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Post by Humph on Sept 25, 2016 10:37:07 GMT
...you look outside in a morning, and note with delight that the overnight rain has stopped and you decide that you'll go for a ride in the forest. You get the bikes onto the car, drive to a suitable venue, the sun is now shining, the forest is empty and beautiful, you briefly consider taking waterproofs but decide you can't be bothered so you just jump on the bike in cargos, wraparounds and a t-shirt. You get 8 or nine miles from the car, life feels like it frankly couldn't get much better. Then it chucks it down with rain, I mean really throws it down. The trails turn to gloop, the tyres stick like you're riding through chewing gum, the t-shirt and the cargos are soaked and cold, and you still have to do the 8 or 9 miles back to the car knowing that you didn't bother to bring a change of clothes this week and that even when you get back, there's a 40 minute drive home...
Yeah, that was our morning today. How was yours?
😕
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Post by Hofmeister on Sept 25, 2016 10:43:45 GMT
...you look outside in a morning, and note with delight that the overnight rain has stopped and you decide that you'll go for a ride in the forest. You get the bikes onto the car, drive to a suitable venue, the sun is now shining, the forest is empty and beautiful, you briefly consider taking waterproofs but decide you can't be bothered so you just jump on the bike in cargos, wraparounds and a t-shirt. You get 8 or nine miles from the car, life feels like it frankly couldn't get much better. Then it chucks it down with rain, I mean really throws it down. The trails turn to gloop, the tyres stick like you're riding through chewing gum, the t-shirt and the cargos are soaked and cold, and you still have to do the 8 or 9 miles back to the car knowing that you didn't bother to bring a change of clothes this week and that even when you get back, there's a 40 minute drive home... Yeah, that was our morning today. How was yours? 😕 You were damn lucky, My day was much, much worse. Hellish in fact. One of my fried eggs broke. |
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Post by Humph on Sept 25, 2016 10:45:42 GMT
Fried eggs? That's a good idea, got some cold ham too.
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Post by Hofmeister on Sept 25, 2016 11:17:44 GMT
Currently my cycling is curtailed., Nursing a very nasty and very painful thigh strain. A quick question, do you take any tools with you on your 9 miles away from base jaunts?
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Post by Humph on Sept 25, 2016 11:40:33 GMT
Yes, only basics though. Just a Multitool ( allens, etc ) spare tube, mini pump and a couple of cable ties. All stashes in a wee pouch under the saddle. I put the car keys in there too in a knotted freezer bag to keep them dry.
Amazing what you can temporarily cobble together with a cable tie if something breaks.
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Post by tyrednexited on Sept 25, 2016 11:48:02 GMT
Did 56 miles along The Mosel yesterday, to Trier and back; a mix and match selection of the tracks on either bank.
Previous outing was 20 miles or so of rough Schwarzwald track, miles from anywhere.
I noticed that SWMBO was riding on a completely flat front tyre, fast; downhill. The fact she didn't notice speaks volumes for the quality of the suspension forks, and/or her complete lack of mechanical 'empathy'. (Guess which my money is on).
So, I always carry enough tools to tighten most bits up, and enough patches to fix a few punctures, which is a good thing, as pushing the bike 10 miles back (mostly uphill) wasn't an inviting prospect.
As it was, the puncture was easily fixed, but the sidewall wire inverted itself on removing the tyre, and was an absolute sod to turn the wall back in on itself.
Always carry tools!
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Post by Humph on Sept 25, 2016 12:41:11 GMT
Sounds lovely. ( not the puncture ) the ride. Used to have to drive to and from that sort of area back along. I used to work for a company whose headquarters were in Stuttgart, or just outside the city anyway in a place called Kornwestheim, which has a British telephone box on one of its streets funnily enough. Want to say we used to pass Trier on the way to or from there sometimes and also call into Luxembourg for cheap things you don't really need but quite enjoy.
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Post by tyrednexited on Sept 25, 2016 14:27:08 GMT
.... which has a British telephone box on one of its streets funnily enough. They must have a bit of a thing for them in Germany; We've seen at least four of them this holiday. Ah well, back to Hull tomorrow night (where there are less red phone boxes than in Germany). |
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Post by Humph on Sept 25, 2016 15:02:09 GMT
Will you get away again before the winter? I once went to Salzburg in late October when the weather here was still fairly mild but there, it was already getting pretty cold, especially at night. Good drive through the Alpy bits in the Golf GTi I had at the time.
We were just finding accommodation as we went and had a strange experience one night in a pub in rural Austria. We'd asked for a room for the night and if we could eat there. They said they could help us with the room but that the restaurant was being used for a private function but we could eat in the bar. No problem we thought and accepted the room.
Later on we saw a gathering in the restaurant where everyone was dressed in WW2 German military uniforms, jackboots et al, and were having a dinner, speeches, and singing, shall we say, rather politically non PC songs from 40s Germany...
Very weird.
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Post by tyrednexited on Sept 25, 2016 15:17:24 GMT
Not abroad, but we tend to do winter jaunts in the UK when the weather allows.
We were just working out and we've had just over 70 days in the 'van so far this year.
Last time I was in Salzburg was after abandoning the mountains when my knee blew up 3 years ago. That was on the cusp of Sept/Oct, and the weather was good. Salzburg is OK, but there is better Austria.
The Austrians can be more German than the Germans in some things. Did you join in with the Horst Wessels song?
Stuttgart is OK apart from all the scheiss taxis.
😎
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Post by Humph on Sept 25, 2016 15:19:57 GMT
70 days? Blimey, people get less than that for assault !😛
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WDB
Full Member
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Post by WDB on Sept 26, 2016 8:54:27 GMT
The Austrians can be more German than the Germans in some things. Bill Bryson in Neither Here nor There reports meeting two young Germans on a train in Austria. He quotes one of them with (I think) necessary completeness: "Sure, Austria is beautiful, but it's full of fucking Austrians." |
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Post by Hofmeister on Sept 26, 2016 9:35:56 GMT
The Austrians can be more German than the Germans in some things. Bill Bryson in Neither Here nor There reports meeting two young Germans on a train in Austria. He quotes one of them with (I think) necessary completeness: "Sure, Austria is beautiful, but it's full of fucking Austrians." I used to like reading Bryson, "Notes from a small island" was particularly delightful, but his output became so prodigious and increasingly formulaic that it became a tedious bore. |
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Sept 26, 2016 10:12:45 GMT
Yes, I've had the same feeling. NHNT is an early one and almost unbearably funny in places. There's an account of a transaction in a small French shop that I once tried to read aloud and nearly died of asphyxia. But his travel writing has become repetitive and his more 'learned' stuff tends to descend into lists of facts without the narrative thread he used to weave so well.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 26, 2016 11:37:23 GMT
In similar vein to Humph's OP, I had a somewhat interesting Saturday as a result of a small mistake/error of judgement.
I was performing an oil and filter change on the Mazda, taking advantage of the clement weather whilst it lasts. Jacked the car up, drained the oil, removed the filter, fitted the new one. So far so good, right? Poured in the fresh oil, and started the car to fill the filter before the usual dipstick check and top up. Seconds after I turned the engine on, there was a horrendous gushing/hissing sound and something liquid starts flying all over the engine bay. I jump out to look - sh1t it's oil! Going everywhere! ARRRGGHHHH!
Switch off engine and look under car. Massive, growing pool of oil, soaking through the sheets I'd put down and off to the sides also, all over the brick paving. Oh FFS, what the hell happened? Got back under the car to look and realised - the seal off the old filter had stuck to the car and I hadn't noticed when removing the filter. I'd screwed the new filter on top of it. Out blew the oil once I'd switched the engine on. Removed and refitted the filter and all was well.
Spent the rest of the day trying to clean the engine bay and drive way with the hose/pressure washer but it's still all over the place. Will need some proper cleaning solution or other to finis it off properly.
Good job I'd ordered 2x 5 litre containers of oil so I had enough on hand to replace the 3 litres which went over the driveway......
Gah. Always knew there was a reason I prefer cars with paper oil filters which you change from the top of the engine.
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