19.05.2024

 ~o~

  Sunday 19th 55F/13C [6.45] Another warm, sunny and breezy day. Up at 6am after a quiet night. My ribs are still hurting.

 A walk to the lanes yet again provided entertainment from the vocal warblers. Light Sunday traffic on a bank holiday was to be expected. 

 I have changed tactics on the ants. Instead of stomping on them with a fingertip. I scrubbed the windowsill with bleach. My [clever?] thinking being: That denying them all hope of sustenance. Would send them foraging elsewhere. 

 Sadly, the ants just poked their tiny tongues at me and carried on regardless. Though their numbers are presently down to a highly visible three. A manageable, if not sizable majority. Though I do have the advantage of brawn. If not their brains. Meaning AI, in layman's terms. I just hope I don't have to spell it out for you. 

 What I should be doing is tidying and vacuuming but where's the fun in that? It's a very thin line between satisfaction and smugness!

 Nevertheless, I spent some time laundering, vacuuming and cleaning in the afternoon. The ants had amassed reinforcements and regrouped in another corner. Caught me completely by surprise. I had to end the uprising. So resorted to heavy artillery. Wet fingertips!

Dinner was chicken, mushrooms and tweggs. I broke one egg turning it over in the pan. Again!

 

  ~o~

18.05.2024 It's hell out there!

 ~o~

  Saturday 18th 55F [7.15] Bright sunshine again. It could top out at over 22C/72F today. 

 Up at 6.45 after waking at 5am. Because of the bank holiday it was recycling bin day but I didn't know that.

A better picture of the roadside lilac in sunshine.

 09.30 61F/16C. Returned from a warm walk to the lanes. Countless birds in the hedgerows. Saw several warblers moving between trees. A solitary swallow. Loads of skylarks. The garden trees are full of birds as well. I can hear the tiny wren competing with all the other birds. 

 The traffic was very light on the outward leg. Busier on my return. Scrap man has dumped more scrap. I haven't seen him for ages. 

  15.00 72F/22C. I have been mowing the lawn under a merciless sun! I would still be out there but the batteries went flat.

 I found a bike shop in the city. Where they were willing to search for a replacement frame spring for the broken Con-Tec saddle. They have sent me a message. Unfortunately the wholesaler won't have spares until November! 

 Dinner was salad. Boiled eggs might have been nice but it was already late after washing up. 

I had better go out and tidy up the mower. The ants are still waging war with me on the kitchen window sill. An asymmetric war with no winners.

 

  ~o~

17.05.2024 Heads you win. Hearts you lose!

 ~o~

  Friday 17th 55F/13C [6.30] Another warm, sunny and breezy day is offered. 

 Up at 5am. Escaping from the torment of memories.

 It is finally heart scan day at the city hospital. My original appointment was cancelled three weeks ago. I shall go in the Morris.

13.30 71F/22C. Returned from the hospital. The radiologists were young and pleasant and fun. Everything was said and done in English. My doctor  will get the scan results eventually. It was hard to stay awake in the warm sunshine driving back.

 The bike shop rang to say they still haven't matched the Magura hose fittings. Bank holiday on Monday. So who knows when I'll get my e-bike back. 

 That was quick! I just had a secure message from the consultant at the hospital. My scans show I have calcification of my three main arteries. They are suggesting I take several medications in future to combat this problem. A catheter examination is also recommended. Though the 1% risk of a brain clot doesn't sound very healthy! 

 Dinner was tweggs, chicken and mushrooms.

 

 

  ~o~

16.05.2024 Hiding from the sun.

 ~o~

  Thursday 16th 63F/17C [8.45] Another warm, breezy and sunny day.

Up at 5.0. Regurgitating bad memories. Ribs hurting. Cough and congestion gone.

8.30 Returned from a short walk looping along the drives. Warblers singing. Skylarks overhead.

Went back to bed to catch up.

11.15 I rang the bike shop to see what's happening. Hmm. They have not received the Magura brake hose fittings yet! Disappointing.

11.45 Another mound of washing up completed. 

 17.30 Returned from a drive into the village for groceries. Bright and warm but very windy! The promised phone call on brake hose updates never came. (Sniff!) 😭

 Dinner was a salmon pasty and chips. The mini oven doesn't reach the indicated temperature. I checked the baking tray with a pistol remote thermometer. 175C instead of 230C. It takes far longer than the cooking instructions to brown chips. The pasty took 40 minutes to brown and swell. What to do about it? I haven't a clue. I am not buying another old fashioned cooker! Nor a replacement mini-oven.

 

  ~o~

 

15.05.2024 A fine crop of Japanese Knotweed?

 ~o~

  Wednesday 15th 57F/14C [7.15] Another warm, dry and sunny day. 

  2023 was the warmest in 2000 years according to the tree ring growth experts. Global sea temperature records have been broken every month for a year now.

 Up at 6.30. Woke at 5am but went back to sleep after a quiet night. My ribs are still hurting but my coughing has stopped completely.

 8.15 Time for a walk. I hope I'll be able to pick up my e-bike soon.

10.00 68F/20C. I eventually walked to the lanes after various delays. It was delightfully warm but with the cooling breeze keeping things comfortable. The different voices and songs of the warblers was entertaining. Some of them can sing extremely loudly! The traffic was unusually light. My neighbour has mown the grass banks to their new drive. And run over the highly invasive, Japanese Knotweed beside the road! I fear they will soon have thousands of square meters of Japanese Knotweed to cope with!

 The sun was very bright. Which exaggerated the light coloration of all the fresh spring leaves. Most of them will darken over the summer. 

 There are only a few lilacs in the hedgerows locally. Miles/km of continuous lilacs elsewhere. The usual colour is pale purple but variations exist from white to blue to dark purple. The vast areas of oil seed rape are just beginning to go over now. Changing from bright yellow flowers to light brown seeds over time. 
 
11.00 70F/21C.  I have been hedge trimming along the drive. Scrapman's hideously abandoned building site had hedges overflowing the drive. The view along the main road was also blocked. The official hedge slashing tractor hadn't touched it. Leaving ash, field maple, roses and lilacs projecting wildly out into the road. No longer!

 12.30 72F/22C. The garden is full of birds and birdsong. Lots of warblers. Campanulas are coming out in my wife's flower bed. The black elder and cotoneaster salicifolia are looking well now they are in leaf.

 13.45 72F/22C. Windy. The Yato 3T farm jack has arrived. I managed to break some old rope and some thin, old, ratchet strap band. While trying to lift the steel post from its concrete backfill in the ground. I had to excavate the rock hard, self stabilizing gravel around the pole first. I might try the chain on the hoist next. 

 I just realised that I need the timber bridge supports much further apart. The concrete surrounding the pole is much larger than the pole itself. Trying to lift with a short support bridge is just compressing the gravel over the concrete! Silly old wotsit!  

It is unpleasantly hot working outside in the sunshine. I had forgotten to open the greenhouse end doors. It was 105F/41C out there. Ideal for kiln drying the logs? Quickly dropped to the low 80sF once the doors were opened. 

 To my surprise I have discovered my sister owns a farm jack. She uses it to lift unwanted shrubs and tree stumps. She has recommended some YT videos. Which show lengths of timber used as tripod legs. I will make some legs to resist the jack's leaning tendencies. Some new chain and shackles will be on my shopping list too.

 Dinner was cheese on toast with halved cherry tomatoes. The image upload to Google doesn't work again! I am having to upload them singly and manually.

  ~o~

14.05.2024 A tidying we shall go! Tra-la!

 ~o~

  Tuesday 14th 59F/15C [7.30] Bright sunshine  in a clear sky again. Breezy again.

  Up at 6.30 after a quiet night. My chest and back are hurting. [Furniture moving?] 

 The kitchen seems twice the size after yesterday's tidying! Still plenty to do. The dresser shelving has become a repository for junk. The bottom cupboards are full of glasses. Which are highly unlikely to ever get any exercise. 

 A large trolley, covered in more junk, sits in the left corner beyond the countertop. It isn't earning its keep. The whole mess needs to be sorted, donated to charity, or dumped. There is little even potentially useful. Just forlorn memories clinging to an absent soul.

 The other corner has become a repository for my unused building materials. Mostly small bags of cement, tile adhesive, etc. It probably has a "use before" date on most of it. Built in chemical obsolescence. It can probably go over to the gravel, carport pad I have been building. To be become more rubble/hardcore. 

 I have plans for reserve stocks of tiles in the corner of the lounge near the stove. It was never finished. [By me] Leaving a strip of floor against the wall lower than the rest. It was soon hidden from view by an accumulation of excess furniture. Now I can cut some tiles to complete the job properly. I have already moved an oversized coffee table into that corner. With another untidy aspidistra for company. 

 I don't think they work well in pairs. A contrast is required to avoid clashing with each other. So now I have to go window shopping for a suitable house plant! Monstera? Anything will help to hide the hideously unfinished wall. As usual, photos of the interior make it look far worse than the eye can fathom. 

 13.30 71F/22C. Breezy with solid sunshine. A lovely day. The countryside is very beautiful. With miles of lilac hedges in flower. Fresh leaves on the trees. Returned from visiting my friend. I went in the Morris. I can feel my heartbeat as a pulsing pain in my ribs.  

 Dinner was fish fingers and chips.

 

  ~o~

13.05.2024 Spring cleaning? Surely not?

 ~o~

  Monday 13th 57F/14C [8am] Breezy and bright sunshine.

 Up at 7am after waking at 6am. My cough has all but disappeared. Though my ribs still hurt. I should have gone for  walk  but decided to use the time to tidy up and launder new items prior to use. While I am in the mood to be constructive. I emptied the recycling bins and watered all the aspidistras. I plan to bring down the now empty, tallboy chest of drawers. It would provide a more sensible, minor clothes storage system than the large, oak chest of drawers. 

 Location is the problem. My wife used it and kept it beside the chimney. Where it blocked free movement. I have now removed the plastic baskets of logs and kindling from the room. The baskets nest well. So I can stack them neatly in the greenhouse and return the logs to the pile.   

 Will I be able to collect my e-bike from the workshop today? There was a severe danger of the front brake line [hose] being stretched by the new, swept back handlebars. So I asked the workshop to fit a longer line/hose. Just to be safe. 

 Why wouldn't Magura use standard hydraulic fittings for its brake lines? I think the workshop tried to use Shimano standard fittings but they wouldn't hold any pressure. I presume they have ordered new parts from their wholesaler. So It might take some time to receive them. I imagine the bike trade has a quick spares delivery system. Much like the motor trade.

 I prefer to use the skill of the workshop staff to get it right. Rather than attempt a clumsy bodge myself. It involves using the correct hydraulic fluid and bleeding the brakes afterwards. Something they do regularly. Using the correct methods and quite possibly, unique tools. Not something the average owner of disk brakes needs to guess at. Though no doubt there are countless YT video guides. Brakes matter! It's life or death that they work flawlessly. With the the subtlety of power one expects when needed.

 11.30 68F/20C. Breezy, full sunshine. I have brought the tall chest of drawers downstairs and filled it with socks and pants. I had to cut away a crude, wooden windowsill. Which prevented best positioning to the left. 

 The greenhouse end doors are open. With two windows open into the house. To air and warm the interior. The ants are back on the kitchen windowsill. I have repeatedly dusted them with the expensive poison but it has no obvious effect.  

 I spent the day tidying and laundering. Moving furniture. Reducing the mess I had made myself. For myself. By myself. Feeling sorry for myself. When I was jumping from one project to another. Never finishing anything properly. Overwhelmed by the sheer burden of it all.  I made a small dent in the whole mess of the kitchen. It needs the self discipline I sorely lack. The motivation usually reserved for hobbies. Useful storage space I still lack.

 Dinner was mackerel on toast with cherry tomatoes. Washed down with a beer and then a milky coffee.

 

  ~o~

12.05.2024 Keep on trikin'!

 ~o~

  Sunday 12th 52F/11C. [8.00] Bright white sky, with a week of warm sunshine promised.

 Up at 7am after a reasonable night. I have gone from repeated coughing to occasional and unpleasant bouts.

8.15. A walk I think.

 9.05 57F/14C. Warm sunshine. Back from my walk. I took my Lumix G9 with the 50-200 Leica lens. Though I still took some pictures with the mobile phone. Where the long lens provided too narrow a view. The stone collector was not present today. So I could not make them aware of the dangers of mowing Japanese knotweed. 

 I wandered down the shared drive. Through scrap man's affront to the natural order. Where I was eventually confronted by a hairy "guard dog." Somewhat lower than my knee cap. I stood quite still until it stopped barking. It sniffed and then quickly lost interest. I retreated the way I had come.

 A mix of warblers were singing in the roadside trees. A Greenfinch wheezed in the garden. Lots of other birds were heard but not seen. I wore a shirt over a t-shirt. Either garment alone would have been more than comfortable in the bright sunshine. The trees and shrubs were looking at their best in their brand new foliage. 

 An ideal day for a ride. Dare I take the trike for a spin? Perhaps just into the village for some bread rolls and milk? Have I lost the knack for riding a trike? Do I have breath enough? Panting might clear my chest more quickly. So many unanswered questions. Until I try.

 11.30 63F/17C. Back from a trike ride into the village. Warm and sunny.  5km each way. Headwind going. Tailwind coming back. Borderline breathless quite often. Not much strength in my legs. Better on the way back. Probably helped by the tailwind. My ribs hurt most of the way. Leaning forwards was not very comfortable.

 Dinner was salad.

 

  ~o~

11.05.2024 Tramp alert!

 ~o~

  Saturday 11th 49F/9C [7.30am] Bright white sky with early mist thinning rapidly. A dry, sunny day with a high of 18C/64F is promised.

A quiet night. Up at 6.30 after waking earlier. Deliberately staying in bed to rest in the mornings. I am trying to train myself out of negative thoughts and having to get up to escape them. My chest feels wet and bunged up and I have a runny nose. Another cold? Not sure what this means in the context of recovery and penicillin. 

 Two different, saddle dropper posts: A 150mm travel, Kind Shock and a 125mm travel XLC. Both presently separated from the e-bike by miles of rolling countryside. The KS 6" dropper exceeds the maximum insertion depth. So the saddle will greatly exceed the desired ride height when the dropper post is extended. While the 125mm travel XLC will have 30mm of seat tube showing above the frame's saddle clamp when fully extended. Not perfect, but close enough to a minimum saddle height. When the dropper posts is fully depressed, by my weight, after remote lever actuation.

  No real plans for today. I ought to try to cut the lawn but it will take time to dry out. I haven't been for a walk recently.

 10.45 Back from a walk to the lanes. Skylarks singing overhead. Two severe bouts of coughing. I was too warm almost from the start. Purple lilacs were going over but underpinned by white, daisy-like, wild flowers in two sizes. 

 There were several completely invisible warblers in the roadside trees. Try as I might I could not see them. Not even through my binoculars. A pretty girl was sitting in the road in a go-faster Golf. A dangerous spot to stop but presumably one without prior choice. She must have been waiting for rescue services or perhaps a boyfriend. She gave me a lovely smile as I passed.

 My lady, landowner and major landscaping neighbour. Was still working the banks of her newly raised drive. Several weekends of work suggest she has remarkable patience. She was raking up small stones in readiness for a first cut of the grass. ]Best guess. There is no shortage of stones in this world of ours]

 Dumping them from her bucket into waiting excavator buckets. Left casually along the length of the drive for that purpose. I pray that they don't mow over the Japanese knotweed infestation near the road! The result would be heartbreaking!

 Proof, if any were needed, that I actually reached the lanes. I never tire of that view. The juxtaposition of the intersecting curves. That sort of thing.

 The lady glanced at me but ignored my casual but friendly wave. Our paths have never knowingly crossed before. I was tempted to congratulate her on the superb landscaping but plodded on towards Chez Hovel. No doubt she was enjoying the exercise in the warm sunshine too much. To lower herself to chatting with mere peasant neighbours. Perhaps she didn't recognize the passing tramp as the hamlet's token hermit? Perhaps she did. 😏

 The guard dog was back on duty and dutifully barked at me. Short [or long] term memory loss? We usually see each other ever day of the year. Another new neighbour was cutting the grass. His son playing with a metal detector. Which reminds me that a harvest of dandelions awaits my own mower. I had better start earning my lunch!

 11.30 60F/15C. Time to do something useful. Latest load of laundry put out on the rotary airer. Then on with the mowing.

 12.30 64F/18C. Hot sunshine. I have all but finished mowing at a high setting. [10/12] The batteries need recharging before I even think about a lower cut. The Makita lacks the sheer power to cut through 4-6" deep grass. 

 The draught from the twisted cutting blade doesn't keep the exit port clear of damp cuttings. Causing stalls as the blade is physically blocked. Nor does it like picking up fallen grass cuttings. Clearly beneath its dignity.

 Now I am hot and knackered. My hands are shaking like jellies. I kept up a good pace to test my wind. Not great, but nothing serious. No breathlessness. Time to make some lunch. There are clean dishes and cutlery too! Whoopee! 

 6.45. Dinner will be toast. I have earned it. Not in great quantity. Nor riches in square yards of investment property. Two slices will suffice and no more. I shall have two poached eggs and be rewarded beyond measure. I deserve no more and certainly no less.   

 7.15. I went out to finish off the mowing and to tidy up. Brought in twelve, ragged t-shirts for a rainy day. Found the wren's nest under the shed overhang. No wonder it is using the sloping pole as a perch.

  There's been a glitch. No images can be uploaded. Google is preventing effortless blog editing again. It's a conspiracy!

 Yet again I experimented in advanced poaching. Desperate to avoid previous failures to perform on the cosmetic front. Small frying pan. Two glass cups. Up to their middles in boiling water. Sitting with a single broken egg within each. Trying to stiffen up the whites. Before they explode into soggy candyfloss. I still had to pour them into the pan anyway but they came out fine. 3.5 minutes after release into the wild was optimum. Success!

 However, Google wants the patent. There is no other explanation for their blocking behaviour. Preventing this "life changing" culinary triumph from release to a shocked world. It has to be "shocked" or there will be no viewers on YouTube. Everybody uses it. Even for sleep therapy nonsense and meditation. Or, if I was advertising, it would have to be: "taking Denmark by storm!" Or whatever.  

 11.00 Still coughing. Bed.

 11.20. Still trying to upload my dinner pictures and fix typos. Done.

 

 ~o~

10.05.2024 Such a busy life!

 ~o~

  Friday 10th 52F/11C. Overcast.

 In breaking news: I woke earlier but didn't bother to get up until 7.30. I'll ring the surgery for an appointment as soon as the telephone lines open. The new dropper post should be delivered today. I have to deliver the e-bike to the shop in town for a longer hydraulic front brake line and possibly a cable. The result of fitting swept back "granny bars." Having given away all my bike spares I can no longer experiment with different handlebar extensions. That might have been an alternative. I'll ask the bike shop staff for advice.   

 10.15 35 minutes waiting on the phone to get through to the surgery. I was on the mobile via my hearing aids. So I could move about the house and sort the laundry. Then I put in a load before I left. 

 They gave me an appointment in half an hour. Had a quick shower and then drove into the village. The doctor was sympathetic and said I had an infection deep in my lungs. Gave me penicillin with a very long name. I picked it up from the pharmacy across the road and then drove home. 

 Now I had only an hour to load the trike on the rear carrier of the Morris and get into town. Where I left the bike at the workshop. A phone call later said that they had no hydraulic fittings for Magura brakes. It might be early next week before they can finish the job. I am in no fit state to be riding anywhere at the moment. I told them to relax and get the job done. Then send me an SMS when I can pick up the bike.

12.00 Heavy overcast. 56F/13C. I bought several new towels in town. Most of the bath and hand towels are holey rags. They are worn so thin it is hard to dry myself after a shower. I removed the laundry in the washing machine and hung it outside on the rotary airer. I hadn't a single thing to wear when I had to go to the doctors. So I had to wear a proper shirt. 

 12.30 Now I have to do the washing up. Four days worth. I was having to rinse single items before I could eat or have anything to drink. Silly old wotsit! 

 13.10 The new XLC 125mm dropper post has arrived. Now no e-bike to try it on.

 Did the washing up, had lunch and then had a nap. Oh, the excitement!

 18.00 The earlier load of laundry brought in.

 My extracted tooth area was hurting. So I needed something soft for dinner. I went with fish fingers, pasta and tinned tomatoes. I had some pasta frozen in the freezer ages ago. So I decided to use it all up. Which meant I needed more tinned tomatoes. Which left me with far more than I could manage. The first time I have wasted cooked food in a long time.

 

  ~o~

9.05.2024

 ~o~

  Thursday 9th 50F/10C. Bright but very cloudy. Up at 6.45 after a slightly better night. I lay there dozing instead of getting up at 6.00. 

 Cooking class today. It is a bank holiday but we were offered the [closed] school kitchen anyway. I had better go in the Morris. Not sure how I'd manage a ride.

 The new dropper post is still sitting at the first sorting depot. It hasn't moved since 7pm last night. This, despite being promised next day delivery by the dealer. Bank holiday?

 14.20 Returned from cooking class and a wasted journey into the village surgery. Yes, it really is a bank holiday! 

 No dinner required today. 

 I have belatedly discovered that I have literally given away everything related to cycling. So I no longer have alternatives to try form my [once] huge stock.

 My wardrobe increasingly embarrasses me. I have a few old t-shirts which are barely passable. A dozen which are literally rags full of holes. I wear them as pajamas. Worthless, disposable rags even for cleaning. They would only last for one go at dusting or furniture polishing. Whatever that is!  Even with my very limited and shrinking social life. I still have to be basically presentable at times.

 

 ~o~

 

8.05.2024 Spring sunshine.

 ~o~

  Wednesday 8th 41F/5C. Another bright day with some sunshine promised. My absent neighbour's trees are blocking the early sun. 

 Up at 5.30. Another awful night! Endless trips to the fire bucket. A ticklish cough hurt my wheezing chest over and over again.    

 13.00 63F/17C. Full sunshine. Returning from visiting my friend. His garden has a lovely show of bluebells and tulips at the moment. Burrowing animals [probably bank voles] keep eating his bulbs. We had a very pleasant stroll around his large garden. I envy him his ride-on mower but cannot justify the cost for the area of grass I have to deal with.

  I have opened one end door and two skylights in the greenhouse. Then opened all the internal doors and two windows out to the greenhouse. This helped to raise the indoor temperature to 68F/20C from 64F/18C. Which also helps to air the house without heat loss. Once the sun has gone around behind the trees I shut the windows. Then the greenhouse doors and skylights. Followed by the internal doors. The kitchen always warms a couple of degrees more than the living room.

 Dinner will probably be a salad. I bought a non-organic heart lettuce.

 Not impressed. The lettuce was already limp.

 

  ~o~

7.05.2024 Third time lucky? Dropper posts.

 ~o~

  Tuesday 7th 54F/12C [at 9am] After earlier overcast it has suddenly become sunny.

 Up at 7.30 after a difficult night. I had not gone to bed all day. To avoid problems with sleeping. Then I got up at 2.30. My mouth and chest were hurting. I was wide awake and struggling to turn over because of the intense pain. Then I started coughing. So I got up and sat on the computer watching YT videos. Finally I was struggling to stay awake. So I went back to bed at 6am.  

 Present 100 travel XLC dropper post dimensions.

I have managed two cool cups of coffee. While I carefully struggled my way through half a bowl of deliberately soggy porridge. I hadn't had anything at all since yesterday lunchtime. Though I didn't feel the slightest bit hungry. Dehydration is probably why I feel so awful. I'll keep sipping water as well as my normal beverages.

 13.10 The new, KS 150mm travel, dropper seat post arrived via GLS. Unfortunately it fell foul of the 220mm maximum insertion depth in the Moustache frame. 265mm insertion in a 220mm max. post depth. Which meant it won't go low enough to reduce the saddle height when fully lowered. 45mm is added to maximum possible insertion. The KS seemed a nicer bit of kit compared to the XLC. Better finished, all black and no ridiculous rotational play like the XLC.

 Looking at the insertion dimension charts for both makes of dropper post the XLC wins on shallow insertion. Ideally I want the dropper post collar just touching the frame at maximum insertion. For minimum saddle height when lowered. So I can safely reach the ground when seated. Then enough upward travel to bring me up to the correct saddle height for pedaling efficiently. I compared the 125mm travel KS insertion depth of 237mm. This would leave the collar resting 17mm above the frame. 

The present 100mm XLC is 55mm above the frame when the saddle is at the correct ride height. 215mm to the saddle clamp when raised. When the saddle is lowered it adds those 55mm to the minimum saddle height. So I can't reach the ground when seated! Proven by several sideways falls when dismounting!

 Here's an alternative:

    XLC Dropper Post 125mm travel:
    Model: XLC SP-T010
    Colour black
    Rider weight: 60-120 kg
    Ø31,6 mm. - 400 mm. - 125 mm travel.
    Material: Aluminium 6061 - T6
    Vægt: 535 gram
    Installation height: 182 mm.
    Pipe length: 218 mm.

   400mm total length - 182 = 218mm. Seat tube max allowable insertion 220mm. 2mm clearance. Nice low saddle height. Ride height? 215mm from seat tube clamp -125mm travel = 90mm insertion depth. I am hoping that the extra 25mm of travel means the 55mm height can be reduced to 30mm. 25mm lower should give me safe touchdown. 

 My normal ride saddle height is 73cm from the centre of the bottom bracket to the top surface of the saddle. Insertion depth is the critical factor here. Otherwise any longer travel, dropper post would fit. Allowing lower and safer saddle heights when the dropper post is fully depressed. 

 Neither dropper post manufacturers nor frame designers seem to understand this simple fact. Suspension will sag under the rider's weight. However, putting one's foot/feet down may unload the suspension. Raising the depressed saddle height even more. If the rider slides forwards off a saddle which is already too high. Then the suspension will definitely rise to its relaxed position. Making dismounting/remounting even more difficult. Throwing one's leg over a high saddle becomes even more challenging.

  I have ordered an XLC SP-T101 with 125mm travel. The KS 150mm will have to go back.

   18.45 It has been sunny all days but I have hardly been outside. I warmed the house from the greenhouse. Then opened one greenhouse end door to limit overheating. 

 Not sure what to do about dinner. Toast would have been ideal but too hard and sharp. I am still getting blood in my mouth. Scotch broth and another bread roll? I still have two tins which my wife ordered from the UK. I'll have to check the dates. July 24. That was lucky!

 Dinner was a whole tin of Heinz Beef Broth and a bread roll. I gave the soup a slow heat for ten minutes. It tasted fine. I am finishing off with a small carton of organic apple juice from Netto. It is delicious.

 

  ~o~

6.05.2024 Keeping on.

 ~o~

  Monday 6th 50F/10C. Medium bright periods through a mottled overcast. Almost still. Showers forecast. The apple tree is covered in blossom.

 Up at 6.20 after a reasonable night. Chest still hurting. Still bunged up and coughing occasionally. Pressing the painful side of my chest during coughing spasms helps avoid agony. Still feeling sorry for myself. That I can't do anything useful outside. The grass has regrown on steroids. All thanks to the rain. The grass can't be mown while it is still wet. The observatory is still in a state of half undress. The gravel remains untouched.

 I need to go shopping further afield. The next shopping village to the north will do. Cooler indoors at 64F/18C. I may clear the six, assorted log baskets by the stove. Big logs, small logs, kindling, useful chunks for starting. Who, on earth, has six baskets dedicated to a single stove? It's not the bløødy Titanic!There is little need for the stove or firewood now. Not unless it suddenly turns chilly. I can use the space for an aspidistra on a small table or stool under the window. Anything but that untidy mess!  

10.00  Bright sunshine! My blog has become a faded personal diary. Left out too long in the sun and the rain. Too tedious and boring even for me to enjoy writing and endlessly editing. I feel like a hideously untalented TikTok attention seeker. Without anything worth sharing. I have no tattoos. No piercings. No make up. Nor even a funny hairstyle. Nobody will give a "like" to seeing any part of me naked. Not even if I use a beauty app. Not even for being elderly and humanly comical.

 My foolish projects seem so worthless now. Yet filled my endless days to near obsession for years on end. Allowing me to overcome ridiculous obstacles. More by sheer momentum of effort applied. Than any particular skill or talent. Nobody remembers who demolished the pyramids. My pyramids are a western frontier town. Weather bleached timber that nobody truly remembers now. A few virtual photographs miss the point entirely.

 Are we all attention seekers? Desperately justifying our reason for mere existence? Billions of deaths pass completely unnoticed. To be replaced by billions more, fragile skittles. All waiting anxiously to be swept aside. By those who manage to make a name for themselves. For good or for evil.

  Few can stand the gaze of public interest. All of us carry the unseen, half concealed warts of idiocy and indiscretion. Few can exploit them for financial gain. Claiming the moral high ground has been abused to ashes and prehistoric dust. 

 Any freak show can enjoy its day in the media limelight. As the rest of us toil our whole lives away. For food, shelter and transport to the coal face. Plus a few, tacky, slave-produced toys. Soon to join the landfill of built-in obsolescence. People are landfill too. Billions of extras. Put here for our own entertainment. Each presenting a possible guide to how to live our own lives. Or a dire warning not to follow that downward spiral. Or just playing another extra. With no value to anybody but themselves. Except their ability to keep hairdressers, prison officers, nurses, carpenters and undertakers in a job.

 Life really is completely and utterly meaningless. What we make of it is often reduced to utterly worthless too. By those around us. Dragged screaming by the hair from cradle to grave. By constant and vicious, aversion therapy. Usually by our own parents. Who to hate. Who to respect. Who to bow to. Who to kneel to. Who to prostrate to. Who to vote for. Who to die for. 

 Ants responding to external stimuli. Billions without ever having a single, individual thought of their own. All hail OUR neighbourhood! Our house. Our team. Our school. Our social class. Our great nation. Our faith. Our culture. Our ridiculous clothes. Our awful food. Our silly death ceremony. We do it all to ourselves. Slaves to the hive mind. 

 Like teenagers locked into the fashion of the day. Every detail passed down from on high and rigidly adhered to. Or suffer the dire consequences. Repeated over and over. For the whole of our pointless lives. For every new and passing generation. We largely police ourselves. Nothing is learned from repeated failure. Too little from our limited successes.  

 The Internet has simultaneously provided unfiltered access to some truths. Obscured many others. The news media has as much impartiality as a pedophile priest. Corrupted beyond any reason for their continuing existence. News has sold out to the highest bidder. Photocopiers driven by advertising greed alone.  

 The alternatives have their own agenda. Few will publish the unvarnished truth. Or even recognize it. AI will only muddy the cleansing waters of exposure. Conspiracy is the new gospel. Nothing is real. Believe in nothing. Except what you are told to believe. Keep taking the tablets. Keep on keeping on. It makes absolutely no sense. Except to our immortal, slave masters.

  10.30. I had better have a shower and go shopping. Keeping on shouldn't mean having to go without breakfast. "THEY" say breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

 Arla is super-gluing its organic milk cartons closed again. Obviously a global conspiracy to reduce organic milk consumption amongst pensioners. I searched the cutlery drawer. For a clean tool to sneak past the impassible closure but nothing suggested itself. I couldn't bring myself to use an electrical screwdriver. The effort required to raise it to a suitable level of clinical cleanliness. Easily exceeded my will to live at that point.

 So I struggled on. With ever more feeble finger strength. As the cardboard sought to de-laminate. Rather than part company at the allotted orifice. Starvation was only averted by a final, superhuman effort. But left my fingertips raw and my fingernails shredded. 

 As I slowly recovered, while steadily munching my way through the morning bowl of porridge oats. I wondered whether Arla dairy workers could use the standard: "I was only following orders!" defense at Nuremberg. Do their managers and those of the Blittish Post Office. Belong to some secret, fascist sect? Whose avowed intention is to undermine society by culling the weak and defenseless. Do they hold meetings? Where they all wear Putin masks and Nazi regalia?

 As if the day had not already descended to a new low: I was rung by the dentist to bring forward my torture session by two whole days. Another patient had bottled out. Not the term they used but I knew exactly what they meant. 

 It was lucky I was going that way anyway. To restock on organic porridge and to find a milk carton opening tool. Probably at the overpriced kitchen objet d'art shop. A bartender's ice pick springs immediately to mind. Then I can exact my revenge on my tormentor at the dentist. "This wont hurt a bit!" I had better have a shower. Then change into my rubber apron and wellies. 🙈

 16.20 Returning from the dentist and shopping. One filling and an extraction. Excused piano practice for several days. The pretty young dentist looked about 14½ but was sympathetic, empathetic and truly excellent. I asked if she was a student but she said that everybody asked that. Thinking she was too young to be qualified. The dental nurses were both incredibly well trained and practiced. Knowing exactly when to hand items over and when to drain and when to block the UV light. Robotic precision with a human touch.

  ~o~

5.05.2024 Nothing to see here.

 ~o~

  Sunday 5th 50F/10C. Overcast with rain. Up at 6am after a bad night. My chest hurts like hell and I had to keep getting up to top up the fire bucket. I was going to get up at 5am but decided to try going back to sleep. 

 12.00 Raining. No bread rolls left! I have to go shopping or no lunch!  

 Went shopping in the Morris in rain. Slowly dried up on the way home.

 Caught up on three day's worth of washing up.

 Dinner was fish fingers, peas and chips. A small beer but no tea or coffee. I don't want a repeat of last night!

 

  ~o~

 

 

4.05.2024 In the absense of progress.

 ~o~

  Saturday 4th 53F/12C. Heavy overcast and much darker than of late. It was raining hard at bedtime last night. [23.00] It is supposed to be cloudy but dry with a little sun later. The wind has gone around to the west.

 Up at 5.30 after a quiet night. My left chest still hurts as badly as ever. Fortunately I haven't coughed yet this morning. Though I can still sense some slight wheezing. I am breathing naturally through my nose. For the first time in ages. Checking back through my posts. First cold symptoms on the 18th of April. Well over two weeks ago.

 I came across YT videos about "farm jacks" yesterday. One of these could be used to lift the 14 concrete, foundation blocks. Once I have dismantled the larger observatory walls. The online dealer was lying when they said they would deliver in 3-5 days. The real delivery delay was 11 days. 

 Of course they only tell you this, via an update email, long after you have paid. To ensure the customer doesn't cancel and go elsewhere. They make this as difficult as possible too. By bombarding the disappointed customer with emails. All the details are in appended files with reams of small text. Lies, damned lies and ComputerSalg.dk!

 Their sales website is still showing 3-5 days for delivery this morning. Delivery from "remote stock." Which could mean that ComputerSalg.dk is a spotty teenager. Running a supposed business on his laptop from his bedroom in his parent's house. Then his computer sends the customer's order straight on to another company. So, ComputerSalg.dk are not even box shifters and hold no stock themselves. Their fancy website is all vapourware. Except that it's not. They have a large warehouse.

 There is no consumer protection in Denmark. So they can legally get away with this patently false advertising. They falsely promise reasonable delivery dates at slightly lower prices to capture the order. 

 Thereby depriving honest companies, with expensive stock, staff costs and storage. From gaining a valuable order.  It would be fascinating to know what proportion of actual delivery dates match their sales website. Of course, nobody will ever know. That might dent their reputation and sales.

  Dinner was chicken and mushroom curry. Somehow I managed to make it tasty and appetizing.

 ~o~

3.05.2024 Walking wounded.

 ~o~

 Friday 3rd  Bright sunshine and breezy again.  Still coughing. My chest still hurts from the fall. No sign of bruising. So it is muscle strain from trying to save myself.

8.45. 60F/15.6C. Up at 5am. Back to bed for an hour at 7.30. Just looked around the garden. A mass of brambles where the old Horse chestnut used to be. Very few flowers on Shirley's bee and butterfly bed yet. Lots of tufts of leaves promising colour. Different types and colours of tulips at the east end of the house. 

 My neighbour is gardening with his shirt off. I needed a jumper. As I hobbled around like an old man.
Feeling sorry for myself. That I can't just jump on my bike and go for a long ride. A pleasant 67F/20C indoors. Expected to reach that later outside. 

 The greenhouse has been remaining under 85F/30C with the end doors open during the day plus two layers of shade nets. No need to borrow heat to warm the house. Though daytime temperatures are expected to fall a little over the next few days with some rain.

 12.00 68F/20C. Wasted the entire morning on the computer watching YT videos. And the entire afternoon.

 Dinner was beans on toast. The beans are still awful. Under-cooked and tasteless.

 

  ~o~

2nd May 2024 It only hurts when I cough!

 ~o~

  Thursday 2nd 54F/12C. Another warm, sunny day is promised. With a 20C/68F maximum.

 Up at 5am. It only hurts when I cough! In fact my chest hurts all the time after yesterday's tumble. The very high bottom bracket on the Moustache FS27 is a constant danger! Whenever I dismount! The top tube is far too high to lift my foot over that. The panniers represent a serious hurdle for my foot as I swing my [aging] leg over the saddle. 

 As the Irish are [allegedly] fond of saying: I wouldn't start from here! The high bottom bracket forces a high saddle position for efficient pedaling. A normal seat post was fitted at the factory. So I fitted a saddle dropper post myself. After dropping the bike very publicly several times on dismounting. Once astride the top tube I still couldn't lift my leg high enough over the normal saddle at its normal riding height.

 I had to buy an externally operated dropper post. There being no easy way to thread a concealed dropper post cable through the Moustache's frame.

 After operating the dropper post handlebar lever. The saddle sinks [under my own weight] to its set, minimum height. The ground is still much too far away for me to safely reach with my foot. So I have to quickly slide forward onto the very high, frame top tube. Then hope I can put a toe down to avoid toppling helplessly sideways. As I did so dramatically and painfully yesterday!

 When I am on a ride and need to stop I usually look for a high pavement. Not always possible away from towns. It really is that bad! Lady motorcyclists often run into the problem of high saddle height. As do, no doubt, many men of below average stature.

 I have the Medium sized frame to [supposedly] match my height. Which designation is only an average and completely ignores inside leg measurement. No doubt Moustache would claim their bikes are aimed at young and fit, sporty riders. Particularly their "45" Speed models. I want to "45" for its ability to travel at speed nearer that of an averagely fit cyclist. Not amble along like a geriatric!  

 Bending my knees more while pedaling [lowered saddle] would be foolish. If the dropper post had more vertical movement then the saddle could be lower when in the down position. But spring up to the same height as it is now for pedaling. Perhaps 5mm higher. This can be reduced with a touch of the lever but is fiddly to get right.

 The dropper post is presently 45mm out of the bike frame, saddle clamp. So could, theoretically, have a longer travel post, but be set 45mm lower in the bike frame. There are dropper posts with 150mm of movement.

 So I inserted the dropper post to its lowest point and tightened the clamping screw. That actually works! I can reach the ground on both sides while seated on the saddle at its lowest position. So stack [collar] height becomes vitally important.

 The online illustrations suggest an almost identical stack height on the Kind Shock KS E20 150mm travel. External cable control. Duly ordered online. Interesting that KS dropper post Amazon reviews were scathing. While a US bike shop's customer reviews were remarkably positive. In equal number!  

 The reason I didn't go for another XLC dropper post. Was the serious rotation [slack] of the saddle around the saddle pin in use. The guides in their grooves must be very slack from new. So the saddle rocks noisily from side to side when pedaling hard.

 I'll rewrite all this nonsense once I have had a walk.

 10.15 Returning from a walk down the road. Warm sunshine and rather windy. My chest hurt when I swung my arms normally while walking. I still cough on occasions but I am finally free of the repeated bouts. 

 10.45 I have now reduced the length of the post by half.

 A lazy day resting at home. Dinner was a fry up of sliced chicken breast, mushrooms and two fried eggs. I was dipping the meat in the runny yolks as a sauce. Baked beans would have been too much and spoilt it. So it was all perfect. No beer. I enjoyed a milky coffee and chocolate biscuits.

  ~o~

 

1st May 2024 Arse over tit! [Again!]

 ~o~

  Wednesday 1st 54F/12C. Bright but cloudy. A sunny day reaching 21C/69-70F possible.

 Up at 6am after an earlier break from 3-4.30.  

 I'd like a bike ride today. It is quite breezy from the east. Steadily increasing.

 13.00 68F/20C. Returned from a ride into town. It was easy cruising in the high 30's kph going but low 20s coming back into the strong wind. Almost continuous sunshine. Lovely and warm. Stripped down to my racing jersey and shorts.

 Lucky I opened the greenhouse doors before I left.

 After lunch and a nap I rode into the village to shop. Still on auto pilot, I threw my leg over the saddle as usual. Caught the panniers. Then rolled myself away from the heavy bike as it followed me towards the asphalt! Both flat on the car park! 

 Grazed knee, grazed elbow, painful chest muscles, headache and a severely dented ego. The bike landed on the end of the handlebar but seems unscathed. It may be that the saddle, dropper post didn't fully drop. I had moved all the levers and controls on the new "granny" handlebars. Still accustomising myself to those. Love the relaxed, upright, riding position. Noticeably increased drag from my upright position.

 The Moustache e-bike has a very high bottom bracket. Which means the saddle must be the height it is for efficient pedaling. The dropper post helps but doesn't lower the saddle enough. For me to safely reach the ground with my feet. F-! Must try harder!

Dinner was cheese on toast with tomatoes. 

  ~o~