Rambling Games - Day 4 - in the park and horse riding?

There's no picture of the Rambling outdoor activities today, but antics in a park near Highgate definitely took place. Frustrated by the lack of evidence, and spurred on by the riding events today, Hannah decided that horse riding was a possibility as long as Daddy would co-operate ...

Rambling Games - Day Three - Synchronised Swinging

The backyard stadium proves to be an ideal venue for a number of events this evening. Inspired by the sheer effort and determination of the synchronised swimmers doing their diving this afternoon Hannah decided that this was the event for us. We don't have a pool in our back garden and so the sport of Synchronised Swinging has been born. A short swing on the climbing frame and long swing suspended from the trees make for an interesting mix and Poppy was somewhat wary of the event. She introduced a side game of sprinting for the rope toy before running off with the prize before any of us could catch her. Rambling Beach Volleyball proved a hit - a piece of string looped across the garden and two players against one did nothing to even the score. Fortunately one member of the team got distracted by weeding the garden which led to abandonment of the game for the evening when a new sport of Bumball was invented by the remaining players using a suitable target on the errant weeder. More events tomorrow.

Meridian Peanut Butter

I have long memories of enjoying peanut butter, right from getting home from school feeling as if I'd not eaten for a week, absolutely starving and making myself a peanut butter and mayonnaise sandwich. Yes, mayonnaise with peanut butter: more about that later.   In those days it was always Sunpat as there didn't seem to be any choice back in the 1970s.  Having bought a jar on my recent visit to Fairhaven Whole Foods we were keen to try it out alongside the Sunpat we STILL buy.

First impressions

Open the jar and you're greeted by the (natural) oil that has separated out and it doesn't "look" like peanut butter at all.

"Ugh" says Becky as she starts to stir it around with her knife "it's like a mud pie."  Nose turns up

"No Becky, don't worry, that's because there's no E471 Stabilisers in there, just the natural ingredients".  I was gobsmacked at Rachel's support on this.  Sometimes my "eccentric" foods do not always enjoy the support they should here in the Rambling household.

Once the stirring had taken place, the taste testing began.  We all remarked how it tasted of, well, nuts.  Promising start, eh?

Taste testing

Somehow I missed the saltiness of Sunpat but it was good eating a proper peanut butter without additives.  The consistency seemed okay in that it could be spread fairly easily onto bread.  It wasn't too much of a dry taste but quite a earthy, wholesome one.  

I quite liked the texture, which I hadn't anticipated.  Although it is a smooth peanut butter, there are tiny little bits of nut in there.  For people with fragile teeth and who would ordinarily avoid crunchy versions, there's no need to worry.  

I liked it a lot and it made a nice change to the regular Sunpat.

Ingredients

This is simple, it is 100% peanuts.  

Nutrition

Is peanut butter good for you?  Does peanut butter make you fat?  You will not have any problems with the answers to these simple questions, providing you don't have it in excess.  It contains protein and the B vitamin folate which helps with cell health.  Yes, there is quite a lot of fat (oil) in peanut butter naturally.  this is monounsaturated fat and this is good for us, we do need it but in sensible quantities.

Comparing the nutritional values with Sunpat, there are close similarities.  This is unsurprising as even the Sunpat contains 95% peanuts.  The Meridian is slightly better with a higher fibre content, lower calories, less salt and less saturated fat.  To be honest, if you have a teaspoon of peanut butter each day, it's not going to affect you much one way or the other.  

Whereas Meridian is just peanuts, the Sunpat version contains E471 stabilizer, cane sugar, peanut oil and some sea salt.  Not too bad but if you want a reminder of what the E471 is..... mono-and diglycerides of fatty acids (glyceryl monostearate, glyceryl distearate) an emulsifier.  

Mayonnaise?

Yes, try some with your peanuts butter.  It brings some moisture to an otherwise dry sandwich filling.  A little bit like putting pickle on your cheese - it just works.

Linked

Do checkout the Meridian website click here

Rambling Games - Day Two - Tennis

Sunday may be a day of rest but after Church today the Ramblings family had signed up for Rambing Tennis. Underred by lack of tennis court or space to play we headed for Grandma's garden and the swingball game. I arrived late but got to play the winners of the previous rounds. Hannah umpired ("play properly Mummy") as I realised that left handed backhand and swingball were a difficult mix. Mr R was available for technical support and Becky clearly won the round. Having dodged the thunder showers we celebrated with a spot of gardening before the cycling keenies grabbed their bikes and headed home leaving Hannah and I to race ahead and prepare a hot meal for their return. Day three Mr Ramblings goes back to work so what can Team Rambling do next?

65.9mph and time to review - Cateye Strada wireless

Don't be fooled by the maximum speed

A while ago I thought I'd do a review of my wireless Cateye Strada.   I generally like to review things over a longer term rather than base a review on mere first impressions.   This has coincided with a new maximum speed and I'll say something about that further on.

The Strada is fairly modest in the Cateye range, though not the most basic.  It is an entry level wireless cycle computer and gives useful information about a ride in order to be an interesting gadget.  The set up is conventional with a spoke fitting magnet which passes a small sensor unit attached to the front fork.  The unit itself is designed to fit onto the handlebars or, as I have done, onto the handlebar stem.  This has the advantage of keeping the handlebars available for one or two LED lights or maybe a Satnav.

The unit itself is fairly small and unobtrusive, especially in black.  It is commonly available in black, white and, if you're lucky, one or two other designs.  Cost is around £40.

Installation

Allow about 30 minutes from out of the box to functioning on the bars.  It's pretty straight forward, instructions are okay and you don't need to be a bicycle mechanic to do this; just don't rush it.  Very helpfully, Cateye publish their instruction manuals online (click here) as it is all too easy to lose the instructions.  Believe me, I could not have managed without the online help when I changed the batteries.

It is also worthwhile to measure the exact circumference of your front wheel in order to programme the unit.  You can, of course, use Cateye's guide settings and you can have confidence in these.  However, tyres of exactly the "same" size do vary from one manufacturer to another and if you want a really accurate read-out, why not use the most accurate settings?

What does it do?

The large digit is the current speed and can be set for either mph or kph.

The secondary read out toggle between:

• clock time
• cycling time*
• trip distance*
• distance 2 (an odometer which can be reset)
• average speed*
• maximum speed*
• odometer

*these can be re-set simply by pressing down on the bottom edge for a few seconds.  This is quite good to do for each journey.

The distance 2 feature is quite a thoughtful touch.  It could be used as a slightly longer term trip distance.  So, for example you could use it to record how far you cycled during a cycle tour or perhaps during a year.

What is it like to use?

Overall, it's good.  Would I buy one again?  Probably not but only because I find the secondary numbers are too small without my glasses.  In most other respects it is great, especially for the price.

One of the nice things about Cateye is the availability of spares.  You could also purchase a second fitting kit if you have a second bike and it can be switched across easily.  You can see in the above display the is a letter A.  This could denote bike A and then switch it across to Bike B if required.  Other spares are available.

Once the initial setting up is complete, it's a complete doddle.  There is just one "button" i.e. the bottom edge which operates everything.  Other buttons are tucked away underneath and are only used during installation.

I did notice on one occasion it wasn't picking up a signal.  It was only because the sensor had been knocked out of place.  

It is in obtrusive and arguably less likely to attract a thief - useful if you leave your bike in a vulnerable area.

Once I'd had it for 18 months the display began to fade so I replaced the batteries and it's been fine since.  How Long the batteries last depends on their use and how long the unit was sitting in a shop waiting to be solved.  I replaced the sensor unit's battery at the same time, although there was no sign of it fading.

It's good fun and brings an interest to my cycling.  It does do cadence (pedal turns per minute) or pick up your heart rate.  Both of these features are catered for by Cateye but in the form of more upmarket models.

65.9mph?

Yes, I too was surprised at this. Alas no, I was not doing 65.9mph or anywhere near it and I'm sure I would remember that.  So maybe some kind of article could have been written about this but for now it's a mystery and I have no explanation.  It's only happened once, never before..

Let the Rambling Games commence! - Cycling

After a late night watching the opening ceremony it must have been lack of sleep that caused me to suggest we hold our own Rambling Olympics. Taking our inspiration from the sports of the day we could join in. Mr Ramblings doesn't miss a trick and before we knew it we had all signed up to being active. Ideas for events flowed thick and fast with the first being to support our cycling teams by heading

for the forest and the course around Marston Mortain. "I'm no cyclist" I announced to the bike hire staff, "but if I'm going to keep up with my family I need a bike". They happily obliged with a fine selection and I'd just picked my favourite when the girls arrived clutching Poppy. "get one with a basket, Mum". Poppy was not impressed and, after a spin round the block, we acknowledged she was an accident waiting to happen. Undeterred, the bike staff offered their dog trailer (we need more customers like you they grinned) and so I ended up with the only bike that would fit the trailer. Waving a sad farewell to my dream bike with the armchair saddle we were off with Poppy in tow. Let the Rambling Games commence!

Birthday Bike project continues

Flipflops and Crocs: the new cycling accessory?  Hope not!

 Just a quick update on Becky's birthday bike project.... we've had a tyre changing lesson having splashed out on a pair of Continental 4 Season 700x25 tyres and new tubes.  The old ones, while just about rideable, were cracking having been sitting unused since the last century.  We've also replaced the original Shimano 600 brake levers (which will be on eBay soon) as they were a bit awkward and too big.  They have been replaced by some nice Sram levers which are far superior in terms of their ergonomic design.

The bike is really nice an light.  The frame is made with Reynolds 531C throughout with reasonably light wheels (Campag / Mavic).  Next we'll replace the bottom bracket and get the gears sorted.

I should say that I'm pleased we invested in some puncture resistant tyres.  Fitting them was a real challenge and I had to resort to using a tyre lever to get the last bit of the bead over the rim.  I knew I ran the risk of pinching the tube but thankfully it was okay.  At least Becky knows the procedure, if not totally "hands on" for her.  It was one of those tender daughter / father times which I cherish so much.

A birthday "project"....

New cycling top co-ordinating well with her PJs

Many 14 year old girls get make-up, iPhones and clothes for their birthday.

Here's our eldest daughter Becky with a birthday "project".  It is an Argos frame (as in the Bristol bespoke frame builder) and is older than her by several years.  I bought it from our friends Wallie and Angela who I think were happy to let us have it knowing it was going to a new home.  It'll certainly get plenty of use.

While it is rideable, it does need some TLC.  Just had the bearings regreased at the LBS.  As the usual mechanic is on his holiday, we have been dealt with by someone else in the shop who charged me £10 for ball bearings, in addition to the labour.  When I queried this he explained "well I did use caged bearings" which to my mind just makes it even worse!  The bottom bracket is shot; it goes from being tight to loose in 90 degrees.  The Campag hubs will, of course, last forever.

So soon we'll have a bike repair workshop on the go and further blog posts to follow....

Benefits of local honey

Everyone knows that honey is good for you.  Almost everyone likes it.  Just some people know local honey is particularly good for you.  Why?  Read on....

Many people suffer from allergies these days.  Often these are perfectly natural, like hay fever which is an allergic reaction to pollen in the air.  These allergies can be a pain-in-the-neck but for most people it is no more than a small irritation.  Other allergies can be caused by dust, mould spores and other microscopic particles floating around in the atmosphere.  

By eating small but regular amounts of honey which is produced locally, it is very straight forward to build up an immunity to local hay fevers and other allergic reactions.

Raw honey has been used for thousands of years as a sweetener in food and drink; a good natural sweet taste.  Other qualities include having an anti inflammatory action, soothing respiratory problems

As pollens are relatively local, raw honey can help to treat respiratory problems because it has anti-allergic, anti-inflammatory, qualities.  It is also said to have various anti cancer qualities which can inhibit the growth of some tumours.

Aside from the health benefits, supporting your local suppliers helps keeps them and their army of bees going - which I think is pretty important and collectively we should be supporting folks like C. Gorski.

Arguably the best benefit overall it that is it has a wonderful taste!