Everyone's journey is different [287]
Greetings from my garage...
Going through lists. To be honest I think the only thing I haven’t packed is confidence. And decent rain gear.
#TheAction
I visited a ham radio rally at the weekend. It didn’t smell as bad as i’d been warned. I was told that some of the attendees might not get out much and that there can be a heavy scent of unwashed nerd in the room. Granted I had a mask on, but I could still smell the sausage and bacon sandwiches. Nothing offensive at all. Apart from one guy who mumbled some harsh words when I attempted to haggle for a slightly broken ten meter long fibreglass pole.
In amongst the tables of radio paraphernalia was a lot of history and a lot of components waiting to become something.
I did a good job of not spending much and enjoyed having a day away from the village.
My free time was well earned as we have got to the halfway point with the ‘patio that can be seen from space’. More tons of MOT were shifted and I even got the chance to use a wacker-plate.
It was a lot of fun. The vibrating plate works with some kind of hidden rotating off-center weight pulling it forwards while compacting the ground.
The rest of the week has been mostly spent testing kit and contemplating why I believe a massive multi day bike ride will be fun.
While testing ALL the baggage options I added a few finishing touches to the bike in the form of stickers.
It of course is not a Raleigh but I have a lot to thank the brand. Pretty much every bike I had as a kid was made by Raleigh. It’s to remind me to have fun.
It seems only days ago when I actually decided on what I was going to do. Then I added the extra pressure of telling everyone and turning it into a fundraiser.
Please visit CyclingHertz.com. If you are in a position to donate please do. If not please share it in your socials. I’d love to hit (and pass) the target and thanks to so many amazing people (you know who you are) I am almost there. If you do donate and are not a fully subscribed supporter of this email please let me know and I will sub you a free month so you can get the updates from this journey. (Plus get past posts & podcasts.)
The charity you will be supporting is called Choose Love and they help refugees around the world. After what I had to listen to over the amateur radio airwaves this morning I really hope we can all choose love. It made me so angry. I want to return back home and let these guys know there is still some humanity out there. That we can help and care for others no matter who they are or where they come from.
#ThePictures
Imagine winning an olympic medal at 13 years old. Truly amazing.
I watched Icarus this week. It’s a good four years old but a throughly enjoyable documentary.
Click the name to see more work from digital imaging artist Aditya Aryanto.
#TheWords
When A.I.S beacons on ships get faked - Phantom warships are courting chaos in conflict zones.
Unvaccinated people need to bear the burden.
#TheSound
Cory Doctorow on Tech Monopolies and the Insufficient Necessity of Interoperability.
#TheConsumed
There are 40 different species of plum found around the world and I’ve found at least two of them growing in my village. As well as a couple of types of gages.
My daughter snapped this photo of me standing on a fence to pick yellow plums.
They are the sweetest of plums I have tasted and best eaten straight off the tree. As soon as you pick them they stop producing sugar and won’t get any sweeter.
Seven breads you can make that don’t need yeast and none of them are sourdough.
If I was doing a UK version of Pulp Fiction I totally set one of the scenes in a Wimpy. The first Hamburger restaurant in the UK. I got to visit the one in Kings Lynn with my friend Andy this week and what a pleasant blast from the past it was.
I was so taken aback that you could order from a menu at the table that I missed their vegan option and went from the classic burger in a brown bun. The food took a few minutes to cook but the burger arrived fresh and delicious. A new favourite. This food had certainly not sat around.
Wimpy clientele are obviously so trustworthy that you pay when you leave and there was not a single CCTV camera in sight. As a side note, I wasn’t busting for the loo but it was a good 86 steps away. A similar hike to the loo you might expect in the now out-of-favour Wetherspoons.
I never see Wimpy’s on my travels but will be sure to keep an eye out for them now.
#TheThings
Need USB power from your bike’s powered hub? Shop around and you can find the USB-Werk for less than £50. You can also wire in your lights.
I have it charging a USB power bank which will allow a passthrough charge to my other devices. Although I aimed to travel light, I will have around 11 devices with me that will need charging. A handheld ham radio, a phone, a smart watch, a satnav, a kindle, a head torch, front and rear bike lights and a bluetooth keyboard, wireless microphones and the powerbank.
Another purchase for this trip was the Rekavin 34w 6a usb charger. (<-Amazon affiliate link as I could not find it elsewhere.)
Should I find a bed for the night in an actual house (there are kind offers if I can make it) this will enable me to fast charge most of my tech overnight.
I hope to add a kit list in the next subscriber email.
#TheThanks
This week I’d like to use this spot to thank those of you who have already donated to Cycling Hertz. Thank you all so much. There is still time and don’t worry, even I don’t make it, your money will still damaging things.
Also if anyone chooses to fully subscribe while I am on this ride, I will redirect the next two months of their subscription cost to Choose Love.
#TheWeb
Bob Monkhouse and his memory.
This is a cool little 3D printing project.
Spaces now lets you invite co-hosts. I’ve still not used it.
This site helps you add weather data to your Strava activities. via David
And here is a handy tool should you need to merge GPX files.
I used the Documentally community map to see if you were going to be near my cycling route. I’ve connected with a couple of you but some haven’t put names on the pins.
Zoom pays out $85 million over lying, zoombombing and other stuff.
This is how you make hydrogen, using green energy obvs.
Thermoelectric generators that turn waste heat into electricity have just got cheaper.
#TheEnd
Thanks for reading. And thanks again for your support.
If you are a keen cyclist connect with me on Strava or Komoot. We also have a cycling group on Wire called ‘Spoke’n’Herd’ where we share images and routes.
The next few emails will be from the road. As a result be prepared for random updates that look a little different to the regular instalments.
“Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride.” ~ JFK
Keep peddling,
See you out there.
Over…
