How many…

Posted on 13th Mar 2013 by essiep

4°C, clearing. Light wind.
How many comets have you seen today? I have only seen one.
As if to repeat yesterday, I walked up to the Gazebo immediately at sunset to hunt with binoculars again.
It took, maybe twenty minutes before I found it, or the light fading revealed the comet at that time. Maybe both.
Remember that I was on a viewpoint above the city, but the comet was small. Very small. In fact, I could not see it without binoculars. Still, the thrill was strong. It has been about 12 years since last I saw a comet. That time it was Hale-Bopp, a much bigger, brighter phenomenon.
Some articles is the media have suggested that 2013 could be the year of comets. I’m looking.

Comet Photos (and viewing tips for tonight) (tartaninkblog.wordpress.com)

Comet hunt.

Posted on 13th Mar 2013 by essiep

-2° ~ +4°C, strong NE.
It was 12 years since Hale-Bopp and Halley’s was hidden by cloud.

This image was selected as a picture of the week on the Malay Wikipedia for the 36th week, 2009. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Rushed home to get out to a good viewpoint tonight. Comet Pann-starr is grazing the sun today and should show a decent tail for the next few days. Awkwardly, it is very low on the horizon just after sunset. That means there is short time between pale twilight sky and and the object setting.
I knew where to look, I had binoculars, but there was still a problem.
A narrow bank of cloud lay over Cannock Chase. I knew where it was, and there were a few gaps in the cloud but not where I wanted one.

Comet Pan-STARRS Invades Northern Skies (news.discovery.com)
Seeing Comet PanSTARRS is tricky for skywatchers, but it’s easy online (cosmiclog.nbcnews.com)
Year of the Comets: 2013 May See Brightest Comet Show in Years (space.com)

Baltic.

Posted on 10th Mar 2013 by essiep

+1°C, felt much colder.

I rode in bracing driving snow with MapMyRide! Distance: 30.9mi, time: 02:20:03 http://mapmyride.com/view_route?r=782386567082672129

Due to family commitments, I had to go home after only two hours. Shame that because I could have managed a much more.
There won’t be 1,000 miles on the block before Easter at this rate.

Oh snow.

Posted on 10th Mar 2013 by essiep

2C, light snow, heavy north-easterly,
A thread of snowy weather hangs over us. We have been warned of severe wind-chill, but its slippery surfaces that worry me. Why? Because I have the fizzy legs.

There are persistent thoughts of mountains creeping into my mind. A longing, but wait until Easter my boy.

New lodger.

Posted on 9th Mar 2013 by essiep

3C, grey, easterly.
We have a new lodger. I have put in new door locks.

Winter is coming back for a reprise to annoy us. Wood is cut and scuttle filled.
Today- much mending. I planed two interior doors: this is the path to a unique pleasure from opening and closing doors. What else? Fitted a lockable catch in the study door- with was not the most competent job I have done. There is more, but I won’t bore you further.

The ride of spring.

Posted on 3rd Mar 2013 by essiep

7°C, SE light. Sun at first. I rode with MapMyRide! Distance: 39.17mi, time: 02:48
http://mapmyride.com/view_route?r=6040392368157360129 Not the most energetic ride this year. Energy ran out after half-way. By then, the sun had gone and remaining miles dragged slower and slower.

Friday is a good day to…

Posted on 22nd Feb 2013 by essiep

-1~+2, NE wind, light, dry. …to ride. I rode fixed 42×17 with MapMyRide! Distance: 56.90mi, time: 04:10
http://mapmyride.com/view_route?r=3819258234418495489
The big problem today was to keep warm. The penetrating icy wind occasionally blew light snow flurries from the east. At half-way, I pulled into a cafe that is part of a garden centre. It wasn’t all that warm in there either. But they did a decent onion soup and tea came in a pot with a knitted Cosey. Then I noticed an excellent space-heater. This roaring great machine blew hot air that could be directed inside your jacket. I stood there for a while, turning slowly as if on a spit to dry out my damp clothes. Damp layers are a quick way to cool very quickly, not what I wanted at all. Further, pulling layers up to let the warm air into base layers, I felt prepared to resume the ride.
This ride included Bannister Hill which is a beast. It’s always satisfying to reach the top without a stop on the fixed gear. Today, I failed near the top where it starts to level out. Shame, but not really uprising considering how I felt on the approach. Two weeks ago the climb was okay even though I was still recovering from the winter’s cold. Perhaps today’s cold air was the cause.

Did I ever tell you…

Posted on 20th Feb 2013 by essiep

3.5°C, SE strong. Dry.
… How annoying DIY can be?
Yesterday, I spent 4 hours installing replacement cable for the phone extension. The signal has so much interference that voices are difficult to follow. Now the new cable is in, the phone is no better. Next try– change the BT terminal socket; last possible cause, this socket is obviously quite old and turning yellow.

The next; to fit a curtain rail. Normally an easy enough job, unless the drill hits the edge of a brick. But at least you know immediately that there’s a problem and you can re-drill.
Cavity walls are quite a different prospect. There are a range of fixings to solve them. It turns out that many of them don’t work easily. See the photo above.. Both plugs failed so that they could not be un-screwed nor slid out. Each one collapsed inside the wall in a different way. I had to pull which which sprung a big scab of plaster. What a mess, it looks like a read bodge job now.
For the second time, I am waiting for poly-filler to dry. If this were my house, I would fit a thin plank and fit the rail to that. Oh well…

Bosworth

Posted on 17th Feb 2013 by essiep

9°C, light SE, Clear. CA:60 miles.

Tracked today’s with MapMyRide! Distance: 60.31mi, time: 04h 49m,
So many smiling faces today. The sun, clear skies and lack of cold air has affected us all. Some of the old guys can be really quite grumpy, but even they were cheerful today. No doubt I was smiling too. It wasn’t until after 40 odd miles that I could feel that a long ride is possible. Average speed was no big deal but stamina roused more as the miles passed.
Some roads were still flooded from last week’s rain though; at least four flooded the whole road width, that I remember. The technique that works best there is to ride through the water with the cranks level. Then ratchet the pedals to get through the water without immersing shoes. The only caution is hidden potholes and stones. Even on a day like this another twenty miles with wet feet could be pretty miserable.

Two buzzards picking at a swan’s corpse.

Posted on 16th Feb 2013 by essiep

8°C, sunny, still, CA:30

Tracked ride with MapMyRide! Distance: 29.80mi, time: 01:54:51, pace: 3:51min/mi, speed: 15.57mi/h. http://mapmyride.com/view_route?r=544671779495346177
Passed a strange sight- two buzzards feeding on a dead swan near Elford. It was like a Breugal painting, one of those with a haunting, ominous medieval moral.
The ride was good, as has this whole day been altogether.

Micycle

Mike thinks b/hikes

Author Archives: essiep