24°C, sun & light cloud. CR:31 miles.
Mothday
Reply
Category Archives: Travel
Cuckoo
18°C, 3 sharp showers, SW. CK: 55miles
Found a cuckoo in the road today, a victim of roadkill. Quite a beautiful bird; it looks, in many ways, like a hawk except in a few details. The beak is straight & the claws not oversized like a sparrowhawk (which is about the same size). Not sure that I’ve ever seen a cuckoo before, though they are heard on every camping trip over the past few years.
Single-speed bikes are supposed to have mechanical advantages over deraillier geared bikes. The straight chainline promised long chain wear, but this turns out not to be. Perhaps the chain on mine is of poor quality, but the fact is it’s worn out after only 750 miles. Also, the headset bearing has gone notchy too which suggests that these componants are poor quality to keep the price down. I really don’t want to replace a chain after less than a year’s use again.
A saucer full of secrets
20°C, sun, W.
The Derbyshire White Peak is dotted with these circular features. Some are stone but most seem to be made of concrete. This was one of the few that had water in.
Ride in the river
19°C, heavy showers.
Rode home in a river. Raindrops the size of golf-balls striking and rebounding up from strong flowing ribbons of water. Traction was good though and it’s not cold.
Avian miracle II
23°C, wall to wall blue. CK:50 miles
Riding near Mawdsley Lancs., I saw a bird lying in the road. As I passed, it was obvious that it was still alive. So I turned around and went back, if left it would get driven over. It was a bull-finch, sitting in the pale sun-bleached tarmac with one leg sticking out at an awkward angle. So ( like last time) I picked it up with one hand, and suddenly it flew away towards a tree with other passerines swirling round.
Further proof that I can do miracles, as if any were needed.
I suppose it had an injured leg that prevented it jumping enough to take off. A very similar thing happened a few years ago in Leicestershire, I have blogged about it here but can’t locate it right now.
Index joy
28°C, crisp sun. CR:80.5 miles
The efforts on Tuesday have borne fruit; the Campy gears are not indexing perfectly but they have stopped slipping unpredictably. That does mean the summer bike is a pleasure to ride once more. How long has it been?
Cabled
16°C, showers.
Another one that I can’t name. It’s a climber with coiled up tendrils that hold onto other plants. The flowers are striking, though only about 1/2 inch long, shaped like little pitcher plants.
Gears’ index: I removed the cables and cleaned out every little connector, end stop and so on. It feels smooth now and the gear changes work properly. Caution though, they’ve been perfect while changing gears in the shed in the past. But on a longer ride, difficulty develops. Frustrating and mystifying in equal measure.
Mynydd Mawr again
24°C, 
Very hot in the mountains this time. This time we could see from the summits, the vistas were vast and far ranging. Some have said it is possible to see Ireland from these peaks. Thought sceptical at first, I conceded, though still await that view myself. Two litres of water is simply not enough for days like this, I’d need a 3 litre water pack but that’s quite a weight, and there is no water on the peaks, the rock is very dry, there are no springs and no ponds.
Camper’s tip: to conserve gas when cooking rice or pasta- boil as normal for 10′ then switch it off and let stand for a while, then put the gas back on to re-heat. Much of the cooking, especially with whole-grain, is re-hydration, so some standing time is as good as continuous heat.
Mountain lake
24°C, light winds, no clouds.
Swim in Llyn Cwmffynion. First wild-swim of the year in a hidden corrie beneath Nantlle ridge. The water was shallow, only knee deep so no real swim I admit. The ridge was clear this time, the view almost endless and the hills rich in thick velvety emerald grasses and bilberrys. I simply wanted to stay and to stay. In the end we were drawn down by the thought of a quaint mountaineer’s cafe in Rhyd Ddu.
still no indexing
20C, 
.
Carpet cleaning machine: Rug-doctor is surprisingly effective. It’s noisy and can’t get into the pokiest corners of my attic but it does turn the soapy water into the appearance of old cold coffee. Strangely satisfying, in a domestic way.
Campag-8 gears still don’t index, even after replacing the cassette today. I’m just as puzzled and annoyed by this problem as the last time I posted about this. I really don’t want to upgrade the drivetrain to 10-speed or worse to get a slick gear-change. Those systems are fiddly, difficult to tune and unnecessary. There is really no need for more than 8 gears (x2) on my bike. I’m not just saying that just because I’m a single-speed bike rider.
What is the solution to this?
