Diamond abseil.

Posted on 5th May 2016 by essiep

20°C, bright sun and little wind.

Matthew Bolton College.

Four staff, and five kids from our school went to Matthew Bolton College for a Diamond anniversary of the DofE publicity stunt. Royalty arrived about 11am and we were prepped on what to say. The publicity guy said something about how to answer. ‘Don’t just nod when asked something, you will want to tell your relatives when you get older’. I’m not star struck, I hate all that swooning adoration that the royal family attract. We didn’t vote for them, why should I care about them. They live the life of luxury and privilege at our expense. Don’t ask me to swoon.

Anyway, the abseil was fine, no hesitation because of height. I felt no fear and I don’t mind looking down. The only awkward moment was climbing over the edge. It’s easier when the rope is fixed higher because you can get your feet up easily. I was able to spring outward to get over the windows. Inside, there are windows sills. Students sat there to spectate so I pulled silly faces as I passed downwards.
A great day out.

Yorkshire Three Peaks challenge.

Posted on 1st May 2016 by essiep

4°C, sunny start and snow on summits. Hail and snow later.

Diamond Challenge training hike. Climb the three peaks in Yorkshire under 12 hours. Started at Horton-in-Ribblesdale. It’s a very popular event this, the crowds were building when I got there at 6.30. A fell running event was setting up as was a Sikh Three Peaks Warriors event!
Booted up, we started on 7am dead. The return was at 17.58, eleven hours. We considered that decent when slowed progress on snowy summits and the fell runners race got in the way.
From a personal view, I probably went too fast at the beginning and flagged near the end. Despite saying that, I led most of the day.

MapMyWalk screen, before mapping.

The going was mostly secure. Lower down, there were limestone pavements, in a few places polished like limestone does. All the peaks were, however gritstone.
Gritstone offers good grip even with a thin coating of snow. It’s almost May now, so the ground is warm enough to prevent much ice forming. Most of the white we saw, was soft snow.

Seeds’ half-life.

Posted on 23rd Apr 2016 by essiep

2~9°C, bright sun.
Do seeds have a half-life? This window propagator was seeded with Magnolia from an old packet. The use-by date was 2012 and about half have germinated.

Bosworth Battlefield.

Posted on 17th Apr 2016 by essiep

9°C, light NW breeze, sunny but looked warmer than it felt.
I rode Racelite-8 with MapMyRide+! Distance: 56.16mi, time: 03:42:25, pace: 3:58min/mi, speed: 15.15mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1432128283
April is a little cooler than average right now. It’s nice and sunny but the shadows are cold. Quite a contrast to the warmth of the direct sun. All this make choosing clothes for the ride rather tricky.

The is only the second outing om the racelite this year, and I forgot that it’s a bit of a strain to ride at times. The position isn’t right, I’m too stretched out at the front.

Seed of an idea.

Posted on 17th Apr 2016 by essiep

Getting dark now, 5°C and clear.
We walk about 6km/hr on good, flat sooth ground. About 4mph, or 40 miles in 10 hours, 80 in 20.
Would it be possible to walk 100 miles in a day?

That sounds pretty hard-core, but it’s developing into an idea that might be more realistic:
Walk to Lancashire in say 36 hours along the canals.
There’s one that gets you in Runcorn from near here. It’s the Trent And Mersey Canal. Okay, it does weave about a bit, and the route would probably total more than one hundred.
I could pick a summer month that has shorter hours of darkness, short enough not to get through too many batteries for the head-torch.

Just a thought.

Continue reading →

Review: Rocket Ron.

Posted on 16th Apr 2016 by essiep

I rode cyclocross with MapMyRide+! Distance: 16.10mi, time: 01:33:52, pace: 5:50min/mi, speed: 10.29mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1429852881
New tyres: I’ve not ridden the ‘cross bike as much this year. More, recently, a cluster of difficult to fix punctures, and slippery conditions put me off more.
Today, I rode the Jake with new Schwalbe Rocket Rons. Suddenly, it was obvious, the Challenge Grifos were worn out.
What a difference, I have grip back even in deep slimey mud. There are some stretches of this favourite route that have quite deep mud. Next to a canal, you don’t want to loose control. Besides, that water is cold and would ruin my phone.

Rocket Ron 33c.

I shall definitely buy these again. The grip is excellent and with a lighter inner-tube, handling is much improved. I could power through the deeper mud and keep feet dry. Only once did I have to put a don’t down. In the past, I have got off and run alongside the deepest mud.

Summer wheels.

Posted on 10th Apr 2016 by essiep

3~12°C, bright sun and moderate SE breeze.
I rode Fixed with MapMyRide+! Distance: 60.92mi, time: 03:55:28, pace: 3:52min/mi, speed: 15.52mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1421434561

Near Hesketh Bank

Good ride, spring sunshine after a cold start. This is the first side on the summer wheels. Remember, this wheelset has a slightly taller gear, 16t instead of 15t. Anyway, I went up to Dalton and they Bannister Lane, same as the past few weeks.
Bannister was harder, but not like last year. I’m lighter now.

One hour’s blast.

Posted on 8th Apr 2016 by essiep

7°C, calm with thin broken cloud. Dry.
I rode Fixed with MapMyRide+! Distance: 16.21mi, time: 01:00:23, pace: 3:43min/mi, speed: 16.11mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1418899685
Early morning ride to set up for the day. I’m stuck in the house marking until teatime, so this should make it bearable. I saved the route as a favourite, it was ideal.

Artificial lights: in a room that’s filled with sunshine, and you’re, say, watching TV. Why would you put the lights on?
I wouldn’t bother, but kids do every day and I’m baffled.
If you’ve experienced this, have you thought to ask ‘why?’?
Maybe, your experience tallies with mine. Unfortunately, the answer doesn’t clarify anything. In fact, over the years, I have never heard anything approaching an explanation.
Today, the reply was just to squirm and mutter ‘I don’t know’. That’s pretty much always the same answer, from different kids too.

I remain baffled. If you have any clues, please reply.

Roast pigeon, no.

Posted on 6th Apr 2016 by essiep

11°C, 4/5 white cloud. Light NW.
I rode Racelite with MapMyRide+! Distance: 27.84mi, time: 01:59:42, pace: 4:18min/mi, speed: 13.95mi/h.
http://mapmyride.com/workout/1415353749
This afternoon lacked the fizzing energy I get sometimes, so a steady ride. Though the bike felt light and nimble, I ‘tapped on the wheel’.
I still feel too stretched out though. It looks like a change to a 10cm stem would solve that.

Pigeon in the chimney,
Opened the flue to find a pigeon’s tail moving about. Poor thing had fallen down the chimney and was trapped.
I got it out wearing rubber gloves and it flew around the room until I could chuck over a blanket. When let out, it took off without difficulty flying without a tail.
What a E.A Poe kind of nightmare. There was a few spots of blood to clean off the window from when it flew round the room trying to escape.
I wonder about its chances of survival, he had plenty of energy but rather battered, bruised and blooded. As long as he can feed himself, then recovery is more likely.
Sorry about the tail.

Jake, wear.

Posted on 2nd Apr 2016 by essiep

Is this something to worry about?
The inner chain stays age rubbed down to the bare metal on both sides. This can only happen when the mud buildup on the rear wheel rim is enough.
As the frame material is aluminium, corrosion won’t be a problem. The abrasion has gone through the paint, under-coat and some metal layer.
Besides, the tyres are now new. Previously, punctures were becoming frequent on the rear and grip quite poor.
.
Schwalbe Rocket Ron types and the same kind of thing as the original pair. Perhaps fewer punctures also.

Micycle

Mike thinks b/hikes