Red Warning: ride.

Posted on 26th Dec 2015 by essiep

I rode Kona Jake CX with MapMyRide+! Distance: 14.50mi, time: 01:18:12, pace: 5:24min/mi, speed: 11.13mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1288144687

Not a hard ride, more for the fun of visiting this flooded landscape. Most of the water stood in fields. Where water overlapped roads, that’s where problems were. It shifted sandy mud and rotten vegetation onto the tarmac and hid any potholes. I didn’t hit any holes. My feet got wet in the deeper road-ponds but never got cold.

Red weather warning.

Posted on 26th Dec 2015 by essiep

11°C, endless heavy rain, moderate SW wind.
Certain flooding near here today. This is the third day of heavy rain. Fortunately, the place I am staying in is on a hill.

That red patch is directly overhead. It’s the Met Office grading for ‘danger to life’. Not far from here is low lying flat land that is barely above sea level. Should be able to go out and explore at the end of this afternoon.

Before it rains!

Posted on 22nd Dec 2015 by essiep

14°C, strong SW (surprise!), cloud building, a front is soon to arrive.
I rode CX Kona Jake with MapMyRide+! Distance: 14.63mi, time: 01:37:00, pace: 6:38min/mi, speed: 9.05mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1285052127
Met another cyclocross rider coming the opposite way. Another first.
Pity the cafes were shut, I hoped for lunch.
Mud is now very soft and deep. The bike often scoots sideways but it stayed upright. 11 months on, and still no falls. In getting more confident and relaxed doing this. Last winter I was so tense that I occasionally got stiff muscles. The persistence has removed the difficulty and left the fun.

Here is (possibly) the Shaggy Inkcap from last Sunday. This soggy example that has survived the mower. This stretch of verge gets cut fairly ruthlessly, but not this time of year.
After some discussion on a forum, this may be a close relative of the inkcap:

These look like Coprinus Atramentaria, not Comatus. Good edible but it’s poisonous when mixed with alcohol, so take care.

I like the idea of a poison that is only active when a person has drunk alcohol. Some might appreciate a bit of help with their New Year’s resolutions.

Long walk on the shortest day.

Posted on 22nd Dec 2015 by essiep

8°C, clear sky with building light cloud. The usual SW breeze,
I hiked with MapMyRide+! Distance: 4.64mi, time: 01:14:11, pace: 15:59min/mi, speed: 3.75mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1284668245
Thick, slippery mud was impossible to escape.

Both Ford crossings were impassible too, the water was just too deep. Since I’m ultra smart, I prepared an alternative route that crossed footbridges instead.

Night walk selfie

Carl took this nighttime selfie while we did the Blair Witch lights thing.
I was out-shone by their lights. By myself, the headtorch I have is plenty. It’s a Petzl Tikka 2 which was great the time I was benighted near Glen Coe in 2014. When the others had 200 lumin lamps, mine couldn’t compete. However, bright lights frequently spoiled our night vision especially after holding up the map. No strong reason to upgrade then, but perhaps a stronger hand torch would work well.
Next time, I will take a bike light.

Winter warm ride

Posted on 20th Dec 2015 by essiep

12°C, brisk SW, and mostly dry, bar the last 8 miles.
I rode Arrow with MapMyRide+! Distance: 61.18mi, time: 04:30:42, pace: 4:25min/mi, speed: 13.56mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1283493073
Mostly dry and not at all cold. There were heavy showers, but only in the last 40 minutes.
The only problem was a tricky puncture repair. The thorn in the tyre was really difficult to get out. Another cyclist in Ashby helped out with some effective tools

Before the rain.

Again my spare tube failed. I will have to look at the patch. I want to check that the patch is centred on the previous hole.
Lung ache, on drawing a deep breath, my lungs ache. Is that the Saharan dust that our weather forecasters warned of? It’s like the feeling after cycling past a freshly harvested wheat field in august. Not nice.

Unseasonable.

Posted on 19th Dec 2015 by essiep

14°C, brisk SW and more rain to come.
Warm! Too warm to wear a winter coat. The garden is confused too.

Passiflora

This plant doesn’t seem to suffer from the morning coffee grounds, the pot doesn’t receive rainwater naturally.

Cyclocross: NCN62

Posted on 13th Dec 2015 by essiep

3°C, moderate SE breeze that brought rain on the return leg. Waterlogged with deep puddles everywhere.
I rode The Jake with MapMyRide+! Distance: 36.81mi, time: 03:08:31, pace: 5:07min/mi, speed: 11.71mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1277411311
Cold wet and squelchy on the tracks. Yesterday’s rain has not drained away yet, but it’s still fun.

Type Two fun, the kind that is good to look back on because it was grim at the time. It’s taking hours to warm up again. I wasn’t wearing my warmest winter clothes. One day it’s 11°C and next, it drops ten degrees. I blame that; it’s in no way my fault. Really.

Month’s deluge.

Posted on 12th Dec 2015 by essiep

6°C, and heavy rain to come.
End of term nears. As usual, we’re all exhausted at work. Mostly Year 11 kids who’ve had weeks of exams. The rest of us are battling with colds, on and off. Perhaps viruses are thriving in this yet weather.

Met office app.

Like a string of massive beads, the storms keep coming. One after another, carried by the dominant south westerly winds that have blown hard for over a month.

In the south, you can see fronts running nearly parallel to the wind direction. Those rain bearing fronts spill their load for long periods, days at a time sometimes.
Daytime temperatures have been good, up to 12°C. Nevertheless, lodger A is running her electric radiator again. She’ll have to chip in a supplement for the bill.

Notice the ancient temperature is 15 in my utility room. I don’t understand the need for additional heating in mild weather.

Storm Desmond, Lancashire.

Posted on 5th Dec 2015 by essiep

11°C, storm force wind, SW.
Heavy but not torrential rain here. It’s warm and roads are lined with puddles not floods.

Sefton, I like this place more in bad weather. I could see twenty odd statues by Antony Gormley. When misty, the furthest fade to invisible. Today, sand whips along the wet, flat beach. I didn’t think it would do that on yet sand. Such is the wind strength.

True nighttime.

Posted on 3rd Dec 2015 by essiep

11°C, SW wind, brisk, rain.
We sampled true darkness last night.
BBC
A long power cut just before bed-time. All power was lost, including phone signals. Only the sound of house alarms filled the darkness. To the north was an orange glow with regular flickering red under the clouds.
My clever comment? “It’s the mother ship”
Most people have a light on their mobile, I used mine to find the camping lights.

Head-torch and lamp ready. Be prepared.

It was bed time anyway, but I thought about how cities would be without so much artificial light; we would cope.

Micycle

Mike thinks b/hikes

Author Archives: essiep