Category Archives: Cycling

Colour in the hedges.

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CA-26 miles.
I rode with MapMyRide! Distance: 16.40mi, time: 01:08:30, speed: 14.4mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/442756169
That new IZONE Arc 600, I planned to use as a second light, will now become my main bike front. The Asteri 3 is rated at 200 lumen, but this new one is 600 lumen and the spread is greater too.
It does a trick where it runs on low and flashing at the same time, useful. I can charge it up at work on the computer in a short time. Double useful. The old lights, with NiCad cells, need an overnight charge.
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Amusingly, the moths like the lights too. They came at me from the hedges on the unlight roads. Funny little animals.

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December ride.

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5°C, getting windy, clear and cold.
CA-34 miles.
MapMyRide! Distance: 23.98mi, time: 01:39:18, speed: 14.5mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/441808821
Glints in the December gloom; each morning there is a fine sunrise over my left shoulder as I ride to work. Evenings, an extended ride in good visibility. Venus is bright after sunset, and in the other direction- Jupiter.
You have to take any boosts you can in this time of year.

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Dark lanes after work.

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7°C,still, dry.
I rode with MapMyRide! Distance: 24.14mi, time: 01:38min, speed: 14.7mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/441210425
Thirty-five miles today, a work day! That’s not bad, and after feeling so off yesterday. I could have ridden more but I got hungry.
The old lights have a charger fault, there is a poor connection that means it does not always charge fully. I will have in get the soldering iron out soon.

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Counting games.

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6°C, clear,still.
Commuting is mostly dull. So, I pass the time standing in traffic making up counting games. Today, I counted the cars driving with only one headlight. Coming back from Walsall, there were 14 seen in the first 3 miles. Then, only one more in the remaining 7. Does that mean Walsall drivers are 14 times more likely to drive a faulty car? It’s not because they are poor, headlight bulbs are only £5 each, and easy to fit.

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Asteri 3, 1st use.

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2°C, cold but dry.
The new lights are very impressive but maybe not quite enough on its own. I shall definitely buy a supplementary lamp now, to fill in. The old, halogen 2x 10W set are noticeably yellow and dull at the end of the hour’s ride. I feel encouraged to upgrade the remaining red lights too.

Maybe as a result of the source light’s small size, it really picks out rubbish in hedgerows as I ride along. Foil wrappers and tins shine like mini lights, probably more clearly than in the day. Mind you, English hedgerows are hold a lot of rubbish, mostly thrown from cars I presume. Hedges capture wind-blown jetsam too.

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ASTERI 3, many photons.

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Look at all those photons.

11°C,dull.
How should I review a bike lamp? The first rule has to be – no clichés.
It’s small, like a fat cigar, but as bright as 25-30 watts of halogen lamps. Compared to my current light set, it has further reach but is much whiter, almost blue. That makes comparison tricky. The only real test must be on an unlit road at speed.

I shall use it together with the old lights until I am confident of its burn-time. The online reviews criticise it for the lack of side spread illumination. If it works well, then the old, heavy lights will get packed away. Then I will pick up a new secondary light.
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Be more happier!

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9C, light wind,rain till hometime.
CA-16 miles.
Dark lanes route. Started with an amusing incident. Crossing a junction, the car opposite pulled forward at the same time. But, he turned right, in front of me. I called out “Indicate!” then as he drove away, shouted “YOU SHOULD BE MORE HAPPIER!”.
I was more happier until I met a dangerous driver.
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This ride was in question all afternoon, the heavy rain seemed non-stop. It cleared in time, so I took the 16 mile lane route. Even with wet, black roads, the visibility was good enough.
It seems that these lights are holding their charge better as the week wore on. Could it be that the training period that new batteries need should be done with batteries that have been left in storage all summer?

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Dark.

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6~14ºC, clear, no wind. CA:22 miles.
Do you tell-off drivers who take pointless risks. I do. Today, two were texting as they drove. And another had a spiral notebook on the steering wheel which she wrote in as she drove along. I shouted at that one. PUT it down! … then…Thankyou!
Ever the teacher…
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Teaching kids: a bunch of year 9 kids about storage media in today’s Computing class. We talked of durability and ways they can get damaged. One way that they didn’t anticipate was DVDs can be spoiled by bright sunlight, especially the recordable ones. So, I told them it would be fine if you put them where the sun doesn’t shine. I didn’t mean to!

Some got it and felt the need to explain to the rest.

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Dark, single-track lanes.

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11ºC,cold, dry and clear.
First ride though those narrow lanes I have explored recently. It felt like a test, to find out whether view are safe in the dark. Tonight, they were. As long as there is no ice or slippery mud, then it should work well enough.
It’s great to see so little traffic.
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A most satisfying day.

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12ºC, 3/5 cloud, mod W.
CA:36 miles.
Jobs done– marking while Dave measured the staircase; replacement part for the clock-radio arrived; paint some outside door-frames; go cycling, and enjoy feeling recovered.
Every holiday is the same- feel semi-ill with tiredness for days on end, then come to life mid-week.
Even the bike rode in a more sprightly manner. Those two hours yesterday carefully cleaning the derailler gave sweet, almost silent gear changes. The sun shone.

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Hawthorn berries are made of ruby.

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