Skidbrooke beekeeper quits after 'professional' thieves strike again

He said while many amateurs kept more docile types of bee, he bred a strain of English bees "with attitude", adding that they "worked a lot harder and produced a lot more honey".

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk

A long time ago, I was walking along a street near my house and found a sad looking bumblebee struggling to walk along the pavement. I picked it up with a bit of card and took it home. I placed it on my blossoming strawberry plant, and I could see it's little proboscis come out and start sucking the pollen or nectar. After a couple of minutes, it had the strength to hop to the next blossom and start sucking that. It waited there for a bit before finally gaining the strength to fly away. I felt very happy and was proud of my rescue.

 

Not long after that, I was riding my motorbike and I had forgotton that the tank was on reserve, so I ran out of fuel and was stranded. I was wondering what to do, when a bumblebee landed on the yellow tank and did its dance thing. I was worried that it might get poisoned by the fumes coming out of the open cap, but it soon flew off. About ten minutes later, a massive swarm of bees came and they completely engulfed my motorbike. Most of them seemed to have been attracted to the yellow petrol tank, which you couldn't even see. After about 15 minutes, they all lost interest and flew away, leaving me confused.

 

I started pushing my motorbike towards the nearest petrol station, when I could hear sloshing in the petrol tank, so I stopped and opened the petrol cap and was surprised to see that the tank was half full, then I figured out what was going on: Bee Pee.

My new 65kg payload trailer should be here soon, I need a slightly smaller one then my super dooper modified CF one fo my local use where I have to go down a small narrow alley way with a tight 90 deg corner to get to the bees. The modded CF is too large for the bend.

I saw a stand for some older version of CF trailer - unhitch, pull, rehitch your larger trailer around the bend? Or add a locking/unlocking hinge to the lengthened towing arm? Make a disassembling long towing arm?

It's the bed length and width that make it tricky.

My new 65kg payload trailer should be here soon, I need a slightly smaller one then my super dooper modified CF one fo my local use where I have to go down a small narrow alley way with a tight 90 deg corner to get to the bees. The modded CF is too large for the bend.

 

Not always possible but, alternate route? I eventually managed to find a detour through a golf course to avoid a steep gravelly hill descent, which bends very close to a ravine, and there's no fence - deffo worth avoiding that when hauling a heavy trailer full of water! Going the other way adds about 1.5 miles.

 

If it's a problem which must be solved, maybe use two shorter platforms on two shorter trailers hitched together, to get through it, perhaps by separating to get past that 90 degree corner? Would such two shorter platforms offer more surface area than your one large? Carry Freeddom platforms can be made pretty short. If I recall correctly, you have more than one CF. A bicycle trailer train would look unusual. Accidents would be messier.

Edited May 19, 20232 yr by guerney

The TSDZ in the ute is a different beast with a lighter trailer and load , it motors along quite nicely .

I bought a vaude XL tin trailer similar to the homcom's, it is a bit crappy but manages the job for what I need . The CF is still king for the heavy loads and build quality is certainly far better.

 

Made some more programming chnages today and have changed the ride to TS mode to see how it compares to the Hybrid mode I have been using. Will have to wait for next ride out to test it maybe next week.

Which trailer is the?

vaude XL

 

 

I haven't used the Homcom since before coldest winter, after fitting new Schwalbe Jumping Jack tyres... but its (now slightly rusty) strong steel construction and form factor is more immediately useful than my CF Small Y, because steel tubing keeps items inside the trailer without the need for careful strapping. I've yet to use the CF small Y, now that it works perfectly, but I expect I shall eventually to carry some object which won't fit inside the Homcom.

 

 

Made some more programming chnages today and have changed the ride to TS mode to see how it compares to the Hybrid mode I have been using. Will have to wait for next ride out to test it maybe next week.

 

Will you burn more calories, use less battery power?

 

 

Will you burn more calories, use less battery power?

 

I don't know will have to wait and see .

 

I made some changes also to the battery settings and lvc settings as the system was cutting out at approx. 3 .5v per cell .

The TSDZ in the ute is a different beast with a lighter trailer and load , it motors along quite nicely .

 

Would the Ute's TSDZ2 struggle or be destroyed towing a heavy trailer and load?

Edited May 27, 20232 yr by guerney

Would the Ute's TSDZ2 struggle or be destroyed towing a heavy trailer and load?

 

Thay's what it is usually used for , just sometimes I don't always need the heavier larger CF.

I haven't yet used the tsdz2 out of ECO mode as it tends to have the power I need in ECO.

It's great that your mods are working and the TSDZ2 is proving robust enough for your purposes. As you know my bike is set up like a throttle-less moped and I use the full controller 15A at all times - the only circumstance when I need to make any effort, is when towing up particularly steep hills. Currently I slow jog for exercise, rather than cycle. Over three stones ago, I used to be very lardy, or much lardier.

 

 

 

I haven't yet used the tsdz2 out of ECO mode as it tends to have the power I need in ECO.

 

You must be much fitter than I am!

Edited May 28, 20232 yr by guerney

Where I live the terrain is mostly flat, I have to cycle some 20 miles or so to find some thing that needs climbing.

Hills everywhere here, anywhere I need to go for miles, very annoying. I even live halfway up one - good job I bought a massive battery, which still has enough power to drag me up that hill to get me home after a long ride! By long I mean 40 miles-ish. Where the trailer needs to be hauled is even hillier. But not as hilly as North Wales

Will it be another very hot and dry summer? Hope not. Torturous watering ahead. I should grow prickly pear cacti fruit instead. And may well might!

 

Beekeepers 'run out of equipment' as swarms rise

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-65746081

Edited May 30, 20232 yr by guerney

I have just purchased a used Burley kids trailer for use as a cargo trailer, mainly to lug caving kit around. I was going to remove the canvas and top cage and add a rigid base. It's only rated for 45kg load but that's ample for my needs.

 

But then I got to thinking the kids trailer canvas, the flag, the baby on board sticker might mean I am given more room on the road?

 

Of course people might be wondering what I am doing cycling young kids about at midnight as I make my way home from the obligatory post caving pub visit?

 

I can hopefully modify the trailer with just additions so I can always put it back as a kids trailer if I decide to move it on at some point - without losing and money.

 

Of course a carry freedom would have been more suitable but not worth it for me new. Could not find much used either. The Burley should be better put together than the budget cargo trailers - most of which have very nasty steel wheels with terrible bearings or bushes.

 

Not sure I will use it for the supermarket run, certainly without fitting a smaller chainring, as I have a big hill. Have also bought a new chainring to test chainline for a double chainring tsdz2 setup...

Edited June 1, 20232 yr by Bogmonster666

Not sure I will use it for the supermarket run, certainly without fitting a smaller chainring, as I have a big hill. Have also bought a new chainring to test chainline for a double chainring tsdz2 setup...

 

Which trailer have you bought exactly? Does your Burley have suspension? Will you need the [mention=9614]Nealh[/mention] 's TSDZ2 heat mod, to tackle hill hauls?

Edited June 4, 20232 yr by guerney

It's a Burley Bee. No suspension and quite an old version but looks in very good condition. Picking it up tomorrow as been away for the weekend playing.

 

Mostly it will be used to get to the local caving huts and there are no real hills to those as they are on top the hill and I live in top the hill, and I won't be carting much weight. Particularly after digging trips in caves your equipment is often completely caked in mud and slop to an extent that is difficult to comprehend. Being able to dump it in a big trug and then onto a trailer is so much more convenient than trying to pack it all in panniers as everything else get caked in crap as well and it takes time packing bags = less time in the pub.

 

The trailer is 8.5 kg, by the time I have stripped off the stuff I don't want and added a light base it's probably not much more than 10kg. The caving kit is probably only about 10kg so that should be very easy to tow. It's only personal kit as the heavy stuff like ropes and ladders are at the huts.

 

I'm already aiming to lower the gearing and doing a bit of a thermal mod. Probably a dual 34t / 42t chainring with ~30t at the back. The 42 flat chainring is in the post, once I check the chainline, assuming it's ok I'll order a new front derailleur, small chainring and some thermal pads. I think it would be very rare I'll be doing a supermarket run with the trailer, my wife will do the big shop with the car, I just do small shops in-between and panniers are fine for that.

 

The trailer is just for speed and convenience rather than heavy load carying, but I would find cheap squeaky wheels very annoying. The early Bees only have composite wheels so not sure how string but they can't be too feeble to safely a carry 100lb load of small children which are much more fragile then the stuff I'll be carrying. The wheels do have proper bearings in them.

 

Butterfly loved by Churchill back in England after almost 100 years

Black-veined whites, thought to have died out in 1920s, have seemingly returned due to warmer climate

 

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jun/05/butterfly-loved-by-churchill-back-in-england-after-almost-100-years

Looks like it could be the basis for a good lightweight cargo trailer. It's old but in very good condition. Will have to think how to convert but it should be an easy job.

It's a Burley Bee. No suspension and quite an old version but looks in very good condition. Picking it up tomorrow as been away for the weekend playing.

 

Mostly it will be used to get to the local caving huts and there are no real hills to those as they are on top the hill and I live in top the hill, and I won't be carting much weight. Particularly after digging trips in caves your equipment is often completely caked in mud and slop to an extent that is difficult to comprehend. Being able to dump it in a big trug and then onto a trailer is so much more convenient than trying to pack it all in panniers as everything else get caked in crap as well and it takes time packing bags = less time in the pub.

 

The trailer is 8.5 kg, by the time I have stripped off the stuff I don't want and added a light base it's probably not much more than 10kg. The caving kit is probably only about 10kg so that should be very easy to tow. It's only personal kit as the heavy stuff like ropes and ladders are at the huts.

 

I'm already aiming to lower the gearing and doing a bit of a thermal mod. Probably a dual 34t / 42t chainring with ~30t at the back. The 42 flat chainring is in the post, once I check the chainline, assuming it's ok I'll order a new front derailleur, small chainring and some thermal pads. I think it would be very rare I'll be doing a supermarket run with the trailer, my wife will do the big shop with the car, I just do small shops in-between and panniers are fine for that.

 

The trailer is just for speed and convenience rather than heavy load carying, but I would find cheap squeaky wheels very annoying. The early Bees only have composite wheels so not sure how string but they can't be too feeble to safely a carry 100lb load of small children which are much more fragile then the stuff I'll be carrying. The wheels do have proper bearings in them.

Digging trips, pub afterwards, caving huts. That does take me back. Also going on rescues, got back from a rescue in the early hours of the morningall my mucky gear was in a black bin bag, pre wheely bin days, I left my gear by the bin in our yard. Next day it was nowhere to be seen. The bin men had taken it all my SRT gear lamp helmet petzyl suit all gone. I was devasted. Next day one of the bin men brought it back they realised it wasn't rubbish and had put it in the cab, but couldn't remember which house it had come from.

Happy days

It's a lot of fun, was in OFD at the weekend and it's such a great cave. I don't do much SRT being predominantly a Mendip caver but I'd be quite grumpy if all my SRT kit went walkabout. That's a bum deal to do a good deed on a rescue and loose all your kit - and it's not cheap, especially now. Good the bin men saved it

 

I'm a member of a rescue team but only for 18 months or so, and it's thankfully been a quiet period. Times have changed a bit with rescues due to insurance mainly - much more emphasis on training than in the past. It's a worthwhile use of my time though and a way to earn karma points.

 

I really enjoy my caving, get some exercise, scare yourself a bit sometimes, laugh about it in the pub afterwards. And I've met a really great bunch of people, even if some of them are a bit 'odd'.

 

I don't really drive. Dumping my kit in a 60l trug is by far the quickest and easiest way to pack it and the trug is squishy so easier to fit it in friend's car boots when I cadge a lift to and from the cave. So really it's just transporting the trug between home and the huts.

Edited June 6, 20232 yr by Bogmonster666

Part way through modification:

 

 

And a few more:

 

 

 

 

Need to varnish the tail gate. The cover and tailgate are quick to remove, although I'll get some quick release pins for the cover instead of nuts and bolts.

 

Everything folds quite flat and the wheels are quick release.

 

There is enough room for my caving kit and the cover will stop direct rain - my kit is usually in an open top trug so the sides are waterproof. Also plenty of room for a grocery shop. If I need to carry something bigger just remove the cover and tailgate.

 

I have not modified any of the original parts at all so if I ever wanted I could revert back to a kids trailer.

 

The weight is 9 kg without the cover / tailborad and 11 kg with. The load capacity is about 45kg. No Carry Freedom but perfectly adequate for my needs. I've got a 750kg Ifor Williams trailer for my car if I really need to move anything big.

Edited June 15, 20232 yr by Bogmonster666

The tinny vaude xl trailer is getting the heave ho , not liking the smaller wheels and tilt angle of the load bed also the cheap coupling /spring is a horrible solultion and one can feel the trailer as you brake and it compresses mashes togehter.

 

I much prefer the solid draw bar and the elastomer of the CF so I have a new Y frame chassis coming, the old CF large bed which is about the same size as the vaude can bolt straight on .

Don't need wheels or towing arm as I can simply use the CF ones I have on the modded XL CF trailer. I have a box that sits on the CF if one is needed.

I'm still not sure what a Vaude XL trailer is, but it's hitch sounds similar to the Homcom's, which is vertical in use when the cargo is heavy. Amazed it hasn't broken yet, surely must soon. Cheap and easy to replace though.

 

Because I haven't used the CF Small Y yet, I almost misplaced the old style steel hitch... would have been a nightmare to source a replacement, because it appears they're not available anymore.