Solo Ventures

 Truth is that I've been in the doldrums. A weekly, or worse, 40 to 60 km on my folding bike was barely keeping me fit. I needed to become an actor, not a viewer.  With the bugs out of the trike, today is a good a day as any. Without ado I shoved off at early dawn.  Overnight rain & cloud created a beautiful calmness.  The damp earth soaked up noise, bird the only sound.   Lights on & flag hoisted, the little trike showed itself well to the occasional motorist.  Rear gear selection was hindered by a slack cable,  so a few stops for cable adjustment were made.   Three reluctant walkers became animated excitedly the trike emerged from the gloom .  "Hey how about swapping", till one swapping"of them suggested against it because "because "it doesn't have an engine". Fitness is about positive attitude & finding something you love doing I hope to begin filming my trikepacking rides when I get my mileages up. I wish I had been filming this mor

Got out & ride my trike for 40+km. Enjoyed so much + comments.  Brought Clinker to house for repairs. 

 Today in the Triking World there were preparations for a ride tomorrow.  For me,  this entails completion of my paid & unpaid (household) work & repairing my young adult children's  motor vehicles.  One of those vehicles is an ageing ex- military Land Rover that seems to need about 4 hours ac week just too keep rolling.   Then? Them I can address my trike.  Having only had two rides,  it's very much tuning in & teething problems.  This week I ordered a spare tyre & tubes,  fitted a flag  & rear vision mirror.  Yet again I'm happy with my local bike shop (lbs). Not only do they have what I need,  it's good quality & very affordable.   Tomorrow I'll be up with the sparrows & getting out for a good ride.  

           The Seller provided a Greenspeed GT5 pennant. I bought two 6mm fibreglass tubes  from a local hobby supply shop. They were sold as framing material for kitemaking, & were very cheap.    Together they may save my life, at least give me some peace. On order is a meter long sock type flag.  I'll load up both flag ports on either side of the seat back.  Also on order is a new Schwalbe Marathon tyre & some tiny little tubes.  Peace,  love & human powered travel. 

 My reason for not riding yesterday was that the wind was too strong. It left me feeling like shit,  physically pear shaped & emotionally doubting my toughness.   Time to man up.  "You live more in five minutes on a bike like this than some people do in a lifetime".  " I've  always tried to not be scared of anything".  "If you don't follow through on your dreams,  you might as well be a vegetable".                               Burt Munro                      The World's Fastest Indian    Well, this morning the wind came up with a vengeance,  & when I pushed through that little hick-up, I discovered I had a flat tyre. Well fuck, thinks I, a chicken shit would pack it in.  Well,  not me,  not today.   Loading groceries.   Puncture repair.  I plucked the tube out & marveled at the beautiful engineering of the & tube.  Even the tube was a work of art.  With some air I could see green gel bubbling out from a small knick on the insid

 I'm not feeling groovy with my new trike after today's virgin ride but I think I can see better days ahead.  WHAT WORKED?  Folding Frame: The first few doing this were awkward. But after learning that a firm hand on the cam lock & soft hand to collapse the frame, were best, it all felt better. Striped down she could still be wheeled about on the front wheels,  lifting was all arms & legs the first time,  but getting a grab hold clear of the pilot chain ma se it easy.  This is pretty important after going through the trouble to choose a folding trike. Getting on & off trains easily will come down to technique & starting on track I will get better & develop more confidence.  The Seating: Well its "Good Different". During this 20k ride & the morning after,  I 've had no butt pain. Let's just feel on that,  no sore butt during or after a ride - that is huge!   The laid back position takes weight off wrists & hands,  so no surprise ther

 Well,  GT5 arrived at 01.15 yesterday & was collected from the trucking depot in Cardiff later that day.  I had a team of 60-something depot people dotting about looking for a bike in a box.  They found it pretty quick considering that a Depot Collect is rarely allowed.   My stress or excitement level eased,  knowing I had GT5 in my possession. Just as a chuckle,  as we loaded it it began to rain.  There'd been heavy cloud building all afternoon & really anything was possible,  even flooding which was gripping towns out west. In the end we had fifteen drops on the windscreen & I was able to visit my mum & tidy her yard as well.  This would free up tomorrow to assemble or ride (?) my blue trike.   Despite having had a full day,  I set up to begin assembly as soon add I could.  Bubble wrap was sliced open to reveal a beautiful frame,  near new chain rings,  nothing showing signs of corrosion (except one bit I couldn't yet see). The tyres had been deflated.  I kne

 Checking my courier link as the first rays of predawn light drown out the stars,  I am overwhelmed to see that my new- to- me trike has arrived at the local depot.  Still 60k away,  but as close as she's getting with that service.  My Kids Mind wants to drop everything & go get it,  unpack it on the spot,  leave shit all over the sidewalk & trike home.  But,  nope,  I'm not a kid anymore. There are animals to feed & one slightly overgrown lawn to address before the fun can get underway. Hold your horses Tex!     

 " We are on a highway to hell with our foot on the accelerator" Guiterrez, COP 8 Nov22 My blue trike may be in the air as I write. I'm tracking it like I "watch dots " on multiday bikepacking events.  "Loaded" & "sorted" at Hazelmere near Perth last night.  The it got ticketed for dispatch,  I'm thinking it's act the Perth,  Western Australia airport ready for loading & it's flight eastwards.   I'll  be triply glad to hold it in person i. to realise that it has safely arrived,  ii. to actually own a trike for the first time,  & iii. so I won't have to see the Seller's ear up close during video calls  ever again.  A decent guy,  but geez shave your ears man! Ha. Reading Heidi Domeisen on CrazyGuy. She rocks! And is  someone I want to be like when I grow up & get my trike sorted.  She has a great humour, rides far & is not afraid of herself. Though it seems that she rode a No Name brand trike over 20

As I suggested to the Bank Lady, two grey beards with chubby fingers, on either side of Australia & a preference to forget minor details. That's how three different on- line payments failed.   Then she warned me about OSKO payments. "If you make an error on OSKO it can take 90 days to retrieve your funds". I know that's not exactly right.  It depends on your error type.  If you simply tap the wrong account derails it will bounce back immediately.  But if you send it to a real bogus account ... out will take 90 days.  Don't ask me how I know.  Anyhoo all this pfaffing about is delaying delivery of my "new" Greenspeed GT5 folding trike with gear changing facilities.  Sorry Hyacinth! Meanwhile I wrote Tasmanian trike blogger/ vlogger Ant/Tony Cullimore and asked if he had any good triking sites up his sleeves & he referred me to Graham William's Youtube channel.  Oh what a find! Bucket (sorry Hyacinth) loads of long vlogs of rides& tours aro

 Today has been a Big Day for Good and Bad Reasons.  I want to finish on a Good Note,  so I'll  get the Bad out first.  Today is My Dad's 11th Anniversary. On a Friday he went out along in this car to run some errands and he never made it home again. He had a massive heart attack aged 80 years.  He was slowing up a bit,  but he was typically a powerhouse of energy, especially when working for others. To his credit,  he worked hardest for those most in need.  Fifty plus years of volunteer welfare work for two different organisations,  for 25 years of 24 x 7 he was my mum's primary carer. And beyond that the guy was the loudest,  most energetic and people persons I've had the privilege to know.  I never told him that though. It wasn't until I took over mowing and gardening his yard and caring for mum 2 days each week,  that I realised what was going on.  I never told him how impressive it was to witness him turn his life around,  deep everything he loved doing for him

 Something new,  with three wheels? Perhaps.  I'm just at that point where "shit just got real" as they say.  A casual browse on Gumtree and an innocent inquiry on the Velomobile For Sale Facebook page,  has on the trike rack deciding between two fabulous trikes.   Trike One: Greenspeed GT5 folding trike in good conditions.  $2300 + $350 p&h .   Good Points:    * clean,  quality folding trike that will do trike touring, car replacing and fun, for not much money.      * folding is great for trains, planes and car travel as well as storage.   TRIKE two: Rotovelo in showroom condition with less than 1000k on the clock.  (Not the actual RV, but the same model and color.) Good Points:    * A real car replacement lifestyle choice.  This baby is not going in any train or carboot.     * Capable of fast passages,  with rugged reliability all weather triking with dry storage.  The questions I must all myself basically relate to commitment.  Am I ready for a boots and all lifest