Cycling UK Forum

I'm trying to learn all the words for bike parts in French. It's a lot harder than I thought, as many words have changed over the years as technology has advanced. I've made quite the fool of myself twice now in my lbs asking for parts which might have been reasonable in the 1950's but seem kind of stupid in 2018!

Its about a year since I last posted on this thread and things have changed a lot due to my Mrs becoming partially disabled which has been very traumatic and imposed a massive change in our lifestyle. We are very lucky having already travelled everywhere in the world we wanted to. We decided to make a complete change of lifestyle and location having lived in the same house for 40 years. We will be buying a house to share with our daughter and new husband. Our daughter has always wanted to look after us in our dotage so she will fulfill her wish. Our new location will be Devon so there will be a whole new landscape to explore by bike and the chance for me to get away touring whilst my wife is in the care of our daughter. In our new house I will be tasked with constructing a recording studio inside an outbuilding and a garden workshop for my daughters decorative glass business as well as improving the kitchen and making some high raised beds and other changes for my Mrs in the garden. There will be an awful lot for me to do. In my mid 70s I am really looking forward to these new challenges.

Al

661-Pete wrote:

Cyril Haearn wrote:"you may lead a horse to water, but you cannae make her drink"

Well - Google translate offers:
"Możesz doprowadzić konia do wody, ale nie możesz go wypić"
but I seriously doubt whether that makes any sense - let alone being idiomatic!

Viell Kueoek verdiaerwt den Brei
(Muensterland)
Viele Koeche verdirben den Brei
(German)
Too many cooks spoil the broth
(English)
..
Too much broth fattens the cook
(Cyril Haearn)

Grandchildren!

I read a lot, and keep myself busy with my SAR volunteering, which brings a surprising amount of admin. I regularly shoot to keep my concentration and hand-eye coordination sharp, and because I enjoy it. Design and build ham radio kit, which keeps my brain happily tied in knots for days on end.

I do not often forget things to do but I sometimes forget to post a letter, I remember later and have to find another post box
Had to post a letter this week, taped it to my handlebars so it was in view, remembered to post it at the first post box I came to
..
Going to a talk about literary translation tomorrow
The translator puts books from Norwegian* into German
* & five other languages, still wondering which ones, that should keep her brains warm

Four 3-string guitars built since my last post in this thread, 3 for descendants and one for me. Currently planning a proper bass and a chord zither just for the hell of it.

Gave up on the routing site, but need to convert my vast cycling program to some other language since Windows 10 (damn Microsoft's rotten soul to the 9th of Hell (treachery)) will no longer support Win 7's XP emulation and Win 7 won't be supported after next Jan. They buggers talk as if all a computer were good for was email, social newt-orking and looking at porn. Oh, and buying stuff. Above all, buying stuff.

Still doing a couple of hundred k a week, weather permitting.

And ranting about things I can't change.

The sudden change from working to not working could be a problem as described by Paulatic upthread
I plan to move when I retire too but the big change shall be freedom and lack of the structure, one is suddenly quite free after decades of restricted freedom
I am planning already, or thinking of planning
How have others dealt with the transition?

Currently I spend too much tiome converting km to miles so I can understand what people are on about!

A while to go yet for me, but I was quite a decent amateur landscape and portrait painter when I was young. Been a long time since I held a brush though..

BrightonRock wrote:A while to go yet for me, but I was quite a decent amateur landscape and portrait painter when I was young. Been a long time since I held a brush though..

I would love to have the merest smidgeon of artistic talent, enough to justify me in trying, but, alas, I do not.
I read, voraciously. If you need a quiz team member, I'm your man.

rmurphy195 wrote:Currently I spend too much tiome converting km to miles so I can understand what people are on about!

I sort of remember decimalisation, that was a challenge although the new system was simpler in theory
I am quite good at mental arithmetic, younger people use a calculator, I use my head
I know the 27-times table to work out gears

Went to a film in French with German subtitles, that should have created a few million more synapses in my brain

Should have posted this on 3 May - got elected to district council that's the next 4 years sorted...

squeaker wrote:Should have posted this on 3 May - got elected to district council that's the next 4 years sorted...

Congratulatinns/commiserations


Coming to the end of my spell as VC of the governing bodies of two schools. Just appointed to the County board of the CAB. That should take me to the birthday when I don't get a free TV licence.

squeaker wrote:Should have posted this on 3 May - got elected to district council that's the next 4 years sorted...

Yes, congrats from me too. Mrs P also got elected - to Town council. She was persuaded - after a lot of cajoling - to stand as a 'paper candidate' in a supposedly safe Tory ward. Our Green Party organiser told her "don't worry, there's not a snowball in hell's chance of your getting elected". On Count night, she scraped in by four votes. Oops! Now she has an awful lot of work to do. Quite a life-changing experience - for both of us.

I'll bet you're being kept busy too...