I took my boat out again yesterday and lost about 10 % of my speed compared to my last trip. So how can this be progress? I’d hoped that by raising the paddlewheel, which propels the boat forwards, I could reduce inefficiency caused by drag of the paddles in the water, whilst still retaining sufficientContinue reading “Slower but still progress.”
So tired.
I’m having new bearings fitted to the rear wheel of my Boardman mountain bike and I won’t get the wheel back until next week. This gave me the opportunity to ride one of my classic bikes and I chose the 1996 vintage Proflex Attack LE. It has around 3 inches if suspension travel at eachContinue reading “So tired.”
Successful Boat Test.
I’ve been a little worried about the lack of speed I’ve achieved so far with my home built, pedal powered catamaran. I’d expected to be slightly faster than I was in my previous dinghy but so far, I’ve been around 10% down on pace. Last time out I had a length of rope trailing inContinue reading “Successful Boat Test.”
Flower of the Week, 21st June 2023.
Today, rather than photographing an individual type of plant, I made a short video of our back garden.I only did one take, after all I’m not looking for a regular TV slot. After a month without rain we’ve had a months worth of rain in a few days but most things have survived well. I’dContinue reading “Flower of the Week, 21st June 2023.”
Sixth trip in my new boat.
I’m still in the testing stage with my new boat so each trip is a learning experience. Today I pulled the boat down to the canal and noticed a grinding sound from one of the new wheels, which has made only one such journey before. I had to replace the wheel with a spare forContinue reading “Sixth trip in my new boat.”
Perfect conditions for a mountain bike ride.
After almost a month without even a drop of rain we’ve finally had some thunderstorms. Yesterday morning the sun was blazing and drying the surface but the dust had been compacted by the previous night’s rain. It’s difficult to imagine better conditions for mountain biking. I’ve been testing my nearly finished pedal powered boat soContinue reading “Perfect conditions for a mountain bike ride.”
Another boat test.
Today was due to be hot, with temperatures reaching 29 Celsius or 84 Fahrenheit. We’re not used to this in North West England so I got out in the morning before the temperature reached its maximum. Since my last pedal powered boat trip I’ve lowered the paddlewheel height by 4 cm. I chose this figureContinue reading “Another boat test.”
Real progress with the boat.
I finished some modifications to my newly built boat yesterday, with the intention of testing today. After my last test I thought that I needed to gear up the paddle wheel to make it rotate more quickly. After a little thought I realised that this would be the wrong approach. I simply hadn’t been gettingContinue reading “Real progress with the boat.”
Flower of the Week, 6th June 2023.
We have spread our Camasias to several places in the garden. The only problem is that they are also a prolific self seeder. The trick is to enjoy the flowers then mercilessly cut the seed heads off before they spread seed everywhere. Our camasias are the rarer white variety. A blue form is far moreContinue reading “Flower of the Week, 6th June 2023.”
An unusual ride.
Normally I like a twisty trail in the hills to add action and excitement to a ride. Today, though, I chose a different type of ride on my mountain bike. I rode for around 17 miles, mainly along the canal bank. The main reason for this is that I had suffered some tendonitis in myContinue reading “An unusual ride.”
Mountainbiker 