Cycling UK Forum

Just got back from a ride and had my dinner and NICE CUPPA ASSAM TEA, well more than one

Close reaching on my catamaran at 14 knots on a flat sea.

mnichols wrote:Would love to see a bee-eater

First time I saw any was from the window of a train fromm Malaga to Marbella,there that were half a dozen of them sitting on the teliwires,unforgetable

Also, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker... Both High on my list

If I ever did I couldn't recognise it from the Greater Spotted variety

reohn2 wrote:

mnichols wrote:Would love to see a bee-eater

First time I saw any was from the window of a train fromm Malaga to Marbella,there that were half a dozen of them sitting on the teliwires,unforgetable

Also, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker... Both High on my list

If I ever did I couldn't recognise it from the Greater Spotted variety

I've seen a stuffed one and they are actually quite different. The main difference being that they are about the size and build as a long tailed tit. I have looked for them, and heard them but they mainly stick to the tops of trees. The stuffed one was also very dull compared to the much brighter gsw

Mike Sales wrote:Close reaching on my catamaran at 14 knots on a flat sea.

As a 9 year old I got to sail on my uncle's car. One of those racing classes that go on one hull and with a good wind can pick up some speed. On that day sailing on the solent we were blasting away at what my uncle reckoned was about 29 knotts! What a buzz!

Later that year he took the spot I was in and his mate took the rear spot steering it at the British championships for that class. They won it. So I can believe that a very strong wind that we had on our sail got us to a fast speed.

BTW later on my uncle told me that if I'd fallen into the water it would have felt like concrete! Scary trip!

Tangled Metal wrote:

Mike Sales wrote:Close reaching on my catamaran at 14 knots on a flat sea.

As a 9 year old I got to sail on my uncle's car. One of those racing classes that go on one hull and with a good wind can pick up some speed. On that day sailing on the solent we were blasting away at what my uncle reckoned was about 29 knotts! What a buzz!

Later that year he took the spot I was in and his mate took the rear spot steering it at the British championships for that class. They won it. So I can believe that a very strong wind that we had on our sail got us to a fast speed.

BTW later on my uncle told me that if I'd fallen into the water it would have felt like concrete! Scary trip!

I have never sailed one of those dinghy cats. I would love to. Must have been exciting.
My boat is a 8.5m. cruising cat. If it showed an inclination to fly a hull I would be reefing very quickly.
The America's Cup cats must be tremendous to sail, with just one hydrofoil and the rudder in the water. They approach three times wind speed, 55 mph.
Or the big boats in the Southern Ocean. The crew sleep feet forward, lest the boat pile into the back of a wave, stop dead and hurl them into the bulkhead forward!
My boat is a bit feeble compared to these, but I was walking past monohulls.

mnichols wrote:I've seen a stuffed one and they are actually quite different. The main difference being that they are about the size and build as a long tailed tit. I have looked for them, and heard them but they mainly stick to the tops of trees. The stuffed one was also very dull compared to the much brighter gsw

TBH I hadn't realised they were that much smaller than the GSW ,I should say I'm more of a casual birdwatcher,rather than a full blown twitcher IYSWIM though I like to think I have good jizz and can spot the unusual.Ill keep my eyes peeled but doubt I'll see one as they're a pretty rare bird

reohn2 wrote:

mnichols wrote:I've seen a stuffed one and they are actually quite different. The main difference being that they are about the size and build as a long tailed tit. I have looked for them, and heard them but they mainly stick to the tops of trees. The stuffed one was also very dull compared to the much brighter gsw

TBH I hadn't realised they were that much smaller than the GSW ,I should say I'm more of a casual birdwatcher,rather than a full blown twitcher IYSWIM though I like to think I have good jizz and can spot the unusual.Ill keep my eyes peeled but doubt I'll see one as they're a pretty rare bird

I'm much the same, I don't go bird watching as such, but I like to be able to know what I'm looking at when I cycling, walking or just out and about. The closest I've got to actually proper bird watching is cycling to nature reserves or places where something unusual has been seen, but that's as much to give me a destination for my cycling as to see the birds, so I'm never disappointed if I don't see something.

I just found out today that the farm in the village where I live has 5% of the UK population of Corn Buntings, and has 109 different species of birds. They are one of the oldest organic farms in the country, which is why I think we get so many different birds

mnichols wrote:I'm much the same, I don't go bird watching as such, but I like to be able to know what I'm looking at when I cycling, walking or just out and about. The closest I've got to actually proper bird watching is cycling to nature reserves or places where something unusual has been seen, but that's as much to give me a destination for my cycling as to see the birds, so I'm never disappointed if I don't see something.

As you say we're pretty much the same

I just found out today that the farm in the village where I live has 5% of the UK population of Corn Buntings, and has 109 different species of birds. They are one of the oldest organic farms in the country, which is why I think we get so many different birds

Remarkable!
Says a lot for what modern farming methods are doing to the planet

I do like being asked the way, helped someone again today
'I do not know the way, I have only lived in this small town 60 years!', she bleated

I describe how to proceed as if I were giving orders, then I repeat the whole: 'understood?' I bark at the end*

Got a few favourite words at the minute: 'bleat', 'proceed', 'bark'

*should I have been a soldier or a policeperson?

Out down the Cheshire lanes and into Delamere forest on Wednesday,I spotted some Ringlet butterflies and gor a shot of one.A bit of a rarity in these parts

@landriver. Thank you for the thread, it has encouraged me to thank about what makes me happy and has prompted many happy thoughts.

Today I went for a short walk along one of our local rivers with my wife - lovely sunny weather it was too. After a while we stopped at a cafe, enjoyed tea and cake, and sat admiring the views. I’m happy to have the health to be able to do that, happy to have the company of a kind and wise person, and happy to be able to comfortably afford the morning out (it’s decades ago but I know what the reverse is like).

Is Delamere still classed as a forest?
Last time we were there, they'd created a bl**dy big lake where all the trees used to be.

fausto copy wrote:Is Delamere still classed as a forest?
Last time we were there, they'd created a bl**dy big lake where all the trees used to be.

Yes it's still classed as forest but a small one.
I don't think the lake was intentional it just appeared due to a land depression

Carlton green wrote:@landriver. Thank you for the thread, it has encouraged me to thank about what makes me happy and has prompted many happy thoughts.

Today I went for a short walk along one of our local rivers with my wife - lovely sunny weather it was too. After a while we stopped at a cafe, enjoyed tea and cake, and sat admiring the views. I’m happy to have the health to be able to do that, happy to have the company of a kind and wise person, and happy to be able to comfortably afford the morning out (it’s decades ago but I know what the reverse is like).

I used to be poor too, have sort of forgotten it
Have a look at 'a positive thread' for more in the same vein
..
'There is nothing worse than a young pessimist. Except maybe an old optimist'