Autumn non-solar tour

[matthewslack]

The solar touring season is over, so I am back to my multiple batteries and chargers approach for this repeat of my first really long trip a year ago.

The solar project needed a remotely mounted battery, so this time I have three batteries, two 418Wh downtube mounted, and a 504Wh on the rack. Just the two EC8004 4.6A chargers. The batteries are not new, I estimate they have 90% of their new capacity, so 1200Wh or so total.

I am travelling fairly light, maybe 25kg less than the solar rig, and I now have a 42T instead of 36T bottom gear, which on this first day has meant I have managed all but three short hills on the lowest assistance level - good for stretching range. I probably have 120 miles range, although my plan is to keep the rack mounted battery in reserve and run on the other two.

It is harder work in level 1, so 30 to 40 mile stints are about the limit, followed by an hour eating, drinking and charging.

It worked out well today, 66km in three hours took three bars out of the first battery and two and a bit from the second. An hour of charging had both back between four and five bars. Then another 80 km, all in daylight, and a camping spot just 50m from a friendly locals pub, where I stretched a pint to 85 minutes, by which time one battery was full and the other pretty close.

90 miles and almost full batteries. Six dry hours and three not so much. Pretty good first day.


First battery swap below the railway at the head of Loch Awe.



The Real Food Cafe, Tyndrum. First charging stop and lunch.



Autumn colours on a Loch Lomond islet. I stop here whenever passing if the time makes sense. The cafe was open, first time I have seen that since COVID.



Same place, impressive timber viewing structure.





Wet on the bonny, bonny banks today.



Some more autumn colours between the A82 and the railway on Sustrans route 7.



And failing light behind the pub!

 

[matthewslack]

Quite a long first stint today, as rain forecast later so I rode until the first shower and then looked for a charging and lunch opportunity. My backstop was a socket I saw in the Abington services cafe last year, but 73 km on from Bowling I have found the Abbeygreen cafe on route 74 in Lesmahagow. Both batteries down to a bar and a half, so a good hour here and a pub stop will make for a good day. Beattock and Lockerbie lie ahead, and I have camping spots known near both, and a good pub on one.

My charging setup is extensive, as without my solar batteries I don't have any USB ports on the bike. A four way extension block feeds two battery chargers and two old Samsung tablet chargers, which are a bit more than 500mA each. Today they are charging four GoPro batteries, but they can also do my head torch and phone.



There were a couple of 'false stops', first an open door by a Cafe sign that lead down a winding corridor to... a church meeting! Cafe the other six days.



Then the A74 truck stop, public welcome, but no sockets.

A few views from earlier.

Bowling basin, where the canal meets the Clyde.





There are multiple cycle routes through Glasgow centre. Route 7 goes along the river, past the SECC, where the Waverley paddle steamer is moored.



First battery swap.



First puncture. Front, fortunately.



River and leaves.



Second battery swap.

 

[Andy-Mat]

The solar touring season is over, so I am back to my multiple batteries and chargers approach for this repeat of my first really long trip a year ago.

The solar project needed a remotely mounted battery, so this time I have three batteries, two 418Wh downtube mounted, and a 504Wh on the rack. Just the two EC8004 4.6A chargers. The batteries are not new, I estimate they have 90% of their new capacity, so 1200Wh or so total.

I am travelling fairly light, maybe 25kg less than the solar rig, and I now have a 42T instead of 36T bottom gear, which on this first day has meant I have managed all but three short hills on the lowest assistance level - good for stretching range. I probably have 120 miles range, although my plan is to keep the rack mounted battery in reserve and run on the other two.

It is harder work in level 1, so 30 to 40 mile stints are about the limit, followed by an hour eating, drinking and charging.

It worked out well today, 66km in three hours took three bars out of the first battery and two and a bit from the second. An hour of charging had both back between four and five bars. Then another 80 km, all in daylight, and a camping spot just 50m from a friendly locals pub, where I stretched a pint to 85 minutes, by which time one battery was full and the other pretty close.

90 miles and almost full batteries. Six dry hours and three not so much. Pretty good first day.


First battery swap below the railway at the head of Loch Awe.

View attachment 49222

The Real Food Cafe, Tyndrum. First charging stop and lunch.

View attachment 49221

Autumn colours on a Loch Lomond islet. I stop here whenever passing if the time makes sense. The cafe was open, first time I have seen that since COVID.

View attachment 49220

Same place, impressive timber viewing structure.

View attachment 49218

View attachment 49219

Wet on the bonny, bonny banks today.

View attachment 49217

Some more autumn colours between the A82 and the railway on Sustrans route 7.

View attachment 49216

And failing light behind the pub!

View attachment 49215

Interesting, well written and well documented, many thanks.
Looking forward to further reading from you.
thanks again
Andy

 

[guerney]

The Burley's hiviz tarp needs a clean

 

[matthewslack]

The Burley's hiviz tarp needs a clean

Three hours of steady light rain just now have helped with that! This is peak muck, earlier:



And last battery swap:



Now today's miles are all but done, and I am facing the pie test, while my batteries get their second feed of the day.



This is at The Old Stables at the north end of Beattock. Today I have a cushion of range. A year ago here was my saviour as night fell, batteries all but empty and the Beattock climb ahead.

Today my phone screen was too wet to allow a picture outside, so here's one from last year.



And last night's camp, for good measure.



Route 74 was clear all day. M74 not so good, miles of stationary northbound traffic, and the A74 filling up quickly.





One use for a discarded Discovery.

 

[Plas man]

Well documented , the mention of Beatock brings back train (steam) spotting days watching the big tank locos giving assistance to north bound expresses .

 

[guerney]

Beatock

Is that pronounced "Buttock"? Residents of the village called "Cocks" in Cornwall have it worse, as do residents of Shitterton and Fingeringhoe.

 

[matthewslack]

Is that pronounced "Buttock"? Residents of the village called "Cocks" in Cornwall have it worse, as do residents of Shitterton and Fingeringhoe.

Someone this summer did a tour of UK places with interesting names. Tip of the iceberg above!

 

[matthewslack]

I enjoy the irony of charging in a petrol station!



This was not planned, but I arrived just before cafe opening time in Carlisle after 42 easy miles, so had almost decided to continue to Penrith and my favourite pasty shop when this services just off the motorway turned up. Gift horse.

Cheap stop as no actual cafe, so a big tea and lots of charging. The sockets have USB points so I have everything charging! Phone was down to 17% after two and a half days, top-up for head torch never a bad idea, and I'm a bit low on GoPro charge.

Dry, a mighty relief after yesterday afternoon, even bright at times.

The trailer is waterproof only from the top! My packing is one step ahead, so no drama.



Panniers not quite waterproof either. Not Ortlieb either. Are they worth their extra cost?



Mist and mellow fruitfulness: this morning at last night's camp.



First battery change.



It's always sunny in Cavendish Gardens. How do they do that?



Welcome improvements to cycle pavement in Carlisle, not yet complete and perhaps a sign short of a proper job!



Onward to Penrith, over Shap to Kendal and a bit more if I can. More likely a good evening charge there and a hunt for flat grass just after dark!

 

[Plas man]

Snap another good train spotting area in the days of steam , Tebay locos and crews pushing Scot’s expresses up hill to Shap summit
Thanks again for the well documented journey .

 

[matthewslack]

A slightly different route in the end, probably no saving on climb, but a new road to me. A6 to Shap and then left, right, lanes to Sedbergh. Pushing the edge of daylight and both batteries low. One at one bar, the other a bar and a half, so a good long charge now whilst the most expensive meal of the trip is consumed.

Then down to the Spar for rear light batteries and find my turf for the night.

92 miles today, 268 total in three days.

The sights of Penrith.





Finally lunch! The spoils of a visit to J & J Graham in Penrith. Great bread, cheese and today steak pie. Too late for pasties.



And the lunchtime view.



Unmissable light through the leaves on an unstoppable section of road. Quick dive for verge and wall.



Down the narrow gap south of Tebay beside the Howgills. Motorway, railway, river, lane and hills.



A very late battery swap with two miles to go. I try not to go below one bar.

 

[matthewslack]

At last, a dry day! My waterproofs and tent don't leak, but there is an inevitable accumulation of dampness as the days go on. So very welcome.

I ended up doing an extra 5 miles last night post dinner to a car park corner off a lane well hidden by a curving stone wall.

Then this morning a long stint to Preston with some lanes I might have done better to avoid and various other routing errors that cost the best part of an hour.

Finally a good long charge in the bus station cafe and a speedy 32 miles to the Mersey ferry in Liverpool. A few more miles to a rural part of the Wirral and an early camp with no evening charge. Only one day and 80 miles to go. I have my reserve battery unused and two bars left on each of the others, so one long or two short stops tomorrow will see me through.

Today 84 miles, total now 357.

Last night's rather good dinner.



And the camp.



That bus station again.



View from the ferry.

 

[egroover]

Just caught up with your journey, as ever, great daily write up. I admire your staying power, especially in these wet conditions. I love all of the off-grid charging, in the summer via solar, now via cafes and pubs. No doubt a different experience for summer solar vs autumn pubs/cafe charging with range management and riding effort, which one is less stressful and generally easier ? Certainly the narrow trailer compared to the wide solar trailer must be easier to navigate with?
One day we'll have extreme fast charging like electric cars, 0 to 100% in 30 mins so you won't need to nurse that beer for an hour and a half !
Have a great last day

 

[matthewslack]

Just caught up with your journey, as ever, great daily write up. I admire your staying power, especially in these wet conditions. I love all of the off-grid charging, in the summer via solar, now via cafes and pubs. No doubt a different experience for summer solar vs autumn pubs/cafe charging with range management and riding effort, which one is less stressful and generally easier ? Certainly the narrow trailer compared to the wide solar trailer must be easier to navigate with?
One day we'll have extreme fast charging like electric cars, 0 to 100% in 30 mins so you won't need to nurse that beer for an hour and a half !
Have a great last day

As long as cafes and pubs remain accommodating, this way is much easier, as lower all up weight, shorter, narrower and very easy to ride. But I prefer the independence of the solar setup when the season is right.

No one battery off the shelf system matches the 9.2A charge rate of my two batteries, so for now the best options are this or a single big battery, fastest available charger for use during the day, and then stay in accommodation with a full charge each evening.

I am averaging about 23Ah of charging per day. Too much to manage on the road with one charger.

Just like electric cars, the charge rate is the limiting factor.

What I hope comes through is the message that ebike touring is now very doable, and daily distances compared to non-e can be doubled.

 

[matthewslack]

A tough final day with south west winds gusting 40mph at times. Very heavy on battery use, so the one charging stop I thought would do was not enough.

My second stop was a little complicated, with batteries charging in the bike shop and food and tea in the financially unrelated cafe in the same building.

I stretched the break by investigating a slightly soft front tyre, and finding a 20 mm thorn still in place. Repaired that tube, fitted the spare which promptly went down two miles later. Small hole, no cause found. Odd given the clean hard cycle path surfaces.

Then with 20 miles of headwind remaining, I stopped for water and found I'd been towing a flat trailer tyre for a while! They came in threes today.

I rolled into town having ridden both downtube batteries flat for the first time in ages, and on the last bar of the reserve battery. Scraped in by my fingernails, I doubt if there was another uphill mile in it.

704km / 437.5 miles at 87.5 miles per day average. Mixing my units, total distance is now 12,848km which is only 17 short of 8,000 miles.

Not many pictures today, as I was very low on phone charge. Signal too slow to upload just now, so they can wait.

 

[WheezyRider]

What sort of tyres are you running? You seem to get quite a few punctures.

How do you deal with camping in this weather? It must be miserable, especially packing away in the morning with the kit all wet.

 

[matthewslack]

What sort of tyres are you running? You seem to get quite a few punctures.

How do you deal with camping in this weather? It must be miserable, especially packing away in the morning with the kit all wet.

Five days with a warm welcome and a hot shower at the end means I don't mind the roughing it on the way! I take two long breaks each day in cafes and pubs, so not as grim as it might seem.

I have been very fortunate with weather on my rides this year, so this is just a little balance coming my way.

The only wet thing is the tent, which is down in just a couple of minutes, so although I'm living in goretex, as soon as I'm riding I'm warm and dry inside.

I would not go off on a circular tour from home to home with the forecast I had setting out this time, but this was a journey to a distant destination for a week's stay.

Rear tyre is my third, and so far no punctures, a Schwalbe Road Cruiser. Front is the original WTB Riddler gravel tyre, only still there to see how much longer it lasts than the original rear. The rear was a slick at 5,000km, the front still has tiny height of tread at 12,800. But needs changing when I get home.

All my punctures bar two have been from trimmed thorn hedges or on the trailer from spoke nipples working through the rim tape.

The other two were a glass shard and a sharp tiny piece of grit.

They come in bunches, but overall 750 miles per puncture. If I get fed up, I know all I need to do is go Marathon Plus!

 

[guerney]

All my punctures bar two have been from trimmed thorn hedges or on the trailer from spoke nipples working through the rim tape.

While replacing two tyres and one inner tube recently on the Homcom trailer, I noticed the PVC rim tape looked naff - it had thinned out, looked like spoke nipples were not far off breaking through. Chucked it away and replaced with Zefal cloth rim tape, which has a dense weave - I think it'll last much longer. I haven't ever had (yet) a puncture when I've used Marathon Plus tyres and Zefal cloth rim tape, but I avoid off-road like the plague...

Pardon our interruption...

 

[matthewslack]

Pictures from yesterday.

Last camp.





First good view across the Dee estuary.



Route 5 railway bridge over the Dee with old mooring structure in the river.



Those awkward barriers are fine for the Nomad trailer, unlike the solar rig.



Last charging stop.



And remnant of last battery at journey's end.





It claims 23 km range remaining, but in reality that means 8 flat km and off at the first bit of hard work.

 

[Dorislin]

Mein Mann und ich planen eine 800 km lange Reise, wir haben einen kleinen Wohnwagen, den wir 2017 gekauft haben, und zwei Elektrofahrräder。

Aber ich habe das gleiche Problem wie Sie, ich habe auch keinen Solargenerator。 Wie soll ich ihn also während der Fahrt mit Strom versorgen？

Ich weiß nicht, ob ich mich für den Wohnwagen oder die E-Bikes entscheiden soll.
Bei einem E-Bike sollte eine Powerstation 500 Watt ausreichen，bei einem Wohnwagen brauche ich vielleicht mehr.