Run along the River Doon

After a lot of wet and windy weather it was bright today so I took the opportunity for a run along the River Doon in Ayrshire.

Mouth of the River Doon at the sea south of Ayr

After recent storms these swans will be enjoying the calm sea.

Ayrshire countryside

Clouds over the hills at Loch Doon

 

Recent rains have increased the level of the loch going by the submerged bushes

Loch Doon Castle

The loch from the castle

The castle's story

Castle interior

Loch and hills

The river flows from the dam on the loch. Plenty of water today

Winter sunset on my way home

Crappy Christmas.....(or is it?)

Christmas cheer was in short supply this afternoon in Shawlands (a Glasgow southside neighbourhood where used to live) There's a sad looking tree behind some security fencing outside the Granary pub. At first glance it seems to be un-decorated but a closer look revealed that it was festooned with lights but no one has bothered to connect them to a power supply.  

At least there is a substantial base to prevent it being blown over

***Correction***

After Larry's comment re a generator (below) I thought - could there be one in the bag in last photo? After all who would erect a tree & lights and not power it.

So I took a run back tonight and the lights were on! They are connected to the mains supply. It's still crappy that they weren't on during the day for the shoppers but I'm glad to say I was wrong and there is some festive cheer in Shawlands. 

 

I'll take this opportunity to wish all of you who visit my blog a merry Christmas and a happy & healthy New Year.

Queensferry Crossing

It was very mild today (13C/55F) so I went for a run to check on progress of the Queensferry Crossing over the River Forth. This was more difficult of late since the existing road bridge has been closed after a defect was found. I got to the south side ok, but getting to the north would have involved a long detour and a lot of congestion.

Three towers of the bridge with the deck being erected

 

 

This panaroma shows the Queensferry Bridge and the existing road & rail bridges

The rail bridge is always worth a photograph

The problem with the existing road bridge is the hangers that connect the main trusses to the towers.

This is the hanger

Big in Russia?

I often look at the stats for this blog to see how many people visit and from where. I mean, I wouldn't like to think I was talking to myself. Recently there have been some odd numbers regarding pageviews from Russia. The figures are:

today:         zero

this week:    412

this month:  532

Very odd. There seems to have been an short but intense interest in my blog from that country. Have Russians really been visiting or is this part of some sinister internet scam? Any ideas.

Если вы посещаете мой блог из России, пожалуйста, дайте мне знать.

(If you are visiting my blog from Russia please let me know)

Я всегда время, чтобы проверить "Сказки из пути"

(I always make time to check out "Tales from the Road")

CBF250 Helmet/Seat Lock

A minor but persistent problem on my CBF250 has been the helmet/seat lock. It tends to jam in bad weather when water & muck gets into the workings. The key won't turn the lock and the seat release jams.

The trouble is that if the lock jams I can't get the seat off for access to the tool kit or puncture repair kit and that could leave me stranded. There is also a danger of snapping the key trying to turn the lock. So I decided to fix it once and for all. 

Helmet/seat lock

With some effort I got the key to turn

The seat catch

The lever I'm pulling operates the catch via a cable

A problem was removing the lock. It is attached to the frame by security screws that I couldn't remove so I drilled them out. The lock then came apart. The parts were pretty mucky....

....but cleaned up ok

I soaked the lock in oil

The mechanism back together & packed with grease

And back on the bike. Hopefully this won't cause any more problems in the future.

Let There Be More Light

I noticed recently that the FJ's instruments were mostly in darkness. They could have been like that for a while because I seldom ride in the dark. They are illuminated by three bulbs and I think that two of them have blown. No probs - replace the bulbs. But…it's not that simple to get to the back of the clocks.

Something's not right.

The bulbs are in there somewhere…

…but there's no obvious way of getting to them.

Not from below.

Start by removing the fairing air scoops….

….and fairing inner panels….

….to get access to the fairing bolts.

And the fairing comes off easily.

The bulbs can be changed without removing the clocks from the fairing

The bike uses wedge type bulbs

The clocks are lit up again (no I didn't take this photo at 1:24am - the clock needs re-set because it was disconnected)

This was less hassle than I was expecting and the FJ, as usual, proved to be fairly easy to maintain.