*
Wednesday 14th 35-38F, 2-3C, overcast, light winds. Saw two, dark brown, birds of prey on my walk. Later I was allowed out for another shopping ride to restock. It remained grey with a cold wind and reaching only 38F, 3C. There are still lots of bright stripes of snow left from the earlier drifting. The new cycle lanes are still ongoing with drainage work prior to asphalting. I see they are building numerous, flash flood reservoirs.
Despite being heavily laden, I decided to detour uphill on the way home. Once clear of the uphill main roads I could enjoy the empty and undulating, rural lanes. I was doing quite a bit of climbing out of the saddle to try and stay in form. While I constantly try to keep my cadence above 95rpm, my average, according to the cycle computer, is only 85rpm. Though I often see over 100rpm when cruising.
I suspect it is the out of the saddle climbing which drags down the average. I find it impossible to stand up and pedal rapidly. So change upwards of two gears is vital to avoid simultaneous loss of speed. Some pedal resistance is always required to help support my body weight. My average speed is now only 12mph based on only 240 miles since the last battery change. 19 more miles today.
Thursday 15th 33F, 1C, breezy with heavy overcast. The forecast is for 45mph easterly gusts for two whole days and chilly down to -3C! My face is still burning from yesterday's promised sunshine. NOT! It is the DMI who should have red faces. They keep threatening sunshine but we see less than none at all. Not even a glimpse between clouds let alone a real shadow!
I am getting fed up with the damage my new Ecco boots are doing to my ankles. So I had a proper look inside. The bellows tongue is made of very thick and stiff leather. Which doesn't want to bend or lay flat at the fold. The result is a hard, raised ridge running upwards on both sides. [Arrowed.] I'm now thinking of clamping the fold to speed up the flattening process. My ankle bones were hurting so much after yesterday's walk that I could feel them hurting while cycling in my years old and well worn in MTB winter boots.
A grey cool walk with the eye-watering wind increasing steadily. A bird of prey came down and landed on a mole hill near the road. So I stopped to watch it as it looked around. Then another similar bird swooped low overhead and flew off into the distance. I am walking in two very thick pairs of socks with the boot laces very loose and only laced up to the ankle.
I think I'll use padded G-cramps [C-clamps] to flatten the tongue folds. I obviously don't want to spoil the boots exterior cosmetically so will have to be careful. I don't think clamping the fold internally will do much good. I can't return the boots now because I've worn them. It's no wonder the dealer is discontinuing Ecco and selling off his stock at a major discount. An hour of pressing with F-clamps had no effect on comfort. So I moved the clamps further down and am trying again.
There followed a morning of runny nose working outside in a gale @ 37F. The trike was so filthy I was ashamed to be seen out on it. So I removed the rack and 'Overboard' duffel bag and gave the whole trike a thorough clean using cold rainwater, a washing up brush and car shampoo I bought years ago and never used. I even fixed a broken cable outer which was causing friction on upward changes. Then it was up on the work stand with the trike to check the indexing. Trikes don't respond well to work stands. The back wheels get in the way when you try to turn the pedals. Nobody knows the troubles I've had, tra-la. <sigh>
Despite being heavily laden, I decided to detour uphill on the way home. Once clear of the uphill main roads I could enjoy the empty and undulating, rural lanes. I was doing quite a bit of climbing out of the saddle to try and stay in form. While I constantly try to keep my cadence above 95rpm, my average, according to the cycle computer, is only 85rpm. Though I often see over 100rpm when cruising.
I suspect it is the out of the saddle climbing which drags down the average. I find it impossible to stand up and pedal rapidly. So change upwards of two gears is vital to avoid simultaneous loss of speed. Some pedal resistance is always required to help support my body weight. My average speed is now only 12mph based on only 240 miles since the last battery change. 19 more miles today.
Thursday 15th 33F, 1C, breezy with heavy overcast. The forecast is for 45mph easterly gusts for two whole days and chilly down to -3C! My face is still burning from yesterday's promised sunshine. NOT! It is the DMI who should have red faces. They keep threatening sunshine but we see less than none at all. Not even a glimpse between clouds let alone a real shadow!I am getting fed up with the damage my new Ecco boots are doing to my ankles. So I had a proper look inside. The bellows tongue is made of very thick and stiff leather. Which doesn't want to bend or lay flat at the fold. The result is a hard, raised ridge running upwards on both sides. [Arrowed.] I'm now thinking of clamping the fold to speed up the flattening process. My ankle bones were hurting so much after yesterday's walk that I could feel them hurting while cycling in my years old and well worn in MTB winter boots.
A grey cool walk with the eye-watering wind increasing steadily. A bird of prey came down and landed on a mole hill near the road. So I stopped to watch it as it looked around. Then another similar bird swooped low overhead and flew off into the distance. I am walking in two very thick pairs of socks with the boot laces very loose and only laced up to the ankle.
I think I'll use padded G-cramps [C-clamps] to flatten the tongue folds. I obviously don't want to spoil the boots exterior cosmetically so will have to be careful. I don't think clamping the fold internally will do much good. I can't return the boots now because I've worn them. It's no wonder the dealer is discontinuing Ecco and selling off his stock at a major discount. An hour of pressing with F-clamps had no effect on comfort. So I moved the clamps further down and am trying again.There followed a morning of runny nose working outside in a gale @ 37F. The trike was so filthy I was ashamed to be seen out on it. So I removed the rack and 'Overboard' duffel bag and gave the whole trike a thorough clean using cold rainwater, a washing up brush and car shampoo I bought years ago and never used. I even fixed a broken cable outer which was causing friction on upward changes. Then it was up on the work stand with the trike to check the indexing. Trikes don't respond well to work stands. The back wheels get in the way when you try to turn the pedals. Nobody knows the troubles I've had, tra-la. <sigh>
Click on any image for an enlargement.
*
No comments:
Post a Comment