21.04.2023 Beyond the rushing crowd.

 ~o~

 Friday 21st 12C/53F. Clear and bright again. Though with some thin, high cloud and the easterly wind.

9.15 The fields were almost empty of tractors today. Then a distant roar signaled a sewing machine was starting work out on the prairie. 

 I had taken my Lumix G9 and a longer zoom lens today. So I was able to reach out into the scenes. Which I completely missed yesterday with my phone. Even then, it took heavy cropping to frame the distant tractor.

 The dust dry soil was providing dramatic, backlit clouds. Which sometimes stretched for a hundred yards downwind in the stiff breeze.

 My walk was extended to the top of the hill beyond the familiar lane. Though there was far too much haze to capture the distant sea clearly.   

  One must shop, or starve. That's no excuse to potter into the village and back. The sun shines longer on those who venture further afield. I rather fancy a ride along the south coast. Not another marathon like yesterday. I have no particular goal to reach. So a more gentle Tour mode outing will suffice. 

 Away from the almost empty, main roads of yesterday. Explore the quiet, rural lanes. Where a car is a hindrance or a downright nuisance. I had better do some homework for a suitable route. Shop on the way back for lunch. Or stay out and munch a banana and a chocolate bar. I could even make a day of it and take a cheese roll. Better take some fluids. I like the little cartons of apple juice. 

14.00 17C/62F. Safely back from a hilly and meandering, 65km ride. 750m ascent. 23km/hr average speed. 2h50m traveling time. I even rode a very rough track through the forest. For a couple of miles at 30km/hr. The e-bike feels very safe on the rough stuff provided one avoids boulders. 

 I kept mostly to Tour mode [65%] this morning. Using Sport only to climb effortlessly. Almost no Eco at all. I went wherever the whim took me. All very familiar territory on the trike or in the car. No real hurry. Mostly quiet, rural lanes down by the coast.

 The wide, leather saddle continues to irritate. I am constantly shifting around. The wind remains a nuisance too. Though not cold, I kept my cycling jacket zipped up. Bare legs with racing shorts. Fingerless mitts. Warmest day this year. I ate an apple, a banana, a chocolate bar and drank one small carton of organic apple juice.

 I passed several houses we looked at years ago. Potential escape routes from the hovel. Some are completely gone. Others look just as scruffy. One favourite farmhouse, near the sea, now looks abandoned. A young chap was doing a great job of restoring it last time I was there. 

 A weird picture taken with the Lumix TZ7. A very large millpond in a shopping village.

 Now the doorways are wide open. Not a good sign. Very secluded and there were no neighbours with oversight. So we decided it was too risky for us. Probably far too much work for me working alone but a beautiful situation.

15.00 It was 85ºF in the greenhouse when I came home. So I opened the doors to the house to spread the warmth. That brought it down to 80F in an hour. The house gained about 6F in the same time. I have been putting off fitting the shade nets to the greenhouse. Because the run of fine weather is going to break at the weekend. A few days of rain are promised.

 I need to fix the excess weight distribution on my hands. I think this is due to too long a stem on an already long frame. I went for the Large because there was simply no choice. I am borderline tall enough for the Large frame size. [Still just within the recommended height bracket.] 

 A shorter stem will make me more upright. This tilts my whole C of G backwards. Helping me to balance on the saddle without needing my hands to hold me upright. I drop forwards if I don't support myself with the handlebars. At the correct seat height for maximum pedaling efficiency. I have tried repeatedly to ride "no hands" and it is impossible. The present stem is 85mm long. The centre of the bars is 31.8mm.

 The seat height is fully adjustable on the fly with the dropper post. I am constantly adjusting this for the conditions and saddle comfort. The top limit is now slightly too high. The wider saddle is taller overall than the Cambium. For which the dropper post height was initially set. So I can't quite lift myself off the saddle with my heel. There is plenty of reserve above the seat post clamp. So I can drop the whole post by a little. To keep it no higher than I need at full extension. This will save me having to repeatedly readjust downwards from full extension. Job done. 

 Dinner was poached eggs on toast. There was nothing else to eat. The last two slices of frozen bread have gone as well.

~o~