While the sun shines.
In early November the paddocks seemed full of lambs and calves getting bigger and fatter. Born during the cooler weather they are responding very well to the improved pasture.
Now it’s hay.
I took a ride to Bishopsbourne yesterday and was surprised at the amount of hay-making going on. Any sheepless/calfless paddock is being cut and baled.
BUT – they I noticed that mostly the bailers were not waiting for the hay to dry and some of it was being bailed green using normal hay bindings.
Ah – the explanation. As I rode on I spotted at the far end of a paddock a machine that was wrapping the hay bales with silage plastic forming a long, long tube with multiple bales inside. We had seen this on the mainland but not in Tassie before. My pictures of the tubes were crap as it needed max telephoto (42x) and the results were blurry so you don’t get to see that!
Will more hay be cut this year so the farmers don’t run out again over winter? Looks like that’s the idea.
Riding in November
I must admit to still riding well below the distance set by my New Years Resolution. In fact it has been only one ride a week recently, each with a distance of between 30 and 40 kilometres.
Some of this is (I hope) due to the change of car and subsequent wait for a tow bar to be fitted. The latest estimate of tow bar arrival is sometime in December. I would love a ride out of the local area but without a tow bar I can’t take the trike to areas away from Longford. It won’t fit in the back of the car even with the rear seats folded, the space is just too short and the floor just too high. Of course I could remove the trike seat and fold the thing but that’s too much of a hassle and I might not be able to raise the awkward bundle to the necessary height anyway.
I keep telling myself to forget the trike, load up Brompton and go for a 2 wheel ride. If the tow bar doesn’t come soon that’s what will have to happen.
Ken’s Last Ride in the north
After a fall and subsequent system collapse, Ken passed away a couple of weeks ago at the age of 91. How good was it that Andrew and he managed to get up here last summer and we rode some of the NW Coastal Path together. A trip Ken really enjoyed; so much we has started planning a 2025 event on the same pathway.
The story of our last ride is told in :
I will miss our regular discussions about trike maintenance, trike riding, coffee making and comparing GPs and Specialists.
Dermatologist
Yes, I have been to see one. No significant issues were detected so, as long as I don’t get sunburnt, all is well for this summer. Even my nose which I was worried about. Apparently it looks odd because it has old man’s fatty bits!! Just use the sun screen, and the fly fishing face mask, to keep the sun off.
Hopefully weather and life generally will allow a trip or two away in the new year. The Beriault Camper is longing for another trip.
’til next time ………………..
Tony's Tasmanian Cycling Blog 
Hi Tony,
It is very sad to hear about Ken – I know you wrote a lot about him here in your blog and you must really miss him. May you get in some rides this summer with him in spirit.
I hope your tow bar has shown up now, or you least have some tracking to show it moving your way. It would be nice to have it in time for good weather.
Weather has been very weird here. And pollen levels off the charts extreme for a couple weeks in November that made things quite miserable for many. Now we are on to hot and humid – and everyone complaining because it feels like Qld, not inland NSW.
That silage wrap is a real problem – it’s one of the hardest plastics to recycle/re-use. Part of the problem is that there is always material like rocks and straw and sticks that destroy recycling machinery. There is a place here that takes some of it (google Plastic Forests Albury), and someplace in western VIC is trying to figure out some way to process it more efficiently. At the moment it is just very expensive and hard to turn a profit with low demand for the recycled product (fence posts, parking kerbs, etc) vs the amt out there needing recycled.
Hope you can get out there for some good rides soon and a camping trip or two with the trailer. May the sun be kind to your skin over summer too.
Emily
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Hi Emily. The people I heard talking about silage wrap and recycling were from somewhere near Hamilton – so that matches with the western victorian people. All the local farmers are onside with the trials as they don’t like burying the plastic or – perhaps worse – burning it.
As will be reported in the next episode, we now have a tow bar! Adventures should ensue.
Have a happy Christmas and New Year. Tony and Sue
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