2026 - Our Rides in Words, Photos, Maps and Videos

[Chargeride]

Day 47..
Its still raining, the ducks are buying umbrellas, the fish are drowning and the entire solar output of the UK is minus 52.

The good news is Ive power washed the bike by leaving it outside, the hosepipe ban is put off till March and all our plastic bottles have reached France.

Should be able to ride next week.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Day 47..
Its still raining, the ducks are buying umbrellas, the fish are drowning and the entire solar output of the UK is minus 52.

The good news is Ive power washed the bike by leaving it outside, the hosepipe ban is put off till March and all our plastic bottles have reached France.

Should be able to ride next week.

View attachment 205843

I swear to god if the water companies call for hosepipe bans come the summer there will torches and pitchforks on the streets against them.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

I swear to god if the water companies call for hosepipe bans come the summer there will torches and pitchforks on the streets against them.

That damn water — can't live with it, can't live without it!

 

[Rás Cnoic]

That damn water — can't live with it, can't live without it!

Context- these are the same private water companies who are embroiled in long term court cases for dumping thousands of tonnes of raw sewage into rivers lakes and coastal waters, while not updating the network of water pipes in 30 years, then begging government for more money to update the (Victorian era) pipe network because they have been years putting up water prices and spending the money on shareholder dividends & CEO bonuses instead of on improvements. Now they are almost bankrupt say they can't do any network infrastructure work blackmailing the government for more taxpayer bailouts. And yes every drought they blame the public for negligently using too much water. All our fault apparently.

Off topic sorry!!

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Context- these are the same private water companies who are embroiled in long term court cases for dumping thousands of tonnes of raw sewage into rivers lakes and coastal waters, while not updating the network of water pipes in 30 years, then begging government for more money to update the (Victorian era) pipe network because they have been years putting up water prices and spending the money on shareholder dividends & CEO bonuses instead of on improvements. Now they are almost bankrupt say they can't do any network infrastructure work blackmailing the government for more taxpayer bailouts. And yes every drought they blame the public for negligently using too much water. All our fault apparently.

Off topic sorry!!

All I can say is, on many (but not all) fronts, the more I learn about UK, the more it sounds just as screwed up as the US — and for similar reasons.

 

[Chargeride]

The whole of the west is rattling down the off ramp.

 

[Chargeride]

Did you have Orange sodium street lights in the US?
I just watched a video because they are all but gone to dreadful bluewhite leds.

Looking at video of the lamps they made everywhere look magical, someone said just wear orange glasses at night and it made me think they will probably make augmented glasses for everyone that overlays fantasy nostalgia over all the shyte.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I just watched a video because they are all but gone to dreadful bluewhite leds.

It was the Sodium Orange that was dreadful.
Do you still have sodium street lights in the backwards UK?

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Did you have Orange sodium street lights in the US?
I just watched a video because they are all but gone to dreadful bluewhite leds.

Looking at video of the lamps they made everywhere look magical, someone said just wear orange glasses at night and it made me think they will probably make augmented glasses for everyone that overlays fantasy nostalgia over all the shyte.

Sodium vapor used to be everywhere in outdoor lighting here. LED technology is clearly taking over, but I can't say by how much.

What I can say is, if bluish white is what it takes to burn less carbon in the name of outdoor lighting, so be it.

 

[Stefan Mikes]

I wouldn't say the white LED lights were ugly. "Snow blooming trees", a photo from a friend.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

As of a few years ago, it was difficult and costly to take all of the excess blue out of "white" LEDs. The truly white ones were reserved for uses where the lack of blue was worth the price.

 

[Mulezen]

With effort I was finally able to get out for a ride, atrophied legs and all...the most taxing part of my short journey of seven miles was the 500' walk down my icy gravel drive to the road.

Light pollution is a real problem...it's often wasteful...misdirected...disturbs natural processes in plants and animals (Sodium Vapor in particular). My SE horizon is now aglow with the ritzy Short Pump shopping...ten miles away. I don't bother looking that way in the evening with the Ship's Binoculars...I took the sky for granted.