After the Storms

We had a ride today – the first ride for several days.

It’s been cold, windy or raining and often all three ever since we rode the Devonport trails. In a short break in the weather Sue and I were able to scoop up the remains of our concrete birdbath which had been blown over and smashed by a huge blast of wind. No more pictures of ice in that one.

Some time back (on a sunny day) we planned a trip to Kingston south of Hobart to visit friends. While there I had hoped to take along the Brompton, meet Ken and ride one of the lower tracks on Mt Wellington. No chance. During our trip the days were grey, low cloud and very wet. We didn’t factor in winter.

So, after a wet drive home yesterday, it was good to wake to a cool day promising no rain and no wind.

I hadn’t charged the trike battery or the running lights since Devonport but reasoned all would be OK. Colin was free. We set out on a ride to Bishopsbourne and, on the way, found plenty of cloud formations to study.

It was great to be out. We both were wearing several layers of clothing to keep warm even though the day wasn’t really that cold. And I didn’t take anything off as I didn’t overheat. Ken says feeling the cold is a sign of old age. Perhaps he is right.

As we passed the dog kennels the power line over the dam was full of perching grey water birds. I stopped to get a picture so we could find out what they are but the action of stopping and moving to find the camera had them all flying away. I Googled “Australian Ibis” but the birds on the wire don’t look like the pictures Google supplied in response, so I am not sure what these grey birds are. Too small for herons; more research needed.

Today is a public holiday .. so the roads were quiet. There was no wind .. so it was quiet. Both trikes were running well .. so it was quiet. All in all a peaceful ride!

Clouds looking towards Bishopsbourne.

Clouds looking towards Longford.

Apart from the cloud studies nothing out of the ordinary happened until we approached Longford. Colin realised one of his flags had gone walkabout so he turned to retrace our route and find it. I carried on home. The lights and trike battery lasted the distance well.

If we have a good day towards the end of the week we plan to put the trikes in the trailer, head off to Westbury and cycle out to Four Springs Lake. I haven’t ridden that one since 2018 when I was riding Red Magnum. Colin has never ridden there. I drove the route last week and found the dirt section to be OK except for the final 1.5 kilometers. That final section has always been rough so no change there.

Four Springs Lake will be the Sunday ride I am leading for the NW Group visit at the end of June. I would like to check the route out before I guide 20+ people along it.

’til next time …………………….