Evidently due to my failure to explain that they're cooked
I usually stop there as it's one of the few options for "convenience" food that's low-carb friendly.. although I keep meaning to stock up on uncooked meats for the rest of the week on a Wednesday as it's a win from every direction compared to buying from supermarkets for all the usual reasons. I'm also hoping the costs might be reasonable with three large cooked sausages costing £2.40, which is less than a comparable six uncooked would cost from a supermarket.. and they're significantly nicer too.
Sounds like a worthy excursion to the lakes - good work
Added to the gear shopping list; although I fear I might only be able to get one with loops large enough to fit chippolatas..
Indeed; athough my route was probably within a mile or two of where it happened. Think I'd probably just about got home by the time that happened..
So, more ineffectual ramblings.
Following Monday's storm temperatures have fallen to more seasonally-appropriate levels, being around 12 degrees in the mornings according to the Met Office.
Despite the relative chill, yesterday's trip in was mostly bright and managed in lightweight trousers and base-layer; somewhat cold to start but after maybe 1.5 miles my core had warmed up, my hands getting there after maybe three miles. Again a nice ride in, although lots of people and amonst them several knobheads apparently unconcerned by the prospect of their dogs getting run over - in each case resulting in me coming to a complete stop while they sorted themselves out; despite being repeated fore-warned of my presence in good time by the bell.
The tow paths have become littered with leaves in a few places after Monday's storm and both canine-themed emergency stops saw the rear wheel locking up briefly under braking; the front thankfully retaining grip. As I've mentioned before the bike can feel skittish / lacking in grip on slippery (smooth / wet) surfaces - not sure if this is due to the tyre size, compound or a combination of the two. I'm certainly going to have to be careful going into winter as conditions continue to deteriorate..
On the subject of tyres, the "75psi" tried in the rear last week initially seemed a little soft, however again inflating to the same pressure using a mate's track pump resulted in a noticeably firmer tyre. Perhaps this was because of a discrepency in gauges between the two; or maybe more likely because the first time this was done in a warm house; the second when the bike had been sat outside in the cool.
As the mornings get darker it becomes increasingly difficult to drag myself out of bed, with the sunrise creeping closer to the journey itself..
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Thankfully there are still periods of bright sunlight howeverl which further enchances the lovely autumn colours creeping into the foliage..
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Last night the usual pub visit was had, followed by a ride back at about 10pm. Temperature management was a bit of a pain; leaving on T-shirt / poloneck / jacket; the latter proving really too warm once I'd done a few miles.
Today was back to overcast skies with a similar temperature. Traffic was crap (relatively speaking) but I had nice ride again thanks to leaving in good time; allowing a stress-free mosey that included a trip to the butchers. There were also noticeably fewer people on the tow path today, which also aided progress; although I did see plenty of kids / families on bikes which (despite my dislike of kids) is always a welcome sight.
The boatyard out the back of Jericho with some moored barges and St. Barnabus' church in the background:
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Looking back to where I'd come from - I think the street on the right contains a house that featured in the Inspector Morse episode "The dead of Jericho"..
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These shots show how much green is left on the trees, how much orange is yet to come and likely how much slippery mulch will end up all over the tow path..
On to the covered market and some poorly-composed sausage-proof for @EltonFrog
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Finally a nice bit of apparently Jabba-the-hut seasonal guerilla knitting on the post box
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Other general points of note.. yesterday I once again ran the sat-nav on the car journey; it's fairly optimistic 42 minutes for the round-the-houses route gradually increasing as the journey progressed; shouting at me repeatedly to turn around as I got closer to Yarnton and the often-mile-long car park between the Turnpike and Peartree roundabouts.
At the point where the phone finally accepted that I wasn't going to do as I was told it re-routed to take me through the traffic - its prognosis being 40 minutes to cover all of 11 miles; which would probably have seen me chewing on my steering wheel / the face of a fellow commute-slave. Thankfully it took me less time to cover the more direct, and infinitely more pleasant 8 mile route on the bike.
This massive bullet dodged daily thinks to the Brompton, unfortunately the traffic continues to stalk me - a small delay this morning as vehicles were queued over the Turnpike again, meaning a delay before I could turn right; while it seems to be getting noticeably worse further out too - perhaps because the traffic light durations through my grotty village (and potentially beyond) seem to have been significantly lengthened; meaning big, long road-trains of cars that seem to accumulate at lights more than were they in smaller strings... this also making it a pain to pull out of side-roads in the village too
This concludes another scintillating update - while the bike's had a good run in the dry recently it's chains now squeaky and ginger again thanks to Monday night's rain - no big thing as it's nearly due a mileage-based wax anyway, while I'm keen to check the chain wear against my new item and take a look at the sprockets, as my gut tells me the waxed setup might defy the conventional wisdom applied to these bikes of replacing both sprockets at the same time as the chain..
Keep em coming Wafter, I love reading of your adventures. Mrs TKK is planning to Rohloff her 2015 M6L, using her Roberts tourer as the donor bike. Should be interesting.
