1st September 2019 Tentative triking.

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Sunday 1st September, 62F, overcast and calm. Overnight, thundery rain should be over for morning walks and rides. I used the stubble fields to loop up to the woods as the cloud thinned. Turning back to photograph the view and the western sky had gone black. Even the nearest wind turbines appeared soft as if engulfed by heavy rain. The overcast became much heavier but it stayed dry as I took a short cut across the fields in a hurry for home. Countless crane flies low down. While flocks of small birds foraged or moved away along the hedgerows.

If it clears up a bit I might try for some Sunday shopping on the trike. An outlet is open every day about 10 miles away. Or not, as a heavy shower passes over. The idiot passed up another chance to call it off when the radar showed a band of rain crossing his intended target.

Half way there it absolutely tipped down with a headwind to boot. The lanes were awash. Streams running downhill, floods on the flats. I turned in to shelter in a shop doorway and discovered an English, lady cyclist doing Germany and Denmark in a fortnight. It stopped raining almost immediately after that so I did my shopping.

A gentle tailwind on the way back helped me to feel stronger than I was. A psychopath in an illegally speeding convoy of Sunday drivers tried to close the gap as I crossed through the chain to take my rural exit. You missed me! Only 20 miles but everything I was wearing was still sopping wet on my return after two hours away.
 

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28th August 2019 Warm!

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Wednesday 28th 70F, rather overcast but brightening steadily. Almost no wind. Walked to the village. Saw the second pedestrian in two days! This is becoming a habit and probably only due to the fine, warm weather. Over one hundred swallows were milling around a small stand of birches in the village.

Drove to the traffic jams in the city to buy some bulky stuff. It was awful! I could easily have walked across town faster than I drove. Queues everywhere and massive building and roadworks. Lots of electric scooters around. Only one idiot showing off [badly] to the traffic queues.

Thursday 29th 67-78F, overcast and showers. Some heavy. A dreadful night with the temperature indoors over 80F and writhing in a sweat bath even without bedclothes. I got up at 3.0am and put on an office fan to blow gently into the bedroom. One window was left open and the temperature had dropped by 2F overnight. It was far more comfortable after that and I slept well until 7.0am.

It remained dry for my walk to the lanes and then back over the highest humps in the field. New viewpoints are rarely available.

Friday 30th 65-73?F, bright but rather cloudy. Walked to the lanes and back along the edge of the stubble field to avoid the traffic. My new, Overboard "saddlebag" has vanished into the ether. No tracking updates for two whole days. No weekend delivery service. Shall we say September?

Saturday 31st 61-78F, bright but milky sky. My new Overboard bag has passed into/through the hands of a transport company with a 75% score of negative online reviews on its way from the UK. A walk around the block did not cure my bad back. It is warm, bright, misty and very muggy at 67F at 10am. Saw several birds of prey including a Red kite on my walk. Hundreds of sparrows are congregating.

Late morning ride to more distant shops. Headwind going. Chased by a mutt resembling a terrier. When it couldn't catch me it walked off into the illegally fast moving traffic and caused general mayhem. Fortunately the owner didn't miss working on her tan and continued undeterred despite the vicious barking right outside the garden.

Breezy coming back. Saw several more birds of prey in the air. A Goshawk, a Buzzard and something in beige in between. 15 miles, going remarkably well considering my recent, self-imposed  back pain. Lots of people and cyclists enjoying the fine weather. The cloud has relinquished its hold to provide clear, blue skies.
 

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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27th August 2019 Baling woes.

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Tuesday 27th 66-82F, overcast clearing to sunshine. More hot weather forecast but now with the potential for cloudbursts and thunder. It was "snowing" yesterday as they harvested oil seed rape in the fields all around us. You would not believe the vast clouds of dust!

A baler was trundling around the harvested fields. So I snapped away at a distance. Then decided to walk briskly around the block to catch him the other side. Only to discover he had broken down. The journey is the thing. 

I had better finish rebuilding the trike. I found the bearing covers for the rear, gear changer pulleys in the bottom of the rinsing tub. Those will only take a few minutes extra to fit. Because I had already cleaned the mechanism. The pulleys were almost locked up and the central bearing surfaces appeared rusty.

I tend to spray chain lubricant liberally at the pulleys whenever I oil the chain. The chain lubricant obviously isn't getting into the pulley [plain] bearings thanks to the metal covers. Ordinary bicycle oil is probably better at finding its way in there. Or grease packing?

The pressed metal covers sit in narrow, concentric grooves in the pulleys. So there is a difficult route for fluids both in and out. Perhaps Campag greases them in the factory and then expects regular maintenance? Could that be the reason for the over-fussy mouldings of the plastic pulleys? They want the end-user to keep everything clean. Or to keep replacing the pulleys. I need a better degreasant. I have just used up  the last of a spray can of engine cleaner. Several applications, leaving it to soak in, brushing well and then rinsing thoroughly still leaves a lot of dirt behind.

After a ride to confirm all was well I set off for a short shopping trip.  Only 7 miles plus one. I really missed my big, yellow bag! Had to make to do with the tiny, Carradice, Camper Longflap. With two other bags sliding about on top.

There was very localized rain while I was out. Every time I came out of a supermarket [all with AC] it felt like a sauna outside. The baler was busy again on my return. A long, hot afternoon tidying the garden and trying to stay in the shade.

Click on any image for an enlargement.

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