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Upt'North ¹ said :-
Of course you're right Ed, you're our leader.
But those days are indeed rare. Above the 55th parallel just about impossible. Thankfully when those days do occur North Northumberland has plenty of outdoor stuff to entertain one. Also thankfully I'm not a one trick monkey although I'm still an idiot.
Upt.
29/10/2025 09:09:46 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I just read that again and thought.....have I just called Ed a one trick monkey? Not intended but as we know half of those on interwebthingymabobs come to abuse and the others come to be abused. Who sung about that? I digress.
Thankfully for us and one reason we live in this barren lovely location is the opportunity for a stroll on the magnificent beaches, walk in the hills, go wildlife spotting etc. Winter is a great time to be out doing all these and will hopefully be occurring some time soon; tourists, gas boilers, weather and visitors/visiting permitting of course.
Regarding these other fellas painting skills, I'm humbled. If Glyn or Ian can fit me in I'll have a weeks course at either/both on painting for idiots. I will obviously want board, lodging, beer, whisky or whiskey or both and only charge them £50.00 a day. Bargain!
Annie Lennox!
Upt.
29/10/2025 09:58:22 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
By 'eck I'm coming in for some stick today. Ian's just accused me of replacing my bikes too often and now Upt' thinks I'm a one trick monkey! I'll have you know I have 2 tricks - I ride motorcycles AND AND AND I write about my rides on motorcycles. So there. Ner.
I recall a certain Terry Wogan stating something akin to "Some folks can't wait to be offended".
"Annie Lennox!" - explain? Eurythmics, errr... "Here comes the rain again"?
29/10/2025 13:26:35 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
https://youtu.be/bG9z-atG7gc?si=NPS8HZnLbZcgz4iD...
29/10/2025 15:06:21 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Thanks Rod.
29/10/2025 17:57:03 UTC
Glyn said :-
It’s all hassle and being prepared to do everything 2 or 3 times when it comes to paint. However, one big thing is temperature! If it’s too hot it’ll go all orange peely because it dries too quickly and if it’s too cold it won’t go off properly. If you live north of Watford you’re really up against it unless you heat your garage / workspace and that costs. However, a professional spray job is really expensive because it’s labour intensive. I’m self taught for 2 reasons; firstly I want no know how everything works or goes together and secondly because I’m tight. Getting a good finish is reward indeed.
29/10/2025 20:06:44 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Spraying anything north of Watford.....you're not wrong me duck.
Earlier this year I was trying to spray a varnish finish on a table shop. It was borderline appalling....no, it was appalling.
Now Er'Indoors wouldn't have enjoyed overspray over er kitchen so I went for a rolled and then brushed finish completed indoors. It dried just right and after 3 or 4 well spaced coats it was looking better than new. But it wouldn't have happened in the garage.
Upt.
29/10/2025 23:34:30 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
If, like myself you like to ride the country lanes, then we have a couple of months of wet leaves in unpredictable areas of these lanes.
These leaves stay wet and slippery even on dry sunny days.
I have been riding motorcycles for many years and in all road conditions, but I was caught out a couple of years ago on my RT. I was riding into a low sun, which temporarily blinded me coming into a corner. On this corner was a patch of compressed wet leaves. The bike lost traction,and luckily regained it's composure without any input from myself.
This could have ended much worse.
Don't underestimate this danger at this time of year. Just saying!
30/10/2025 09:18:15 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Good points Rod. Another thing to remember with low sun is that if it's behind you, it's blinding people coming the other way especially if, as is common at this time of year, the road is wet. I'm sure some of the SMIDSYs are due to this effect. I always try to remember not just what I can see but what others can / can't.
30/10/2025 09:59:03 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Yes, good point Ian.
I remember well the ACU instructor conveying this point in the class room 55 years ago.
30/10/2025 10:32:11 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Last Sunday on the bike I had the sun in my face AND a wet road. Even putting my left hand up to shield against the low sun was ineffective due to the glare from the wet tarmac. Of course I slowed down - then I gets to thinking any vehicles behind me will be equally blinded and unable to see me.
I have no sensible answer to this. Apart from parking up and waiting for the sun to set all you can do is "your best".
I duly noted the BBC is talking about the high levels of glare most modern headlights cause. There are - apparently - moves afoot globally to "look into this" and possibly change worldwide legislation. They did point out however "don't hold ya breath".
Last night's ride also included being blinded by a cyclist... and a walker! Eeeee when I wur a lad your Ever-Ready bicycle light had 2 large "D" batteries that would produce a little more light than a candle for about 30 minutes. Today's tech means a tiny battery can power a tiny light that produces several thousand candles of vivid harsh white light for many hours. The tech has improved and in many many ways has improved road safety (bicycle lights in particular are effective and easily seen) but this doesn't come without new issues.
30/10/2025 10:58:14 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
It might be worth trying polarised sunglasses which are supposed to be effective against reflected glare as it is polarised vertically and the sunglasses block that. In theory. Doesn't help with the idiots behind however.
30/10/2025 15:08:38 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
I was taught if blinded by oncoming traffic, concentrate your vision on the N/S kerb, it works quite well. Although never forget to blast your own headlights in the face of the offending vehicle. I wasn't taught this it just came naturally. I know, I'm rude.
Upt.
30/10/2025 15:39:41 UTC
nab301 said :-
Ren just accept that maybe it's time to become a fair weather biker! or buy an older bike and fit a HID conversion....
Nigel
30/10/2025 16:26:14 UTC
Ren - The Ed¹ said :-
Much to my shame nab301 since I've been working from home my annual mileage has dropped somewhat. I'm more of a weekend warrior nowadays, usually between 100-200 miles per weekend. I need to retire, this working malarky is getting in the way of the things I want to do.
31/10/2025 09:13:52 UTC
Glyn said :-
Unfortunately Ed, it’s also paying for the things you want to do, malarkey or not most people have the money and no time to enjoy or have the time but no money. It’s the curse of the workers.
01/11/2025 09:01:52 UTC
Upt'North ¹ said :-
Glyn, I really don't want to make this party political, I don't think it is really, it's just the aftermath of years of mismanagement of our nation and socially living beyond the means of the nations receipts.
I believe many retirees will be looking for work sometime soon, the bills get no smaller and the income becomes less. Retirement is perhaps an out of date ideal that will simply not be an occurrence in the future and those of us that have enjoyed retirement to date may see it slip away.
I'm just going to have a quick cry and then move onto the job adverts in the local paper....don't they do that anymore?
Upt.
01/11/2025 09:53:03 UTC
Ian Soady¹ said :-
Without wishing to inflame any debate, in my opinion there's plenty of money about. It's just in the wrong places. Nearly 50% of UK wealth is held by the richest 10% of the population. But I speak as one of the lucky ones with a defined benefit pension.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/personalandhouseholdfinances...
02/11/2025 10:46:12 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
Ian, what is the answer to that problem.
Reduce the wealth of the UK by 50 percent by raising tax on the wealthy so they leave the country?
I know they can't take the land they own with them, but their tax haven based companies can own the land for them, out of the reach of UK tax.
Of course my theory is that our governments over the last 25 years do not believe in countries and are aligned with the WEF. They would prefer a world government so rich people have nowhere to move their wealth.
This is why they are destroying this country.
Sorry for taking the bait!!!
02/11/2025 14:26:41 UTC
ROD¹ said :-
On a lighter note.
I did get out for a short ride over the weekend.
02/11/2025 20:17:08 UTC
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