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Monday 24th 46F, cool and bright but cloudy and windy. Too cold for a long walk thanks to the wind roaring in the trees. I could actually have worn thin gloves today. It was marginally uncomfortable with bare hands for the first time this autumn.
Several large fields are growing what looks like neat rows of dense tufts of grass. To make it even more strange the tops have just been mown. This is not an area where animals spend any time out of doors. So it can't be for grazing. Though it could well be for fodder. Or a green compost crop.
The image shows how modern sewing machinery can achieve perfectly straight lines completely regardless of the terrain. This 1000 yard, uphill view has been deliberately foreshortened by the camera zoom.
I wonder how many tricyclists know that lifting both rear wheels allows a trike to follow its hostler in a perfectly straight line backwards? There must be many an errant trike which is shoved into a tight spot, head first. But which must then be walked out backwards. Leave the rear wheels on the ground and the recalcitrant beast will go where it may. Lift the rear wheels by the rims and it is instantly domesticated. Lifting by the rims is easily done even in the presence of an Abus Medieval Ship's Anchor. There is absolutely no need to soil one's gloves or mitts if one avoids the noisome tyres.
Similarly, there is no need to struggle past the hind quarters of a broad gauge, iron horse in a confined space. Simply lift a foot and step over the axle inside a rear wheel. This is easily done regardless of the presence of a saddle bag, with, or without a rear rack.
Naturally one will be careful not to scratch the paintwork with a clumsy shoe plate during this maneuver. It might be best to practice at home before startling an unprepared public. The thin veneer of civilization is as soon punctured as a tubular tyre.
I have used both acrobatic techniques for managing my trikes at close quarters for years. In the privacy of densely packed sheds and in crowded, public cycle racks outside supermarkets and shopping malls. All it requires is a firm hand. Or rather, two.
The image shows how modern sewing machinery can achieve perfectly straight lines completely regardless of the terrain. This 1000 yard, uphill view has been deliberately foreshortened by the camera zoom.
I wonder how many tricyclists know that lifting both rear wheels allows a trike to follow its hostler in a perfectly straight line backwards? There must be many an errant trike which is shoved into a tight spot, head first. But which must then be walked out backwards. Leave the rear wheels on the ground and the recalcitrant beast will go where it may. Lift the rear wheels by the rims and it is instantly domesticated. Lifting by the rims is easily done even in the presence of an Abus Medieval Ship's Anchor. There is absolutely no need to soil one's gloves or mitts if one avoids the noisome tyres.
Naturally one will be careful not to scratch the paintwork with a clumsy shoe plate during this maneuver. It might be best to practice at home before startling an unprepared public. The thin veneer of civilization is as soon punctured as a tubular tyre.
I have used both acrobatic techniques for managing my trikes at close quarters for years. In the privacy of densely packed sheds and in crowded, public cycle racks outside supermarkets and shopping malls. All it requires is a firm hand. Or rather, two.
Click on any image for an enlargement.
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