Challenges, more than one

I decided to take a look at the various counters that track the number of kilometre I have ridden. Well, how about that? 3 challenges appeared, all to be completed by the end of June.

The Challenges.

1. Odometer on Bluey the Trike. This counter tells me how many kilometers I have covered since installing the 250w motor. Current total = 1958 – an easy one. Challenge: let’s get to 2,000k by end of June.
2. Ride with GPS – yearly total. Currently at 1,893 – also easy. Challenge: Let’s get to 2,000 kilometers for the half year to end June.
3. Ride with GPS – career total. Currently = 9,750. Now, more of a challenge : Let’s get that total to 10,000 kilometers by June 30th.

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There, that should give me something to do. Especially the Career total.

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I have been cycling the lanes between Longford, Bishopsbourne, Bracknell and Cressy for a number of years now. The ride often begins with a run along Wilmore’s Lane. 4 years ago I took the lead picture above just after starting to ride my much loved Vivente touring bike. It had clip-in pedals and so I bought pair of shoes to match. On my first outing I took the above picture – after failing to unclip when stopping, falling and cracking a rib.

Just this last week the house has disappeared.

Initially I thought the idea was to clear the path for an extension of the adjacent pivot irrigator. Then I passed the next day and saw a young couple with an older man walking about – too far away to say “Oy what’s happening” but maybe it’s going to be the site of a new house. We shall see.

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The past few weeks have all been about local riding. Covid restrictions meant that all rides had to start from home. Since the easing of restrictions the weather has been a bit wet. Generally you can sneak in a 2-3 hour ride at some stage but there has been no set pattern so trips further afield have not happened.

Most days see clouds like this. The question you have to ask is “Is there an hour or so before the next rain?”. Last week I managed to get in 104 kilometers cycled but, in order to meet the Career challenge above, I will have to get out more for the next two weeks.

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A recent addition to the scenery has been groups of Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos. They screech like how you would expect a baby Nazgul to sound. They are ripping into pine cones in a way that says they find them quite delicious and to be eaten with no table manners at all. Bits of pine cone, twigs and leaves are scattered during the destruction. I have come across them in a number of different places – all where pine trees line the road.

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Ride of the week

A few days ago Colin was driving through Prospect (a suburb of Launceston) and came across .. ANOTHER TRIKE RIDER!

So we decided to break out and organised to meet David in Launceston for a ride and a coffee.

We agreed the car park at which to meet and I arrived first – quite early. So I bolted the trike together and took off for a quick ride though the Inveresk Rail Yard (no trains anymore), avoided the tram and entered the Museum for a pee and coffee. After much hand sanitising and registering my presence I found the cafe is closed. So it was a quick one and out again. It was pleasing to find distancing, cleanliness and proximity so high on the organisation’s agenda. I told the person on the Register that I had been unable to download the covidsafe App and he replied that a lot of people had told him that. I have yet to find any technical references to the problem – why can’t these phones download the app? Are they all older Android phones?

After that Museum diversion I returned to the car park and met Colin on the way. Then we met with David at the appointed hour of 11am.

We had a chat and admired David’s Catrike – a US made recumbent. It is newly shod with Schwalbe Marathons which look the business. A tough tyre which will produce a lot less road friction that the Big Apples Colin and I run. The Big Apples give us our suspension though so I will probably keep on using them.

Before any serious cycling began I requested that we head down to Ritual Coffee in a nearby small industrial estate. There I purchased an Aeropress Go. It is a new(ish) version of the Aeropress and will work better for trips. Everything fits inside the cup and so should be good for carrying in the panniers. The only extra items required are the grinder and some coffee beans. Oh. Something to heat water too. Plus the water!

With the smell of roasting coffee up our noses, a cup of coffee for drinking was called for and we headed to SeaPort to see if any of the cafes were open. Cube Coffee was and it was busy. We grabbed a suitably socially distanced table and sat suitably distanced to enjoy a good coffee and bit more chat as we got to know each other.

That done we took off for a short tour of some of the town’s shared trails. It was a nice, calm day following a particularly windy time the day before. Even though there seemed to be plenty of walkers, dogs and pushchairs on the paths all went OK. Even the path by the roadworks was cleared for us with a smile and not a growl. Seeing 3 older guys on trikes does make people smile for some reason and we are the ones that are supposed to smile; the “Recumbent Grin”.

After the ride Colin and David took off from central Launceston to work their way out to Prospect while I returned to the car using a bit more of the shared trail along the top the levee.

I would say a good ride was had by all.

Here is a short video that includes falling leaves, Nazrul screams and, for some actual cycling, some of the Launceston shared trail sights.