You know it's windy when ...

It's been pretty windy here recently.
The Jet Stream is a bit further South than normal, apparently.

All about Mermaid

 Following the demise of my quirky little Cinzia, I'm riding Mermaid for the time being.
Mermaid is a low-cost bike that we bought for my Anna about 5 years ago, by mail order from Winstanley Bikes - with a cheaply-made steel frame, mudguards and rear rack included. We added a Basil basket (the Boston XL model) and a decent side stand (both from Practical Cycles), along with a pair of Bike Bins hard-sided panniers - indeed the first picture of that write up shows Mermaid with the basket, panniers, and sidestand (and the seat right down, as Anna was riding Mermaid at that time)
Mermaid was used by Anna for shopping and for the school run (my daughter either cycled or scootered almost all the time) for about three years, by which time a multitude of small faults had built up, and some time and money would have to spent on it.
For a busy chap like me, time is my limiting factor, so we bought Anna another cheap bike (from Argos - the still available Challenge Meander), which Anna still rides - we moved the front basket and the sidestand to the Meander, as well as the pair of small, flat, metal pedals Anna bought after the originals broke on Mermaid (Mermaid is currently kitted out with the set that came with Meander). Meander's seat was also rubbish (call that a "Ladies" seat? yeah, right!), so the perfectly acceptable (and shorter-nosed!) seat from Mermaid went to Meander. More about Meander's build up here.
Mermaid then went into the back of the garage, for "development", while Anna rode the Meander, and I, of course, was still riding my Cinzia.
After the structural failure of my Cinzia, after borrowing Anna's Meander a few times, I quickly fixed up Mermaid to a rideable condition (just as a short term fill-in - any bike is better than no bike!), and rode!

The name "Mermaid" is accidental, but I am growing fond of it.
A certain gentlemen names all his bikes, and made fun of him for doing it, and I said he had a naming fixation, and he said I have an anti-naming fixation, so I named my bike to demonstrate otherwise.
I chose the name "Mermaid", because it is "Mermaid" model made for Universal Bikes. As you can see from the pictures, it has "Mermaid" printed on it in large writing.
I have never named a bike before, and when I told my family, our daughter said (incredulously): "You're bike has a NAME?"
But, hey, it is easier to call the bike "Mermaid" than to keep saying "the spare bike" or "Anna's old bike".
After a few adventures together, I am starting to like Mermaid :-)

Mermaid at St Osyth's well, in Bierton.
This is the northern end of one of Aylesbury's cycle routes.
The front rack on Mermaid is a heavy duty one from Steco (in Holland)
And is rather stronger than is needed - I have a "cheapie" front basket
permanently bolted to it.

The Thermodynamic Diet (aka Exercise Diet) - the one that really works!

I've lost a bit of weight since Christmas.
I've been folowing the Thermodynamic Diet.
It's a great plan - you can eat what you want, when you want.
There are no odd pills or wierd sounding "healh foods" to take.
BUT ...

Bike Pump Mega Test

Having trailed this 4 months ago (!), It is probably time I started writing it up :-)

The pumps on test are the original four mentioned, plus the newest addition to my pump "stable".
The original four are:
Muddyfox metal Track Pump - about £10 ($16, 12 Euros) from Argos
Crivit Track Pump - about £10 ($16, 12 Euros) from Lidl
Revolution Air Track Pump Sport - £17.99 (c. $29, 22 Euros) from Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative
Crivit Mini Pump - about £8 ($13, 10 Euros) from Lidl
and the late entrant is the Revolution Air Mini Track Pump - £19.99 (c. $32, 24 Euros) from Edinburgh Bicycle Cooperative

Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative Sale Ends Today (in 8 hours time!)

Edinburgh Bicycle Co-operative has a winter sale on that ends today (Sunday 2nd February 2014) at 6pm.
(That's GMT/UST obviously!)

I've just made an order, and there is some good stuff at reasonable prices.

For me the stand-out bargain has to be their "own brand" Revolution Air Track Pump Sport, for just £9.99.
I already have one of these, and I paid £17.99 for it.
At £17.99 it is a great pump, and, in my opinion, well worth the money. It also has replaceable seals, etc. so it can be rebuilt when it wears out, rather than just thrown away like other cheap pumps.
But like I said, at £18 it is a bargain.
At the current price of a tenner - it is a STEAL!