Try cyclocross they said…

Posted on 30th Jan 2016 by essiep

6°C, sunny with moderate SW. very muddy all over.
I rode The Jake with MapMyRide+! Distance: 17.43mi, time: 01:52:19, pace: 6:27min/mi, speed: 9.31mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1327847005
Endless deep mud. It makes the going quite slow. The worst stretches returned an average 8 mph. It was tremendous fun though. That was the first outing on the ‘cross. Some stretches were such a quagmire that I had to jump off and run. There was lots of side slipping and the ever present threat of a cold water dunking in the canal.

Need to clean this better.

Slime tubes work in an interesting way. I pulled the cross bike out to find flat rear tyre. Slime tubes will self seal if you put some pressure in. Even better, if you can find the leak, you can see green blood bubbling out. The trick is to turn the wheel so that the leak is at the bottom. That way, the slime inside the tube will seep towards the puncture.
As I have been ill recently, the bike has stood still for a few weeks. This is a problem because if you spin a wheel, it feels very unbalanced. The slime has probably gathered at the bottom and added weight there.

By the way, I’m fully recovered.

Well.

Posted on 29th Jan 2016 by essiep

10°C, brisk SW, dry after Gertrude.
As of mid-morning, I can declare myself free of ‘flu. As in previous occasions, my energy levels surge back to more than normal as if in over compensation for the two weeks of sluggish.
In the morning, I look forward to a ride, probably on my cyclocross bike,
It should be a nice day.

Stanley tool.

January in bloom.

Posted on 27th Jan 2016 by essiep

11°C, heavy rain and strong wind.
Warm and wet. Strange, this winter. Storm after storm but mostly warm.

Daffodils given as a house-plant last Christmas. They’ve done well outside.

Kona, 1 year.

Posted on 24th Jan 2016 by essiep

One year ago, I bought my Kona Jake. Remember how excited I was? In that time, I clocked up almost 1,000 miles on it add have no regrets about the choice. I clearly remember those nervous outings on slimy surfaces. Contrast that with improved bike handling now. It’s a transferable skill, I ride the commuting bike on muddy lanes less cautiously these days. There’s justification for a CX bike in anybody’s stable.

A good purchase.

Coldest day, (annual average)

Posted on 19th Jan 2016 by essiep

1°C, sunny, quite nice really.
Sent home. So unwell despite driving in to work. My tutor group is upstairs and the two flights emptied my energy. Nearly at the right room, I saw their previous Form Tutor and had to ask her to register them.
One of the managers could see the state I was in and ordered me home.

Home. Sleep.

Soup for lunch and noticed birds interested in the feeders I put out on Saturday. Four Coal Tits, 2 Blue Tits and a pair of blackbirds.

Spring is coming. Feeling grotty again after the avian excitement, Plas-y-Brenin rang. About the query yesterday, this guy was more upbeat about my question: “How do I know whether I am ready for assessment?”.
Optimism shot up after his opinion. I’m going for the easter date. It only gives a week before the Silver and Gold training.
There, I have a plan:

Practise more micro-navigation,
Read up on legislation,
Practise timing against our route cards.

There are two more stages:
1 camp skills Module,
2 Mountain Leader Qualification.
3 feel a warm satisfied glow.

Snow.

Posted on 17th Jan 2016 by essiep

2°C, heavy snow overnight.
One year ago, was filled with excitement about my cyclocross bike. It was ready for collection and I couldn’t bear the wait. One thing that I didn’t get to do was ride in the snow.
There is snow outside as I write but I can’t ride on it. I am laid up with a feverish cold and chest infection. Everything aches and all movement has to be slow. Even a few laps around the green would do it. I’m in no fit state.
However, I had a busy morning doing loads of chores, including installing 3 bird boxes, planting hostas and shopping.
Then in the afternoon, dreadful illness. It’s that pattern again, a surge of energy before the ill feeling takes over.

It’s quite slushy snow, all dripping as it melts. It’ll be gone by afternoon.

Weekend at home.

Posted on 16th Jan 2016 by essiep

-2°C, clear, rain has frozen, treacherous outside.
Snow is coming. Today could be a brief window where I can grab a ride between melting ice and the predicted snowfall. This week’s milage is low, and despite a one mile swim on Thursday, I am restless. Very restless.
This bad tempered, fidgety feeling is exacerbated by work stress.

Hans Abrahamson: Schnee

Posted on 16th Jan 2016 by essiep

I enjoy buying and listening to music. It’s one of the constant pleasures in my life. It about changing my mood, illustrating phases in my life and stretching my mind.
It’s not often, however, that I feel as elated with a new find as this. I didn’t know music could do what this composer does with normal instruments.
Fred Frith modifies his instruments with objects, plays ordinary guitars in strange ways. But what Abrahamson does is entirely different. It’s all in the composition, I suppose.
I have been lifted out of the ordinary by this.

Schnee

Several occurances have met to enable this find. My new DAB radio means I play BBC Radio 3 most days. The car has a bluetooth and DAB stereo system which works well with my phone. Then, there’s the BBC iPlayer app. All that has led to this almost magical find, a bright lights shines out in my collection.
All this effusive talk and the CD hasn’t even arrived yet. The online shop allows immediate download once you have made your selection and purchase. So here I am, familiarising myself with a new record that is still in the post.
We had a discussion at work yesterday where I wanted a word to express the convergence of the above events that lead to this music in my collection. The best word is probably: synchronicity

Exhausted iPod

Posted on 12th Jan 2016 by essiep

I have used this iPod every day since 2009. Back then, I bought it as an upgrade on the iPod Mini when it ran out of space.
It’s the penultimate version with 120Gb of storage. I like it so much that I will take it to an Apple shop for a service.
The battery only holds charge for a few minutes. Otherwise, the device seems good. It’s only a hard-drive, a small display and a battery. I wonder how long the disc will last. Apple stopped making these a year or two ago. They still service the Classic however.

On the dock.

Nils Frahm: Solo.

Posted on 11th Jan 2016 by essiep

CD, 2015.
All solo piano, quiet, very close miced and measured in feel.

The cover explains more. The piano he used is a custom built instrument made by David Klavins in 1987. It’s enormous, the longest strings are 10ft long. The blue diagram shows its layout.
As it’s played, other small sounds can be heard from the mechanism. That’s not unusual in piano music, but with Frahm’s style, those working sounds are more obvious. Space between notes opens your ears to the shape and construction of each key press.
The result is peaceful and deliberate. The same characteristics melt into your own mood,
Recommended.

Micycle

Mike thinks b/hikes

Author Archives: essiep