITTED BUT I ALSO HAVE A NEW PAIR OF RACE WHEELS WHICH ACTUALLY HAVE NEVER BEEN USED BOTH SETS OF WHEELS GO WITH THE BIKE

ONE OF THE FRONT BRAKES IS A CAMPAG DELTA  AND IN EXCEPTIONAL CONDITION. THAT ALONE IS WORTH A LOT OF MONEY
 

VERY RARE TRIKE IN EXCELLENT CONDITION THROUGH NON-USE

SO ALL IS IN  WORKING ORDER AND READY TO RIDE

UK Sales Only
 

I would prefer collection because of the size of the trike. It can be sent by courier but it is expensive

IF YOU PURCHASE FROM OUTSIDE UK YOU MUST ARRANGE YOUR OWN COLLECTION"

                                       -----------------

Nice trike. Only used on Sundays when it was sunny. ;o))

Images are untouched from the auction originals.

                                    _________________

Longstaff fit, Zipp, tubular tyre, trike racing wheels by the same seller:

Note will not fit the Bob Jackson! He's looking for £650 starting bid.


 
ZIPP CARBON TRIKE RACING WHEELS
THESE HAVE HAD VERY LITTLE USE
I BOUGHT THESE SOME YEARS AGO
TO USE ON MY H R MORRIS TRIKE
BUT IT HAS A ROGERS AXLE SO
THEY WILL NOT FIT. I AM TOLD BY MARTIN
(MR TRIKE )
THAT THESE HUBS ARE FOR THE LONGSTAFF AXLE


THE TUBULARS ARE NOT PART OF THE SALE
 AS THEY ARE QUITE OLD
BUT WILL BE SENT WITH THE WHEELS
AS THEY DO STILL LOOK OK

REGRET UK SALE ONLY UNLESS YOU ARRANGE YOUR OWN COLLECTION

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23 Mar 2012

Longstaff tandem trike on eBay

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"A great example of George Longstaff's craftsmanship. A tandem trike designed for a tallish bloke (5ft 10 +) and his shortish wife (5 ft +). Built in 531 tubing with all the touring equipment you could want.

Currently set up with Kiddicranks and a longer rear stem to allow a 6 year old to ride on the back . Original handlebars and stem sold with the bike for conversion back to traditional tandem if required. This is a simple exercise.

Words of warning if you have never ridden a racing trike before. These things shift. They are not like riding a bike.  If you have never ridden a trike before, do not expect to get on it and ride it a 100 miles. They take a bit of learning, but the rewards are immense and it is huge fun.

The bike has just been thoroughly serviced and sports new tyres and cables. It is 2 wheel drive with a diff, running a triple chainset, with shimano shifting through a 6 speed touring block. There are 4 brakes  - 2 at the front controlled by the captain and two hub brakes at the rear controlled by the stoker. That means that the stoker can slow you down when you start to go too fast!!

There are front pannier mounts and a bespoke rack at the rear for all your gear.

Measurements 27" at the front (centre crank to top of down tube) and 20" at rear. As this is a trike measurements are not so critical, but the captain does need to be 5ft 10 plus in this configuration. 

Online auction only. No buy it now. Collection is nr Redditch. Any questions please ask"


The auction closed on £721 after only two bids.

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21 Mar 2012

Higgins/Trykit 2WD 'Ultralite' trike on eBay

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Ends on 25th March 2012

 Sellers text:


"This is a Higgins Ultralite Trike with a TRYKIT 2 wheel drive axle.
Size is 21" measured centre of top tube to centre of bottom bracket.
The top tube measured centre to centre is: 22.5"
The stem is 90mm.
Bars and stem are both Cinelli.
The front hub is Ofmega with a nice alloy rim and 700 x 20c tyre
The rear hubs are either Longstaff's or Trykit's, more than likely Trykit because it has had the 2 wheel drive axle fitted (not cheap, check out their website).
Shimano exage sport rear mech.
Suntour front mech.
All operated by Shimano downtube shifters.
The chainring is a triple BIOPACE with 48t,38t and 28t. and the cranks 170mm
The rear cassette is an 8speed i.e. an 8 speed triple.
Fizik Gobi Wing Flex saddle,super comfy.
All in all a superb trike which handles really well. For me the Biopace does actually make a difference and is worth having.
Trykit are ,I would say almost famous and deservedly so for their superbly engineered 2 wheel drive axle and this is a fantastic upgrade to this machine.(check out their web site,they ain't cheap).
It all works perfectly and is serviced, greased and ready to ride.
There are a few scratches on the paintwork but nothing that detracts from it's overall appearance and nothing that spoils the integrity of the frame.
I have a total of 4 trikes and need to down size my collection to make way for other interests.If you're interested and this particular one doesn't float you're boat maybe another one I have will.
All the best and happy bidding.I'm realistic regarding values but at the same time I'm not desperate to give it away.
Payment by Paypal or cash on collection.
Collection preferred but would consider delivery for cost of fuel and time etc. to be agreed."

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A lot of trike for not a lot of money. Perhaps for the smaller person? Imagine what it would cost to do up an outdated trike to this standard! Happy bidding. 

This trike sold for £321.

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18 Mar 2012

18th March 2012

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A new triking forum!

 http://on3wheels.myfastforum.org/

Join! Do it now!

Use it or lose it.

18th 42-47F, 6-9C, light breeze, heavy overcast and slightly misty. Overnight rain had left the roads wet. There were lots of slugs, snails and dead toads on the roads. First time this year. It was supposed to rain on and off all day but hasn't so far. I tootled the quiet lanes for a couple of hours. The Aldi jacket came off after a long gentle climb. Then I braved the slightly chill air until I arrived home. The SS "Activity" gloves were comfortably warm today. My legs were rather tired so I only did 18 miles. So much for a rest day! :-)

19th 42.45F, 6-7C, very windy, sunny after a wet and grey start. Leaving late, I headed straight into the wind for the first eight miles. So I was grateful for the Aldi jacket.

After turning north at my first stop I wore the equally day-glo Giordano. (image) Going quite well but my legs are still feeling tired. So it had better rain soon so I can have a proper rest!

I had to take a wheel off to tighten a mudguard nut and bolt. It had worked loose then rusted. So it was rattling on rough surfaces. Lucky I checked it because the wheel nut was only finger tight! Eek!

Waddya mean I have a distorted view of life? ;-)

I have another serious problem. My calf muscles seem to be growing. So my skiing tights feel tight on the knees when I bend my legs. (as you do) I bet it's too much pushing and not enough twiddling. All due to a lack of a cadence readout! Or it might just be that huge 42 chainwheel. :-)

I have just found a new wheel circumference multiplier [1667mm] which gives cadence readout in kmh as decimal 1/10ths of the actual rpm. So, for example, 11.5kmh =115rpm. Most computers won't display over 100kmh so some people use silly multipliers. I like the simplicity of this one and it means I can pedal right up to 1000rpm if I like. :o)

 The Recumbent Bicycle and Human Powered Vehicle Information Center

I still have my cadence crank magnet and sensor. So I just need to rig up an old £5 computer to try it out. If I need to extend the cable to reach the computer bracket on the bars I have had practice at that too. 25 miles.

20th 48F, 9C, windy, heavy overcast. I left after morning coffee because it was supposed to rain earlier. Still a cool wind despite the rising temperatures.  The SealSkinz 'Activity' gloves actually feel wet and cold inside now. I am going to have to try and wash them without any useful laundry instruction supplied. 

I was overtaken and baulked by a car driver on a downhill approach to a tight mini roundabout. The retard then flashed he was going right and went straight on with a left indication on the exit. It should have been a right indicator of course.

 There was already a queue in front of me and I was matching their speed while leaving a decent breaking distance. Let's be charitable and suggest he was dropped on his head as a baby and never recovered. There are no other explanations for such behaviour which do not involve permanent incarceration.

Despite having a bag full of shopping I had to tie a large bag of seed compost on the back. What are you supposed to do about rusty blade-style spokes?  I may have to go back to a 'proper' front wheel. 20 miles.

I have fixed my old bike computer onto the DIY bar bracket. Then strapped the sensor to the chainstay with tie-wraps as usual. I had to splice, solder and tape the cable joint. The secret to stripping the tiny twin wires is a screw adjustable pair of electricians, wire stripping pliers.

Fitting the magnet was more of a problem. Due to the hollow back to the crank and the very wide spacing. So I cut a thick piece of rubber to go behind the crank. The magnet was then strapped over this with more zip ties.

Guess what? It works an absolute treat! More so, since the speed reading digits (in kmh) are much larger than the previous cadence reading in rpm.  Now I can work on reducing my calves so I can get my tights back on again. "Happy days are here again... tra-la-la." {:o))



21st  42-55F, 6-13C, sunny and windy. Warmest day this year so far. Though the head wind still felt cold.

The DIY cadence computer works perfectly! Nice big digits and rapid response to changes. I have found another matching computer head but it didn't fit the shoe I used. I shall have to plough through my cycling storage boxes to see where the correct one is hiding. Just my luck that there were no computers in the supermarket where I usually get them for a fiver.(£5)

Going rather well but my legs are still tired most of the time. No rain forecast!

Saw my first hare this year. It was odd the way a Yellowhammer crossed the road in front of me and stared from a fence right beside the road. It may have been blinded by my matching day-glo jacket in the bright sunshine.

A small hawk also shot across the road in front of me, gliding along the disused railway into a village at about 40mph. Long, narrow wings, brown. Body much smaller than a blackbird. I used to think these small birds of prey were Sparrowhawks but the latter's wings are far too broad in pictures. The bird I see quite often is always travelling very fast and straight. Usually over or right through the hedges lining fields and roads. Wings outstretched as if they aren't visibly flapping despite their great speed. The Hobby seems to match the wing shape better than most.

 On a larger scale there were lots of calling buzzards circling on updraughts over the various woods. Their plaintive calls are a regular feature of my rides. The lanes are full of birdsong at the moment. Many of which i don't recognise at all! The black swans above are tame, captive birds on a farm pond beside the road. They have a rapid, high-pitched, piping call. Not at all what you'd expect from such a large bird. I really struggled to capture them sharply because they kept bobbing frantically. Sadly, I had no bread for them. 25 miles.

Seeing the bigger picture

22nd 43-53F, 6-12C, windy, sunny. Wind at 1-2 o'clock on the way out. 8 o'clock coming back. First time this year without tights. Came back with fingerless mitts and no hat. Cadence meter still working well. I managed 115rpm for a while. I seem to average 90-95 most of the time and climb in the mid 80s rpm. The 42T chainwheel is the most used now. I hardly seem to need the 22T. 20 miles.

Kevin has asked me to share admin duties on the new, upright Triking forum:

 on3wheels.myfastforum.org :: Index










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7 Mar 2012

7th March 2012

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7th 33-36F, 1-2C, very windy, heavy overcast. I had a mid-morning appointment so was short of time for a decent ride. Despite this I rode across country via farm tracks to reach my goal. It was very rough going but still saved some time. The farmers have sprung into action. With spraying in gales, pig shit and chemicals and laying down mud on the roads. It wouldn't surprise me at all if they don't claim EU agricultural support for the roads they mess up. The freeze dried mud makes huge clouds of brown dust when lorries and cars run over it. 14 miles.



8th 34-48F, 1-9C, breezy, sun promised. Thin overnight snow. It was much windier than I would have liked. The crosswinds were icy cold even at 48F on the way home. Meanwhile I was sweating like a pig in the Aesse jacket. I tried to help an old chap whose chain had come off his electric invalid trike. Luckily it had front wheel hub drive and he was determined to go to the bike shops for repairs. So I didn't need to get involved after all. 23 miles.


9th 40-46F, 4-8C, grey, windy. I don't know how I managed it but there was a headwind both ways. I went back to the Aldi jacket and it was fine. The latest sports bag gave up when the zip broke. Bought a huge replacement in a charity shop. I'm hoping the Higgins mudguard stays will keep it all tidy. Masses of shopping. Nearly 15 kilos. Only 15 miles.

10th 40-43F, 4-6C, windy, dark grey, spitting with rain, misty, miserable. Just a tootle to the shops. I hate the wind! The new big bag is staying still thanks to the mudguard stays. It has enormous capacity! But it only rests on the rack when open. Which is better than nothing but puts all the load on the straps/handles when hooked over the saddle.

The Aldi jacket is still my daily wear. It has all the advantages of a windproof shell but with decent ventilation. It still hasn't been tested in the wet. Hardly a drop has fallen on me since I bought it. Cheap insurance against bad weather!

The woods and hedges are still being cleared everywhere I go. I was almost caught by a group of cyclists out training but turned the other way just before they reached me. Only 14 miles.


11th 40-48F, 4-8C, windy, dark grey overcast. I found the warm level of the Aldi jacket and put on the Giordano instead. It was a bit cool but better than sweating. Yet again, it felt too dark, grey and miserable for photography. 30 miles.

12th 42-48F, 6-9C, very windy, overcast. I have been blown about, cruised at 25mph, climbed at 20mph and crawled at 7mph today. Am I having fun yet? The huge bag was stuffed with shopping and I had to hang a carrier bag off the back as well. 25 miles.

 A silly picture but I couldn't find a clear spot to capture this old farmhouse.

13th 42-49F, 6-10C, very windy, overcast with few sunny periods. The sun came out when I arrived home. Over 10kg (22lbs) of shopping.

What the hell has happened to the British Post Office? We sent a registered letter to the UK. It left Denmark overnight and then took 5 days to get there! 6 days to update that it was finally delivered yesterday. £8 quid extra on top of postage. What a rip-off! Given £8 worth of biscuits I could have pedalled there in 6 days! I wonder if Mr Higgins can swim?

I was fighting the wind again today. I was too warm in the Aldi jacket so put on the Giordano. Then it felt as if it was blowing straight through me. The SealSkinz 'Activity' gloves are now far too sweaty! What a waste of money! I'm going back to my £5 supermarket cycling gloves tomorrow! They are on their second year and as good as new. 20 miles.



14th 42-50F, 6-10C, windy, mostly sunny. Not so windy as the last two days.  Feeling a bit weird today. Sweaty, odd headaches and feeling tired. I was overtaken by a kid on an MTB but had no energy to chase him. Just wandering from one supermarket to the next looking for stock. My average is still above 20 miles per day for the year so far. Better than last year but the weather has been less wintry. 27 miles.

15th 41F, 5C, dark grey, windy and cold. Yesterday was warm enough for fingerless gloves. Today the cheap gloves were very cold! My huge bag keeps sticking a corner into the spokes. So I ran a tight cord from the carrier frame to the Higgins mudguard stays. This seems to work well. I need to do something rather more permanent to allow me to use these big sports bags reliably. Feeling better today but still not very strong. Perhaps I need another rest day? If it turns wet, as promised, I will use that as an excuse. 25 miles.

 16th 36-51F, 2-11C, still, forecast very windy with bright sunshine. I tootled off earlier than usual to get some miles in before I started shopping. I soon warmed up and the Aldi jacket was swapped for the Giordano after only 3  miles of mostly climbing. Without any particular route in mind I followed each new side turning which I hadn't explored before. I travelled miles along narrow lanes without seeing a living soul or any vehicle.

Later I was sprayed by a farmer in a strong headwind. So I was exposed for quite a while with no alternative route to avoid the illegal moron. I have no idea what was in the big spray tank.

Then I travelled past a huge, pig shit spreader doing its worst for the environment. My clothes stink of pig shit now I am back at home. Sadly my wife had already put some sheets on the washing line. She can forget all about doing that again. For at least two months in this area! It even stinks of pig shit indoors with all the windows closed! Taxpayer subsides and profit comes first! Human rights to enjoy one's property do not.


A '59 Chevy 'Apache' at the supermarket.
 Five years younger than Mr Higgins!  
Original paintwork too!

I had to fight the last 10 miles into the wind. My quads felt sore when I tried to pedal fast towards the end of my ride. I was also close to getting the knock after such an early breakfast. I felt completely hollow over the last five miles. The i-gotU GPS logger is showing 650 rides recorded. 40 miles.


17th The all-pervading, pig shit stench gets worse! 41-50F, 5-10C, heavy overcast, misty, wind forecast later. How can it be a headwind going and and a headwind coming back by the same route? The wind was at 1 o'clock on the way and 10 o'clock coming back. It was cold too! Fortunately I was able to gain some shelter from the bare, lilac hedges. Definitely an Aldi jacket and SS gloves day. Sans hat to stay cool. No obvious ill effects from yesterday's mileage or being sprayed. 

Quite a few tractors passed me on the muddy roads. Which reminded me why a trike is safer. Although I am slightly wider than a bike I don't need to weave to stay upright. I just continue on my chosen route while they roar past. Their mobile phone hand sutured permanently to their ear. 20 miles.   

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