18th May its Friday and a new wheel.

A new wheel has been long needed on the Falcon. I finally got around to ordering one this week when the old one developed a buckle that would have had professor Rubik scratching his cubes.  The freewheel is a cheap and cheerful Shimano six speed. The wonderful old freewheel was a Suntour 5 speed. I will try my best to get it off the hub as it is still in great condition and has a 30 year old "tick tick tick" that you just can't buy now.  Given my size and the length of time it has been on the hub, something is going to get damaged.

 The new big ring (1st gear) is a 28t which will hopefully be a useful change from the previous 24t while I stick with a 52t chain ring.

Yup its a solid axle! wait till you see me solder the brake cables. Lugged frame, friction shift, Old Skool!

Monday 14th May Evening Sun

Today was one of those Mondays at work, so I grabbed a break in the weather and got out for a ride this evening.

The wading birds were calling out on the estuary and the wind was finally dying down.  Its easy to pass an hour cycling in the setting sun.

Sun 13th May at a Tower House

Sunday morning and the sun had disappeared. Yesterday's wind had increased overnight gusting to 50+mph so it wasn't going to be a day for sailing. I decided to head down the coast with Fly. 

Pease Dean has a path through the east side which is part of the Southern Upland Way. As a result the west side of the dean is hardly visited which suits me fine. It also has some great history around Cockburnspath Tower house.

I could smell the wild garlic as we walked down to the old bridge.

 It tasted good too!

Under the trailing ivy you can see the bridge over the ravine. This is one of the only suitable crossings and so a strong place to defend. The bridge would originaly have been wooden so it could be drawn up in times of trouble, which in the Borders meant just about all the time. The tower house is 15th century and  may have been a rebuilding of a 14th century fortress established by the Dunbar family as part of their seven castles.   

The tower is an imposing building but unfortunately has had a further collapse in the last year or so.

After the Dunbar family, the tower was held by the Douglasses against the infernal English. It would also have seen a lot of fighting with the Home family who were great rivals of the Douglasses. James VI took the tower in 1594 and granted it to the Earl of Lennox. The Douglasses took it back in 1602 which must have upset the monarch. 

Windows like this don't let much light in but they are great for firing arrows at your neighbours which was a popular pastime in the 16th century Borders. Still is in some parts.

Carved door lintel at the base of the tower. By the 17th Century the tower had lost its military significance and fell into disrepair. As with many fortified houses it became a quarry for other local building projects. Its a shame to see it slowly collapsing but in some ways I like seeing nature take its course instead of scaffolding and 'keep out' signs.

Fly in a glade of garlic. No worries about vampires in our house tonight.

Saturday 12 May and the Sun is Shining!

The weather finally brightened up today with blue skies and some much needed sunshine. It was great to get back out on the bike. I didn't go very far, about 9 miles but I really enjoyed it and added in a couple of hills to get a bit of burn in the legs. The strong westerly winds also added to the fun.

 The hedges are blooming and crops are coming on. The above pic was taken just a few hundred metres from the A1. It doesn't take much to get away from traffic and find some peace. Saw flocks of Goldfinches feeding along the verges, only the tick tick of the freehub to disturb them.

Standard pic at the bench at Belhaven. Lots of surfers heading out although it didn't look like many were catching waves. I was happy enough to put my feet up and sit in the sun. No need for the flask today.

A good day to remind myself how lucky I am to have places like this on my doorstep.

12 degrees, W f4 gusting 5 clear, sunny, the Swifts have returned and the white saddle was fine.

8th May and Eiders

Quick mid week post to keep up the diary element.

Whilst out and about at the beginning of the week I saw a male Eider looking injured and calling "ah-ooo".

I suspected he was trying to distract me and sure enough I spotted this female hiding in the grass nearby. I didn't want to disturb her so the pic is at the full extent of the poor zoom on the compact camera. She is also quite well camouflaged. I won't say exactly where the nest is but I'm sure a certain Moonlander owner can find it.

Still not been out cycling. Swapped saddle on road bike and tightened up brakes to go out this morning but it was too miserable for me. Been raining for the past 24 hrs, a grim May so far.

6th May and still a chill

Yesterday was mostly spent doing housework and then watching the FA Cup final. There was a big swell running from the North but it was due to calm down for Sunday.

I woke to day with plans for good sailing or maybe even some fishing. Yesterdays swell had dropped away but it was still cold with rain and a short hail shower. I rowed out to the Heron with the best intentions but the cold got the better of me.  I couldn't get the motivation to get the sails up and head out so instead I spent time swabbing the decks and doing some badly needed cleaning.

Between trying to find places to put all the junk that collects on a boat I was able to sit with my feet up, music on and watch the world go by.

I'm sure there must be other boat owners who take as much pleasure from the simple maintenance of their boats the as they do from sailing. With the kettle on and the hatch pulled over the Heron is a snug wee boat.

Cold and no sailing but I was happy in my own place.

6 degrees max, showers, F2 E. slight.

30th April and Heron is under attack..again!

In Dunbar there are main chains running the length of the harbour with shorter cross chains. The Harbour Trust are supposed to maintain these chains and the individual boat owners are responsible for their risers, fore and aft. Little boats with shallow draft, bilge or lifting keels are closest to the wall. Larger fin keels with 2m draft are on the chain in the middle of the harbour. Fin and long keels are unusual on drying moorings as they fall over at low tide. If they fall away from the other boats things are fine. 

Six years ago the Magie de mer sat on the Heron and the mast support beam had to be replaced. On my way home from work this evening I stopped to see a worrying sight.

The Magie de mer (big blue boat middle distance) is awfully close to Heron (the wee red one). Fortunately there is plenty of water at low tide, at least until Friday.

I've added extra weight to my front chain this season in the hope that Heron will sit far enough forward when the Magie falls the wrong way.  All I can do is keep my fingers crossed.