Sunday 21st Super Trash Girl v zombie trash!

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Sunday 21st 32F, 0C, calm with a very heavy overcast. As the litter problem worsens globally [including the oceans] a brave girl in Gravely Blighted has been attacked at school by zombies for picking up litter. Despite this setback, "Super Trash Girl" continues her lone, task.

I just wish she'd use rubber gloves. There might still be the Zombie Slob virus clinging to the discarded remains. Even the risk of catching serious diseases from rats. Not to mention the millions of dogs trained to pee and shit all over the place every single day, in every city of the world. Then there's the zombie's needles lying about everywhere. There were several needles lying on the verge here for literally months on end.

'Trash girl' refuses to let bullies win - BBC News

I might have followed her fine and remarkable example but I'd be prosecuted if I took sacks of household rubbish to the recycling yard. What else could I do with it? The Council took away all the litter bins years ago to avoid them being blown up by zombies of the iRottenApple generation.

If I stacked the sacks anywhere in the countryside, I, myself, would be equally guilty of littering in the eyes of Jante's  Law. So I'd have to drag all the bags of rubbish home and sort it all for recycling. Then the bin men would think that I had developed a chronic and filthy habit of drinking vast quantities of shite in a bottle or can! They might even think the foul brews have made me completely senile. And I can't have that!

So I can't really win. The system is completely against me. There is far too much to collect for a mere, fortnightly bin emptying. And, I have to drag the heavy wheely bin 100 yards along a rutted drive to where the bin men will deign to collect it. So it's LITTER R.I.P. around here, I'm afraid.

I saw lots of Fieldfares foraging on the fields on my walk. They are always nervous and constantly moving about, even in flight. A huge gaggle of geese went over at considerable altitude. Probably a thousand birds in long, ragged lines. A distinct chill in the air, today, despite the wind turbines standing completely still. Judging the air temperature is always a highly subjective matter. The clouds are breaking up to large patches of blue now but the sun is still struggling to find its way through. I have promised myself a ride today while the wind is unusually absent.

A late morning ride along new cycle paths and lanes. By which I use the term 'lanes' for enjoying road markings alone and 'paths' being properly isolated from the road.  It is taking years to widen the road to allow for new cycle lanes because so much other work was required. Electricity, fiber internet, copper telephone cables, mains water, sewage and district heating were mostly laid under the new cycle lanes rather than under the roads. The verges are always covered in a whole variety of pipes of all sizes.

There were some mistakes made over missing drainage with large puddles forming regularly over the cycle lanes and newly laid road surfaces. So then the new road and lane surfaces had to be ground away, dug up again and protruding drain covers fitted. Presumably these will be levelled when the entire road surface is relaid at the end of the project. Meanwhile the 'works' traffic is badly messing up the new cycle lanes. They sweep the roads but leave the lanes completely untouched! The very same cycle lanes they all drive along to avoid slowing the traffic. So this cyclist often finds himself on the old road surface to avoid the golf ball sized gravel in places.

The new cycle lanes in the villages are protected by pale granite kerb stones but cyclist have to make do with protective white lines in the countryside. Many of the houses and fields along the route lost a  narrow strip of front garden. Each house had to be reconnected with services and ramps. There were a few drainage becks to deal with and several flood ponds were provided for cloudbursts. Originally tree lined, amongst mixed natural hedges, many of these enclosing avenues were lost. The once narrow verges were widened where they coincided with rough fields or scrubby and unkempt woods. Providing a tidier and more relaxed appearance but completely lacking in shelter. This has completely changed the original character of the road.

Always a race track, the frequent speed limit signs are still being completely ignored by the vast majority of drivers. I was traveling at the weekend so there was no active construction work today. Hopefully the workers are seeing better behaviour while they are busy risking their lives to improve the infrastructure and scenery. Only red traffic lights seem to work on many drivers but even here I have seen them entering one lane stretches against the lights. Even when a column of traffic is already progressing towards them in several cases! The irony is that there are signs at each end of the project thanking drivers for <cough> driving sensibly. I didn't know sarcasm was so rife amongst the road sign makers!

The nominal cycle lane is extremely bumpy in places with years-old sink holes directly in the path of cyclists. Causing me to regularly rise from the saddle to absorb what would otherwise be terrifying hurdles to safe progress. I do wonder why they bother making cycle paths and lanes sometimes. The filth which builds up and is never [ever] cleared meant my front brakes were literally jamming the [slick] tyre from all the crap which collected. I had to keep stopping to bounce my front wheel to try and clear the mess! Every cycle lane on my route on both sides of the road haven't been swept in years! I once stopped to photograph, what I thought was a narrow road sweeper, for headline publication in the local paper. It turned out to be a weed burner but no sweeper followed up.

The cycle lanes are constantly covered in tree branches, twigs, leaves, compost, sand and gravel. Particularly where the 'decorative' stuff flows constantly from private drives where the home owners are obviously far too impoverished to afford a broom as well as several luxury cars. Mud and gravel flows steadily from farm entrances.

Even if they rarely send out sweeping machines for the roads they never [ever] touch the cycle lanes. Nor do they remove the decades old moraines of stones and gravel on most road junctions. I often wonder whether there is a half width, Caterpillar D11 bulldozer suitable for this sort of work. Just to clear the overburden. Before the teams of archaeologists come in to look for fossils and Viking artifacts.

15 miles today, going well again, between frequent stops to clear the front tyre!

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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