I had a chat with Stuart a couple of months ago. He said that everyone was so fast last year he was thinking of making things a little more "interesting" to slow people down a bit

I'm pretty sure that I've not engaged the clutch on my derailleur for several years, the NW works well enough.

There are various "alternative" battery technologies being developed/in use - gravity and sand are two that spring to mind. Sand batteries basically work by taking the electricity and converting it to heat and heating a big f-off heap of sand to around 600C. We're talking 50 tonnes and upw...

Living by the sea and witnessing day in day out the power of the tides that are ALWAYS flowing, unlike wind, I find it amazing that we've not properly invested in harnessing this free power that surely could be done in a much less obtrusive manner. There have been long term tests in the Pentland Fi...

This popped up on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZXzXH4gBfs about the "revolution" that NW chainrings enabled. As he admits, his testing isn't "scientific" and has a small sample size regarding runs, etc., but it's interesting nonetheless. One point he doesn't mention...

I've seen talk of reinstating the site once the masts/turbines reach the end of their life but as Paul notes, surely once the base infrastructure is in place then the topside stuff can all be replaced/upgraded? There was discussion on Countryfile about wind farms - turns out that so far "they&q...

However, just where is the energy we all need going to come from if no-one wants the production facilities (of whatever nature) on their doorstep? The community where my sister-in-law and her husband live campaigned against a small (4 masts) wind farm. They then approved a floodlit football pitch! ...

I have to admit to being somewhat ambivalent, on the fence, about wind farms. On the one hand they certainly aren't aesthetic in any way and by their nature have to be in areas with (reasonably) reliable wind which does mean our more upland areas or a reasonable distance out to sea. However, just wh...

My latest Deschutes pitching experiments have led me to do it like the flat tarp in an A config - peg out the two rear corners, in with the pole and peg out the pole guy, peg the rest out - works every time! That's pretty much how I do the Gatewood which is essentially the same design. I've found u...

Apparently it was "International thingymijg" or something at the weekend so in a mad moment of joining in we headed south picking up the Pennine Bridleway. If you weren't on rocky tracks then the going was very soft and slow. We were aiming for a bivy spot that Cath had been told about clo...

Have done both half and full Yorkshireman, can't remember the years but should be in the results from about 12yrs ago. Even though it's an FRA event it's closer to trail running terrain. Edit Scratch that! Did the full in 2004 (4:57 finishing time) and the half in 2005 (1:54) and 2006 (2:04) /Edit E...

Depending on how turbid (cloudy/dirty) the water is, then filter to remove the particulates and bigger Protozoa. Then bring to boil. No need to have a rolling boil as is often recommended, you just need to get it above 70C (or thereabouts) to kill off any remaining bacteria and viruses. I did post a...

I might be wrong but I struggle to believe folks genuinely think in KM in the UK.... "oh the speed limit on a UK motorway is 112km" it's not, it's 70mph. But like I say I might be wrong. I'm 64 and while, like you, I mix and match much of the time (I'm 1.80m tall with a 42" chest :??...

I had noticed the route being posted. A good way to make use of some of those frustrating "tracks" that just stop in the middle of nowhere, most will be stalking paths so just lead to close to the edge of that particular estate - there's two tracks on the north side of Loch Mullardoch for ...

A mixture. I just put on the damp leggings but had an Alpkit mid-layer top that I used instead of the thermal top I'd been wearing on Saturday. I'd taken a spare pair of socks but they were almost as wet by the time we got riding.

Well that were a ride of two halves John. Saturday was almost a horrid day as you could hope for in February in the Lakes. Perhaps its only redeeming quality was that it wasn't cold, it would have been really serious if it had been. Meanwhile Sunday was just about the exact opposite, more like an Ap...

When we did/attempted the French Divide we were each given a cycling cap with our name on the underside of the peak. Might be an idea. The BB jerseys (in whatever colour) are quite distinctive so even without names they are something of an ice breaker: "So who are you on the forums then?" ...

We need BB username badges! I hope I spoke to all of you doing the JennRide—Whitestone, we spoke on Walna Scar Road today—but I wish I'd been able to put names to faces at the time. But where to put them? On the back of the bike/seat pack so that riders know who they are passing/being overtaken by,...

Just back from the winter JennRide - 150km of winter wonderfulness :???: Come to the Lakes they said. It'll be picturesque they said... There'll be wonderful views they said... It'll be lovely they said... They lied! Got to the ODG at about 1830 and decided to have tea there. About 2030 we headed ou...

Ultimately we all (try to) justify our own actions. Of course that means airlines also try to portray themselves as "green" by saying "flying is only X kg of CO2 per mile" and is thus comparable to, for example, train journeys. This somewhat sidesteps the fact that a typical flig...

Cheery Thursday

Surely the answer is to get one's butler to do it

Unfortunately the cafe we were heading to in Slaidburn had shut down, but a coffee and sandwich from the nearby post office was a reasonable substitute. Sad to hear about the café, there's a lot that's shut down in the last couple of years so things are getting a bit thin. Dunno what your route was...

Happy birthday youngster.

Someone else's birthday tomorrow

More Veloviewer tile grabbing... This time at the top of Waddington/Easington Fell I'd three squares in a row to visit. On the way up the long road climb I passed three cyclists. I was just getting ready to set off and one of them pulled up - John Allen of this parish! So a bit of a chat before I he...