Six Thousand, Seven Hundred and Twenty.

That's the current photo and video count on my Nikon. I have `now overtaken the Kodak that stood at 6431. I've had the Nikon a third of the time. I might be able to claim “Nutter with a shutter” status now.

Jo and I went to Oban this past weekend. His parents were doing their tour of the children and the country. As we were to leave on the Saturday boat and return on the Tuesday evening ferry we thought to contact a cycle shop in Oban to get the trike serviced. We had all the parts, but it is nicer for someone who's done this for a while to do it. So on Saturday I got the bus and Jo set off with the trike.

We had the Clansman out and back.

It came in to Tiree very light.

Positively swung round the turn to dock.

It was rather a mixed day weather-wise; consistent wind but inconsistent precipitation. Sun, rain, snow, hail, sleet, we saw it all in an hour. But the sea was fairly calm and it was a very pleasant sail over. I got a bit of knitting done and had a nice doze, Jo read most of a book.

Once in Oban it was damp. Not outright pouring it down, just constant mizzle with the odd bit of rain. The Clansman had apparently had a bit of a knock to her paintwork below water level.

Jo and the other cyclists had to wait for the cars to disembark, including those on the mezzanine deck, so his parents and I had a bit of a wait for him. But unlike boarding, I got to photograph the trike leaving the ferry. In this case alongside a kayak with it's own little wheels.

We trotted round to the entrance to the flat building and I took the bags up with Jo's parents while he took the trike to the shop. It is a lovely flat and I was so relaxed up there I completely forgot to photograph the view! It was very close to the train station and above the bus stops so we got to spend a fair bit of time watching folk coming and going, including Jo coming back with the trike!

Turned out that the shop had closed early (we don't know why, perhaps an emergency) and they weren't answering the phone either. So Jo and his Mum found it a good place in the car park and we all went shopping to Tesco where Jo purchased two extra bike locks. The trike can easily be moved if you know how unless you add an extra lock or two.

Jo had left his mobile on the ferry, this caused a very amusing scene when it was announced and suddenly everyone on deck did the "have I got mine? dance", caused Jo's parents to laugh on the shoreside.  Before we went shopping we trotted to the ferry office to reclaim it.  I saw this basket of crabs outside a van offering fresh cooked treats:

They are alive.  I was surprised they hadn't made a bid for freedom!  Upon picking one up (a lad watching me jumped back just in case it attacked him) I found out they were very sluggish and grumpy.  Quite hefty critters too.

Sunday the family went to church and I took a wander. I didn't know at that point that there were two sets of keys so I made a mad dash back when I noticed the churches had cleared out only to find them all happily settled. Oh well. That afternoon we went to Curachan, the hollow mountain.

Curachan was the first reversible pump/generator station in the UK, possibly the world (I can't remember) and is 90% efficient, not bad at all! You can't take cameras or bags inside which is actually a nice break. The tour guide and her “glamourous driver” were great and full of enthusiasm even on the last tour of the day. It truly is worth a visit I think, even if all you do is admire the loch.

On Monday we took a footpath in the direction of Dunollie castle. At the end of the paved bit you could either go up to the castle, up into the forest or back the way you'd come. Jo and his Dad went adventuring up into the forest and to the summit of the hill there, his Mum and I decided to walk back. I then went shopping. 

Loved this painting for the seal colony cruise:

I had a list of bits I could only really get on the mainland and that couldn't come by mail without adding extra instructions like “surface mail only”. I had a pretty good explore and satisfied my yarn cravings with a visit to the two yarn shops. Didn't spend a fortune this time either. I even found a new pair of trainers and some snow boots that are waterproof to over the foot. I am prepared for next winter.

Tuesday morning we went to Aldi, Lidl, Homebase and Tesco. Just getting various bits and some fresh stuff to bring home. We got a giant tarpaulin too which we used to wrap up all the shopping and Jo's rucksack in the basket of the trike. The weather forecast said it was going to be Wet on Tiree and it wasn't kidding!

The journey home was a little rougher but while the stabilisers were out it was perfectly fine. The view was rather...monochromatic?

Now then, here's a conundrum for you: What do you do if your phone battery is dead and the only socket available is 7ft off the floor?  The phone won't balance on the poster frames under the socket and the charger cable leaves the phone dangling precariously.

No ideas?  Well, other than the obvious wait until you get to your destination.

Use a detachable hood!

As for the weather at home, WET. Absolutely pouring with rain that had just enough wind to get under hat brims. By the time I got on the bus all I could see was huge water droplets on my glasses. We had planned to unload the trike onto the bus to save Jo effort but it really was too wet for that. So I rode back with two bags on the bus and Jo pedalled back with two crates, one coolbox, one rucksack and various extra bits all wrapped in a tarpaulin in the trike.

He's now outside drilling holes in the trike. But that's another post.

TTFN

Hello March

After months of rain we're finally having a dry spell.  The feeling that Spring is coming is definitely settling over the isle.

So, what's been going on?

Well, I've been busy.  I did some embroideries last year and was on the hunt for fabric to put them on.  I'd tried quite a few when I was given an "old blanket" perhaps for the dog or the bed.  It was perfect!  I cut it in two, removed the original edging (that kind of silky stuff that was all the rage decades ago but feels almost slimy) and got to work.

First was a nice blanket stitch around the edge to bring the colour on the reverse to the front and then using the same yarn to sew down my patches.  Under each patch is a small bit of wadding just to keep the fabric raised enough to feel the embroidery.

Blanket 1 is done:


I am definitely going to add to this but first I need more white cotton to embroider onto.

I'm taking part in another "mystery sock" pattern, this is clue 1:


Clue 2 involves cables and is taking me time.  I've knit cables once and not on tiny needles in sock yarn.  The main time consumer is re-reading which one crosses which way.

Jo spent most of last week in Oban and Inveraray.  I was hoping for the new trike bits to arrive seeing as they said "expected early arrival on Monday" and we hoped they'd come over on the Tuesday ferry.  Nope, they came over on the Sunday ferry, the same one Jo came home on!

He did buy me sock yarn though:


So that will become a present for him :)

The trike!  Oh, the GB of a trike.  I (possibly stupidly) thought I could easily change out the crank and chain while Jo made dinner.  Well, I did manage that, but only because it takes two hours to make dough, let it rise, make sauce and finally make pizza.  The air might also have been a bit blue towards the end.

The beginning was fairly easy.  Prop bike on bricks, remove chain housing, remove crank and chain.  What I hadn't realised was that the new crank did NOT come with a new pedal.  So I got the spanner and tried to remove the old pedal.  Then we got the hammer.  Finally, after a little Googling to check we were going the right way, we got the 8 foot long pole.  Leverage at its finest!  After a few turns with the pole it was possible to use just the spanner.  Once out the pedal easily screwed into the new crank.  New crank easily went on.  Too easy.  You know how I mentioned the old teeth had worn?

This is a brand-spanking new chainring:


Note the  squared off tips to the "teeth" and how they are all uniform in size.

Now look at the old chainring:


Note the absence of uniformity and the pointedness of the "teeth".  Yep, "used to it's full potential" is one way of putting it.  So, due to wear, the old chain was a bad way of measuring the new one; I was two links short and had to do some fiddling.  I then put the chain on the back ring, draped it over the front and started turning the pedal to slip the chain on.  Not going.  The end result was a serious loosening of the back wheel so it would slide forward far enough to slip the chain on.  Then followed the realigning of the back wheel and tightening of nuts.

Jo had ordered a new chain guard, quite a good idea as the old one had been ground down in places by poorly seated chains.  Little did we realise it would be a necessity.

Yep, the old chain guard would not fit on the new chainring.  This is where the air started to turn blue.  I had tried the new guard but the new design means it is a right PITA to fit.  There's a bit that's meant to just slip into the end of the two main parts.  On the old design it did that easily; on the new design you have to juggle all three at once because if you try and secure any one part the other two won't play.  Still, I did it, I adjusted it so the chain didn't rub and had a lovely dinner.

The next day Jo told me it rode wonderfully.

So now we have these bits sitting about:


Not sure if they can just be put in the bin or if someone might like them for some modern art.  Possibly excepting the guard; they're pretty much useless.

Today.  Today has been wonderful if mentally knackering.  The weather has been spectacular:


The livestock have had chance to begin drying and even enjoy the sun.


The cable laying boat (I assume, I couldn't check AIS while I was out) was busy:




I was with ten others learning First Aid.  I hadn't done it for 13-14 years and was actually quite impressed at how much I remembered.  I will admit to being one of those "annoying" ones that asked questions and perhaps got a bit giggly in the afternoon!  But it was great and the instructors were excellent and very happy to answer questions.

When I got home I spotted the moon!


A little manipulation later and...



Hello moon!

There are also these cuties across the road:


Most unimpressed about being in bags but probably happy to be dry.

That's about it really.  I'm still helping at An Iodhlann and we've gone through quite the quantity of credits updating the records.  The person currently funding that is most likely unimpressed at the rate we got through them but seems glad at the outcome.

Finally, I shall leave you with some snipe and hares:











TTFN.

Two years and 11 days

Yes really.  That's how long we've now been Tiree residents.  I was planning a post similar to the last annual update but the weather here has been Wet with a side of sodden.  I also broke my camera mid January and it was away for two weeks for repairs.

But I still have some photos to share!

The tapestry is progressing well.  January saw all twelve panels joined together:


Some rearranging was done to the odd item that didn't look quite right but overall it's amazing.  The border is now being mocked up and the plan is to use words of a song written to look like waves.  There are still bits that need to be embroidered or other bits that need sewing down but considering when I moved here all that was done was some shells, mugs and cakes it's doing well!

There are even thoughts on what to do next.  The main plan is not something so intensive.

The weather truly has been wet.  We're used to getting a puddle in the back garden but the driveway at the front being 2" deep is new:



There's also a puddle near the front olearea (I'm never going to fathom that spelling!):


We have had some dry days though.  One day it was so clear you could see Eigg and Rum and co:





There was also a lovely view from Scarinish to Mull's snowy peaks:


It's currently 2:45am.  When I woke up an hour ago the moon was so bright I just had to go out:




There are hailstones galore piled up out front and more falling, but during the brief dry spell the moon was lovely.

The trike isn't happy with me.  After two years of very good use it was decided to change the chain as well as the rear tyre and rear inner tube.  Jo got a puncture last week so I took advantage of having the trike home during daylight to just do the whole lot.  Poor trike ended up looking like this:


The tyre was only 9 months old:


But why was the pedal missing?  Turns out that a trike being "used to its full potential" as said by the bike place we bought it from slowly deforms.



You see, the chainring starts off with very uniform "spikes" that go into the chain to hold it while force is applied.  Over two years those spikes don't wear down, they flatten.  The side that is pushing against the chain is under enough force that over time the metal widens.  If you don't really notice this the thickened metal starts to wear into the chain and the plates holding each link together get weakened and eventually the weakest snaps.

That happened last year.  I cannibalised a chain to repair it with the plan of a full overhaul come Easter.  So there I was last week; hands black with grease and road dirt trying to get the new chain on.  It sat on the rear wheel sprocket absolutely fine but was refusing to lock into the front chainring.  After arguing with it for ten minutes I fathomed the problem.  The teeth had widened so much that a new chain simply wouldn't fit.

Just for comparison; this is what 2 years does to a chain:

Top is the 2yo rusty, stiff chain.  Bottom is the brand new, shiny, free moving chain.

So, after a Google to remind me how to remove the crank I left our poor trike in the sorry state above and contacted the bike shop.  Turns out the Bakfiets, who make this trike, make the chainring and pedal crank as one piece.  One piece that the bike shop don't keep in stock or have even had to source before.

So poor GB (Grumpy Bastard) as I have nicknamed the trike sat for a few days with no crank or chain.  But when the bike shop had no ETA on the replacement I put him back together.  That lasted a day before the chain snapped again.  More cannibalising; more blackened hands and for now GB is going.

We're just hoping the new part doesn't cost a fortune!  We did some looking of our own and the part needed isn't obviously available.  A replacement that would work comes somewhere in the realm of £150.

So, Bakfiets, while I love how easily maintained your cargo trikes are: consider either making that part easily sourced or making it so the chainring and crank are separate.  Thank you!

That's about it for now.  I'm going to go knit and watch something.

TTFN.