New seasons adventures underway

[matthewslack]

I don't notice any obvious drop off, which might be because I am riding at low power for hours rather than high power for minutes, so the battery will get a chance to warm up.

The occasional let them sit in the sun, but no heating elements, charging is always indoors at my cafe and pub stops, so with one exception, always above zero.

At Kinlochewe, 6pm, already frosty, I took in the battery I had been riding on and one I hadn't. All plugged in and one charger came on, the other did not. Let the battery sit at room temperature for a while and then it was fine. Either charger or battery or both contain temperature detection and protection circuitry.

 

[WheezyRider]

I don't notice any obvious drop off, which might be because I am riding at low power for hours rather than high power for minutes, so the battery will get a chance to warm up.

The occasional let them sit in the sun, but no heating elements, charging is always indoors at my cafe and pub stops, so with one exception, always above zero.

At Kinlochewe, 6pm, already frosty, I took in the battery I had been riding on and one I hadn't. All plugged in and one charger came on, the other did not. Let the battery sit at room temperature for a while and then it was fine. Either charger or battery or both contain temperature detection and protection circuitry.

And I had visions of you wrapped up in your sleeping bag at night with your batteries

I am not convinced batteries warm up much in cold weather. With low current demand, heat generation isn't large, while heat loss from wind chill is significant. I think my next build will include an insulating box for winter, maybe with some heating. The bike is sluggish in the mornings coming out of a cold garage, but goes home most happily when the bike has been recharged and stored in a warm office all day.

 

[matthewslack]

My first solar trip of the year passed off successfully on the anniversary of my first ever solar trip. A short two day lap of Glencoe, just 179km taking advantage of a couple of glorious days before another week of grey!

Everything still works except my DIY datalogger, which spent too long outside and has some corrosion issues on the stripboard. But the charge controller voltage and current readouts give enough feedback to keep me in good energy health.

I have thoughts about a lighter mark 2 trailer, but mark 1 did so well I won't be dismantling it. Many memories and now over 4,500 miles in its bones.

My upgrade to 11 speed is a real step forward, allowing easy climbing of rather steeper ups, my new Schwalbe Energizer Tour Plus tyres from BankruptBikeParts are a step up on puncture resistance and seem to roll easily.

A secondary objective of this trip was two distance milestones: first, 16,000km and then 16,093.44km, otherwise known as 10,000 miles. I'm a week short of 21 months with the bike.

Familiar early landmark.



Morning charge over breakfast. My Guernicar Deflector is on iteration 3, a little shorter as tape and insulation stocks were low. Just as effective as last year, and having got in on the ground floor, far less than £1m.



Some epic mountain scenery in Glencoe.







And then Rannoch Moor.



A quiet hour by the river in Glen Orchy. The sun is low enough in the sky that a bit of tilted charging time is needed now and then. Here I had 7 amps, but only 2.5 when level and rolling!



The river in Glen Orchy is very impressive.



And there's my 16,093km.