28.10.2025

 ~o~

  Tuesday 28th 42F/5.6C [7.40] Two, long, wet days with wind ahead. Dry at the moment. Tne room has dropped from 71F at bedtime to 66F this morning. 22-19C.

 Up at 6.40 after another quiet night. 

 7.45-8.05. Cold, blowing a gale and raining. A brisk walk. Two large, dark brown birds of prey were out on the field again. I stayed behind the hedge. One moved further away. The other remained. 

 There was a story in the news about walking and survival rates into old age. The gist of which was walking is good for you. Several YouTube medical "influencers" suggest specific exercises are better. I disagree. There are so many other benefits to walking. Not least getting out of the house. I can see how much more upright I am walking now. After being shocked by my bent appearance in the security cameras.   

 I shall drive to visit my English friend. Gales and rain are no fun at all on a bike.  

 

 

  ~o~

27.10.2025 Mostly outdoors.

 ~o~

  Monday 27th 43F/6C [7.30] A mixed day of light showers is promised. With the risk of some sunshine this afternoon. Peaking at 11C/52F after lunch. 

 Up at 7am after an unusually quiet night. I woke at 5am and drifted. 

 8.15 The sun is shining already. Time for a walk. 

 8.40 Back again. Only one, dark brown bird of prey today. It flew off on sighting me through a hedge. The neighbours' tiny guard dog was barking furiously. So I was denied my usual loop. A pretty, feathery sky. Like vast, vapour trails.   

 The share of sunshine locally is very unfair. Every house in the neighbourhood gets full sunshine. Except mine. The row of trees along the field to my east blocks the sun. More tall trees are trapped between the two nearest houses. 

 Yet more absent neighbours. Though I doubt they would care about the trees anyway. I have to wait until much later. When the sun goes around to the south. Before it finally clears their trees.

 That said, I managed to find a slot between the trees. Where the sun shone for most of the morning. On the far edge of the yard. So that I could test my latest telescope construction. 

 After lunch I continued but the sky was increasingly cloudy. 

 Dinner was a salmon pasty, peas and chips. 

  ~o~

26.10.2025 Mostly indoors.

 ~o~

  Sunday 26th 44F/6.7C. Wet and windy again. 

 Up at 7.00  6.00 after a quiet night. 

 8.25 Back from my walk. Damp in the air and blowing a gale again. I saw two pairs of birds of prey. Foraging out on the prairie. They took off and flew away the moment they saw me. Despite there being hundreds of meters between us.

 I spent the morning on YouTube. 

 The afternoon I was busy working on my modified, solar, H-a telescope.

 There were a few brief flashes of sunshine after 15.00. None long enough to do any solar observations or imaging.

 I dragged the recycling bin along the drive in the pitch dark. 

 Did half an hour of washing up. It had got away from me. 

 Dinner was beans on toast and tomato soup. Helped down with a bread roll. I had some half tins in the fridge to catch up on. Both four days old. 

 Only 63F/17C in the room. I ought to light the stove.

  

  ~o~

25.10.2025 Wet and windy.

 ~o~

  Saturday 25th 46F/7.8C. Another wet day is forecast. Lots more unsettled days in a row. Wind gusting to 15m/s or 30mph all day. Even stronger tomorrow.  64F/17.8C in the room.

 Up at 6.45 after a quiet night. I was drifting and checking the clock. Until I became bored enough to get up. 

 8.45. I have been waiting for it to get light enough for a walk. It has been blowing a gale. Now it has started raining. 

 9.20 Back from a 20 minute, brisk walk. It was raining steadily and blowing hard. So I put my hood up and kept going. I was getting modest chest pains for most of the way. They stopped when I returned home and sat down.

 11.50 Back from village shopping for essentials. Raining hard, so went in the car. 

 62F/16.7C in the room. I had better light the stove.

 Dinner was fish fingers, peas, pasta and tinned tomatoes. 

  ~o~

24.10.2025 A bad case of wind.

 ~o~

  Friday 24th 50F/10C [8.10] Very dark! Days of rain and gales forecast. Starting with showers. Temperatures peaking around 11C/52F.  South to south west winds gusting to 20m/s. [45mph]  65F/18C and falling slowly indoors.

 Up at 7am after a busy night. Should I blame the coffee at 7pm? 

 I'll go for a walk as soon as it is light enough to be seen on the side of the road. 

 9.15 Back from my walk. Light showers and the wind roaring and hissing in the roadside trees. Leaves falling like snow. I spotted a couple of birds of prey at a distance. 

 9.30 It is brightening. With blue holes in the overcast. 

 I went shopping in the car. None of my 5mm drills would make an impression. On the replacement polycarbonate sheets of the greenhouse. I have now drilled and fixed half a dozen bolts along the edge of the SE corner panel. The panel which blows out in every gale. 

 Except that it is probably sucked out. Despite having as many glazing clips as will physically fit along the edges. There is plenty of width in the aluminium corner profile. Much less material in the vertical glazing bars. I'll see how it copes with this afternoon's fierce gusts. 

 So far so good.

 Dinner was fried chicken and mushrooms. With boiled potatoes and gravy. It tasted superb! 

 

  ~o~

23.10.2025 Crumble!

 ~o~

  Thursday 23rd 46F/7.8C [6.45] A wet and windy day ahead. Peaking this evening.

 Up at 6am after a fairly quiet night. 

 Cooking class. Going in the car. 

 13.25 Back from cooking class. Where I made an apple salad to go with sausage and other items. Pudding was a delicious apple crumble. 

 It rained going both ways. The Morris is sensitive to crosswinds. Not dangerously so but noticeable. Particularly when emerging from a sheltering, roadside hedge.

 No need for dinner. I had a sub-micro, Corny bar and a milky coffee. 

 Having lit the stove. The room has risen from a miserable 64F to a comfortable 69F. 18-21C.

 

  ~o~

22.10.2025 Morris Minor 1000 "Icebreaker."

 

~o~ 

  Wednesday 22nd 51F/10.6C [7.40]  Very, very dark. Showers leading to rain. 12.5C/54F peak this afternoon. 9m/s SSW gusts peaking at 13m/s at 16.00. 

 Up at 7am after a fairly quiet night. 

 8.30-9.00 Walk. I saw two brown birds of prey out on the fields. Both left on spotting me. One of the museum chaps stopped in his car to chat. The wind was surprising strong where there were no  roadside hedges. It stayed dry.

 15.00 Back from the shops. Had a nice chat with a gentleman in the supermarket car park about the Morris. 

 The greenhouse pond needed topping up with a hose. The level had dropped by about 10cm [4"] due to evaporation.

 I had to catch up on the washing up before making dinner. 

 Dinner was Extra Mature Cheddar cheese on toast with halved tomatoes. Helped down with a bowl of Heinz tomato soup. 

 

 ~o~ 

21.10.2025 Not lost but mislaid.

 ~o~

  Tuesday 21st 51F/10.6C [8.00] A dark, grey day with rain later. Windy from the south east going southerly. 14m/s gusts at 16.00. 12C//53F after lunch. 66F/19C in the room this morning.

 Up at 5.00 after dreaming I was searching for my wife. Back to bed at 7.00 and slept for an hour.

 Waiting for it to be light enough for a walk. I shall be visiting my English friend later. Going in the car.

 It remained dry but windy for my walk. The traffic was busy. One young women never changed her course as she approached. Her mirror would almost certainly have struck me. Had I not taken swiftly to the verge. 

 A large deer crossed the road just in front of me. A first. I have never seen one on the road near home. Though they have been seen in the drive and even going through the garden. 

 13.25  Back from my visit. It rained all the way home. 

 Dinner was a fry-up. Sausage, mushrooms, an egg on toast and beans. 

 

  ~o~

20.10.2025 16km in a gale.

 ~o~

  Monday 20th 40F/4.4C [7.30] A sunny, but windy morning. Clouding over later. With rain by this evening.

 Up at 6.40 after an unusually quiet night.     

 It is much more comfortable in the kitchen and bathroom now that the heaters are on. It reached 74 in the room by bedtime thanks to the stove. It is still 67F/19.4C this morning. Yesterday's sunshine raised the temperature in the greenhouse. Though I did not open the doors to the house. The higher temperatures out there must have reduced heat loss through the southern wall, doors and windows. Which was always my plan when installing the 7m/22' long, lean-to greenhouse. 

 It was sheer luck that we saw the first half of the greenhouse. For sale in a nearby village. Somebody was having a proper conservatory built. So they sold the greenhouse cheaply. With a little research we were able to discover the Hall's dealer in the nearest city. Where we bought a discounted model and a connecting profile. This avoided having to use internal partitions. The two greenhouses could be neatly joined in the middle. To form one twice the length of either.

 Sadly the greenhouse was never used to its full [thermal gain] advantage over the years. Due to summer overheating and winter shading from tall hedges and trees. We tried to combat these problems with internal shading. Mostly with white shower curtains and lightweight, white tarpaulins. However, once the sun's rays get through the glass internal shading is a complete waste of money. Except for the greater levels of comfort from no longer being under bare glass. Which is intolerably unpleasant in hot sunshine. 

 Once my wife died I was able to greatly reduce the shading for greater winter gain. With external shade nets for summer comfort. Which have to be dragged manually from tension ropes along the ridge. While balancing on stepladders. Ideally there would be external roller blinds available. Which could be pulled down in seconds on hot days. While being easily retracted to taste on cloudy days.

 I can open the internal doors. To share the warmth out there with the indoors. Though fans, to push the warm air indoors, would be far more efficient. I could improve the greenhouse's sealing with the house walls. The foam strips have broken down over the years. However the leaky, curved plastic shoulders of the greenhouse all need to be replaced. At considerable cost and labour. The decades of algae build up on the roof framework could be removed at the same time. 

 One should never be under the illusion. That these are any more than sturdy, lean-to glasshouses/greenhouses. They are not comfortable conservatories by any stretch of the imagination. Not without serious attention to shading and sealing. Wall insulation would be more efficient but you can't sit outside an insulated wall. Nor grow tomatoes or other plants.  

 8.15 Time for my walk. It's light but blowing a gale out there. With the trees rocking.

 8.45 Back again. It took ages to walk off my aching back. The close-fitting, recycled jacket was not windproof. While the GripGrab cycling gloves were crap. My hands were cold within a few yards and never warmed up. A bird of prey was foraging for breakfast out on the fields but quickly moved away. 

 The traffic was very busy this  morning. The huge tipper lorries were back. As was a 6-wheeler, earth moving, tipper truck. Even a large excavator went past on a low loader. It's all happening.  

 11.30 Back from a 16km ride to the village. Against the strong wind on the way. So I returned by the long way through the forest. With the tailwind helping me reach 45kph on the long lanes and descent heading west. The Ryet saddle remained reasonably comfortable without padded cycling shorts.

 Now I am going in the Morris to fetch some kindling from another village.

 12.25 I have returned with two sacks of kindling and some grocery essentials. It was spitting with rain. 

 I was being tailgated by a car spares delivery van. So I drove closer to the speed limit. Rather than slightly below. Unfortunately the van driver wasn't up to driving at the speed limit. Except along the straights. So that I left him behind on every single corner. Only to have him speed illegally along the straights to catch me up again. 

 6.00 I have lit the stove as the room had dropped to 65F/18.3C.

 Dinner was sardines on toast with halved tomatoes. 

 

 ~o~

 

19.10.2025 Excused boots.

 ~o~

  Sunday 19th 33F/+0.6C [7.30]  A frosty start to another sunny day. Peaking at 9C/48F. NE wind increasing and going SE. Peaking at 10m/s [22mph] gusts after lunch. 

 62F/16.7C in the room. It was 67F/19.4C at bedtime. Thanks to the wood stove. 8C/46F in the greenhouse.

 Up at 6.40 after a busy night at the fire bucket. 

 A good day for a ride? It starts raining tomorrow afternoon and then daily. A shame to waste a sunny day. It would need warm clothing. I'll have to search for my winter gloves. I haven't needed them until now. My wrist and thumb brace will complicate matters.

 9.10 Returning from a 50 minute walk down to the village. Looping around the church and back again. A beautiful sky of high, brushed clouds. Long, feathery streaks across the whole sky. It was chilly on my hands. Despite keeping them in my jacket pockets. The many birds out on the fields needed no gloves. 

 10.30 I have just switched on the oil-filled radiators. For the first time this autumn/winter. The east facing bathroom had dropped to 50F/10C. Which felt a bit chilly. The kitchen is at 58F/14.4C but enjoys some warmth from the sun. Through the southerly windows. Cooking provides short term heat addition.

Another view of the new high speed railway line build. I am standing on a new bridge over the intended track. The industrial estate at Ejby stands out in the background.

 One kitchen window is covered by the greenhouse. Which reduces heat loss and gains from any warmth in the greenhouse due to sunny weather. The living room has three windows covered by the greenhouse. Though it has dropped to 61F/16C now and I shall have to light the stove. 

 11.00 I became dizzy and had to lie down for an hour. Two logs on the stove to keep it going.

 12.15 Another log on the stove. It has reached 64F/17.8C in the room. 80F/27C in the greenhouse. 48F/9C but windy outside in bright sunshine.

 18.30 43F/6C outside. 70F/21C in the room. 65F/18.3C in the kitchen. Time to make some dinner.

 20.00 72F/22C. Organic sausage, peas and chips.  

  ~o~

18.10.2025 A gentle day to unwind.

 ~o~

  Saturday 18th 32.7F/0.5C [7.45] A white frost. First this autumn. A sunny day with lighter winds is forecast. Peaking around 10C/50F. 63F/17C in the room. It was 68F at bedtime. [10.30.] After lighting the wood stove.

  Up at 7am after waking at 5am and dozing. An unusually quiet night. Perhaps I was tired after yesterday's 95km ride. No noticeable ill effects at all. No soreness when seated. 

 Not sure what to do today. I usually go for a ride to a nearby, shopping village 10-12km away. 

 8.15 Time for a walk.

 8.55  Back again. Low, golden sun grazing the fields. A fawn coloured bird of prey flew away complaining. Traffic light. No lorries so far. The Morris is still white. No chance of sun to clear it. Because of the neighbour's trees. The builders have long gone and left a mess outside. No sign of a return. 

 11.25 Back from the shops. It is pleasing to see how many people smile at the Morris Minor. They are wandering along with their outdoor face on and they suddenly light up.

 I was able to open up the greenhouse to warm the indoors thanks to the sunshine.  

 Dinner was fried chicken, mushrooms, an egg and mashed potato. 

  ~o~

17.10.2025 95km on the Ryet "Aircode."

 ~o~

  Friday 17th 42F/5.6C. A cool, sunny day is forecast but rather windy from the NW. Peaking at 11C/52F and 11m/s. Showers this evening. It is clearly much lighter this morning after yesterday's dull grey.

 Up at 7am after a busy night at the fire bucket. 65F/18.3C in the room this morning. I lit the stove at 9pm to reach 69F/20.6C by bedtime at 10.30.

 I feel the need for a ride on the new, Ryet "Aircode" saddle. I think I had better take the brown, Brooks B17 with me. To get back home if the Ryet does not please. Perhaps I ought to head NW. So the wind can help me home. 

 I could ride up the quiet and pretty, coastal lanes to Middelfart. About 38km plus detours and tootling around the town. At least 80km/50miles round trip. Too far on a new saddle? We shall see. It's not as if it is going to break-in. I had better wear my best, Assos bibs. 

 It is probably too cold for bare legs. I could dig out a pair of black, thermal, long-johns. That would make a change from my usual cargo trousers. My main worry is the increasing pain in my right wrist and hand. I didn't wear the wrist brace yesterday and my right hand hurt like hell on the bike!

 8.00 Time for a walk. Get a feel for how cold it is.

 8.30 Back again. It was really rather chilly. A vast crop sprayer was out on the prairie. Based roughly on a harvester body. Its arms stretched over a large area. With the gulls getting an early shower. 

 Many of the fields have that smart look of huge lawns. Spread over the entire landscape like a golf course. As the next crop sends up grass-like shoots only a few centimeters high. 

 The 7-axle tipper trucks continue to trundle at speed back and forth. I saw one going though the village yesterday. While I was on my e-bike. So it left me well behind. I was hoping to see where it was dumping its many loads of soil. 

 My neighbours' small, but fierce, guard dog prevented me from walking my usual loop. Down one drive and back up the next. Talking gently to it was a waste of breath. It was much easier not to persist. So I retraced my steps. As she repeatedly called it back to no effect. Perhaps I should carry dog treats for such occasions? 

 The bird of prey was calling from its hiding place again. I passed my nice neighbour. Who was just heading off to work.

 9.00 I had better have morning coffee before I leave. The second battery has been on charge this morning. It is best to have the reserve. So I can use Turbo mode. To speed up the last few, hilly kilometers on the way home. An 80km ride would certainly flatten the first battery. Particularly when it is cold.

 10.15 Ready. 

 16.00 Back from a 95km ride to Bogense. The headwind going to Middelfart was just too cold and too strong. So I detoured more to the west. Though the wind remained a nuisance for the rest of the ride. 

 The Ryet saddle started feeling hard at about 60km/40 miles. Taking short breaks helped after that. I'd say the unbroken B17 is slightly worse and did not respond to climbing off so well. My quadriceps started aching beyond 70km. So I used Turbo mode more often than usual. It is a very hilly area in places.

 It was mostly sunny. Which brightened the beech trees' autumn colour. Leaves were strewn everywhere and being blown about. The onshore wind had the white horses coming right to the shore at Bogense. Where the shopping streets were closed off. For a Halloween theme for the children. 

  I did a battery swap at 65km when the charge dropped to 20%. So about 1km per 1% drop in charge. Mostly in Sport mode before the battery change. I took coffee and a cheese roll. Though finding anywhere sheltered from the wind was impossible. 

 The wrist brace made the ride tolerable. I had it strapped up tight and reinforced by the elastic cuff on the glove. I was extremely grateful for the jumper I took with me. Could have done with two! A cold headwind flattens the jacket against my torso and upper arms.

 I explored the new rail line where it crossed my path. Deliberately so because I went looking for it. Some of the cuttings are incredibly deep! Still a very long way to go before the new track bed is remotely level. The undulating landscape is quite a challenge for the contractors.

 Dinner was Heinz beans on toast. Finished off with a bread roll.

 

  ~o~

16.10.2025 Part 2. Ryet 3D printed carbon fibre saddle.

 ~o~ 

My new, Ryet saddle arrived while I was finishing lunch. So I drove into the village and back. Only 20 minutes round trip. The parcel's grey, poly bag and the box inside were pristine. Unmarked. 

 After handling Brooks and other leather saddles recently. I was quite concerned that they had forgotten to pack the saddle. The parcel really felt that light. Yet this was the heaviest of the Ryet 3D CF saddles. 

 I was not to be disappointed. The saddle was indeed enclosed and was absolutely perfect. At a modest 272g. Measuring 148mm wide x 258mm. Roughly an inch shorter and narrower than the Brooks B17. With the widest part much further forwards than the Brooks.

 The finish of the Ryet is absolutely flawless! Nobody could ever be ashamed of sporting this saddle. On any bike. At any price. It looks amazingly sporty even on the clunky e-bike. There is no name label applied anywhere. Earlier versions had the name at the rear in turquoise.

 The feel of the beautifully presented top. Is unlike anything else I have ever prodded or squashed. It feels soft but the resistance rises sharply. Not the squishy sponge of the usual, cheap, vinyl saddles. The finish feels slightly grippy to the touch. Rather like rubber but not sticky. High mileage reviewers show that the surface polishes over time. Though it doesn't seem to mean anything with regards to comfort.

 At first I thought I detected finer foam below the outer patterned cover. I was mistaken. There is a very neat open weave going right down. Through into the darkest depths. With daylight visible if you get the viewing angle just right.

 The perforated pattern must offer a level of ventilation. That Brooks leather propaganda department can only imagine. No more sweaty padded shorts! 

 I am going to fit it on my Moustache e-Bike and have a tootle up and down the drive. May the cycling gods please make it comfortable! It looks far too nice to sit in the box at home.

 When ridden it feels much like it does to the touch. Soft yet firm. I was wearing my usual, flat seamed, cargo trousers. Not padded shorts. 

 The Ryet top sits at 40mm above the rails. To the B17's 55mm. So I raised the dropper post by 15mm in the frame clamp to match. Which immediately felt strangely tall. 

 Though I'd need to ride on the road get a true feel for tilt, for and aft position and height. I tilted the nose up slightly. As this is my preferred angle. To reduce the load on my hands and wrists. 

 No pain at all from riding a few hundred meters. To-ing and froing on the rough and potholed gravel drive. I was completely unaware of the huge cut-out. It must surely be easily felt but wasn't.  

 It started raining almost immediately. I have a jab appointment in the village at 4.00pm. So I'll ride the e-bike there. If it isn't raining hard. That will put 10 more kilometers on it. As a much more representative distance for a first trial.

  14.30 It stopped raining and even a glimpse of sunshine. So I had a few more tours along the drive. I'd  have to wear a helmet and carry my insurance if I go out on the road. This is a legal requirement on the e-bike "Speed 45" class. The saddle is not remotely harsh. It doesn't transit a rough surface to the rider. There is no discomfort or sense of hardness so far. 

  It must be the cheapest saddle I have ever bought new and soon suffered the consequences. I paid 266 Danish kroner. That's £31 British pounds at today's exchange rate. Free postage and a massive discount as a new customer on AliExpress. 10 days for delivery from ordering to receipt.

 16.30 Back from the village. Punctured, twice! In the left shoulder! I bought two panniers stuffed full of shopping. Special offers in a supermarket I don't usually visit much. 

 The new saddle is very changeable. I had to keep shifting position. Not bad. Just variable. I felt it needed a slightly more nose up tilt. I'll have to try it with padded shorts on a longer ride. 12km so far. Still positive. It looks tiny compared to the B17. From distant memory I think my sit bone spacing is 110mm. So the Ryet should be perfect for me.

  Dinner was a fry up. Chicken, mushrooms, an egg and real Heinz beans. I haven't seen Heinz beans for sale over here in years. I'd say they were slightly understated. Though not worse than the local, supermarket chain's, own brand.

 

 ~o~

16.10.2025 Carport lifting in your dreams.

~o~

  Thursday 16th 47F/8.3C. The forecast is mostly cloudy. With a NW wind.

 I have a flu and Covid jab at 4pm. The Ryet saddle should be available for pick-up in the village by then. 

 Up at 6am after a rather sleepless night. I must have dozed off at the computer yesterday afternoon. So sleep was hard to find last night. I decided to be constructive and make the most of this free time. By imagining a series of gantries. For lifting the carport roof. I have a whole variety of ladders. Which can be safely pressed into service. The exercise must be very safe. So overkill is the order of the day. 

 The first lift is rather close to the big shed. Which limits my options for resisting longitudinal toppling. So I shall use my 5m long, single stretch, roof ladder as the gantry beam. I bought this ladder at a slight discount as damaged goods. Following the great storm of 1996. I needed a safe means of accessing our damaged roof. So a single, long ladder, as part of a damaged double, was fitted with a ridge hook. The same ladder can now provide the gantry beam. By reaching clear over the carport roof.

 The legs of the gantry will be opposed ladders. Leaning against each other and lashed at the top. That solves the height problem and provides massive resistance to lateral movement. Becoming an asymmetric tripod with the beam. 

 I have regularly used opposed ladders as A-frames for lifting heavy weights. In conjunction with my cheapo chain hoist. The picture shows my lifting my massive, home made telescope mounting onto a temporary work stand.  The mounting weighed a couple of hundred kilos. Much the same as the carport roof. Note that I used lifting strops for safety. Rather than employing rope of very doubtful strength. Little of the rope, in the usual outlets, has its breaking strain clearly marked. 

 The far side of the long ladder [beam] can rest on the ground as a resistance anchor. To prevent the A frame ladders falling towards the carport. Though their long ground supports do provide plenty of resistance. 

 The chain hoist will be suspended from the ladder beam on a strop. Just beside, but clear of the A-frame ladders, for the necessary clearance. As one side of the carport roof lifts in an arc of 3m radius. Pivoting on the ground on the far side gutter. No, I'll leave the rollers in place. To allow the roof to move nearer the shed as it is lifted. This will avoid it trying to pull the ladders over. The first pair of carport legs can then be safely bolted into place. With the carport roof now tipped up at an angle.

 The second lift is much more critical. Here the carport roof is brought up to horizontal to its full height. A little over 2m at the gutter. With the feet of the first pair of legs resting on the ground. I will now have to support the ladder beam at about 3m height at the opposite end. As well as providing end resistance. The chain hoist is  moved to the other side of the carport. To be hung from the raised gantry beam ladder. The carport roof must be able to reach its full height beneath the ladder beam. 

 The second pair of legs can then be bolted to the heavy, carport gutters. These are the main structural elements and are joined by the arched roof trusses. The arched roof provides more clearance for vehicles. Four legs avoid car doors banging against the carport legs. All the steel is heavily galvanized. The heavy, 5m ladder is visible in the image above. Resting against the shed wall. 

 I shall, of course, provide pictures of the lift. It will all be seen by one of the security cameras. I can lift single images. Or even videos from the recording. 

 8.00 It is almost light enough for a walk now. Uniformly grey, with the hedges beginning to move slightly in the wind. 

 8.40 Back from my walk. Two noisy chevrons of geese went over. I could hear the distant birds of prey calling again. Though nothing was visible.

 10.10 All the plans of mice and men.. Back indoors for a rest and to cool off. The 5m ladder isn't long enough to reach right over the carport. Nor can I find any way to resist the A-frame. From leaning towards the carport. A separate, leaning ladder, used as a brace, gets in the way of the carport. 

 A-frames work fine with a vertical lift within their footprint. Not with an outboard load. The shed could provide an anchor. If I drilled one of the vertical timbers. To what end? If the ladder isn't long enough to support it beyond the carport. Don't trust dreams?

 I could use an A-frame and chain hoist vertically. By extending the carport with a central, cross beam. Used as a lever. The A-frame would need to be tall enough. To allow the added beam to rise high enough. I could stack a load of concrete foundation blocks on the ladder's extended feet. That would improve the stability. The carport could roll on the added wheels. To avoid out-of-perpendicular loading. I don't have any very long length of timber. Ladder would be too bulky to lift within the A-frame. So it's back to the drawing board.

 I need a projecting jib. Or something long enough to bridge the entire carport. While remaining strong enough not to bend or break.

 12.40 My saddle has arrived at the pickup point in the village. 

 ~o~

15.10.2025 Ryet saddle update.

 ~o~

  Wednesday 15th 51F/10.6C [8.30] A long, dark, grey day is promised. Peaking at 12C/53F. With a westerly wind. Slightly misty here but thick mist warnings elsewhere. 

 The lower temperatures are reflected in the room. Which has sunk to 64F/17.8C overnight. From 68F/20C at bedtime. The unheated kitchen has dropped to 62F/16.7C. 

 Up at 7.15 after an action replay. Of waking at 5am and then dozing. Meanwhile the dials on the time machine continued to turn.   

 8.45 A late walk. 

 13.25 Back from visiting my friend. It drizzled on the way there.  

 PostDanmark is notifying me. That the Ryet 'Aircode' 3D carbon fiber saddle will be delivered. To a parcel pickup point in the village tomorrow. Not to my home address. That's 10 days since the order was placed. Initial delivery was stated as between the 15th and the 20th. In the meantime I have had fifteen spam [?] sales emails from AliExpress. 

 I have since discovered that the buyer's choice. Lies with the row of pictures below the pricing area on the order page. Initially, I couldn't understand why multiple choices were not provided alongside. Usually in the form of a drop down box. As is the standard on most other, online sales websites. The indicated price changes with each saddle choice by clicking the illustrations in the small boxes. It is only by the greatest of luck that I actually bought the one I wanted. [In optimistic idiot mode.] Carbon rails would need oval rail adapters. Which might not be available for my dropper post. 

 Dinner was a duplicate of the other night. A cheese roll and tomato soup. I try to give my stomach a rest between large meals. Toast is a useful method.

  ~o~

14.10.2025 Window surround.

 ~o~

  Tuesday 14th 51F/10.6C  [8.00] A grey, but dry day is promised. Possible sunshine later in the afternoon.

 Up at 7.15 after a typically mixed night. 

 8.15 Time for a walk. 

 9.00 Back from a half hour walk. I could hear birds of prey calling at some distance. Only in the last few hundred meters did the black kite show up. Gliding parallel with the road. Then I heard more cries from the top of the hill. Seemingly unconnected with the black kite. 

 The heavy tipper lorries continue their trundling back and forth. Interspersed by several, large, container lorries at intervals. The lorries were easily outnumbering the cars again. 

 Somebody keeps blasting their horn at me. Though I haven't a clue who they are. They were on the opposite side of the road. So it had nothing obvious to do with my presence on the edge of the road. I take to the verge whenever lorries approach. To avoid causing holdups. Or the lorries having to go around me. 

 No visit to my English friend today. He has guests. Perhaps tomorrow instead.

 12.15 I have been working outside. On the bedroom window surround. One side is all but finished. The second not far behind. I decided to carry the sides under the window. With a small rectangle filling the remaining space under the window. This avoids rainfall being directed to the vertical joints. By the outer edges of the windowsill. 

 I avoided having to drag the heavy circular saw out from the shed. By using the jigsaw with a straight edge as a fence. A fine, up-cut blade helped the cause. The slightly ragged edges were easily cleaned up with the orbital sander.

  15.00 Back in for a rest and to cool off. The grooved boards just need to be fixed now. They cover the area which was once a single glazed "picture window." The new, smaller window is triple glazed. It completely blocks the noise. Which once passed straight into the bedroom unhindered. 

 17.30 I managed to find some screws and fixed the new boards in place. I had better tidy up the tools. A small strip above the window still needs to be finished off. 

 Dinner was fish fingers with chips and peas.  

 

  ~o~

13.10.2025 29km Out and about.

 ~o~

  Monday 13th 41F/5C. Slightly misty start to a sunny day. With lighter winds. 

 A perfect day for a ride? This is a far more important question than mere escape form my chores. I have already noticed I am becoming depressed and apathetic. Autumn is already handing over the darker nights and shorter days to winter. Clearly visible in the mess I am leaving both indoors and out. Unfinished projects are backing up. Lethargy is creeping in.

 Getting out on my bike is important therapy. No dark glasses against the blinding, low sun either. This is why my walk is so important to me. Exposure to daylight is vital. I could never get my wife to go for a walk. Her vintage bike hadn't been ridden in decades.  

 Up at 7.15 after a busy night. Saved by dropping off again. After the dustbin lorry lit the room with its blinking, orange lights around 5am.

 I must concentrate on closing off the gap around the bedroom window. The new window was a meter square. Which I inset three years ago into a much larger and wider "picture" window opening. I covered the rockwool around the new window with tar paper. Simply stapled into place but never covered and protected. It slowly became [very] untidy over the passing years. Not helped by birds looking for nesting sites. 

 Now I am determined to finish the job but to do it properly this time. With grooved exterior plywood cladding. To hide and protect the newly fixed paper. I am using my Japanese tripod ladders. To reach the area on the 1st floor of the eastern, gable end. Simply rested against the building. 

 The very wide bases, metal feet and doubled rungs. Provide stability and safety ordinary ladders can only squint at. I have fallen off enough ladders over the years. To know the very real dangers. If I fell off here, on the end of the long, rural drive. Nobody would find me for ages. 

 8.45 Time for my walk. Smoke from a house on the road is drifting low for hundreds of meters. Through the trees and out across the fields in no detectable wind.

 9.10 Back again. It was much chillier today. More lorries than cars. The stink of agricultural, muck spreading hung on the air. A small seaplane went over. I don't think I have ever seen one in flight before today.

 The black kite flew through the trees and quickly out of sight. The neighbours' horses were standing in deep shadow of their vast building. With their heads bowed. They looked up and fidgeted as I approached. I was nearly taken out by a speeding lorry. On the blind bend at the end of the drive. If they drove within their safe braking distance the roads would be much quieter.

 YouTube had a video on government plans to end vintage cars on the UK roads. 

 12.40 Back from a 29km ride. I visited a builder's merchant looking for aluminium profiles. To protect the window from rain running down the facade. The nearby supermarket wasn't offering discounts on my usual marmalade. Far from it! They had raised the price to a ridiculous level. I'll have to find an alternative. I won't encourage their daylight robbery! later I passed two tractors spraying roadside fields. Another field had a stationary shit container and pump. With a huge hose snaking over the brow of the hill. 

 I rode back along the quiet lanes. Then decided to take a short cut through the forest. Where I have walked hundreds of times. I was suddenly struck by nostalgia and melancholy. Because I hadn't been back there since my wife died. It was much later than my habitual morning walks. So the blazing sun was in completely the wrong direction. 

 Lots of areas had been clear felled too. Making the whole excursion a rather strange experience. The gravel and mud track was fine except for one wet sump. Where I had to climb off and detour on the grass. Once clear of the steep undulations and worst roughness of the forest track. I could pick up my speed again. The broad tires and suspension of the Moustache e-bike. Always feel very safe. Regardless of the surface or conditions.

 I had better drive into town. To collect a sheet of cladding plywood. 

 15.20 Returning from town with the plywood in the trailer. 

 Dinner was cheese on toast. No tomatoes again. So I added half a tin of tomato soup. To make a proper meal.

 

  ~o~

12.10.2025 Belated activities.

 ~o~

 Sunday 12th 54F/12.2C [7.25] A grey morning is promised. Followed by a sunny afternoon. The wind slowly reducing by tea time tonight.

 Up at 6.15 after another difficult night. Weird dreams and lying awake. Interrupted by visits to the fire bucket. Talking of which: It is 69F/20.6C in the room this morning. The soapstone cladding on the stove was still slightly warm when I got up. The still unheated kitchen was at the familiar 64F/17.8C. There wasn't enough sunshine to raise the temperature of the lean-to greenhouse yesterday.

 9.10 Back from my walk. Veiled sunshine and pretty, high clouds. As the low overcast cleared. Like mist lifting off the landscape. There were several pheasants in the drive again. Near the road this time. So I advanced only slowly. To avoid them being run over. The final slacker had to take off in the path of a speeding car. Though it made it safely into the opposite field.

 I had taken my wide angle zoom lens today. Instead of the default telephoto zoom. This gave me far more opportunities for photographs. Where I am usually unable to get enough distance. To capture the immediate neighbourhood. I took 90+ pictures today.   

 It was windy enough to make me wish I had pockets free. I just persisted instead. Becoming more comfortable on the return with a tailwind. I was wearing my new [recycled] jacket. It was warm, windproof and better fitting than any of my other jackets. The others tend towards voluminous.

 12.00 Back indoors for a rest and to cool down. I have been fitting aluminium flashing to the upstairs, bedroom window reveal. I never completed the job after fitting the new window. Not the window itself. The window area is inset relative to the upper gable end. The immediate surrounds needed a new application of tar paper. Before being covered with exterior plywood. 

 13.00 That's next. After lunch now. The sun has just come out. 

 15.15 60F/15.6C. A pleasant afternoon. The weather paper [vindpap] is done. Meanwhile a thorough search proved fruitless. In finding suitable plywood from the observatory demolition. None was salvageable. A trip into town tomorrow is indicated. To fetch a fresh board. Which will be about the correct size when sawn down the middle. 

 The whole gable end needs recovering in the same, exterior, cladding plywood. That's a lot of work for an old fart at such a height. While I am sure I am capable of doing it. I'd have to be sure the nice neighbour's can check I survived. Which won't be possible if they are at work. 

 As the gable is triangular I'd have to do some careful measuring. To organize the rectangular panels accurately. With minimum wastage. It is important that the grooves run neatly from top to bottom. Any lateral offset stands out like a sore thumb.  

 I ca hardly believe I installed the window back in 2022. It has been three years! No wonder the old tar paper was looking rough. 

 Sunday dinner was mince, mushrooms, peas and ... Bisto gravy. There was so much gravy it was more like a stew. I adapted. And used a spoon.

 

  

  ~o~

11.10.2025 Mince blobs.

 ~o~

  Saturday 11th 52F/11C [9.00] Overcast and windy again. Expected to continue until tomorrow.

 Up at 8.00! After a fairly quiet night. More weird dreams. The last one I remember I was at a film star's mansion. Where I was trying on different hats. Each of them stranger than the last.

 Plans for another, more local, cycle ride might be best carried over to the Morris. The wind is worse than yesterday's. I am going for a walk first. To feel how bad it is. The forecast is for 13m/s or 28mph gusts from the NW. Only reducing very slowly over 24 hours. I was certainly aware of the wind on yesterday's ride but it didn't feel too bad. The e-bike has more than enough reserve, pedal assistance to cope. 

 Though a gusty side wind can be hazardous in traffic. With drooling morons/psychopathic drivers brushing closely past. There is always the risk of being blown into their path. Many of them haven't the intelligence to ease off, however briefly. As they approach a solitary cyclist with a solitary oncoming vehicle ahead. Most will continue through the gap. Made worse by the oncoming driver not altering their path by one centimeter. Because neither has the wits nor wherewithal. To read the road, text and chew gum simultaneously. 

 9.40 Back from a blustery walk. It was grey enough to feel melancholy.

 10.10 The sun has come out to tease. It wasn't forecast. I am going out in the Morris. I shall try to enjoy the autumn colours. Though it takes sunshine to really bring it to life.

 12.40 Returning from a tour of most of the charity shops within a radius of about ten miles.  I added another [recycled] thick pile lined, winter, fleece jacket to my collection. Very cosy. I also did a load of grocery shopping on the way home. 

 The afternoon was wasted/spent wisely on YouTube.

 Dinner was organic pork, mince blobs, peas, mushrooms and boiled potatoes. The mince was discounted due to having today's date. I hadn't a clue what to do with it. So I made  blobs.

  

  ~o~

10.10.2025 67km

 ~o~

 Friday 10th 52F/11C [7.00] A dry but rather windy day is offered. The NW wind will be gusting to 12m/s after lunch. Which suggests a morning ride. 

 Up at 6.15 after a more difficult night. I got up at 4am for a drink of water feeling unwell. The moon was very bright again. Still 67F/19.4C in the room this morning. Thanks to lighting the stove last night.

 Following my online purchase of the Ryet, printed carbon fiber saddle I am being bombarded with spam [adverts from AliExpress.] Most of them for the identical saddle and all its shady? unspecified variants. 

 After a couple of days sitting at an unnamed airport the export process has started. Delivery date remains unchanged at the 20th. Still 10 days away. The sales advert clearly said 15th-20th delivery. So it has rapidly defaulted to the maximum waiting time. 

 I just hope it is worth the wait. I have owned so many saddles over the years. That I no longer have much optimism. 99% of the saddles I have tried were designed only for their looks. Never for comfort! It doesn't matter if a saddle weighs as little as a feather if it is uncomfortable beyond a few yards/meters.  

 Fortunately the boxed [reserve] Brown Brooks is behaving itself so far. I haven't laced it yet. I'll see how it progresses first. I still haven't done a longer ride on it. An unlaced B17 is just asking for a very short life and deep curves. This assumes that a high riding mileage is involved. No longer true for me any more. So this latest B17 may hold up for a bit longer than any of my previous examples. 

 8.30-9.00. My walk. I had put it off for half an hour. Because it was so dark. Thick clouds have hardly given way to a uniform, grey overcast. The wind wasn't yet a problem. The inevitable problem? Where to go? I have no need to go anywhere in particular. Head into the wind first? Let it help me back home. 

 10.100  A smidgen of misty blue through the grey lid. I had better find some cycling shorts.  

 10.15 Nearly ready. First glimpse of sunshine.  

 10.30-15.00 A 67km ride. It was mostly grey and rather windy. I visited numerous charity shops. The battery charge dropped from 100% to 12%. Close to shutting down. I had one unpleasant moment earlier when the power assistance suddenly vanished a long way from home. This happened before. It was due to a dirty speed sensor at the back hub. I managed to reset the error by switching off and waiting before restarting. A possible casualty of the error was the loss of the GPS mapping screen. It remained blank. 

 I saw and heard several birds of prey. Two buzzards were circling and calling overhead in the forest.

 The B17 saddle proved its hardness. It just took longer. Before the discomfort became really noticeable. I wore my second best bibs. [padded cycle shorts with soft braces] A pair by Tactic. Which I bought from a local wholesaler many years ago. I see the name is still going in cycle wear. Sponge only about half as thick as the Assos. Not as stiff either. Twice as thick as my vintage DHB shorts from Wiggle. I thought I heard Wiggle had gone bust but they are still advertising online. 

 Anyway, the pain wasn't excruciating. Just increasingly unpleasant after 40km. Not friction. The Brooks leather was just too hard. While my legs still felt strong at the end of the ride. I think the wrist and thumb brace helped avoid some of the usual pain.

 Dinner was chips and a salmon pasty. I forgot to take a picture! So here's one I took earlier. Let's pretend there were no peas today. I lit the stove. 64F/17.8C has miraculously become 66F/18.9C. 

 

  ~o~

9.10.2025 Mine's the big one!

 ~o~

  Thursday 9th 45F/7.2C [8.15] Brighter earlier but possible showers after lunch. Wind increasing steadily all day.

 Up at 7.15 after nodding off again. I do a lot of that lately. I had chest pains over my heart last night. Used the nitro spray under my tongue several times. That helped. I was pain free by bedtime. 

 Cooking class today. I replaced the ink cartridge in the printer again. To be able to print out the recipes. 

 The bathroom is getting chilly. It quickly warms to the fan heater. Rather than having it warmed continuously with an oil filled radiator. That can wait. I didn't need to light the stove last night. It was hovering around 66F/19C. So I was comfortable in a fleece jacket over a jumper.

 9.00 Off we jolly well go in the Morris. 

 14.00 Back from cooking class. Where I made sweet rolls with a cinnamon sauce. Starting from scratch with milk and yeast. Then adding all the other ingredients to make the dough. It rained lightly but briefly before I left.

 No dinner required. I made do with a cup of tea and a biscuit.

 I lit the stove and it reached 69F/20.6C by bedtime.  

  ~o~

8.10.2025 Using the lathe?

 ~o~

  Wednesday 8th 54F/12.2C [8.15] A grey, wet morning but brighter later.

  Up at 7.00 after deliberately dozing. 

  I may go into town. I need some bolts. 

  And did. It rained going both ways.

  I spent some time on the lathe in the afternoon. Making a part for my telescope.

 Then the lady from the local stately home called and stayed chatting for a couple of hours. 

 After which I had to tackle several days worth of washing up. 

 19.00 Time for dinner. 

 Dinner was a tin of tomato soup and a bread roll with cheese. 

 

  ~o~

7.10.2025 An excess of fraud.

 ~o~

  Tuesday 7th 54F/12.2C [8.15] A cool wet day is promised.

  Up at 7.30 after falling asleep at 5am again.

 A visit to my friend. It will have to be in the car. I don't deliberately cycle in rain.   

 13.15 Returning from my visit. It was extremely wet on the return journey. With lots of continuous and often deep puddles on the roads. 

 Another afternoon wasted on YouTube. Or, alternatively, educating myself on YouTube. 

 Why are politicians, who make false promises at elections? Not routinely prosecuted for fraud? They still get the well paid jobs. So gain financially from their deliberately fraudulent behaviour. Yet do not perform any of the magical tricks. Which they swore they'd do, cross their hearts, on the children's circus posters. 

 Dinner was chicken, mushrooms, peas, carrots and Bisto gravy. For the Sunday dinner I missed making. 

 

  ~o~

6.10.2025 This Ryet is a riot!

 ~o~

  Monday 6th 49F/9.4C [7.40] A smudgy sky and breezy. It should be sunny all day as the NW wind slowly subsides.

 Up at 7am after a fairly quiet night. 64F/17.8C in the room this morning. After the stove was lit from 8-10pm last night. It reached 67F/19.4C at bedtime. 

 8.30 Back from my walk. Traffic heavy. Wind strong. Lots of twigs blown out of the hedges onto the road. I tidied the largest onto the verge. I brought the recycling bin back with me. 

 11.3 Back from shopping in the village. I bought a wrist and thumb support mitt. Not sure how much good it's doing. It looks like I have early stages of arthritis. Not an injury. My hands have been hurting for years on longer rides. Hence the need for a more upright position.  

 I have been watching a lot of YouTube reviews of Ryet 3d Carbon Fiber, printed saddles. They cost so little to purchase on AliExpress that I actually ordered one. To better match the size of the Brooks B17. Which is 170x280mm and weighs just under 550g. Weight is no object on an e-bike which uses heavy batteries for pedal assistance.

 The Brook's thick, leather top is much flatter than the Ryet but a completely different shape. The Brooks sits you far back on a hard steel frame. With a row of large rivets along the back. The Ryet is widest at the sit bone position or what I call "the bench." Most saddles have a preferred or natural sitting position. 

 There is a great deal of [deliberate?] confusion about which Ryet model you get from the numerous AliExpress adverts. Which often illustrate several models in the same advert. Yet offer no buyer's choice box or drop down list. Often exactly the same dealer has numerous prices without any clear indication of why this should be! 

 I went with the advert listing the largest 150x255mm with a carbon base. The same advert and advertiser [Ryet factory] show steel or carbon rails. Again without the buyer being offered any choice. 

 My order lists it as a Ryet "Aircode." BK plastic base. 255g. Not the illustrated carbon fiber base. Which I was expecting. Steel rails and [oval] carbon rails are both mentioned. This is the product detail list copied directly from my order acceptance mail: Will the correct Ryet saddle please stand up? 

 Rail: Full Carbon
 
 Model: Aircode
 
 Padding: 3D Printed Honey Comb

 Support Structur: Toray T1000 Carbon Fiber
  
 Dimensions: 255X150mm(10 lnch x 5.9 inch) Rail UD: CR-MO Rail Ø 7x7mm (0.27 Inch x 0.27 inch)Carbon Fiber :7x9mm (0.27 Inch x 0.35 Inch)
  
 Weight : Plastic Base 255±5g(8.99 oz±0.17 oz)Full Carbon Base 165±5g (5.82 oz±0.17)---------170±5g (5.99 oz±0.17oz)--------172±5g(6 oz±0.17oz)
 
 Grafic: Black/White
 
 Warranty:1 year
 
Applicable: Road Cycling / Mountain Bike Cycling etc.

 This fuzziness in description would probably put many, more cautious people off. If these saddles weren't so "dirt cheap." So perhaps worth a slight risk. No doubt the same vagueness would contravene consumer protection laws in Europe. 

 I expect to have to pay 25% VAT [about £6?] and import clearance charges. About £20 equivalent from Post Danmark. Though the final Danish carrier is not named. I'll obviously update when I know more. 

 I was automatically offered free postage and a first purchase discount by AliExpress. There can be few saddles in the bike shops. Which will fall under the total, delivered price. Delivery is expected to take about a fortnight. ETA around the 20th October. Tracking is provided with numerous details and updates. Yet no specific names of towns or cities. Which makes it utterly pointless so far! 

 Dinner was mackerel in tomato sauce on toast. I had no tomatoes.

 

 ~o~