Late October 2024

The batteries need charging.

With the cataract surgery and recovery period behind me I have finally started riding again.

I guess I am trying to stay out of the sun at the moment due to some sun damage that I want to take to a Dermatologist this week – so that’s impacting on riding too. Once I am sorted I will be getting back into the riding !!

A quick ride to Bishopsbourne

I started off with a short Bishopsbourne ride. It was interesting after not riding the lanes for a while. At one point I spotted two groups of bee hives but couldn’t see what the bees were working on.

The hives were in a paddock growing grass. The paddock was bounded by trees and low scrub but nothing seemed to be in flower. What were the bees working with?

Oh well, let’s cycle on. Then, round the bend, the answer

Australia has been free of the Varroa mite until a year or two back. Now the mite has arrived in New South Wales. As yet it hasn’t spread to the other States but the Tasmanian bee keepers are on notice and their website includes a pest reporting system to help with data collection to give early warning should it turn up.

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It’s Spring and the birds are busy. Plenty seen on recent rides – all the usual suspects – Galahs, White Cockatoos, Swamp Harriers, Starlings, Ravens and so much more. Sadly one group missing from the skies has been the Skylarks. Maybe not ‘Springy’ enough yet or the usual grassy paddocks they nest in are being eaten down by the large numbers of sheep.

The air is gradually warming up after a particularly cold winter (for Tasmania).

Weighing the Camper Trailer

I decided to have another go at weighing the camper-trailer. It’s a question I am asked a lot; “How much does it weigh?”.

Last time I tried placing each wheel in turn on the scales but I didn’t think the method was very accurate. This time I would try balancing the trailer on it’s end on the scales.

To save damage to the internals I took out all boxes, pull-outs, wooden items and, well, everything. I will be able to weigh each item not included separately and add to the unladen weight (Tare) to get the total loaded weight (Aggregate Trailer Mass (ATM)) for the trailer.

Well, that was easier said than done. The main problem was actually getting the trailer to balance on the scales without covering the scale display. After several frustrating attempts, Mrs C and I succeeded and came up with a realistic total of 27.8 kilograms for the Tare. And to prove it ………

I then weighed separately the Foot and Side extensions and the 4 boxes each with a part load. In total they weighed a further 18 kilograms, bringing the total to a surprising 45.7 kilograms.

For a camping trip there will be a few more items to add including food, water, spare batteries etc which will easily bring the ATM up to 50 kilograms. Crikey. It makes you realise the penalty for pulling around a comfortable place to stay.

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Hopefully I will get a good result from the Dermatologist and more riding will follow.

Finally – the Bike E. I took it south so Ken could try it out but it was stolen from his storage area a few weeks ago. I guess it was of interest due to the electric wheel and Schlumpf drive I fitted to it. It would be a bit obvious to ride around as I woud think it is the only Bike E in Tasmania.

’til next time ………………