9.04.2024 Rubble and new handlebars.

 ~o~

  Tuesday 9th 50F/10C, windy, dark and misty. Showers this morning. Rain later. Up at 6am. My lower back hurts again. 

 I will have to move all the components over from the old handlebars to the new. There are lots! I wonder which is the most efficient way of doing it? Slackening clamps rather than dismantling them completely! Fit the new bars before swapping the various levers over? What if any of the cables are too short? 😟

8.30 Whoopee! The neighbours have arrived to deliver the demolition rubble. Due to the rain the car won't push the heavy trailer backwards on the parking space. The wheels keep spinning. Putting down gravel didn't help. So they are lightening the trailer load into wheelbarrows before having another go.

 One trailer load of rubble. It is difficult to judge. Four more loads should fill the entire space to the correct level. After that, it can be spread further back. 

 It is only a very short distance from the trailer to the sunken garden. Too far to throw and too time consuming to walk. Two Romanians are doing the work. They speak no English nor Danish. So we are using hand signals and mime. They are spreading the gravel on the ground now in the hope of the next trailer load getting closer. It can even tip if it gets close enough.   

 

 My idea of dumping it next door to their building site was to save them time. If they are having to unload it with wheelbarrows this isn't so likely. The time per trailer load has to be balanced against having to drive to a recycling yard and back again. Ten or twenty kilometers round trip. Depending on which day it is. The nearest yard is only open on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday. 

2nd trailer load. The view from the higher ground foreshortens the area below.  

 8.45 I have the new handlebars fitted. Only the headlight dip button is a bit of stretch. The cable has been clipped into a zip tie under the light. So more length is possible it just needs extreme care not to damage the bundle of cables. I have never needed to use the dip switch but it ought to be easily accessible.

 There were three tiny zip ties but I managed to free the bundle. Problem solved. The greenhouse makes a good workshop when it is raining. Excellent light too. When the sun isn't too hot!

 9.15 Morning coffee. Sunny periods now. I thought the new handlebars might look a bit "city bike" but they don't. The increased sweep back gives a sense of urgency. Like a bird of prey with its wings half folded. For those with a vivid imagination! 😊 

 I have checked everything is tight. It just needs a test ride. I'll probably hate the change! We'll see. The bars can be rotated to taste, in the stem clamp, of course. 

 10.00 I have been spreading more gravel in the hope of better grip on the car tires.  Getting very breathless again. I feel fine until I do any heavy work. I am so used to being able to do anything I need to. Without a second thought. Not any more. 

 It keeps getting darker. As if about to rain. Not helpful! 

 10.25 57F/14C. Rain! 

 12.00 The second trailer full has been dumped via wheelbarrows. Lots of car sliding and wheelspin. A lorry would have no more success trying to reach the sunken area. Particularly with the gravel mound still blocking the way. The trailer can get past but can't reach the bank.

 The blog editing software is having a bad day. It is impossible to place images correctly within the text. It should be effortless drag and drop but it isn't today.

 12.50 They are trying to reverse down the drive again with the third trailer full. They are no better at it than I am. The boss is driving now. So it's going much quicker. The drive is being chewed up but it cannot be avoided. Not with all the rain we've been having. A few trailer loads of gravel will make it firm again. I have just been along to check. There is still lots more rubble left next door. Once the present space is full. They can work backwards towards the boundary.

  They have fixed their phone to the steel post. So they can video chat with their family back at home while they work. 😄

 14.50 Four trailers full and the intended area is almost up to the level of the parking space. The observatory platform is a little higher but that doesn't matter. Some drainage slope is good. I don't want to waste the gravel filling big holes. Just spread it on the top of the rubble. So it is firm and level. 

 The boss says they can't do any more today because the ground is far too wet. His towing car is getting splattered with mud! The lads did a good job. Now I can spread some gravel far more economically. Perhaps more importantly, without killing myself. 

 16.30 Raining hard and forecast to continue for hours. I wanted to go out and spread some gravel but couldn't. 

 I have heard from the garage. The Morris Minor is ready to be collected! I shall ride over there tomorrow and bring the car back. With the e-bike on the rear carrier.    

 Dinner was weird. I started preparing for a salad. Eggs first. Into the pan and bring to the boil. Only then did I discover that I had no lettuce. So, I had hard boiled eggs on toast. With tomato soup and a bread roll. Stop laughing at the back! 😳

 20.30 I lit the stove at 18.00 after spending the day at 18C. The temperature shot up to 22C/71F. I'll let it go out now.

 

  ~o~