Another good Boards Of Canada Youtube docu...

 

Interesting review of the last Boards Of Canada Album Tomorrow's Harvest,

How true or not or intentional the Album's songs were listed, this lad is very clever to work this out...

https://youtu.be/DSzPD0jUxHc

More soon...

Another Lammermuir Hills Gravel cycle loop...

 

Easter Weekend - and the whole long weekend off, Easter Friday we were back up the Lammermuir hIlls again and a loop of gravel roads again now that the major construction work has been done up in Aitkingal Windfarm and while the roads are not as amazing smooth as they were 2 years ago the place is massive now loads more Turbines miles of new maintenance tracks, a tough climb up into the Windfarm is soon rewarded with the views from up the on the tops...

We detoured today to visit the Beufighter War grave crash site where the two you NZ airforce pilots are remembered...

Always a sobering visit to war graves of men that were so young and in this case travelled around the world to be trained and in this case pay the ultimate sacrifice for our country...

We descended back down to rejoin the planned loop and freewheeled for what felt like miles!...

Onto another Windfarm and lying at the side of the track a safe!...

Looks like it was brought up here to be cut open, wonder where that came from? what was in it?

We stopped at a turbine with a good view and sat enjoying flasks and sandwiches with a hot cross bun...

Back onto super gravel highways and soon joined the Pylon road...

An enjoyable couple of minutes descents freewheeling over 30 mph...

That 17 mile loop had a non stop 14 miles of gravel surfaces - smooth and rough, and was perfect for the 29+ wheels today...

With loads of footage shot with the Go Pro HERO 10 camera - still proving to be easy to use and amazing image stabilisation quality and never more than 20% battery used in a couple of hours on the Activity 1080/240 fps (frames per second) setting its daft to not make some longer films, so here's 15 minutes of super gravel high ways weaving up and down and around the Lammermuirs under and around Pylons and Windturbines...

Songs are `PCH` by Tycho. and `Desert Storm` by Orbital

More soon..

Easter Sunday Gravel cycle again on the Lammermuir Hills....

 

Easter Sunday and with he coast no doubt mobbed as it usually is here in East Lothian we again headed into the local Lammermuir Hills a cycle and once again rode yet another loop on gravel roads, there really is miles of tracks up here if you take the time and study an OS map, G grew up on a hill farm in Berwickshire on the eastern edge of the Lammermuirs and has cycled up here all her mountain biking life so knows the hills better than I think anyone else who cycles up here, once again she pulled another loop out the bag after a look at the map and a regular well known loop from the Watch Reservoir at Longfermacus with a twist as it used a track we think no one has probably cycled as only been extended from a dead end track which previously only purpose was to access Grouse shooting butts, now we could make a great loop and we were up early for what turned out a nice long days ride with 18 miles and a healthy 2,346 ft of climbing, only a strengthening easterly headwind spoiled a fast freewheel return on the super fast gravel highway off Fallago Rig...

Spot of lunch...

Across the Herring Road route onto the Pylon Road and time for a cream egg and finish the flasks, 

Happy Easter!

And back to The Watch...

Yep a good bit climbing today!

Wee film, Song is `Ornament` by Christ.

Willys Jeep Update...

 

March into April has seen a lot of lovely high pressure weather with clear blue skies and while we have been making the most of the conditions and doing a lot of cycling when were both off work though it has been real cold at nights and a lot of frosts, and so  a lot of road salt still going on roads which is not ideal for any car never mind something old, So I have been busy with the Jeep inside and swapped out a few more parts to add to the look I want, The French Blackout light and windscreen adjusting knobs were swapped for reproduction American items along with hand operated windscreen wipers and a rear view mirror  that all bolted straight on and the sand coloured canvas bucket I bought at the recent trade stalls at the open day at Military Museum Scotland was fitted after a few coats of Olive Drab...

The Powerspark pointless ignition I have not managed to get to work, and the return period has now expired and with my electrician friend Al we could not get to the bottom of why it will not fire up, Al checked the timing with a timing light and it seems timed correctly...

Bit disappointed about this, but the company does have a help number so we should give them a call - need to do it when Al is round as he may make sense of things when to me its all a bit complicated...

Good friends Dave G and Fiona stopped by for a couple hours while down cycling here and Dave saw the Jeep for first time so firing it up we had to go a quick spin around town and 23 pics in black and white courtesy of Dave, it was freezing though! so happy to just have short drive to give the Jeep a run...

Then another afternoon I was out a short drive around town, while dry, again it was freezing!, though it was again a grey day so I took my pics in black and white. it was a real grey cold day,  but as always good to drive the Jeep again...

Warmer weather should have been on the way as Easter approached when things usually start to warm up. however over the easter weekend I was just out locally around town as despite high pressure weather and dry with clear skies as it was still cold!

While the screen was up for a drive across  to NOrth Berwick town it was down for here around town, I love driving the Jeep like this!

I’m real pleased how the Jeep now looks with some small inexpensive parts bought this month instead of money going on petrol... 

And lastly week a used metal steering wheel from a UK Jeep dealer for £38 posted was bought, it must have been on a civilian Jeep (CJ) as white plastic grip with chromed spokes but chrome was mostly flaked off with age so I hard sanded the wheel, then red oxide sprayed several coats over a few evenings,  then it got the Olive Drab treatment, should look good once it gets that used look...

Fitting it was not to hard, I removed the old plastic coated wheel with a 3 prong puller, one of a set of 3 I bought a while ago...

Removing the lock nut then the horn button from the lock nut I reinstalled the nut living a few mm from tight to protect the internal horn buttonthen pulled the wheel up stopping to loosen the nut further until the wheel could be pulled of by hand...

A coin protected the inside horn button from the point on the extractor bolt...

A big socket tapped down and seated the metal wheel...

On and looking better!...

We got out the following evening around town a run with friend Chris who popped round with his Jeep...

Sadly as has been the last 2 days here the Sea Haar drifted in as we drove to the other end of town and parked up at Seafield Bridge, surrounded by the incoming high tide...

Good to get out a wee spin together and catch up with Chris, I made some films driving down to the harbour, with G holding the Go Pro, we then drove along to the Bridge in Belhaven Bay...

Here are 3 short films around town

Hopefully we will get some warmer weather soon for some fun days out further afield!

Next month will be an engine service with oil and filters changed, gearbox/transfer and axle oil levels checked, and grease points -steering and driveshafts etc then be ready for summer…

More soon...