9°C, wind and rain.
Day Out at a seaside town, Southport. The place was swept by right rain and some semblance of its tourist roots are obvious. Tacky shops are open with loud childish music played and vast amounts of sugar based food are on sale.
9°C, sunny with showers.
I’ve tested the new kettle today. The new one, with a heat-exchanger on the bottom promises faster boil times. Cold mornings can be a problem on a camp because the low temperature dramatically affects the time it takes to make breakfast. Maybe like me, you really want a coffee first thing to start the day.
To test these pots, I put 400ml of your at the same temperature. I timed each pot to the point when steam appeared when I hit Stop on the stopwatch. The stove is a Primus, the type with a hose and a loop of pipe that is pre-heated by the flames.
Here’s the results:
Plain kettle.
3’10”, 130g.
Heat-exchanger Kettle.
2’40”, 250g
Heat-exchanger Pot.
4’10”. 280g.
I’m a bit worried about the last result. The gas can chilled so much that it froze to the table. Gas pressure drops away dramatically when cold. This may have lengthened the boil time despite the heat sink.
Here is a close-up of the heat sink in case you’re wondering what it means. The idea is to increase the area in contact with the flames. This folded metal has a larger surface area and also channels the hot gas along the pot’s base.
In conclusion, I think the heat-exchange pots are worth having for the boil times. The only disadvantage is the extra weight.
5° to 9°C, sunny and very muddy.
I rode with MapMyRide+! Distance: 28.44km, time: 01:52:56, pace: 3:58min/km, speed: 15.11km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2043054158
Deep, Watery and sloppy mud. Hence the low average speed. Sometimes as low as 5mph. Even so, I still failed to fall off into the canal.
Bright spring sunshine made this a happy ride. The mud was a feature, but it was so watery that most of it didn’t stick to the bike.
7°C, moderate W wind, dry & sunny.
I rode the Paddy Wagon with MapMyRide+! Distance: 94.45km, time: 04:03:27, pace: 2:35min/km, speed: 23.28km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2028737195
Hard work, just under 60 miles and I’m coming back from some loss of stamina this winter. Now the lighter mornings are here, and other stress has resolved, energy is coming back to me. Drinking both bottles twice still left me dehydrated though. I’m a little worried that my long distance stamina has started the year reduced compared to most years.
10.20am Grey start with hill fog visible above 400m. heavy rain later.
Walked with Chris along the southern edge of Kinderscout plateau. Once on the plateau, we took a diversion to see a WWII crash site then returned to our main route.
The intention was to see Kinder downfall after a night of rain. We even considered the possibility that the downfall would blow upwards. The waterfall is at the head of quite an angular valley facing the oncoming wind. As it turned out, visibility was so poor, <50m, we could not see any water although heard it clearly.
Rain started around the time we descended becoming quite heavy as we popped out of the cloud base.
I had a flask of hot water waiting at the car. The choice was soup, coffee or tea in the form of sachets or infusion bags. the kit list was about right. I had normal walking trousers plus thermals under. Even when the rain started, I didn’t feel such a strong urge to put the waterproof overtrousers on.
Note for future: (1),this worked really well. the water had kept hot for 8 hours. If I were to take a flask on the walk, it should be a bit smaller than this one. I’ll keep it for sharing.
(2),I barely used my new camera, but it’s better to take a light camera and not use it rather than a heavy one and not use that. One problem, it has a strong magnetic field. It deflects the compass by a good 30°C. It’s awkward taking compass readings at arm’s length.
11ºC, grey but not too dull. light SW breeze.
I rode Arrow; with MapMyRide+! Distance: 112.27km, time: 05:05:28,
pace: 2:43min/km, speed: 22.05km/h. That’s 68 miles to you. I should have done 2 more.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2017927079
Spring is tentatively poking its nose out of the opening in its sleeping bag. Here are yellow tips of these miniature daffodils. Today’s warm weather (11°C), is blowing up the southern approaches from tropical climes. For me, that means no cold feet on a long ride.
The returning 10 miles was really hard. I haven’t done many rides over 40 miles this year so perhaps it’s inevitable. Oh, and I rode yesterday, the day before and before that. Normally, Saturday used to be a rest day.
7°C, cold SW breeze but it’s drying up.
I rode The Jake with MapMyRide+! Distance: 26.42km, time: 01:46:22, pace: 4:02min/km, speed: 14.90km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/2015532611
The usual canal loop. The mud was deeper and more watery. However, that’s not so bad because the gloop fell off the bike more easily.
I saw fewer dog walkers than usual for a dry day. One commented ‘it’s probably easier to ride on the road’. True, but I want practice riding on mud, I can only get more skillful.
I rode Arrow with MapMyRide+! Distance: 57.97km, time: 02:34:39, pace: 2:40min/km, speed: 22.49km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1966783052
Doing shorter rides in this cold weather. This morning was still icy so I waited. This gives me smaller slot to complete a ride before it becomes dark. The 19th of January is on average, the coldest day in the northern hemisphere. For now, some cold, foggy days.
Normally, I’d manage the cold by riding for about two hours then taking a cafe break to warm up. This week, I’m under pressure with work stress.
2°C, grey and still. No rain.
I rode cyclocross Jake with MapMyRide+! Distance: 24.25km, time: 01:42:43, pace: 4:14min/km, speed: 14.17km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1964758442
Look at that flash of red. A tree, with broken branches. The scarlet wound stood out from the steely grey autumn landscape. I cannot get over to look closer, the canal is a complete barrier.
7°C, brisk NW wind.dry, some sun.
I rode The Jake with MapMyRide+! Distance:56.91km, time: 03:11:38, pace: 3:22min/km, speed: 17.82km/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1951884761
These tyres are great in the thick mud that is all around at the moment. This ride was over more tarmac than ideal, tyre year is a worry.
These photos were taken on Southport sea wall. I threw the gloves on the ground so they wouldn’t blow away in the strong wind. I’m starting to get used to the HDR app. It’s best to keep settings low to avoid over-doing the effect.
Micycle 