True to the forecast it snowed again through the night and a good couple of inches fell here on the coast,
It was a stunning winter morning despite the cold wind as we wrapped up and headed out a cycle around JMCP again, despite cycle here nearly every day for a week we don't get bored doing so - `Only Boring People Get Bored` I have always said, words passed on from my Dad, we mix up routes, stop and look at things and are happy to get out on our door step to such a beautiful place and more or less have it to ourselves, and/or at least keep distanced from other folks, so what's not to like?
Check out the temperature out of the sun at Bullet Hill...
Yep!, again it was Minus 5C!, was baltic!, but it actually did not fell as cold as the damp day last week when it was 2C with a nasty wind chill...
Heading back home...
An hour or so and around 5 or 6 miles cycled and time to head back for a warm up and food,
After a grey overcast milder day yesterday that seen us having to navigate a few muddy areas with a midday thaw today dawned clear and real crisp after more snow showers last night, this weather is amazing to have here on the coast, usually we get snow then it thaws quickly and we just end up with days of mud and slush!, not so this now,
It's like a micro `beast from the east` of a few years ago, but that was not as nice as this as though deeper snow it was wet snow, this snow is crisp and dry, esp inland on the local hills where friends have been venturing snowboarding, yep snowboarding on Dunbars hills!...
Were loving these conditions and I am so happy for G getting to experience cycling snow on fat bikes -after all it is what they were originally designed for...
And look at the midday temperature! -5C!
Wee film from todays cycle in winter wonderland scenery - right here on the coast!
Was not sure on the snow conditions today as although it felt warmer in the garden than 0C once out it was colder with the snow quite dry and with no wind causing drifts decided to go out on 4" tyre fatbikes, the right choice in the end and prob just use these as the snow starts to disappear if the weather forecasts prove correct for milder weather coming in over the next few days...
Around JMCP we enjoyed quiet trails being early morning, too early for the masses to get out of bed on such a cold morning...
Most of the trails away from flooded areas were like this and ideal being trampled flat with just an couple of inches of dry snow on top...
Sprouts!,,,
Glad to be wearing warmer winter walking boots now, add gators to keep snow and water out the perfect set up. These boots are Scottish Company Anatom model 3V and were not expensive at around £65, the gators £20. No need to buy big brand name outdoor kit nowadays, your just paying for the name...
Winter wonderland, be busy here in a few hours as the hoards ascend. We had the best time of day and were off home to do other stuff away form the infected, stay safe...don`t get bitten...
Snow last night!, it was a bit wet in places with puddles due to recent rain and flooding, which is something you rarely see here in JMCP, the car park has been closed due to the flooding , so makes for a quieter cycle with less folk visiting - perfect!
Just a few tracks from early morning dog walkers going by the tracks...
There was a big dumping of snow as we re rode the same route to make some snow tracks that hopefully will last a few days, esp if others are out cycling here too and use them...
After the snow clouds passed over the sunshine made the place light up and sparkle, it was stunningly scenic in only a sunny winter scene can be...
Wee film from todays wee cycle, roll on the next few days!
Having accidentally left the park brake on the Jeep twice now (doh!) I needed to adjust it up as it was not holding the Jeep on slopes, so consulting the manual it looked a straight forward job to do...
Tools out and taking pics of the relevant manual pages it was underneath we went with a lamp and I was surprised that it was different to what the manual shows....
No nuts and bolts to adjust but just two cam adjusts on the drivers side you could get to through the holes in the drum...
This is the upper adjuster cam which adjusted clockwise to tighten the drum, the lower adjuster adjusted anti clockwise and as usual on the Jeep things like this always seem to be obvious by arrows in the castings etc as it was here. The only tool used was a flat blade screwdriver to adjust the both until the drum was tight and could not be rotated...
Using the manual feeler gauge sizes I went for a halfway size of 0.007" and backed off the cam adjusters until the feeler gauge was a snug fit and the drum was now not touching and rotated freely back and forward...
Parked brake engaged and I could not push the Jeep back or forward, so an easy thing to adjust and if need be I can quickly go underneath and tighten a couple of notches if it does not hold on a hill next time I`m out...
I did a few other wee jobs like lined the lids on the storage bins with foam to stop them rattling...
Roof;
I want to mostly drive the Jeep with the roof down but have it set up ready to use if caught out in a shower and looking through stuff about set up's online it seems the easiest way to have this ready to use is to leave the frame up with the centre bar secured to the back frame rail and have the tarp rolled up attached ready to quickly put up if needed...
There should be straps under the passenger seat to secure this and I will fit a couple of canvas Buckle belts I ordered online - eBay to the rescue again..
To put the frame up is quite simple, loosen the wing nuts to allow the roof arm to pull back and up...
I removed the petrol can and loosened the spare wheel to allow easier access to fit the buckles for the roof tarp..
As not a lot of room to get into the fixing tabs with these two installed...
The frame slides out here then you lower it as it pivots in the centre and then up to clear the rear seat...
that front mount of the frame then slides into this fixed position and you tighten the wing nuts, their on chains so you cannot loose them, simple and clever....
The centre arm of the frame will raise to tension the roof canopy once it is over the frame and attached to the windscreen...
The front attached the rear buckles were tensioned slightly...
The centre bar tightens the roof canopy and 4 clips hold it in place and that's it! so easy...
I readjusted the straps along the back so they are tight enough to secure the roof but there is enough slack to stretch the roof enough to hook up at the front, secret learned there is un pop/put on the centre holes on the windscreen before the ends...
I took the Jeep out via the Supermarket for shops and on the way back did some filming using the old Go Pro HERO 4 Session camera on the head strap but sadly it was too high and the result was film of the roof inside! lol
I did stop for some pics in the snow!
And the park brake worked ok so that was another good job done...
Next I took down the roof tarp and lowered the frame rails so they sat like this...
Next I tried mounting the Go Pro above the rear seat on the seat rail using a handlebar mount but the view was still too low to see into the Jeep and over the Windscreen...
Next was to make a mount for the Go Pro to sit higher up on the frame rails, once tried out this was the view I was wanting!, this will be how I will leave the Jeep set up now...
Here is a wee film, only the wind noise on the Hero 8 camera is an issue but there is a way to reduce this using foam I will look into, wee film the next day when I was out a spin to the shops...
I live in East Lothian, S.E. Scotland.
I fill my time with my hobbies, interests and passions. Often cycling along the coast here. I ride steel bikes with big wheels, I like to enjoy all interests of the coast, Its scenery, wildlife, local history, with my other interests in art and music when out and about...
I was diagnosed with Relapsing remitting Multiple Sclerosis in August 2018, it`s early days but i plan to continue to live my life as i have and show that having a medical condition like MS does not mean you need to stop enjoying your life,
Please excuse the bad grammar, i am working on it!
