22.04.2023 Will that be in a Medium, Sir?

 ~o~

 Saturday 22nd 43F. Clear and bright start. Cloudy later with overnight rain tonight. I just saw a tractor coming over the prairie hill with its lights on.

A singing yellowhammer on the sunny side of the road for once.

I really must shop for some groceries. There's nothing left to eat except tinned beans. Both batteries are recharged again. The one I used yesterday was down to 23% [from 100%] after 65km/40 miles. No sign of any of my tins of Brooks Proofide. I have searched but chaos reigns in the shed. It hasn't been touched in there since my wife died. 

 I even found a bundle of her old gardening clothes. Which I must have put away in a hurry and forgotten. She always wore absolute rags in the garden. There was never any need. She had loads of clothes to choose from. More than she could ever wear in a lifetime. 

 It took me ages to bag all of them neatly and donate them to charity. Everything I touch of hers brings me to the edge of a bottomless pit. Dark depression awaits below. I can almost feel myself falling into despair.

7.30.  Time for a walk in the sunshine. Before the weather changes.

 The tractor, which I saw from my computer desk, was a huge spraying machine. I am not sure what it was doing. Because the soil is bare and freshly sewn. Image taken from ~900 yards, heavily cropped and downsized. Lumix G9 with Leica 50-200mm.

 A yellowhammer was singing from the hedgerow on the sunny side from me today. It is usually only a silhouette against the bright northern sky. It paused its singing, to look at me briefly, before continuing. 

 I can still remember the first time I saw one. Down near the coast. Where I was riding only yesterday. I actually thought it was a tropical bird. Still no sign of any swallows. I hope the record breaking heatwaves and droughts in southern Europe aren't affecting their migration.

 I rang around the many cycle shops to find some Brooks Proofide. I was lucky to find a single tin at a shop in Odense. So, off I went. I bought a couple of different stems while I was in there. An adjustable angle stem and a very short one. I hope one of these will provide the riding position. Which will reduce the load on my hands and wrists.

On the way back I was having discomfort from the saddle again. So I tilted the nose up slightly. This helped to keep me on the broad back of the saddle. Rather than sliding forwards onto the narrow spine. It was better but not a huge improvement. I also raised the saddle slightly a couple of times. 

Dangerous sport?

I was wearing padded racing shorts, racing jersey and my favorite cycling jacket. I was perfectly comfortable for temperature as it rose to 66F/19C.  

 Another 67km at 26km/hr average speed in 2.5 hours. 81rpm average cadence. The newer battery dropped from 100% to 20%. Riding 60% in Tour mode and 40% Sport. I was making little concession to range but it worked out fine.

 It was windy again. A south easterly. A 45º headwind going. 45º tailwind coming back. Though it often felt like a headwind while traveling in both directions. A result of my forward velocity becoming a greater factor than wind direction. I was aiming for 30km/hr average. Keeping my cadence as high as possible but rarely below an indicated 90rpm. 

 There were loads of cyclists out training. One young chap even had a tow from me on his carbon TT bike. He was staying just behind me until I turned off and he went straight on.

 One of the new panniers has detached from its supports! The pop rivets have torn out of the PVC material under the weight of the spare Bosch battery! Leaving just the moulded plastic strip with its mounting hooks. The load on the bag should not have caused this failure. I had better find a much better alternative! 

 The bottom of the bag was being protected by a large plastic pot with a rounded bottom. This slipped over the battery perfectly. Providing a much larger footprint to prevent penetration by local loading. I could drill out the rivets and apply an internal mounting strip. To sandwich the PVC coated cloth. Using stainless steel screws and washers to considerably raise the clamping pressure. The screws would have to be carefully chosen to avoid sharp edges causing possible damage. To the panniers themselves or their contents.

 Or, I could find a sausage shaped bag [or box?] to go on top of the rack. This would remove the battery load on the bags completely. Unfortunately, none of my scrap aluminium tubing offered a suitable housing for the spare battery on the rack. Ideally, I could mount the spare battery and heavy U-locks on the rack. Though complications, with removal of a single item, must be avoided. There are enough steps already. To ready myself for shopping while ensuring security for the parked e-bike.

 I have decided to get some proper panniers. I can't trust the Innergy bags to last five minutes! So I have ordered a set of Ortlieb panniers. World famous, quality bags for the same price as the flimsy, Innergy copycats! Plus, I ordered Ortlieb's 4L top tube sack with tension hooks. Which will house the spare battery on the rack. The last top tube bag I bought wasn't to spec. The battery wouldn't fit lengthwise. The Ortlieb is 50cm. Room to spare. I may have to add a plate of some sort to the rear rack to support the battery. With end stops to prevent it sliding back and forth. There's plenty of room for camping foam to protect the battery.

 Guess what? While I was measuring up and staring at the rack. My eye was caught by some graphics on the Moustache frame. Size Medium and suitable rider heights in brackets. I was sold a Large Moustache by the bike shop. I thought that this was the reason for my wrist discomfort and not being able to reach the ground while seated on the saddle. 

 All wishful thinking! Or, rather, negative thinking. Now I have to readjust my thinking to match the new reality. Are my legs too short? Are my arms too long?  👽

 I still haven't shopped. Best to go in the car, I think. 

Dinner was a fry up of chicken, mushrooms and an egg with oven ready chips. The chips from another shop are much better. The egg was perfect until I tried to lift it onto the plate. Then it was imperfect but still tasty. Stop food waste! Don't let him near the kitchen!

~o~