Novice Beekeeper

  FRIDAY May 1, 2021 :    Another 24 hours of scouring the World Wide Web for scraps of information about the Greenspeed GT1. I am obsessed by getting hold of one of these trikes and literally riding off into the distance.  This morning while searching,  I found a four-hour old listing for a Greenspeed GT trike within my budget.  Of course I called "John" in Coffs Harbour immediately.  I was so excited to even be this close to a GT and John got this,  but unfortunately someone else has first dibs ahead of me, and told the seller he would visit at 4pm this afternoon.    But I remain hopeful and happy even.    I've never been this close to living a dream for several years. Since being cast into a low income future and having my dreams of sailing their retirement wrenched out of my financial reach,  cycling had become the shining light.  I'm not saying poor me,  I'm actually in a lot happier place.  Cycling offers fitness, solitude, travel and affordable adventure al

 I couldn't express it this good. So here is a massive cut and paste that I will revisit. " My trike is but one of many ways that I am choosing to change my world. I am no longer in a hurry to rush through my life in a blur, as I head for the final page. I don’t need to go so fast anymore that a highly toxic, costly, and complicated machine weighing 4,513 pounds is necessary to move my 160 pound body over the surface of my planet (that’s more than 28 pounds of steel, glass, plastic, rubber, oil, and gasoline per pound of my body weight, compared to about one-fifth of a pound per pound of my body weight for a trike to move me). My trike is exciting and fun to ride, getting me around in a manner that is very much noticed by the seemingly endless ordinary automobile drivers that speed by in their passive state of travel. When I reach my destination, my body is stronger. When I arrive, I know that I have added a few pages to the story of my life, giving me the pleasure of enjoying

 The last few weeks have been busy and wet. The loss of time due to wet weather conpresses the time left to work and recreate.  But I've not been an idle Wanna Be Touring Bike Rider. There have been loads of blogs , bike reviews and tpuring videos consumed. I've  also ditched my "legendary" Brooks saddle that is supppsed to be the creme de la creme of saddles, for a cheap chain  store fat gel saddle. Opinion is divided pn the BS, several long distance cyclists have clearly stated that they had ditched a BS for something more comfortable. I'm hoping this tactic works for me because after a long three our ride last time out I got to know two bum bones that I dont really like, or want to meat again.                          WIDE GEL SADDLE. MMMM?  So what's on today? Well, I have been cycling in rural areas with moderate traffic loads and no cycle lanes. Apart from one idiot that tried to buzz me (ie. get as close as he could without actually hitting me), its bee

 If any on e asks, I'd say the gap in my training routine over the past 2 weeks was due to the weather.  But that would be a convenient truth.  The reality ours that my arse got sore after my pre- flood ride. I found an ache in bones that i never knew I had,  and it out me of repeating that experience.       In the meantime I read "An Unlikely Bicycle Tourist" by Stephen Peel and realised two things; I had no problems,  and I had a solution.  How's that for a contradiction? Well,  I'd you get to read the ebook,  you'll quickly learn that SP  weighed 350lb. and during his journey across France,  Spain,  Italy,  Greece,  Turkey, India and SE Asia he was beset by sale soreness.  No ordinary soreness,  but chronic "bleeding from the arse"! So,  yeh,  I reckon I'm a wimp ... but he found a solution in a gel seat. By the way; Id highly recommend the read.     SP was quite popular on social media by the time he got to Asia and he was well funded,  so he

 A short chain of events had led me in a new direction in my hunt for a trike.  I had been trawling the net for a cheap Greenspeed trike with no luck. According to Gumtree there are few inches Greenspeeds in Australia, well that anyone wants to part with.  The few that do come up are either in Melbourne, Adelaide or Perth.  So the distances to these cities maker it difficult to just pop down and have a gander.   My search did uncover a GT3, or was that a GT3? It was listed as "like new" for $1700. But Mr Recumbent later advised it had been sold AND that he didn't ship used bikes interstate. Scratch him from the list.   Anyway,  I'm  not sure how it happened but i suspect it was through one of those advertising pop ups, that i saw a fat tyred recumbent. Whoa! I'm a fair bit smitten.    

 Reading cycling blogs on crazyguy site. Have learned the MSR mini syove needs bottled gas which can be hard to find wjen remote.  The MSR whisperlite appears to be the go to stove for world girdlers because its a "multifuel" stove that can take shellite, kero and ULP. Its cost os ok I guess,  at $214 plus the cost of a fuel bottle. I've  jist learned about the SOTO stove from Japan, very similar for $50 cheaper.  But two things; a) does the Soto do ULP? b) transporting fuel bottles, even fuel stoves by air can be tricky. I had my Trangia stove confiscated by NZ Customs Security.