26th June 2012

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26th 60F, 15C, blowing a westerly gale, overcast but dry. The i-gotU GPS logger is still misbehaving. I wonder whether the internal battery is dying? There were very strange, loud noises coming from the woods. No idea what they were. There were no obvious engine noises. Just a loud repeated roar at very short intervals. Hundreds of swallows were showing off their flying skills. Hedgehopping the verges and swooping all around me. The British Post Office is broken again. We sent a registered letter which arrived there on Friday. It wasn't delivered until today (Tuesday) Only 25 miles.

27th 57F, 14C, breezy, becoming cloudy but dry. Power cut due this morning. My wife and I both seem to have a touch of flu'. Or perhaps it is hay fever? It was blowing a gale (again). The forecast was for lighter winds today but the trees were bending. I had an appointment mid-morning so could not go too far in case of mishap. So I tootled around. Rediscovering the lanes I don't normally use. I had to go off-road on one of the roughest tracks I've tried so far. In fact I put the chain onto the smallest chainring for the first time since fitting the new chainset. The track leads to a superbly smooth, very narrow lane which climbs out of a valley. Having reached the tarmac and ridden down, I turned round and rode all the way back up again. Then completed the second descent with rather more daring. There is no room for mistakes on the sharp corners. 26 miles.

28th 63-75F, 17-24C,(?) warm, sunny becoming overcast, lighter winds from odd directions.  My new temperature sensor position is showing silly high temperatures. It must be picking up some heat from the dormer roof.

The wind turbines are all standing still. Should be a good day for a ride.

I decided to ride to Odense along the lanes and cycle paths. There seemed to be a light headwind wherever I went. I must be doing something wrong. ;-)

I took my massive 'Granit' U-lock in case I had to leave the trike anywhere. It weighed a ton but offered a nice, false sense of security. Denmark is plagued by organised, Eastern European, cycle thieves in lorries.

The tomatoes I bought in Fakta were all rotten! I couldn't see that until I opened the packaging at home. They tasted earthy! Yeuk! Do I want to ride another 14 more miles to take them back? Nope. I'm not allowed out again today.

The Continental GP4000 tyres are still going well at 90psi and holding their air. 40 rather effortless miles today. Not so long ago a ride to Odense was a major struggle and quite exhausting if it was windy.

It is not as if I ever dawdle. I am pedalling hard all the time at 90-105rpm. Only racing cyclists, out training, overtake me occasionally. I overtake ordinary cyclists all the time. It doesn't help that I am still just as competitive as I was at 17. Seeing any cyclist up the road was always a trigger to catch and overtake them. Some people do intervals. I chase other cyclists. With me on a heavy and usually well-laden trike. Well, it would be no fun if it was too easy! :-)

BTW: I had to move the outdoor temperature sensor away from the hot, dormer roof. The sensor is now in the shade with only wood around it but open to the air. It's readings are now more sensible again. Though the sun isn't out. Ill have to monitor for sudden changes in sunny periods. 

29th 60-66F, 16-19C, windy, heavy overcast with very heavy rain showers and thunder and lightning. A thunder storm is passing over Denmark. Already dropping over 2" (60mm) of rain in parts of Jylland. (Jutland) This 'low' had already caused severe flooding in Britain. There may be a lull mid-morning. We shall see. I ended up going out at 3pm. Going well apart form my chest being bunged up. I kept thinking it was going to rain but it stayed dry until five minutes after I came home. Then it tipped down. Only 22 miles.

30th 70-73F,21-23C, windy, some sun, some cloud, some light rain. I rode over to Fredericia to try and find some clips to fit the seat stays. Lots of cyclists out and about today. Including quite a few tourists. Most gave me a wave or a grin. I started to tire after 50 miles due to a lack of food. At 60 I was struggling to maintain my revs. I think 70 miles is my best distance in three years. Stop laughing at the back! :-)

My Carradice Camper Longflap saddlebag has arrived. In incredibly quick time! It is a belated birthday present from my wife thanks to a modest tax rebate. After stuffing some much needed food down I started on the new bag fixing. The details and lots of pictures follow in the next post.

Pm. My arms are sunburnt as are newly exposed bits of thigh. I had no idea it was so sunny this morning. Otherwise, my legs seems fine after such a long ride. (by my standards)

I am reducing the average size of my posted images to avoid long download times for viewers. With a 30/30mMBit/s optical fibre connection I sometimes forget that others are not quite so fortunate. 

Cool, windy and wet June is over. Roll on July? 

  

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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