14°C, clear and cloudless. Moderate easterly.
I rode The Paddy Wagon with MapMyRide+! Distance: 90.07km, time: 03:41:13, pace: 2:27min/km, speed: 24.43km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2085174905
Fitted the summer wheels and a new chain. The weather was nearly perfect, a brisk easterly built up later. These wheels are excellent, quick and light to handle. Overall, a fine ride on a fine spring day.
9°C, wind and rain.
Day Out at a seaside town, Southport. The place was swept by right rain and some semblance of its tourist roots are obvious. Tacky shops are open with loud childish music played and vast amounts of sugar based food are on sale.
14°C, cloudless sky and light wine.
A fine spring day. Large numbers of plants have burst into bloom this week. Warm weather has sped them on and I’ve seen the first bumble bees.
10°C, light sunshine and W breeze.
I rode the Paddy Wagon with MapMyRide+! Distance: 71.56km, time: 03:03:45, pace: 2:34min/km, speed: 23.37km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2058361796
Bannister Hill was okay. Actually, there was a race going up there but they let me through. The climb was not too hard but it may have led to mechanical problems later.
I noticed the odd cracking sound in the following miles. On wtgd approach to the next village, the chain jumped off the rear cog and was trapped against the spokes. At least I could stop safely to fix it.
After fixing it, it looked like the cog’s teeth are narrow and hooked. They’re worn out.
A single-speed bike does not share out the wear across 8 or more cogs so you should expect the gear to wear faster than multi-gears. Considering the age of the gear, this is good going.
By the way, the ride was nice. It closed over later and the wind picked up. But, spring is here, daffodils in full bloom.
9°C, sunny with showers.
I’ve tested the new kettle today. The new one, with a heat-exchanger on the bottom promises faster boil times. Cold mornings can be a problem on a camp because the low temperature dramatically affects the time it takes to make breakfast. Maybe like me, you really want a coffee first thing to start the day.
To test these pots, I put 400ml of your at the same temperature. I timed each pot to the point when steam appeared when I hit Stop on the stopwatch. The stove is a Primus, the type with a hose and a loop of pipe that is pre-heated by the flames.
Here’s the results:
Plain kettle.
3’10”, 130g.
Heat-exchanger Kettle.
2’40”, 250g
Heat-exchanger Pot.
4’10”. 280g.
I’m a bit worried about the last result. The gas can chilled so much that it froze to the table. Gas pressure drops away dramatically when cold. This may have lengthened the boil time despite the heat sink.
Here is a close-up of the heat sink in case you’re wondering what it means. The idea is to increase the area in contact with the flames. This folded metal has a larger surface area and also channels the hot gas along the pot’s base.
In conclusion, I think the heat-exchange pots are worth having for the boil times. The only disadvantage is the extra weight.
5° to 9°C, sunny and very muddy.
I rode with MapMyRide+! Distance: 28.44km, time: 01:52:56, pace: 3:58min/km, speed: 15.11km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2043054158
Deep, Watery and sloppy mud. Hence the low average speed. Sometimes as low as 5mph. Even so, I still failed to fall off into the canal.
Bright spring sunshine made this a happy ride. The mud was a feature, but it was so watery that most of it didn’t stick to the bike.
Micycle 