Finally: bike maintenance

I tend to bring my bike in for maintenance quite often. I do many miles on it! This time I was a bit hesitant, as Neil had said he can actually do everything my bike repair man can. But would he actually want to do it when push came to shove? Or would he prefer to go on a hike? So I discussed it, and we agreed that probably I should just have it done professionally. So I phoned the repair shop.

The first time I did that they didn't answer. The second time, same thing. Oh dear! Was something be amiss? The third time he answered. And he explained that he was temporarily closed, for building reasons. Oh dear. I had already left it a bit late! But he booked it in for when the work was supposed to be finished.

Then I got a text. The work took longer than expected. He would have to postpone the booking. That happened twice. Two more weeks! But then I could finally bring it in.

James, the repair man, explained that the work actually hadn’t even been done. I wasn't sure why he had been closed then, but there must've been a reason for it. He said he was going to close again in August, hoping to get it done then. But at least I could give him my bike, and I was going to get it back with new brake pads, and possibly new cables, and probably a new chain, and all the things that tend to get done when I bring my bike in.

I got it back quicker than I thought. It looked impeccable again! And he hadn't even needed to do too much. I was wondering soon if he might have underestimated how much wrong with it; the gearing was a bit awful when I got back. Maybe the derailer should've been replaced after all? But at least it braked again like a new bike. And I'll probably have to bring it back before he closes in summer, as he didn't think the chain would last that long. And I'm not a bike snob, but the bike needs to be reasonably good to get me to work in an efficient way, and back!

As new!

Spring!

It's meteorological spring! And it has been feeling like spring. I was quite happy running in only my shorts and vest on the first day of March. And you can see it all around as well. Daffodils and snowdrops everywhere! And the plants and the trees are getting leaves. And the days are getting longer.

Spring isn’t actually my favourite season. I quite like bare trees and dramatic skies. But I do enjoy the perks of spring! And I’ll get mentally ready for the gardening season to start again… 

I know we can still get a cold spell, but at the moment, that is difficult to imagine. It feels like winter is over! 

Bridge not tidal anymore - for now

I had to bring my bike to the bicycle repair shop, so I drove. In the olden days, I would have biked in, and hitched a ride back with Susan, but given that she has moved house, I can't do that anymore. With Martin also having moved house and Chris having changed job, I have to rely on myself now! And that was ok, because it was a Tuesday, and then I have track training. I must admit I sometimes find it hard to bike all the way home after a full day of work and then track training, lugging not only my normal work luggage with me up the hill, but also my running gear.

What does all of this have to do with the bridge? Well! The track is on the mainland, so I have to cross a bridge to get there. I assumed the old bridge would still be tidal, but just to be on the safe side drove past it on my way to the new bridge. Lo and behold, I could just cross! The bridge was a two-way thing again! It meant I was a bit early at the track, but that is ok. And the next day, back on my bike, I could go over the road again, and didn't have to go over the footpath.

Two way bridge! 

I did notice in the local media, though, that this was only temporary relief. The week after, the bridge would go back to tidal. I don't think we are out of the woods anytime soon. But what can we do? We'll have to put up with it!

Automatically feeding the cat

When I spend the night at Neil’s, I have to leave some food out for the cat. It doesn't work so well. She eats it as soon as I put it in her bowl, and then she has to either fast or eat rodents until I get back. I can't leave so much that she won't eat it in one go; she is on a diet. It's not an ideal situation.

Neil has timed food bowls for his cat. They have a lid on, with inbuilt timers, and after the number of hours you set it to, the lid is opened. And he even uses them when he is home. If the cat sees that there are still-closed lids, she knows that at some point they will open, and it doesn't require input from Neil. That means that she does not incessantly howl at him. It seems that she does have that habit if he's not using them. And he often is in online meetings!

I have now nicked his idea, and got me a similar food bowl, where you can provide two meals and set the timers. I thought it was likely, but not sure, that she would understand how it worked. Soon after I had put the food in and set the timer, she was sniffing at them. She clearly understood what was in there! And she was pawing at them as well.

When I came back after the first time using them, the lids were open and the food was gone. Success! I will be using this more often. And it can only do two meals, but if I am away longer than that, I prefer that someone comes in and gives her a bit of attention as well. Cats need more than food! But if I'm away for only one night, I don't arrange a catsitter, and I think this device will make such situations easier. And I might as well also use it when I'm home late, for instance because of track training! 

The traditional and novel food bowls

Pub, finally

I suppose you can tell we are middle-aged! Or are we just citizens of our time? I first met Neil in July, and we went for a walk. We've been doing lots of walks since. All very healthy and responsible! I suppose in my 20s, I would instead have done lots of pub visits. And the same for Neil’s 20s.

Have we been entirely pub-free for these eight months? No! We once went for a pub meal before a walk. I think he had a meal that was actually cooked there, but mine was clearly just from the freezer and the microwave. That was a bit disappointing. Neither of us was having alcohol if I remember correctly. Not the sort of pub visit I would have recognised in my 20s. And the same for a drink we had after a walk. We both had one alcohol-free beer!

Have I been entirely turned off pubs and alcohol? No! So I thought it would be nice to go to the pub  together one day. And after the Borders League race, I actually felt like having a beer. So we headed down the hill. At the foot of the Orme there is the King's Head, which advertise itself as Llandudno’s oldest pub. A fine venue for the occasion! 

It was indeed lovely! The pub has a classic interior, with a huge fireplace that we were sitting near, and they had local beer on tap. What's not to like! And I only had one, but I did enjoy relaxing with an actual beer after strenuous exercise earlier that day. Maybe we'll go more often!

Borders League Birkenhead

It was a close call between the Anglesey 10k and the Borders League in Birkenhead. I had decided that I was not going to drive on my own all the way to Birkenhead. I would only go there if there was car sharing involved. And then I got a message that Helen wanted to car share. And then Anna joined too. So that decided that. Birkenhead it would be!

The day before the race, it turned out that Anna had acquired a bug, and dropped out. That was a pity. But I didn't change my plan. If I'm so against showing up in a car with only one person in it, then I shouldn't be the reason for Helen doing that. So we went. 

Luckily, Helen had been there before, because I was losing all sense of direction when we hit the actual town. To my surprise, parking was easy. We decided to get our race numbers first. Yes, race numbers! Normally you don't have these in a Borders League, but it seemed that the organisation wanted to try out the system, in order to maybe implement it fully in the next season. 

When we were on our way we also saw Olivia, who I had last seen at the Nick Beer. She had told me she had joined a running club, and was thinking of doing Borders League races. And this one was totally in her neck of the wood! It was good to see her. I also ate a sandwich, as I didn't think it would be a good idea to run the whole race only on my breakfast.

When we had our numbers we had a little walk through the park to see where the start and the finish were. I had been told that this park had inspired the design of Central Park in New York! I could imagine it had. It was nice. Then we went back to get into our running kit. I left my jumper on; I figured it was too cold to prance around in only a vest and shorts. This was the first time this year I was running in less than a T-shirt and leggings!

The partner of one of the runners, who wasn't running herself, was so kind as to take my jumper at the start, so I would have it again at the finish. And then we went off! There was no chip reader at the start, so even though we had race numbers (with chip), starting at the back was still a disadvantage. I suppose it only makes things easier for the organisation.

I started a bit fast, but caught myself within tens of meters, I didn't want to exhaust myself in the beginning, and I settled into a pace I thought I could maintain.

We are off! 

We started on a very wide path, heading for an exit, but then making a U-turn and heading back in. That means you could see the runners come the other way, and get an idea of what was going on at the front. And shout encouragements at fellow club members. 

Soon after that switchback we turned into a much narrower path. Overtaking there was a bit more of an issue. But we would do three laps of this park, and the field would certainly thin out. 

The weather was nice and I was feeling good and the kilometres ticked away. And when I came past the start for the third time, I knew that there weren't any women within reach in front of me, nor were there behind me that still had a reasonable chance of overtaking me. So in a way, I could relax. But I did try to keep my speed up.

 

Almost at the finish

Even almoster

When I had finished I shouted at a few more Harriers, but between the second last and the last finishing (there weren’t many of us) I went to get my jumper. And a Welsh cake. Nia Meleri had baked them as it was St David’s day! 

After the race we tried a club picture, and several of us then went to race headquarters for a cup of tea. And then we went home again. And the results came in quite quickly! That is the advantage of chip timing.

I was happy with my result! 7.85 km in 33:55. And 24th woman. 

There seems to be a lot of trouble with authorities this season. This race should have been in Wrexham, but the council seems to have torpedoed that. It seems the Harriers also have issues with their usual Borders League location, for reasons of the council. And the next fixture later this month seems to be having similar problems, and the venue for that race has therefore not been announced yet. I hope it’ll be somewhere not too far away! 

Much tree progress

When the neighbour, who wanted more light in his garden, started cutting down a big tree on the boundary between his garden and mine, I thought I would have a lot of work on. The deal is that he drops all bits of tree in my garden, and that I get the firewood. And he has a chainsaw, so he cuts the big bits 2 size. He tends to leave what doesn't need a chainsaw for cutting.

After that first day I removed all the side branches from the wood I wanted to use as firewood, took the cut bits into the garage and stacked them, threw away what I considered too flimsy, and cut the thinner but still usable branches to size as well. And I expected him to create a new load for me pretty soon after.

It turned out he took a break. There was nothing new coming for a while! Until, at the very end of February, he had the spirit again. 

It turned out that this time, he meant business. I was just working on clearing the first batch when he already showed up to create a second. For a while we were both working on it. He cut two wedges out of trunk that stuck out into my garden, until it sagged with a "crack". I wondered if we should somehow get a rope around it and bring it down, but he had a more pragmatic approach. He went back into his own garden, from which he could kick the trunk. That immediately brought it down! Neatly into my berry shrub.

What I found on the Saturday afternoon 

Work for me to do

Then he brought this one down: more work

I helped him cut that trunk in two, but then I had to go and do other things. And the day after I wasn't going to be there. But when I came back I saw that he had also managed to take down the remaining two trunks. He has done it! An amateur with a battery-powered Aldi- bought mini chainsaw, and he got rid of the entire tree. So his work is now done. Mine sure isn't yet! But at the end of it, I'll have a lovely a load of firewood, and a little think back on these days in a year or two, snug by the fire…