Despite the fact I'm still working I do have more spare time as the 3 hour rides after work are on hold. To help alleviate the boredom I've got round to some jobs/projects I've planned to do for a while and also dreamed up some new ones.

Firstly I tidied the shed, this was long overdue. I managed to organise it without any expenditure using old wiggle boxes, takeaway pots and a sharpie



I also finally threw out my collection of seized bearings, not sure what I was keeping them for although as I can't go to the tip (and it's closed anyway) they aren't technically thrown out yet just in a box of scrap so there is still time for a change of heart and keep them

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To liven up the #backyardbivi I've decided I will film next months. Having dug out the gopro I thought I would need some mounting options to keep it interesting so I've knocked up a chest mount.

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And whist the machine was out I made a fleece lined bag to store the camera in when not in use. The fleece should hopefully protect the lens from getting scratched.

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Using up considerably more time I've made a new seatpack. This takes the design features of several commercial ones and combines them into one bag. The webbing daisy chain around the outside is like the Aplkit I have and the dimensions are similar to the Apidura 9L. I've found with my Apidura that it has a narrow range of volume due to the way the side straps are attached. For the new one I've gone roll-top and shortened the length of the stiffened panels to give a wider range of volumes. At the max size



and rolled down smaller



After this I made this special piece of kit



Only took a minute but will be appreciated by it's new owner....



Obviously it's a bivi bag fro Ralph, my socially distanced bivi companion

So what bike related things have you now found the time for?

Isn't Ralph going to get a wet head when it rains though?

Sean if u really get bored u could always make me a frame bag for my salsa obviously there would be some cash involved

benp1 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 27, 2020 2:09 pm Isn't Ralph going to get a wet head when it rains though?

Ralph is smart and takes a tarp... we'll he'll be under mine unless I make him one of his own

But he doesn't have any bug protection. Luckily the dreaded midge is hundreds of miles north of our bivi location

Mike wrote: ↑Mon Apr 27, 2020 2:12 pm Sean if u really get bored u could always make me a frame bag for my salsa obviously there would be some cash involved

I hadn't included my frame bag, ops.



It was a right pain to make as it's so small. It had to be custom as I'd re-drilled my frame to move the bottles so I could get a second 500ml bottle in.

I'd have to be pretty bored to take on another one especially without the frame to hand. I made mine before I built the bike up so I would have it to hand to test fit as I went. Even then the small size of the front radius made sewing the sides on an exercise in patience

Mike, I'm sure there are commercial bags available for yours, but you might loose one/both of the bottle spaces?

Edit, there's a genuine Salsa one

https://salsacycles.com/components/cate ... frame_pack

I've returned to a project to build an open source cycle route map editor. It should run on any platform (Mac/Linux/PC) and will support a lot of different map types. This screenshot shows it working with vector maps.

I've got the loading/saving/editing of GPX files working well, including Alan G's 10,000 point HT550 route which was a decent challenge. Now I'm integrating height data (hard) then moving on to some challenging bits like auto-route calculation.

Not really got an end goal in mind other than seeing what is possible with my limited C++ skills ..oh and actually getting something finished for once.

Dave

Do you know about the https://openrouteservice.org/ API?

quimarche wrote: ↑Mon Apr 27, 2020 8:00 pm Dave

Do you know about the https://openrouteservice.org/ API?

Yes. It uses OSRM which I am building locally into my package. The reason being that openrouteservice uses a generic cycling weightings file and I want to add in exciting things like actually going up hills.

I'm looking forward to seeing your route editor in action. It sounds a much worthier cause than making a bivi bag for a stuffed monkey

In my defense, C++ sounds like an extra strong vitamin to me so I'll have to work with the skill set I have

It appears that Dave has got us beat Sean. Aside from the usual and never ending tasks that prevent the house from falling down or the grounds from becoming a desolate waste-land, best I can do is tit about with a 60 year old motorbike.

Think we have now relocated the family of 5 that were making themselves known in the compost bucket and recycling box under the kitchen sink.

The mouse follows the peanut butter trail on the top ramp, when in the bottle it swings down to close the neck against the lower ramp. The purple tape was tied by me after capture to prevent escape !

The trap neatly fits into a small daypack for the cycle up to the Downs - I estimate it to be a mile and a half mouse walk back. Plenty more humane (and other) traps on Mousetrap Mondays you tube channel - he even has a pet mouse to try them out.

I have also just found some alarmingly large poohs under my bench in the shed. If there is a resident rat think I may need to scale up.

javatime wrote: ↑Tue Apr 28, 2020 11:06 am The trap neatly fits into a small daypack for the cycle up to the Downs - I estimate it to be a mile and a half mouse walk back.

I used to take my commercial humane trap in the frame bag on my ride to work and drop them off about 5 miles from my house. Any that made the walk back could apply for permanent residence status but I never had any applications so I assume they didn't make it

I like the mouse trap, good job!

My lock down projects are going really badly. I'd like to learn to juggle with 4 balls (am very right hand biased so this isn't going well!) and learn to wheelie properly, which is also going badly!

My current project is trying to get the absolute black oval rings to shift properly on my croix de Fer!

They said that they are compatible with Tiagra cranks....they plainly are not still is keeping me entertained..

E73CB36D-C5E9-404E-A909-20C011698B9A by Chris Harris, on Flickr

AC9FB26E-FF1B-4FE6-A772-B29F22F085DE by Chris Harris, on Flickr

I think I may have finally lost it completely, I was thinking about this

benp1 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 27, 2020 2:09 pm Isn't Ralph going to get a wet head when it rains though?

So decided I should do something about it





That's an exact scale replica of a SMD Deschutes When I first got mine and I was struggling to get a pitch I was happy with I measured it so I could draw it in AutoCad and print it onto stiff paper, that way I could look at the geometry of the pitch without the stretch of the fabric coming into play. I knew it would come in handy one day. I'd say sewing it was harder than if I'd made a full size one and I had to use tweezers to tie the knots on the guys

sean_iow wrote: ↑Thu Apr 30, 2020 5:56 pm So decided I should do something about it

That is the best thing I have seen today.

Shall I make him a carbon pole for it Sean?

Bearbonesnorm wrote: ↑Thu Apr 30, 2020 6:15 pm Shall I make him a carbon pole for it Sean?

I've actually got an off-cut of DAC pole but I need to shorten it. I was thinking of making some pegs but then realised this might actually be the first shelter where the 1g pegs that came with my Laser Comp would be suitable I've never trusted them with a full size tent.

Now that is brilliant. You've excelled even yourself with that Sean . Set the bar now though - what next, tiny pillow?

Should've saved it for Cheery Friday. I'll just have to giggle at it again tomorrow .

In fact this could finally be your fortune-maker. 'My Little Bear' sets (or preferably 'My Little Panda') for kids. Think Action Man (*) or My Little Pony. Limitless scope for bikepacking accessorising, limitless sales. Need a Marketing Executive?

(*) who remembers them eh...

I was a Major Matt Mason sort of kid....

ScotRoutes wrote: ↑Thu Apr 30, 2020 7:09 pm I was a Major Matt Mason sort of kid....

I had to Google him, I don't remember him from back in the day, might have been before my time

Rather annoyingly the pitch on the model Deschutes is better than I manage with the full size one

Matt Mason. That's stirring a few vague memories. Did he have a space station thing you could buy? I think there was a special handshake too... or maybe I'm confusing that with something else..

Gonna have to go and dig out my old Thunderbirds models now. TB1 had wings that popped out. TB2 was good too because you could fly it over the bath, drop the pod into the water, and TB4 could then set off to look for the lost soap in the murky depths before The Hood got there first.

Even still got my Cpt Scarlet SPV - sadly lost the missile years ago. Worth a blooming fortune these days, mint ones.

Sigh. Great days.

Spectrum is green!