28th October 2013 Storm

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Monday 28th 52F, 11C, windy with rain. The storm is supposed to peak in the later afternoon. I don't hold out much hope for our neighbour's double carport roof. The sheets are held down with a few logs and pallets. A corrugated plastic sheet is just lying on the ground on top of some pallets. The problem is his carport is upwind of us!

In the last big storm, of '99, another neighbour's double garage, corrugated steel roof was rolled up by the wind, lifted into the air and dropped a few hundred meters away. It must have travelled right over over the top of our house and lots of tall trees to reach the field behind us! As it was dark and the power had already gone off we never saw a thing. Though we could certainly hear some awful noises. We lost an area of roof on the downwind, suction side which took some time to detach itself. Hopefully the roof is much stronger this time around thanks to its beefed up construction. With the heavy rain it is definitely a rest day even if it wasn't so windy. I put up a wind vane on a pole in the front hedge before it became too nasty to venture outside.

2.45pm we had to go out and rescue a garden table top which was supposed to be sheltering some plants. The heavy braces had fallen off with the shaking. While we were outside there was a huge gust, the air was full of swirling leaves and we were buffeted by giant pillows. After quickly weighing down the table top flat on the ground we dashed back indoors again.

The strength of the wind really is building quickly now. I'm worried about the birches right beside the bike shed if they should fall. The sheets on the neighbour's carport roof are flapping like fish on the deck. I've no idea how they are still clinging on. There is no real direction to the wind though it does seem to be turning slightly more south westerly than southerly. Debris is going in all directions. It really is getting very noisy and frightening now with a steady roar and the trees bending right over in the vicious gusts. Still over an hour to the forecast peak wind speeds.

16.42 The very worst seems to be over now. Though with heavy gusts still effortlessly bending the trees. Assorted debris took turns to move around the field in front of us. Waves raced endlessly across the uncut grass. One large plastic bag floated high, was trapped in a tree and then unaccountably fell free again.

17.00 The hedges are still rocking back and forth as if they were solid objects. I can see one broken branch hanging on a large cherry tree as the sky quickly darkens through ever deeper shades of uniform grey. Perhaps nature was complaining about us putting the clocks back? It was certainly a brutal tantrum!

The neighbour's carport roofing is standing up in oddly sized pyramids where the sheets have risen and lodged together. Two neighbours' greenhouses are much the worse for wear. Thanks goodness it wasn't as bad as the storm of 1999! This one passed over much more quickly and without the inhuman cross between a moan and a high pitched roar. The storm of the century in '99 also happened in the pitch dark. Our imagination only adding to the fear of the unexpected.

The news is coming in that two people were killed by the storm. One by a flying roof tile and another by flying debris. Many areas were without power at times during the day. The highest windspeed ever recorded in Denmark in '99 was beaten today by 2 m/s at 53m/s or 118mph in South East Jutland. Fyn experienced 40m/s in places which is not far off 90mph!  Police are warning against storm tourists who are ending up as victims themselves due to flying and falling debris, branches and trees.

Finally, the email server is down at my ISP. The NSA must be absolutely furious having a few less innocent victims to monitor around the clock. The variation on possible meanings of NSA trip so easily off the tongue.

Tuesday 29th 47-50F,8-10C, very windy, overcast. Showers and 30mph gusts forecast for today. The online news reports are coming in of the damage done to Denmark by the storm. Many ignored the warnings given by the police and fire brigade. Some paid dearly for it. Like one cyclist who rode through a group of old trees at the height of the storm and ended up in intensive care for his idiocy. Another women is critical after standing out on her balcony and being hit by debris from a house across the road. Joggers and traffic carried on as normal. Even entering cordoned off danger areas with fallen trees just to avoid personal inconvenience.

The road near our home was just as busy as any other day at the height of the storm including several horse boxes and camper vans. As fully expected, from repeated previous experience, the major bridges which connect the Danish land masses were closed due to overturned lorries. One might have thought that lorries could be stopped much earlier in a storm to allow car traffic to continue to cross until/if conditions become too dangerous. This might reduce the many miles and hours of tailbacks, of all traffic, every time the roads are completely blocked by large vehicles.

Went for an early walk in the rain. The brain dead commuters were practising their lack of skill at Scalextric on sopping wet roads with loads of debris lying and huge spray clouds in tow. Half a dozen trees were down within a 20 minute walking radius. Some were large but no obvious damage to buildings. Several had fallen across the road but had been sawn up and just shoved aside for later tidying up.

I set off for my ride after coffee with  a very gusty tail crosswind on saturated roads. Getting sprayed by speeding traffic only added to the fun. But their right to speed always exceeds my right to survival. Meanwhile, the idiot on the trike was avoiding an almost continuous carpet of debris blown from trees and hedges. Several trees along my route had been snapped off a couple of feet off the ground.  Thunder rumbled ominously overhead as dark plates of threatening cloud raced across the sky but it stayed mostly dry between short showers.

Having emerged from the last supermarket the sky had become very dark and it started tipping down almost immediately. With only 6 miles to get home I plodded on into a partial headwind while I being constantly battered by torrential rain mixed with hail. I passed white drifts of hail against the verges as I fought through a continuous river of moving water.

Fortunately I had the Aldi waterproof jacket on which kept my body warm as literally every part of me quickly became completely sodden. The GripGrab Doctor Gel gloves were useless. Wet through within minutes and hopelessly cold despite the relatively mild temperatures. Brand new GripGrab overshoes offered very little protection against the mudguard-less, tyre spray. Both my socks and shoes were soaked right through within minutes of leaving home. I wish I could say they kept my feet warm despite the wet. They didn't.

As I stripped off for my second hot shower of the day the fronts of my legs were bright red and stinging badly. I presume my wet skin had been chilled despite the tights and shorts. Probably the heaviest rain I have ridden though for quite a few years. It was coming across the fields in opaque sheets driven by 30-40mph winds. The Aldi jacket arms proved not to be fully waterproof but still did a fair job for the very low price. I was glad for the TA cap under my helmet too. The peak offers some facial protection against the worst of the wet weather and helps to keep my yellow sunglasses dry enough to see clearly ahead. Only 14, fairly soggy, miles.

Wednesday 30th 46F, 8C, overcast, windy. Rain and showers forecast. I may use the Higgins (with its mudguards) but still haven't changed the worn-out cassette. What you might call a roundtoit. It should only take about half of an hour if I can work outside. Longer, if I have to work in the cramped shed. It is only a matter of removing the rear wheels and outboard bearing cups. The axles can then be withdrawn enough for the old cassette to fall out. Then the cassette is removed from the Trykit 2WD body and the new cassette fixed in place. Followed by a reversal of the previous steps. Hopefully I will remember to thread the chain this time! I usually forget it and have to break the chain and rejoin it again. Tying the chain to the top and back reinforcing loops with string would help. I do not tend to work with the haste of a Formula 1 pit crew.

The rear end went quickly and well. I wish I could say the same for the brakes and stem. I had to dismantle the brakes and polish the pivots with rock wool. A bit of grease will offer lower friction until it all gets mucky again. The old fashioned headset has an A-head adapter fitted which has jammed itself irrevocably. I had made a sleeve in the lathe for the oversized stem clamp. However, the top tension screw has lost its grip so I can't fix the handlebars securely. It has rained on and off all morning which hasn't helped at all. I'm trying to work outdoors to have more room and better light. I almost finished before I had to go out. 9 miles.

Thursday 31st 48-50F, 9-10C, heavy grey overcast wind building. Had an hour's walk but my pictures were dire. Gloomy, misty and colourless. I set off on my trike after coffee with a tailwind. There were literally dozens of felled trees on my route. Many snapped off some distance off the grounds. Lots of broken and fallen branches ripped off mature trees. The bright gashes of freshly splintered  wood were visible on the face and sometimes deep into the forest. Several new gaps were left in mature avenues of oaks. A headwind coming back with a very heavy load of shopping. 18 miles.

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21st October 2013

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Monday 21st 53-56F, 12-13C, breezy, overcast with sunny periods later on. An hour's brisk walk first. A rear tyre was punctured flat when I went to collect the trike. 8 months, 5000 miles or 8000 km without a single puncture from the Duranos is excellent. I think it was only the wet roads which caused a tiny flint to get a grip. The rear tyres are just beginning to show the canvas. Retirement beckons as soon as replacements (Duranos) arrive. Though I usually use alloy tyre levers I find a plastic lever much easier to slide round the entire rim to lift the bead right off. I can never get a plastic tyre lever to lift the first bit of bead as cleanly as the alloy ones. I always take the tyre right off and turn it inside out to ensure I haven't missed a tiny thorn or flint. You only ever need to put one brand new tube into a tyre with a still protruding spike to learn this lesson. Hopefully you won't do it far from home. Nor will you gash your fingers wide open by running them over the razor sharp flint! Only 12 miles today.

The B17 'Special' saddle is still holding up well after a few more thousand miles and remains superbly comfortable. Had I tried a Brooks B17 earlier in my cycling life then things might have been very different. For some reason (vanity?) I always sought a narrower saddle like some heat seeking missile. My first real racing saddle was a Unica Nitor! Talk about choosing your weapon!

At 17 I rode from Bath to Plymouth with a load of camping gear in one day and back the next on that damned saddle!  Half a century later I can still remember doing a lot of climbing out of the saddle on that particular trip! I would have been wearing knitted wool shorts with a real (thin) chamois liner. It is difficult to understand how I was able to survive and continue cycling with saddle soreness on every single ride over more than 50 years. I suppose I'm just a very slow learner. What's your excuse? :-)

A B17 and a really decent pair of padded bibs (shorts with braces) will remove all range limitations provided you have the strength to keep turning the pedals. I still prefer a thick cushion in the shorts despite the obvious advantages of the Brooks saddle. You will notice a blunt punch at the Brooks factory has left a slightly raised rim around the ventilation holes. Fearing the raised protrusions might rub I carefully filed these down with a small, clean, rat tail file. However the leather is so resilient to wear that it has still hardly worn down my DIY butchery over thousands of miles.

I am still wondering whether I want to drill and lace the skirts. They still don't rub but such modifications could extend the life of the spine of the saddle later on. Leather saddles tend to droop in the middle eventually under the weight of the rider. Re-tensioning has other unfortunate effects on the shape of the saddle's seating area. The increased tension tends to pull the flat areas downwards causing the rider to slip forwards if the saddle remains level. The same thing happened to my B17 'Narrow' and 'Professional.' I knew a tourist whose B17 leather had drooped into a flat, semicircular hammock. He claimed it was comfortable but the width from the spreading effect on the leather looked ridiculous.

I never got on with the Brooks B17 'Narrow' nor the 'Professional' despite the family similarities and small difference in width compared to the 'standard' B17. This B17 'Special' is by far the most comfortable saddle I have ever ridden. I have another brand new 'Special' in storage in case of theft or accident. At the present rate of wear I think this gorgeous tan one will probably outlast me.

It would be deliberately obtuse to want a hefty B17 under your bum for a hillclimb or shorter TT. But for touring and longer rides it would be difficult to find anything so completely free of irritation. The best saddle is the one you never notice beneath you. Padded vinyl might feel comfortable for the first 20 or 30 miles but what then? Assuming you rode away in a straight line you still have to get back!

Tuesday 22nd 53-60F, 12-16C sunny periods, rather windy. An hour's walk first. While out on the trike I was sprayed by an elderly farmer. There was a 20mph crosswind and he was right by the verge as I passed on a main road. His spray bar was a good metre above the ground. Later on a valley was filled with smoke. Rather than ride straight on I thought I'd better find the source in case an unattended house had caught fire. The smoke became thicker and thicker as I finally reached a village. It turned out to be another farmer burning something in his shed in the middle of the village. The chimney was black and cracked and black smoke still pouring out. Later still I was overtaken by somebody on a racing bike. He had the lowest handlebars I have ever seen in my entire life! 20 miles. Passed the 10,000 km mark for this year. I have ordered another set of 3 Durano tyres.


Wednesday 23rd 53-59F, 12-15C, overcast, breezy and strangely muggy. An hour's walk so far. Grey and windy once I got out on the trike. Though it stayed dry. Headwind coming back. 20 miles.

Thursday 24th 50F, 10C, windy, plates of cloud clearing to sunshine. A 70 minute, solitary walk along the boggy and overgrown fire breaks through the forest.
It remains fascinating to see our locality from completely different perspectives. Sticking to the roads gives one a very distorted sense of scale and direction. Turning a corner where the view ahead is blocked with trees can easily fool you as to which direction you are really travelling. The downside of walking is that one is limited in distance covered within a given time on foot. I seem to be averaging 3mph according to the GPS logger. Not bad for rough ground in non-hiking boots considering ow little walking I have done in the last decade.

Twenty years ago I used to run up and down Snowdon in my massive, leather climbing boots just for the fun of it. I badly need some trainers and a pair of decent, lightweight and waterproof trail boots. Searching online seems to throw up too many unavailable options. Denmark is hardly stuffed with mountaineering shops like Wales and Gravely Blighted in general. More online homework required to find something which can cope with miles of very wet grass and weeds. I have already worn out the tarmac potential within any reasonable radius.

The accuracy of my recorded (walking) track seems much reduced off-road compared with travelling the roads. Having all the free aerial photography software systems to make sense of and plan potential routes is good fun. Without them I would soon become bored with dicing with the traffic on the main road. It's a shame I got rid of the old mountain bikes because I could ride to a new base each day and then walk from there. There is no way I'm leaving my trike miles from anywhere and completely unsupervised!

I left late for the shops. A strong crosswind there and back but I missed the showers.  My new Durano Performance tyres have arrived. It is probably just superstition but I prefer 700C x 25mm for a bit more comfort and resistance to pinch flats than the 23mm. Provided they are inflated properly I doubt there's much to gain or lose and the weight difference is also hardly worth consideration when I'm carrying shopping most days. 16 miles.

Friday 25th 50-53F, 10-12C, almost still, high cloud clearing to sunshine. A 5 mile walk through the boggy woods in an hour and half. Picked up a tiny deer bug on my leg. The Head Gardener did the emergency operation to remove it. Despite this, I may still survive.

Here be monsters. Well one, anyway.

I tried a Campag Athena double front changer on the Trykit. Though the changer has loads of inward  movement it won't reach out far enough to put the chain on the largest chainwheel. I'm not sure I can fit a shorter axle without the inside of the Stronglight crank rubbing on the bearing cup. No, that sounds daft in retrospect. The crank fits on a standard taper. How could it possibly rub?

I have already fitted a 107mm axle which is the shortest normal Shimano axle in the 68mm bottom bracket width. Though there is a "track width" square axle available at 103mm. I'm not sure the extra 4mm inward movement (of the entire chainset) will be enough to allow the cage to remain clear of the chain on the largest chainring.

I hardly ever use the 46T so I could shrink to a double 34/24. Except that it will look rather foolishly MTB-ish in that size. I'll have to think about this some more. I could change the cassette to use (say) a 40/30 double chainset with a 12T top and 32 bottom.That would allow a 25 mph top gear with a decent cadence.

The Stronglight/TA triple chainset seems to push the chainwheels a very long way out from the bottom bracket. There is over half an inch clearance of the inner ring from the chain stay. When it (the inner chainring) could easily be "wrapped" around the bottom bracket by changing the axle offset.

What I need now to make a larger cable clamping washer which reduces the pull per click of the Shimano Ultegra changer. I also need to bend the cage straight as it seems to lean inwards at the bottom. The problem is that Shimano rivet their cages shut. So the damned 10sp chain has to be broken to do any serious work on the changer. Campag uses a screw to clamp the tail of the cage allowing it to be lifted straight off without effort. I don't fancy mauling the changer while it's sitting on a 0.3mm seat tube! Though I could take the changer off and clamp it to a bit of scrap tube just to work on it. The chain can be left threaded through the cage while I play.

I left late morning for a pleasant tootle around the lanes for 20 miles with light shopping. Blowing a gale and heavy overcast towards the end but the wind was now in my favour.

Saturday 26th 56F, 13C, breezy, heavy overcast. It is still struggling to become properly light at 8.30.Windy with showers possible. Blowing a gale, by the time I left, with fierce gusts. Not a great day for cycling. Only 7 miles.

Sunday 27th 57F, 14C, overcast, very windy. An hour's walk. Mild but a gusty wind. Today's ride was limited due to high crosswinds to 11 miles. It started raining 15 minutes from home. Driven by the increased wind speed the rain was lashing at me and I was quickly soaked.

Tomorrow has a severe storm forecast coming over here after battering Gravely Blighted. The forecasters are still unsure about strength, track and wind speeds but it could reach 35m/s or 80mph in the gusts.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

A small wheel Ken Rogers trike on eBay

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Rare exc cond Adult Ken Rogers 20" Wheels 17kg Trike Tricycle 5-gear 3 Wheeler | eBay

This is (probably) how you should design and build a lightweight shopping trike. Most trikes aimed at the elderly or infirm are made of "gas pipe" and weigh a ton. The step-over height is a handicap compared with most trikes aimed at this market. Still much easier than mounting a gents' frame. The design would seem offers a great range of sizing if a handlebar stem extension is used with differently shaped bars. There is some loss of comfort with such small wheels compared with full sized 27" or 700C wheels. The frame has some resemblances to the Ist Moulton bikes but without the suspension. Not a very common machine even amongst triking aficionados.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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October 14th 2013

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Monday 14th 39F, 4C, almost still, sunny with thin, high cloud. Hint of mist clearing. An hour's walk in bright sunshine playing dodgems with the traffic.

I seem to have a strange effect on dogs. On foot I cannot escape by sprinting away from the danger. One dog charged across the lawn barking, as he always does, but suddenly choked and almost somersaulted with the shock. Then a big guard dog jumped up in a threatening manner against the front fence as I walked past. I called out a cheery 'hello' and he rushed off to get his ball to play! Dogs do smile! 

Many dogs don't seem to like trikes.  Horses and ponies often look up as I pass. While cyclists usually go unnoticed. I remember reading that working horses were more disturbed by tricycles than by bicycles in the past. That was back when carriages were the norm and the new-fangled cycles still unusual. I cannot easily imagine why a pair of rear wheels should worry them more than a bicycle. I wonder if this effect is still true of a tadpole trike? (Two wheels forward)

When I did get out on the trike I judged the wind completely wrongly. I should have gone clockwise but didn't. Then had a headwind all the way back. 21miles.

It ain't heavy. It's my erratic. Pre-Christian altar stone? It lies on the same raised mound now dominated by a 11th Century church. Though the present edifice is later with only some original stonework visible. No doubt the massive, original  wall construction replaced an even older wooden church. Which, in turn, may have taken over an earlier site with other gods in mind. Present interest in Sunday services is so low that there is discussion of demolishing unused churches rather than let them be used (or abused?)  for other purposes. Perhaps the church is afraid they will be turned into mosques? Taxpayer's contribute to the church so the buildings can usually get a new coat of distemper and repairs as needed. There is even discussion about turning off the central heating where congregations fall below a handful (literally) of elderly stalwarts per service on a rotating cycle. Ironically a large, modern church administration building has been put up in another village!        

Tuesday 15th 50F, 10C, breezy, heavy overcast with a misty start. Rain or showers forecast for later. There and back again. 15 miles. Returned to the stench of burning paint and varnish from next door's chimney. It stayed dry but no walk today.


Wednesday 16th 50-54F, 10-12C, very heavy overcast, quite still. Winds supposed to remain very light all day. A good day for a ride? Only if I fit lights! It was an odd sort of day. It brightened up for a while before resuming its uniform grey. Despite riding a triangular course it felt as if I had a 10-15mph  headwind from first to last. 40 miles. Laden on the way back.

The piece of shit Sony HDR-AS15 Action Camera has added another massive negative to its limp performance in its bundled software. PlayMemoriesHome has been right through my Pictures folder and added 5000 .modd file duplicates to every damned file! I have 84GB = 52,000 files in Pictures. I thought the camera was a complete waste of money but now there is no way to remove all these unwanted files. I checked on the Sony and other support forums.

Thank you Sony! I'm taking the AS15 back for a refund as not of merchantable quality. The AS15 is absolute junk! So is the supplied software. I wonder if I can sue Sony for gross incompetence and making my Pictures files practically unusable? 5000 junk Sony files which cannot be removed  by Windows normal deletion practice. If I try to delete them individually it tells me that the file is no longer there!

So I decided to uninstall PlayMemoriesHome to get rid of the 5000 unwanted files. Windows wouldn't let me uninstall it because it had already opened PMH to reconfigure it. So I tried again and finally it deleted PMH.

Guess what? The unwanted, un-deletable Sony files are still disfiguring Windows Pictures! An Adobe symbol in an empty white box sits between every single picture file! There must be rabid hackers who would give their right arm to be able to do this much damage to other people's computers. Sony did it with both hands behind its back!

After getting rid of the crap software I was then able to individually delete the .modd files in small groups. It took me ages to mark, delete and confirm each batch. Now I just need to unload the crap AS15 camera.

Thursday 17th 50F, 10C, breezy, heavy overcast. Rain and 30mph gusts promised for most of the day. Probably a rest day. In between blustery showers it brightened up and the wind dropped completely. So I went for a brisk walk. The Durano tyres are finally showing signs of small cuts and flattening on the treads. They have been marvellous for completely avoiding punctures over the last 8 months and 5,000 miles. Ideal for touring on any surface including flint laden Denmark. I have become so confident of their puncture resistance that I have stopped avoiding potentially damaging surfaces and obstacles. I have even (thought never deliberately) ridden frequently over broken bottle glass on the village cycle paths.

I expect Continental must be wondering how to copy such puncture protection when all they can offer is hype and pseudo-techno-bullshit. A single puncture makes the fastest cyclist by far the slowest. A single puncture is the difference between being a star and sad loser. Avoid Continental 4000S like the plague if you don't want to be a loser. Puncture magnets by any other name would be as sad.

One day, when the present "leadership" maffia is publicly shamed out of of cycling, to be replaced by those who actually care about the sport, it will be illegal to change wheels, or even bicycles, during a race. Not even in the event of a crash. There is nothing like sensible rules to hone manufacturer's activities towards reliability, safety and performance. Rather than how expensive they can be sold for to amateur wannabes with delusions of grandeur.

The present rules are sending cycling down a withered cul-de sac of ridiculously expensive designer toys. Often with a lifespan of a few months or even one race. Most of it seems to be aimed at the hordes of copycat, weekend warriors. Overweight and unfit hippos riding a ridiculously expensive collection of built-in obsolescence with a constant need to upgrade to this week's latest and greatest piece of jewellery priced tat. With constant adjustments required to keep it all rolling between pubs, chip shops and takeaways.

Standard gear ratios, which only a top professional can push for the first half of a mountain pass descent before running out of legs, are the norm. Lower gears too high for anybody but a pro to turn on anything more than a gentle, dual carriageway slope. Snobbery and idiocy in equal measure well lubricated with snake oil and all mounted on a pile of hype and bullshit.

Seconds per mile "improvements" in the design of rich boy's cast-offs. Yet nobody can show you a graph of rolling resistance measured against rider weight, tyre pressure, puncture resistance and speed of even a few of the most popular "racing" tires? Only a religion makes things up as it goes along and then calls it fact.

Friday 18th 41-50F, 5-10C, breezy and still very dark at 7.15am. I've been up for ages already. Time for a walk! I wonder if I can get my wind resistance down by wearing a GripGrab scull cap instead of my cheapo supermarket fleece? It might make all the difference on the uphill leg back from the village.

Perhaps I ought to be weighing my walking boots? I could sandpaper the deep treads off a bit for more speed on the descents. I could also save a few grammes by shaving my legs and wearing really short shorts. Lower friction into the bargain if I get some really shiny material! With the awful traffic situation I really should be considering a better helmet too. Streamlined, of course, but which one? Why am I the only one walking (in Lycra) to the village?

There was a surprising headwind as I set off with the low sun at my back. It must have been at least 33% above the DMIs local model for wind velocity. I was able to overcome this by temporarily adopting a skier's tuck during gusts. Though I wasn't very happy about the increased strain on my quads and an inability to put any real power down on the road from my glutes. I will have to invest in lower boots to overcome the hinge stiffness at the ankles if I persist with this.

This needed some quick thinking on my feet. (so to speak) In repeated tests I found the best performance was obtained by tucking my trousers into my socks and flattening my torso into the "superman" position. With hands forwards in the (non-UCI) approved manner. Keeping my walking cadence high seemed to help provided I ignored the flash of grinning teeth behind the windscreens of every passing commuter. No pain without gain, as I always say. I wish I'd taken my sunglasses.

Following these initial walking experiments I have decided to build a full carbon fibre, racing Zimmer frame/rulator with mono-blades, tri-bars and upgraded elbow pads to full UCI specs. Provided I get it right I think I can break the 5kg barrier with ease. However, I'm torn between disks and fitting low profile callipers with concealed cables. I'll also have to look out for some low drag 12" carbon, full disk rims for tubs.

No point in messing with HPs at this level of performance even with hollow titanium Q/R axles for easy wheel changes if the weather should turn nasty. I certainly don't want to be caught out on slicks when a fine file pattern will add enormously to that feeling of security on the faster corners in the wet! I shall be choosing Schwalbes as a matter of course to cope with the adverse camber on Bend 6. I'll have to ask on the forums if they can recommend a good GPS wireless computer with advanced features including cadence, full Blue-tooth automatic updating and a heart rate/calory counting monitor...

This is how many half-timbered buildings once looked. The lime wash was carried over the timber-work to give a more uniform (solid wall) appearance. The alkaline wash also helped to protect the timber from insect attack and rot. Painting the timbers a contrasting colour is a much later fashion. The social shame of owning an outdated, timber framed house changed to a more positive view with arrival of the romantic movement. 

Many older half-timbered houses were skinned in brick or block to show increased wealth and status. Thatch was also lost to tile and slate when these materials were actually much colder, hotter and draughtier before the arrival of modern insulation. But then the house owners rarely visited the roof space. It was reserved for lowly servants and farm hands. Whose comfort was of little interest to the socially aspiring landowner.  

Windows grew in size and number as glass became more affordable. Avoiding the use of foul-smelling or expensive indoor lighting methods. Or forced early bedtimes which followed the seasons. Hell wasn't just some invention. It is more a true reflection of the past. Life was often hard, miserable and short-lived compared with our affluent and comfortable lifestyles today in the West. 

Now I have to decide what to wear on the trike today. With a low sun @ 13 degrees maximum altitude and breezy at only 44F the Watts/m^2 at inclined angles of incidence at 5000K colour temperature it's hard to choose between wearing tights and thicker socks. Better not to risk fingerless mitts despite the (marginally) increased free-loading of Ds and theoretical increase in red blood cell count to compensate for my (unusually) low average altitude. I'd hate to be caught cheating in a dope test!

Left after coffee on a shopping loop. 17 miles against a low, blinding sun and a thin, cold wind. It warmed up on the way back despite the headwind. So I was glad for having divested myself of my cardigan and hat. Lest you think my cardigan is of regulation grandpa style with leather toggle buttons you are mistaken. It is a modern,  body hugging garment of tightly knit man-made material with proper cyclists rear pockets. Very handy for extra warmth in the early stages of a ride. It usually ends up in the saddle bag but can be worn over a jersey to avoid that overwhelming "I'm a real cyclist" appearance under more normal social conditions.

No, my aim has not faltered, the old farmhouse is actually sunk well below road level. 

I cropped out the road to avoid spoiling the illusion of originality.

The Autumn issue of the TA Gazette arrived in the post and has been duly absorbed from cover to cover. If I had my way they would stop embarrassing me by no longer listing the extraordinary achievements of tricyclists both now and in former times. Almost anybody with the necessary skills to ride a trike seem to be able to average speeds over many hours which I would count as my lifetime PB, maximum terminal velocity. (While free-falling from a mountain pass with a following wind likely to cause structural damage and the closure of major bridges)

Basically, it's not fair that I should be singled out just for simulating the riding of a tricycle while simultaneously immersed in a bath of treacle. Perhaps the altitude really is my only handicap? You often hear of cyclists training and racing at altitude. Nobody ever brags about training in lowly Denmark! It seems that all I really need to do to increase my speed and duration is to return to Gravely Blighted. Where I can train on real ale and bread pudding and then take full advantage of the increased Coriolis Effect. Somehow I think that ending my exile needs rather more to overcome my natural revulsion at being dumbed down by the BBC.

Saturday 19th 41-46F,5-8C, light breeze, overcast. Walked for an hour. Rain forecast for most of the day. It started spitting not long after I left on the trike and got worse as the morning dragged on. A headwind going. Over 30lbs of shopping but a tailwind coming back. I should have taken overshoes and my peaked TA cap, but didn't. 17 rather soggy miles making arcs of spray and defying gravity.

Sunday 20th 54-56F, 12-13C, windy and dull grey. The DMI says lighter winds today but the trees are already swaying. It stayed dry so I stayed out rather than just doing the shopping run. I overtook a couple of MTB chaps. One of them tried to stay with me but I kept going and he gave up. Took on another load of shopping at half way. A bit breezy at times but not too bad. Rather warm too so I stripped off the wind-proof jacket and hat. My hip was nagging a bit towards the end. 28 miles.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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7th October 2013

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Monday 7th October 52-17F, 11-63C, heavy overcast, breezy. It is supposed to brighten up later.

Another hour's brisk walk with photography along the way. A reserve of usable images is always useful.

Snowberries in a wild, roadside hedge.

I left late morning on the trike for a hilly, rural, shopping trip. The wind had picked up considerably by the time I turned for home at 12 miles. Though it stayed bright, warm and sunny. Causing me to strip down to shorts and jersey again.

My hip is becoming completely unpredictable. I even had excruciating spasms in my hip last night. Though my shoulder has been having a rest from causing regular agony if I'm careful. There seems to be no obvious connection between pain levels and cycling, walking or backwards bending exercises. I just have to avoid heavy lifting and remember to sit up straight at the computer. I have a silly habit of leaning over the keyboard which causes lower back pain or something worse. I'm wondering if the reducing shoulder pain is due to lowering my mouse mat to keyboard level.  I have had it on a 5" higher shelf for many years. Which makes me wonder if I have shoulder problems from mouse RSI.

Typical terrain for Fyn. The hills always look more impressive than their very modest height might suggest. The ever-changing crops maintain interest and constantly sculpt new vistas.

It feels much more relaxed now but there is only room for the keyboard at an angle. It is half hanging off the lower shelf to give the mouse a few inches of space. I could fit a board to enlarge the lower shelf but I am rapidly relearning to type quickly again on the angled keyboard. My elbow now rests comfortably on the arm of the chair while I type and make mouse movements. Just imagine the damage typists used to do to themselves working hard on a raised, mechanical keyboard all day long for years on end! 20 miles.

Tuesday 8th 59F, 15C,  rather cloudy and breezy. I had an early 45 minute walk. Hip hurting badly at first but it went off as I walked. The sky is brightening up now. A 20 mile ride, pm, as it grew greyer and windier again.

Elderberries.

The dog at the farmer's machine centre wouldn't let me pass without a fuss. The owner had to climb off the mover to hold it while I passed. Why do some people so resist a little exercise? From the sour look on her face you'd think I'd flashed at her. It's your dog running loose year after year bitch. Deal with it!

A lot of useful tarmacking has been going on for many of my regular routes. Even the cycle path potholes have been overfilled. Then given their regulation, single wallop with the back of a shovel. Perhaps the perps are fans of BMX? I suppose it makes a change from my having to lift a wheel over the former caverns. I just hope no caving teams were trapped down there. You'd never hear their cries for help with that much traffic!

Lots of hedging going on too. It takes about four years before a mixed field hedge recovers to a reasonable height. Probably five or six years to act as a decent windbreak to side winds. Hazels are fastest to recover. Oaks are usually left untouched.

I was just rehearsing my early morning route to the osteoporosis clinic on Google Earth Street View. The driver of the Street View camera car entered a village with a 50kph speed limit at 60kph. Reducing to only 58kph by the time they passed the speed indicator board! I promise not to tell exactly where if you don't.

Spindle berries.

Wednesday 9th 57F, 14C, clearing to sunny periods, windy. Initial impressions from my visit to the osteoporosis clinic suggests that it is not the cause of my pain. Any bone loss is too slight to need treatment. I shall have to wait for confirmation from my own quack, of course. My next bout of S&M has been postponed. Grey skies later with short, fine drizzle showers. Only 10 miles as the trike flies.

I hear that Ford, amongst others, is working to take the sociopath, idiot youth and morally incompetent out of the driving equation. A driver-less car would have been handy this afternoon. A late model Volvo estate overtook me at high speed in a busy, village shopping high street with a very low legal speed limit. He was then baulked by traffic before parking half on and half off the pavement across the entrance to a back street parking area.

His car considerably narrowed an already narrow and busy two way traffic flow. Including frequent buses and countless 6-axle articulated lorries. (Using GPS to shorten journey times regardless of the damage to buildings, villages, unsuitability of narrow, twisting, minor roads, loss of rural peace and quiet, etc, etc) He then crossed the road, on foot, to enter a shop and was just emerging from the same shop when I returned a quarter of an hour later. How does anyone prone to such extremely selfish and antisocial behaviour survive beyond infancy? Another idiot who will never he offered the chance to unplug from The Matrix.

Thursday 10th 43-50F, 6-15C, almost still, threat of sunshine. A 7.30am wake up call from the neighbour's escaped dog. Though I'd been up for an hour by then. Walkies! Me, not him! Though he's a gorgeous dog and deserves far better than mere, token ownership. I'd happily take him for a walk but it's not me that needs to lose weight and joggle their few remaining brain cells into a morally recognisable pattern.

I did an hour's brisk walk around the edge of a few of the local prairies by keeping to the spray tracks to avoid wet boots. The ground rises gently behind us so it was interesting to see our rural area from a completely different viewpoint after all these years. It took us some time to make any sense of some of my pictures. Foreshortened, as they were, by zoom in such a partially wooded situation.

I was reading a Danish article online about  mink farms. Mink farms have a suffocating stench which carries for miles downwind. The animals are fed a mixture of fish and meat delivered by tanker. The Danish minister of the environment is discussing changes to the mink breeder's practices and situations relative to near neighbours. Not an easy problem to solve given the number of farms and the remarkably even distribution of homes within the Danish countryside. The mink "fertiliser" is said to be five times more damaging to the environment than pig's diarrhoea.

The animals are incredibly beautiful but obviously stressed by their close confinement in such small, dirty cages. Long beards of filth hang down from the endless rows of cages in their drab prison camps. The narrow roofs denying the cleansing effects of the weather. No doubt the £600,000,000 annual sales of Danish mink skins to China does not warrant an occasional cleaning of the cages with a hose or high pressure washer between occupations of the death row, holding cells.

I have watched the poor animals make pointless, repetitive movements. Behaviour all too typical of zoo animals when bored out of their skins. Unfortunately the downward sales trend in the West has now been counterbalanced by Chinese new money. The vast majority of mink wear is probably purchased at taxpayer's expense. By corrupt, communist Chinese officials/crooks pampering their multiple, peasant mistresses.  So we all have to tolerate the foul stench of mink farms in Denmark to support government organised prostitution on the other side of the planet! A soon as the Chinese get up to speed on mink farming the Danes will probably find the luxury fur rug snatched from beneath their feet.


I  followed my pleasant walk with an equally enjoyable, late morning, hilly ride around the lanes for 15 miles. A shopping free day, by any other name, would feel as sweet. The promised rain pm never materialised but is hardly a cause for complaint.

Mushrooms looking like freshly baked buns sprinkled with poppy seeds.

My shoulder continues to improve while my hip pain alternates between buttock and groin. I have just been reading a news story about vitamin D supplements being a waste of money for active adults who get plenty of sunshine and a decent diet. Read next week's exciting statistics for the completely opposite belief. I wonder if there are any hard statistics on the longevity of medical statistics? Lies, damned lies and The Lancet? Pass me my D-capsules, please.

Friday 11th 53-55F, 12-13C, heavy overcast and very windy.  Just passed 6,000 triking miles for the year. Not a great year so far. Too many aches and pains. Too many rest days. Even our colds are still hanging on a week later. 19 miles shopping trip, triangulating views across the fields of earlier exploits.

My outworn west Fyn is becoming too parochial. I need a new base from which to explore darkest Denmark with fresh vigour. Untested new hills lie waiting to be conquered. I need somewhere where the cobwebs haven't all been torn back to reveal every lane and cranny. Familiarity is fraying the rural beauty to greyness. I am becoming too negative. Too questioning of the raison d'être. A sure sign of boredom.

I wish I could claim some intentional creative responsibility for this strange image. All I did was resize my digital image as usual. It looks more like a book illustration than a real photograph. 

Saturday 12th 52F, 11C, heavy overcast, windy. I've had an hour of brisk walking. Now it's the trike's turn. Of we, jolly well, go. Fortunately the wind was mostly from the side. It was good for cruising at 20mph some of the time though it stayed very grey. Only a 15 mile shopping trip.

It's odd. Google claims I have very nearly 1/4 million page views on this blog. While Statcounter is showing only about 198,000. Where do I queue for my recount?


I'm having serious doubts about my right to cross open fields even by the bare, sunken spray tracks. While the farmer's own activities do far more harm to the soil structure than my size 11s it seems I have no legal right to wander. Not even by the (completely non-existent yet legally required ) 1.5 metre unploughed strip alongside the hedges.

 This is very bad news because this places me on a completely unprotected and busy main road with HGVs, buses and raving lunatic/incompetent car drivers. Not even a space inside the white line to give me the illusion of safety. I always walk towards the traffic. (of course) So I can look the sociopaths straight in the eye as they brush me with their wing mirrors at 10-20mph over the national speed limit.

With most Danish drivers cutting every single corner I spend some time waving them away just before they actually mow me down. They probably see me as the lunatic! It's no wonder it is so rare to see anybody walking along this road. To try pushing a pram would be to invite a multi-vehicle pile up.!There is an almost complete absence of walkable grass verges and where these exist they are littered with beer cans, take-away packaging, fallen branches from council hedge slashing and other rubbish. Twenty years ago you never saw ANY litter in Denmark. Now they wear it with pride as if covetous of the UK's own appalling standards!

It is not too unusual to see empty beer packaging for 12 cans lying on the verge. This morning (on my walk) I saw disposable nappies and several black bin bags which had obviously been dumped from cars. Bins are weighed by the refuse lorries so anything over 2kg attracts an extra charge. Builders must pay to take their rubble and wood waste to the recycling yards. So almost inevitably some of it ends up in the woods or on the verge.




Sunday 13th 51F, 11C, heavy overcast. light winds. It is supposed to brighten up a little with the winds remaining light. I haven't had a decent ride lately. Where shall I go? Just a hilly loop down to the coast. 23 miles. It stayed sunny until I arrived back at home. To be greeted by the stench of varnished and painted wood being burnt.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

2nd October 2013

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Wednesday 2nd 43-53F, 6-12C, breezy, clearing to sunshine. according to the DMI. I must do another walk! It started off well but I was waylaid by the light. 13 miles playing with my Sony Action Cam. You know, the one which steams up every five minutes no matter how often you open up the waterproof case to let the steam out. Just like the GripGrab Doctor Gel gloves do. <sigh>

My first physiotherapist appointment was interesting. I haven't paid for S&M before. Ouch! Though I do feel better for my visit. It is possible that my back or spine is responsible for the hip pain. I have been given some bending over backwards exercises to do and should spend a lot less time sitting at the computer.

Thursday 3rd 41F, 5C, windy, sunny. Woken at 4.30am by neighbour's dog barking. Somebody must have been trying to steal their demolition firewood. Or, perhaps it was trying to get away from the toxic smoke? It should be sunny but rather windy today. With gusts to over 30mph.

I walked for an hour. With  my hip hurting again today, gales and no pressure to go to the shops I'm taking a rest day. Apart from the exercises. Which is a bit like S&M by remote control. With the ringing in my ears I am beginning to feel a bit like Pavlov's dog.

My wallet was returned by the police in the post. Shame it has cost me £18 for a new health insurance card and my bank card is now useless after I stopped it myself. Just the price to be paid for leaving it behind, I suppose. It will hopefully make me much more careful in future. Well done to the police! I rang the station to thank them, of course. They seemed quite grateful that I had rung.

Friday 4th 45-50F, 7-10C, very windy, clouding over. Rain forecast for this afternoon. We have both woken with cold symptoms. Toxic smoke or germs? Eeny-meeny-miny ... I went for a walk again. It hurt my hip again today so I limited myself to only 45 minutes including photography. As you can see here there are plenty of distractions in the hedges at this time of year.

I shall face the wind on my trike as soon as I have finished morning coffee.

The wind felt just as strong as it sounded, roaring through the trees. I could even be felt deep in the woods. A buzzard was wave riding above the cliff face of the beech forest. Conkers littered the lanes in places. Giving way to acorns where the older trees had been spared by the hedge slashers. My nose streamed all the way around the ten miles. Climbing was (almost) effortless with the tail wind.   

Saturday 5th 55F, 13C, heavy overcast, slightly misty, breezy. I had a dreadful night thanks to my nasty (man) cold. With a headache, pressure and stinging  pain in the sinuses, fire in the chest and a dripping nose this unhappy tricyclist could not sleep! I got up at 3.30am and sat on the computer for a couple of hours until I could stay awake no longer. Woke at 8am and feel hardly any better. I still intend to go out though. I'm hardly likely to feel any worse than I do just sitting still at home.

50 minutes walking before morning coffee. Now the wind is picking up. Should gust to 20mph today. More southerly then westerly now so should take the toxic smoke away from us. I'm sure we never had continuous easterly and south easterly winds before. The sou'westerlies have predominated ever since we moved here.  I went out mid afternoon but felt very bunged up and detached. Only 12 miles. Despite putting on a thick down duvet jacket I have been shivering since my (warm) shower a couple of hours ago. It is 71F/21C at my computer desk. I thought the ride would do me good.

Sunday 6th 44-58F, 7-14C, sunny, almost perfectly still. I still have my cold but the emphasis had moved down to my throat and chest now. Lots of coughing and it all feels very wet. My nose is still bunged up but not stinging as it has been so far. Time for a walk before coffee.

The mist was very localised and could be seen flowing to lower ground in the still air. The effect must have been very subtle because the contours rarely differ by more than a few metres. Rather inexplicably a single large wind turbine was belting around. While all the others were completely still.

I was back at home in an hour but felt better for getting out in the bright, early sunshine. It adds a real sparkle to everything and almost demands I practice my clumsy photography. I have a bad habit of never stopping when I'm out on the trike. So miss lots of potential pictures. When I am on foot I feel I have more time for photography when  really I should be walking briskly for the exercise. My hip wasn't hurting this morning while it was agony to get into bed last night. I wish I knew why.

I managed a ride before lunch. While cruising through one village I was doing 23mph on the flat. I thought that was doing quite well until a line of half a dozen clubmen steamed past me riding nose to tail. Bøøger! A little later a woman wound the window down to congratulate me on my speed. She was the passenger, in case you were wondering.

Despite 30lbs of shopping I still climbed the biggest local hill as a detour on the way home. Well, you have to, don't you? Bit chilly on the last leg into the breeze wearing just a short sleeved jersey and bibbies. My cold didn't seem to affect my wind and the ride probably helped to clear the tubes. 19 miles.

I'm still struggling to get acceptable results from the Sony AS15 Action Camera. It seems essential to have bright sunshine behind the camera. The waterproof case blocks everything but mechanical noise.

This video is slightly more amusing for having our tricycling hero's shadow on the road. The pause at halfway was to allow a tractor to pass. Except that he turned onto the field without visibly indicating before he reached my position.  The shadow of the Sony camera on its handlebar clamp is clearly visible below my left arm. As is my Cyclop mirror on the bar end. The video should be watchable in HD full screen. This provides a much sharper picture but runs slowly and jerkily even on my fibre optic 50/50Mb/sec connection. You may have more luck watching it on the YouTube website.

On the other hand the following video shows many of the handicaps of this camera. The case steamed up almost immediately despite my repeatedly opening the case to allow any moisture to escape. Flare on bright lights is also a serious problem. Probably further exacerbated by the case. The sound is absolutely awful with the camera in its case. Only noise transmitted through the trike frame directly to the camera microphone is audible. Though there is clearly a serious rattle in the camera itself. Or its case:

Further research online shows that the LCD screen in the Sony Action camera is a known culprit for rattle. As is the lens housing and even the battery. There is at least one good YT video showing how to dismantle the camera to correct the LCD rattle with soft packing.

Others have used a cheap, digital voice recorder and independent microphone plugged into the Sony to obtain decent sound. The Sony really is a half-baked product in my own opinion. It has been a huge disappointment considering its price and manufacturer's label. A later model has now been released. HDR-AS30. How well it corrects the obvious mistakes and failings is doubtful considering the source. Sony only seems intent on falling on its own sword as it reports increasing losses. 

   

Click on any image for an enlargement.

1st October 2013

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Tuesday 1st 47-51F, 8-11C, breezy, overcast. It started spitting half way round, then rained and then went off again. Too cold even with two jackets. The tights will have to go on from now on. 23 miles.

Rant/ Take a deep breath: An everyday story of country folk:

We were woken by a crash and a loud rumble before a huge demolition container lorry left going away along the shared drive. The 24x7x52 woodburning neighbour was having another shed load of painted, demolition timber, chipboard and fibreboard delivered by the demolition contractors.

These are carefully cropped shots of a small proportion of the 10' high pile of demolition firewood. This step was to avoid any possible identification of the users. I took the picture from publicly accessible land for evidence in the event of any doubt in future proceedings. The users started sawing it into usable firewood almost immediately and continued all morning until the moment when I was seen photographing their illegal fuel production. 

No doubt I should expect immediate prosecution for illegal photography of private property and be put on the first plane back to Gravely Blighted. Despite it  being under the despotic rule of a coalition gummint and there's sod-all chance of any sympathy from Amnesty Wotsit. Not with my blond greying hair and Scandinavianesque designer stubble! Mind you I do still have a hint of the tea-stained knees. So there's still a chance I'll see my days out in an immigration asylum. Thank goodness nobody in Denmark ever reads my blog... !

So we can look forward to more black smoke and the stench of burning paint indoors and out. Not to mention the round-the-clock circular saw and chainsaw cutting the treated and painted timber into dirt cheap  "firewood". It's no wonder we sneeze and cough year round. <atchooo!>

Talking to the council environment officer was a complete waste of time. The black smoke just went on belching from both neighbour's illegally low chimneys. The rule for chimneys is one meter above the ridge or highest point of the roof. Whichever is higher. Yeah, right!

Until recently, we had a neighbour on each side with gardens full of demolition firewood.  So whichever wind direction we had the house stank of burning paint. I don't suppose any of  you are old enough to remember stripping leaded gloss paint with a blowlamp? Probably not.

Much of the painted wood comes from very old buildings when paint often contained heavy metals and unknown toxic treatments including lead and arsenic. If such wood is burnt it should be done at very high temperatures in specialised industrial furnaces with tall chimneys designed specifically for the job. So the Dioxin gets equally shared by Eastern Europe. So that's all right then.



Further homework online suggests that it is not only illegal to burn rubbish wood but also illegal to deliver it for the purpose. A number of large city councils have strong advice online against using rubbish wood, pallets, pressure treated and demolition timber. Despite this the popular online small ads magazines have specifically labelled offers including images of skip loads of firewood from demolition contractors! Y'all couldn't make it up! <spit>

tilbud på nedbrydning i okt måned - Køb brugte ting på GulogGratis.dk

[Demolition offer for the month of October: Buy used things in GulogGratis.dk]

[QUOTE] If a demolition contractor delivers wood for  burning then they are breaking the law and will always be reported to the police by the Kommune (Council) for prosecution. All demolition timber must be delivered to an approved burning facility.

[QUOTE]It is illegal for a citizen to have possession of demolition firewood. If a citizen is found in the possession of demolition firewood it may be removed by the council at the citizen's expense and the citizen will be prosecuted.

It is also illegal to cause your neighbour distress by producing black or toxic smoke. Deliberately burning painted wood is an obvious assault on your neighbour's rights to comfort, health and happiness.

Making excessive noise is also illegal. That would presumably include the long term use of a chainsaw, a tractor to drive a splitter and a circular saw in close proximity to your neighbour's house, garden and property line. How many tens of years and for how many hours a day, 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year constitutes excessive? Don't ask?

A: None of the above counts (at all)  if you haven't lived here for as long as they have.

Just in case you were getting bored by all of this: There is a final irony: The Danish government is seriously considering placing a heavy tax on all forms of legal home heating fuels. This is to compensate for the losses from reduced offshore oil and gas earnings. Many serious newspapers, magazines and commentators are claiming this will load to a massive upsurge in the abuse of demolition wood for home burning.

Not to mention the over-the-border purchase of surcharge free, cheaper firewood from Germany. How much is that going to cost the country in imported petrol and diesel and CO2?  Will they be buying their cheap booze, fizzy drinks and fags while they are there? Perhaps we should be told?

Countless thoughtful Danes have been good global citizens and have invested heavily in brand new woodburning stoves and wood pellet stoves. Only now they are likely to be smacked in the financial teeth by their own supposedly enviro-friendly government!

Meanwhile, oil fuels are not rising so rapidly under the new fuel surcharges as will CO2 neutral biomass!

"Do as we say. Not as we do. We make up the rules as we go along. Tra-la"  

Because all wood fuels will be surcharged the forests will soon be devoid of weekend woodsmen collecting cheaper fuel in exchange for thinning the woods of weak and stunted growth. So the stronger trees in the  forests will rapidly become weakened by heavy undergrowth and fierce competition. So you can forget all about your solid Scandinavian Beech furniture a decade from now!

Public access to the forests will become increasingly difficult. With an expected rise in obesity, psychological ill-health, poorer fitness levels and all the increased health expenses and lost work time this involves. But, hey! It's just shuffling money around the system to be seen to be worth voting for their transparent lies next time.

Denmark may even begin to suffer from massive forest fires. Imagine if the undergrowth takes hold in the expected global warming with greatly increased risk of extended heatwaves. We already have severe problems with wind. Burp!  

/rant

On a lighter note I am being sent to an osteoporosis clinic on the other end of the island for scanning, poking and probing. 55 kilometres or 34 miles away is about as far as I can go without risking hypothermia from overshooting the harbour wall! It feels like three times that far when you have my map reading skills! I managed my 83 miles one day PB by getting lost going both ways on my last ride to this particular town. It's almost in another time zone! I've heard that Russian is more likely to be heard than Fynsk in the local pubs.

The online route-plan mapping service says it takes an an hour in the car! OMG!  And it's only 30 miles?!? The geriatric clinic is on the first floor! Cripes! I have to be ready in a week! I'd better start training!! Where are my Tri-bars?!!? Should I get a GPS directions thingy with a heart monitor? What about an extra water bottle? Energy gels for the ride? Spare inner tubes? A proper, frame-fitting pump? What about a change of sweaty clothing? Good grief! I'm 66 you know! What if I'm twirley and they aren't open yet? I may have to pee in the flower beds! OMG! <panic!!>

While I could certainly reach the place on my trike they have set my appointment for 8.15am! So I'd probably have to leave around five am to be absolutely certain of arriving on time! And then ride back into the rain and prevailing wind afterwards. What if there's a headwind going? I wonder if my lights will still work for the return journey?? I'm already having to wear tights and a GripGrab scull cap under my helmet. I'll need my best bibbeys to be laundered and pressed in good time. And, I haven't been well.

Tomorrow is my first (ever) visit to a physiotherapist. I'd better warn them. "It's my first time, you know. Be gentle with me!"

Where will it all end? ;-)

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