A Mixed bag this month

 As the title to this particular blog states, it's been a bit of a mixed bag this month. 

I will get the shitty bit of the month out of the way first so that I can leave you on a more positive ending.

Ok so I have now been off work 3 weeks, after talking to Occupational Health and describing how much I have been struggling at work. They agreed working from home until I can get sorted with a comfortable socket is the best course of action for me.

The pain and discomfort has been going on for months now and following the last Bank holiday I worked, wearing my new socket, I knew I just couldn't keep going on the way I was. So now I am in a kind of limbo, where I keep attending short appointments over at the Disability Service Centre and my prosthetist trying various small adjustments to try and get my socket comfy. The new socket I had made for me is not far off, however I am still uncomfortable, and it gets worse the longer I wear my limb and the more I do. I can no longer wear my current limb for more than a couple of hours at a time.

As for cycling, well I am still at it, riding indoors on my road bike set up on my turbo trainer. My cycling socket is absolutely huge, and it requires me to wear two seals around my liner, even then it gradually slips further and further off, so that is part of the reason I have not been heading out on any biking adventures. I cannot imagine being able to stand out of the saddle using my BTK, as the socket now rotates on my wee leg. It is all rather depressing as I have my new Orbea Cyclo cross sitting in doors just waiting for her maiden adventure. "Ahh well never mind we are still in winter and the roads are manky, the bike looks so pretty I don't really want to get her mucky" I keep telling myself

The Gain going nowhere

   

Baxter either wanting a cuddle or trying to tell me to stop playing

Well turned out Baxter had indeed broke a tooth and must have had an infection, poor little lad. The vet prescribed some antibiotics and painkillers, OMG! £90 odd quid then informed us that Baxter would need to come back to have the tooth removed. "Err how much will that be?" I asked too which the vet replied, "between £350 and £450"... Gulp. Apparently the dear part is the anaesthetic and because Baxter is a fat little git it's costing that bit more. So come Monday the 31st January, Baxter is off to get knocked out, just hope he doesn't have to have more teeth out or dentures fitted.

I'm sure the Universe is conspiring against me this month. My mate John messaged me during the week, asking did I fancy a ride out on Thursday. Ooh a chance for a catch-up. Turns out John then had to work a shift, so he couldn't head out, however that is not all. I had gone to get my bike out of the shed, my Specialized Turbo Levo, intending on washing her, thinking we were going to go out for a ride. Anyhoo I went to turn the bike on to see if I needed to charge the battery. WTF! The bike wouldn't turn on from the frame button. Now, this exact thing happened back in March 2021. I then had to take the bike to Infinity Cycles and get a new wiring harness fitted. After some choice words and much fannying on, I rang Infinity and the lad on the phone advised me to bring the bike down so that they could inspect her and try and discover the problem.

A day later Infinity rang saying it was the same problem as last time, the poxy wiring harness bit, and that the bike was now out of warranty... Great, so I was quoted about £56 for the part with £15 labour, telling them just to carry out the work. Another day went by, and the following day Infinity rang saying they had fitted the new harness, however the bike was still acting up. They had discovered that  the TCU was at fault and this was going to cost £105 to replace, the guy on the phone saying Specialized had given me a 35% discount on the part. Obviously I needed the bike sorting, so the final bill was £190. 

Infinity Cycles and the team have always been spot on, when I have had work done there, like getting my bikes wrapped etc, so I am not miffed with them, however I am pissed off with Specialized as upon reading up on various eBike sites, there have been a lot of issues with the motors and electrics. It has definitely put me off buying another Specialized bike in the future,  if I was going to purchase another bike. Even been thinking about selling the Levo, she is 3 years old now and in really good nick, I already know what I would go for if I did sell her, but I will keep that under my hat for now LoL.

Ooh! my Mikro guitar arrived, eventually, on Wednesday. I had ordered it from Anderton's Music way back in December. I eagerly unboxed it, tuned it, trying both my mini tuner and the one incorporated on my Orange Crush 20 RT and I have to say I was proper disappointed with the sound. It just sounded terrible to me when playing a chord, it sounded like the G string was always out of key and wavering and lingering longer than any of the other strings.

ibanez grgm21m-mgn gio mic

Ibanez Wee guitar

 

I have been taking guitar lessons with a gentleman called Tom Welch, just had my 4th lesson Yesterday in fact. So as I am a total noob with anything to do with guitars, I asked Tom to have a bit of a play around and give me his opinion. Of course Tom could play the wee guitar, as he is a pro, however he agreed the guitar did sound out of tune and recommended taking it to a "Luthier", you see I am learning new stuff all the time. A Luthier is someone who makes and repairs guitars and can carry out tuning and required adjustments or replacements of parts. I will come back to the wee Ibanez in a tick.

I found Tom by doing a quick Google and searching for guitar tutors in County Durham. He has his own website which provides details of his years of experience and what he can offer in the way of tuition. I got Tom's phone number and gave him a call, like I say, a month a go now. 

When Tom arrived for my first lesson with him, he simply asked where I was starting from, and I told him "absolute beginner". It has only been a month like I say, No I can't play any tunes very well, however I have learnt so much and Tom sets me homework to work on each week to help improve not only my use of playing the guitar, but in the understanding of music. By that I mean working on Chords, scales, timing and  how to read tableture, of course there is much more. 

At times, it can feel a bit overwhelming and as I am sure those people who can recall just starting out learning the guitar, you feel you are never going to get it. I think one of the main things is that I am not being too hard on myself, practising each day, and enjoying the challenge, mostly just making a noise Lol. Tom is a great Teacher, who is very patient, and I now look forward to seeing him each week, as he is a genuinely nice fella.

Sore Fingers

Right back to this Wee guitar. After Tom had had a go, and recommended taking the guitar to what we now know as a guitar maker, repair person, I tied to think of somewhere pretty local and thought of J G Windows at the Metro centre. I could see they were open late, as it was 6pm by now. When I rang Windows I got to speak to a very friendly lad called Lewis who said "Just bring it in, and I will have a look at it", "Ok when" I replied, and he said "can you get in tonight?" So Ern and I boxed up the guitar and headed to the Metro and Windows.

Long'ish story short, Lewis had a look at the guitar and said he couldn't find anything wrong with it, saying for a small guitar it was one of the best he had heard. You see the guitar is classed as a 3/4 or travel guitar, the fretboard is only 22.2inches. The guitar actually fits on the parcel shelf of Tango, my Smart car, 

I asked Lewis how much I owed him for his time and he replied "Aww nowt it's ok". I handed him a tenner anyway, as I think it's polite when someone does you a good turn.

Back home I gave the guitar another go and to me, it still sounded dreadful, like an out of tune bagpipe. The following day I rang Steel Town Music and spoke to Matt and asked would he have a look at the guitar. Matt asked me to pop it in, and he would take a quick look at the guitar and amp setup, as by now I was thinking could it be the amp.

As soon as Matt looked at the guitar and had a little play, he commented on the very thin strings and demonstrated how easy it was for the guitar to go out of tune by pressing down too hard on the strings. Well with me being a beginner I am finding I am probably giving the neck of the guitar a death grip as I am trying not to get any buzz or dead sounding strings.

Matt suggested fitting lager diameter strings, I think it had 9's on, and he suggested 11's. "Great" I replied when should I drop it back in, as I knew Saturday was a busy day for the guys at Steel Town Music. Matt was spot on and said "Oh I will do it now it won't take long". Within about 10 to 15 minutes Matt had the strings replaced and tuned up my guitar, he had also adjusted the Truss rod slightly and also the action. Before leaving, Matt plugged my guitar into his amp and allowed me to have a little strum to see if I thought the guitar sounded better, which I am very happy to say it did. So that is another shop I would highly recommend for friendliness and first class service, plus it's local and has a great choice of guitars and other music paraphilia. Cheers Matt for sorting me out.

Oh Ern bought a couple of guitar hangers, after we read some reviews on Amazon. They look canny and when the guitar is place on the hnager it automatically closes to prevent the guitar from falling off/out of the hanger. When reading the reviews the amount of pretty stupid people who were blaming the hnagers for falling off their walls. I mean come on it only common sense to make sure the hnagers are affixed securely. My dad used a hammer drill and some wall plugs pluss longer screws. He has put one hanger in his den for his guitar and another in my bedroom. Thanks Dad.

Hanger keeps guitar out the way and looks neat

Looks neat on the wall

Gives me a bit more space I can pop my wee guitar on the stand on the floor.

 

Obviously, I now have a bit of a music addiction going on, it's not just playing the instruments I have found I take pleasure in how beautiful they look, Errr no not in a weird way. Some of the workmanship and material used are fantastic. The price of some of these guitars and ukuleles is bonkers.

Speaking of Ukuleles I have been doing a sopot of research and fancy investing in one. I have narrowed it down to one of two that are within my budget. They both come from the maker Flight. They are part of Flight's princess series, the Diana and the Sophia. The concerts look way too small for me so I would opt for a tenor.

  

Flight Diana Soundwave Tenor

I will maybe invest when I get a bit better with my playing and of course when the Universe decides to give me a break with sudden financial bills and I can put a few quid away.

 

Flight Sophia Soundwave Tenor

Both Ukes look amazing, love the design of the necks and the soundwave system gives the Ukuleles even more appeal. Slightly drawen to the darker wood of the Diana and the red accents.

Myrtle over the Winter

 So as we are in the colder wintery months, Myrtle has been put away under her car cover. My dad and I don't have any plans to mess with her, as it is just too cold to be tinkering on working outside with no garage for cover.

An old picture of Myrtle, I think I will get her new Smoothies done black again

 

Saying that, next pay day I do intend on removing Myrtle's front 17-inch SMA alloys and getting her new tyres fitted. The 165/35/17 Nankangs which are on at the moment I am replacing for the same tyres, however a 40 profile, the same as the rears. I know it is not much, but those 35's just look way too thin, and I am constantly in fear of buckling a wheel when hitting a bump or a pothole, of which there are loads around here. I am also looking to get Myrtle's Steel Smoothies powder coated.
 

Smoothies to get powder coated gloss black

 

Sometime ago, I bought a pair of 8 x 15 steel smoothies. Pleased I got them when I did, I mean I waited ages for them to come in stock, but I see they have now shot right up in price. I wish I could have bought 7 x 15's as I think they may have fitted better, but hey ho. What my dad and I have done is seen what the fit was like with the 8-inch wide rims alongside the 1-inch rear spacers on Myrtle's narrow axles. We then had the 1-inch spacers machined down, so they allow the wheels to fit a little better with the spacers in place.

Milled down Spacers, I think they are now 19 mm

My only concern now is that I hope the new Kumho tyres I bought look OK on the wider rears. I have opted for 205/60/15 Kumho Ecowings on the back end and 145/65/15's for the front.


Back in October, I had ordered some parts for Myrtle, this way to try and solve the cutting out issues we were having. My dad worked on Myrtle mostly when I was at work, he fitted a completely new steel fuel line from the front to the back of the car, and we decided to fit a new electric Fawcett fuel pump, and filter alongside a regulator. My dad went one step further, fitting a custom-made cut-off valve, which makes it easier for removing the fuel tank. At the moment I haven't got any real sound deadening in Myrtle, and man that little petrol pump is quite noisy. I also have not had the opportunity to drive far in the wee car, so not sure if it has resolved her cutting out problem.

Ern has been hard at work installing the new fuel system under Myrtles tank

I have just got Myrtle back from Bewick Mobility, actually, on Tuesday 4th January. You see, has been away getting her semi-automatic clutch adaption tweaked. What had happened is one day I went to drive her and the semi-auto clutch would not operate correctly? I couldn't get her in gear. Upon inspection, the cable that works through a pulley system driven by a motor under Myrtle's rear seat to the clutch arm appeared frayed and stretched.

I contacted Bewick, and they suggested I pop the car down and then got to work on her, putting a different cable in place that is more durable and also sorting an issue with the magnetic sensor pickup. Long story short, Myrtle now drives a lot better and the semi-auto clutch, although it takes a bit of getting used to, works well.
 

Whilst I am on about picking Myrtle up, it was a bit of a nightmare when we did go to collect her. She had been standing for some time, so her battery was dead, so she needed a jump, then she tried to cough into life and I could hear the electric fuel pump going like the clappers "Tick, Tick, Tick". The fuel gauge isn't the most reliable, so I suggested we dip the tank and low and behold poor Myrtle had no go go juice. Once we put so fuel in she started after a few clicks and I drove her around to the nearby petrol station to pop £20 quid in her.


The drive home from Blaydon was fun, however as Myrtle has no heating it was bloody freezing, another reason Myrtle is a purely nice weather car LoL It is the first time I had driven her since my dad had done all the work on her track rod ends and steering. You see, part of the problem with the 4-inch narrowed beam and the air ride dampers was that Myrtle's steering had to be limited by a stop to prevent her track rod end on the driver's side rubbing against the airbag. After some time experimenting with various track rod ends from Hyundai's and other makes of cars, my dad was able to fashion a shorter track rod end with a curve that cleared the Bag, and I think he said it was from a Peugeot. Anyhoo Myrtle's turning circle now feels a lot better, no longer do I have to think where I am going and panicking in case I cannot get around a corner without having to do a 9 point turn. Really, she was that bad. I think I could just do a full circle on a football pitch.

The Track rod end now misses the Airbag

 

This year I am hoping to enjoy driving my wee car a little, of course she is an ongoing project. Things that are really annoying me are her rear wings. The passenger side appearing narrower than the driver's and the rear light looking wonky. I am hoping I can get either a new passenger wing or tow matching wings to even her up. Then I will need to get her painted. I would also love a bigger engine and free way flyer gearbox, and lastly to get the custom interior I have had in mind done. So as you can read, all these other jobs come at a huge cost, so for the time being I will just enjoy her the way she is. Even had her up to 57 mph the other day. The speedo was reading about 70, but my Dash Cam said 57 mph LoL

Almost the end of another year of personal challenges and onto new ones.

 And so as 2021 draws to an end I can reflect back and say that I rode every day this year, as a matter of fact I also rode everyday last year, so I am now up to a total of 761 consecutive days. Yeah! Some days I don't feel like jumping on my bike, but it's now difficult to stop.

Well that is another year

Most of my riding has been in doors, in my bedroom on my road bike and turbo trainer. This year has been a horrendous one for socket fit, so I have not got out much at all on my mountain bikes, it's just too painful trying to stand out of the saddle. Plus, I am finding I am needing more and more time not wearing my prosthetic leg on my days off as I need the time to recover from being at work the 4 days that I am there.

Never mind, it's just the life of an amputee and no excuse not to exercise. It's probably all this exercise I have been doing that has caused me to lose volume.

I also devised another challenge to go along with my bike, and this as I recall I started in February of this year. I started doing crunch and oblique sit-ups. As the months went by I was steadily increasing how many I was doing each month, and with today being the last day of this current year I have just completed 18,000 this month, that is 600 per day.

Next year I am going to think of something else to challenge me. Oh! That is not all though, I have also been doing some core work using a gym ball and some free weights in the form of dumbbells. It took me a while to get used to using the gym ball, not so much because I had a weak core, No it's more to do with losing my balance due to my prosthetic leg. Again, it doesn't help when it is not fitting and dropping off or rotating as I exercise.

So while I am on about challenges, I decided to do something I have always put on the back burner and this is to get myself a guitar. I am a complete beginner. I bought a 3/4 Ibanez Guitar, still waiting for it to arrive, and I started reading a book I purchased by a guy called Justin Sandercoe. Within the first few pages, Justin advises not to start with a 3/4 or travel guitar...Ahh! Bloody typical... So I checked online for a full size guitar I liked. It was either a choice between a Fender Malibu or an Ibanez TCM50, both of which are electro-acoustic guitars. I opted for the Ibanez TCM50, and it arrived just the other day.

Ooh! Just like Christmas

What ever could it Be?

Ibanez TCM50 Vintage Sunburst

Looks and plays lovely

Now I don't know much at all about guitars, however I have to say I love the rich sound from the Ibanez, even when not plugged in, it is plenty loud enough in my bedroom and I have been practising learning some chords and strumming, so much so that I have very sore fingers with callouses forming on the fingertips of my Left hand.

Come the New Year, I am most definitely going to try and get booked in for some lessons and try and persevere. I am looking forward to being able to play a song, rather than just making a noise.

Other things this year that aren't very interesting, well after 2 years of being a vegetarian I decided to become more of a flexitarian and started eating chicken and eggs. I was just getting bored trying to find stuff to eat.

Not only that, I bought my dad a Ninja Foodie air fryer, and it seemed a shame just air frying vegetables in it. Now I can bang some chicken in, and it only takes like 22 minutes or so.

This year I also discovered I am seriously going blind, honest my eyesight is shocking, so I had to go and buy some new specs. Wow! At £400, they were a lot more expensive than I expected. Hopefully I don't look too much of a geek in them.

Having a little practice

A lot more difficult than I thought

Well, that is about all, other than to wish you all a Very Happy and Healthy New Year... Take care...