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Saturday 22nd 66-72F, bright, overcast and very windy with occasional, fierce gusts. I walked up to the woods via the steep track. There were several birds of prey hunting over the newly raked fields as I climbed. I kept snapping away to get some practice.The bird is badly underexposed against the sky and the image very heavily cropped for increased scale. This has ruined the image quality but it is just passable for a blog image. 280mm [560mm 35mm FF] 1/2000 f/7 ISO200. The blue sky is painted in. I'm fairly sure it is a Red kite.
I have ordered a new front wheel for the Trykit having been putting it off for as long as possible. The brakes had been grabbing badly on a dent on the rim for ages. Making hard braking extremely difficult due to judder.
I think the rim has also worn well beyond the acceptable level thanks to only two front, rim brakes in use for seven years. Halo no longer do a purple/magenta Aerorage. So I've ordered a Mavic Open Pro rim on a Shimano 105 hub. Black rim only, I'm afraid, but narrow enough not to glare at me.
There are Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres in 23mm and 25mm in the trike shed still waiting to be used. I'd get through three sets of tyres in a "normal" tricycling year. The Schwalbes were bought as vital spares but never used due to my massively reduced mileage. These tires are highly recommended if you want to avoid spending more time on the verge [mending punctures] than out on the road. The Schwalbes feel oddly quick and rubbery considering their weight. I usually run them at 90-95psi using a Topeak Joe Blow track pump for effortless inflation.
I spent my first 60-odd years of cycling with almost flat tyres before I discovered track pumps. Before that I would use the MkI thumb pressure gauge. Which singularly failed to measure anything useful above 45-50psi. The tyres felt rock hard but weren't. Not remotely! So I suffered regular "pinch flats" on stray gravel and lots of drag. Having an accurate meter on a track pump is the only way.
Due to RSI in my right shoulder I couldn't use a normal frame fit pump to useful effect for several years after retirement. So my first few thousands miles on a trike, using lightweight 23mm tyres, accumulated quite a lot of dead tubes! I preferred to replace a punctured tube rather than attempt patching it. Narrow, modern tubes never seemed to like being patched. It was like rolling a plaster around your little pinky!
My apologies to those unused to discussions on cycling. Normal service will be resumed as soon as I've read the world headlines. 😉
Here's one: Recognizing a dangerous sociopath: 172,000 US dead. Chump moans about shower heads.
I think the rim has also worn well beyond the acceptable level thanks to only two front, rim brakes in use for seven years. Halo no longer do a purple/magenta Aerorage. So I've ordered a Mavic Open Pro rim on a Shimano 105 hub. Black rim only, I'm afraid, but narrow enough not to glare at me.
There are Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres in 23mm and 25mm in the trike shed still waiting to be used. I'd get through three sets of tyres in a "normal" tricycling year. The Schwalbes were bought as vital spares but never used due to my massively reduced mileage. These tires are highly recommended if you want to avoid spending more time on the verge [mending punctures] than out on the road. The Schwalbes feel oddly quick and rubbery considering their weight. I usually run them at 90-95psi using a Topeak Joe Blow track pump for effortless inflation.
I spent my first 60-odd years of cycling with almost flat tyres before I discovered track pumps. Before that I would use the MkI thumb pressure gauge. Which singularly failed to measure anything useful above 45-50psi. The tyres felt rock hard but weren't. Not remotely! So I suffered regular "pinch flats" on stray gravel and lots of drag. Having an accurate meter on a track pump is the only way.Due to RSI in my right shoulder I couldn't use a normal frame fit pump to useful effect for several years after retirement. So my first few thousands miles on a trike, using lightweight 23mm tyres, accumulated quite a lot of dead tubes! I preferred to replace a punctured tube rather than attempt patching it. Narrow, modern tubes never seemed to like being patched. It was like rolling a plaster around your little pinky!
My apologies to those unused to discussions on cycling. Normal service will be resumed as soon as I've read the world headlines. 😉
Here's one: Recognizing a dangerous sociopath: 172,000 US dead. Chump moans about shower heads.
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