It's raining like crazy here in the Cape - and Olivia loves it!
She really struggles against wind, which doesn't help matters when facing a gale-force one, but give her a tailwind or none at all, stick a bit of rain about, and she's happy as... well a Landy in a mudhole!
Case in point, today's commute. I did indeed battle against the wind all the way to work, but used surprisingly little petrol doing so.
On the way back, although her windows steamed up (yay for a fan! and hot air!), although it was the usual one-man-band of wipers, heater and lights vs eye on the battery guage, she ran light as a feather, fast as she can go, easy peasy through the downpours and road-streams. Her fuel didn't even drop.
Which of course had me worried enough to open up the tank, stick my hand in and make sure the fuel float hadn't gotten stuck again... And it hasn't. She had better fuel consumption today than I think she ever has. Add in a 75c/litre DROP in fuel price last week, and I'm pretty chuffed to be driving her regularly. She is the coolest truck out.
And she does love the wet. She goes and plays on the roads when the rains come down. She holds on to the tar and seeks out the puddles to splash in.
Which makes me loathe to see winter end (eventually).
Monday, September 08, 2008
Monday, September 01, 2008
Another milestone
Two years ago Olivia arrived on my doorstep! Wow... it's been indescribable. I've learnt huge amounts, conquered hills (literally and figuratively), and gained courage to "go beyond".
Yet I still keep hitting new milestones, learning new things.
Yesterday was another. It was the first time I've driven Olivia with something attached to her tow hitch! We had a quick run into Cape Town planned to pick up a load of stuff out of someone's garage, and Favourite Man decided it was high time I learnt what trailer management was all about.
Did I feel it behind me? You betcha. Especially battling a head-wind at the tail end of the worst storm in 7 years. But hey, I drive a Land Rover, and it's got a good deal of power provided you keep it slow and steady. We hit Cape Town in a skitter of hail, worked trailer and truck into the loading area, filled 'er up then headed home again - with a tail wind this time. Brief detour along Sea Point to get spattered by sea-foam blown in on the storm front - we missed the worst of it.
All in all this trailer lesson wasn't half bad. OK, it wasn't loaded up too much - in fact most of the goods fitted into Olivia's back, with only one heavy box in the trailer. But I was pleasantly surprised that I managed turns etc with relative ease.
One more notch on the belt this morning. Millions more to go.
Yet I still keep hitting new milestones, learning new things.
Yesterday was another. It was the first time I've driven Olivia with something attached to her tow hitch! We had a quick run into Cape Town planned to pick up a load of stuff out of someone's garage, and Favourite Man decided it was high time I learnt what trailer management was all about.
Did I feel it behind me? You betcha. Especially battling a head-wind at the tail end of the worst storm in 7 years. But hey, I drive a Land Rover, and it's got a good deal of power provided you keep it slow and steady. We hit Cape Town in a skitter of hail, worked trailer and truck into the loading area, filled 'er up then headed home again - with a tail wind this time. Brief detour along Sea Point to get spattered by sea-foam blown in on the storm front - we missed the worst of it.
All in all this trailer lesson wasn't half bad. OK, it wasn't loaded up too much - in fact most of the goods fitted into Olivia's back, with only one heavy box in the trailer. But I was pleasantly surprised that I managed turns etc with relative ease.
One more notch on the belt this morning. Millions more to go.
Friday, August 29, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Would you like Wipers with that?
Winter in the Cape is characterized by cold, rain and traffic jams. The Capetonians turn into idiot drivers as soon as a few drops fall from the sky.
On Monday I had a run in Olivia through to one of our e-waste processors, loaded down with the insides of monitors. In the rain. Over horrific roads. And back through Stellenbosch rush hour.
Being the Cape, and specifically the winelands, folk are generally laid back and slow moving. Factor in the post-school pick-ups, the end-of-day uni students and the general office worker / manual labourer traffic - it turns into chaos.
So there I was pottering along in Olivia through 5pm traffic. It's cold, it's raining - and by law you need your lights on in this weather. Except, if I put O's lights on, I can't do anything else! Her battery isn't holding a charge too well. Add a heater to the load (yes, this is a Series III with a heater thanks to her previous owner, along with Favourite Man's fan restoration and ducting) and the voltage drops to the point where her tracking unit starts sending "low battery warning" SMSs! Add wipers... well, same effect. (Add in the dodgy brakes and who needs gym when you're playing in a one-man band to keep everything ticking over while struggling through the gear changes)
Here's how you do it then. When you're idling at a red light, the lights are on. When you pull away, you give a few brief swipes of the wipers as you accelerate to see where you're going, then put them off. Once you've gathered speed, you hope the wind resistance will clear the screen, then hit the heater switch to defrost your hands and feet until the next red light - where everything except the lights goes off again.
Olivia is going to need a battery transplant very soon...
On Monday I had a run in Olivia through to one of our e-waste processors, loaded down with the insides of monitors. In the rain. Over horrific roads. And back through Stellenbosch rush hour.
Being the Cape, and specifically the winelands, folk are generally laid back and slow moving. Factor in the post-school pick-ups, the end-of-day uni students and the general office worker / manual labourer traffic - it turns into chaos.
So there I was pottering along in Olivia through 5pm traffic. It's cold, it's raining - and by law you need your lights on in this weather. Except, if I put O's lights on, I can't do anything else! Her battery isn't holding a charge too well. Add a heater to the load (yes, this is a Series III with a heater thanks to her previous owner, along with Favourite Man's fan restoration and ducting) and the voltage drops to the point where her tracking unit starts sending "low battery warning" SMSs! Add wipers... well, same effect. (Add in the dodgy brakes and who needs gym when you're playing in a one-man band to keep everything ticking over while struggling through the gear changes)
Here's how you do it then. When you're idling at a red light, the lights are on. When you pull away, you give a few brief swipes of the wipers as you accelerate to see where you're going, then put them off. Once you've gathered speed, you hope the wind resistance will clear the screen, then hit the heater switch to defrost your hands and feet until the next red light - where everything except the lights goes off again.
Olivia is going to need a battery transplant very soon...
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Faith
Driving to work in Olivia this morning, I realized that you have to have faith to travel in a Land Rover. Especially one you work on yourself...
A while back we had a go at sorting out the back axles. New oil seals were needed, and the bearings were checked at the same time. This of course involved taking the wheels off, plonking the beast on axle stands, and then putting the wheels back on again.
Which is where faith comes in. I have good faith that those wheel nuts were tightened properly - which is why I don't have to worry about things coming off while I'm driving!
Same goes for the engine. I've been in there and fiddled with stuff. I know that Favourite Man has sorted out the points (and I have faith in his abilities). I have done the carb myself. The wiring is perfect (Favourite Man again). Faith in our abilities has me unworried about potential problems - and knowing who to blame if something does go wrong.. :-)
I have faith that the bumper's not going to fall off. Faith that the roofrack will stay put. Faith that my seat won't fall out onto the road. Faith that the truck will start in the first place.
Yup, driving a Landy's a pretty much religious experience.
A while back we had a go at sorting out the back axles. New oil seals were needed, and the bearings were checked at the same time. This of course involved taking the wheels off, plonking the beast on axle stands, and then putting the wheels back on again.
Which is where faith comes in. I have good faith that those wheel nuts were tightened properly - which is why I don't have to worry about things coming off while I'm driving!
Same goes for the engine. I've been in there and fiddled with stuff. I know that Favourite Man has sorted out the points (and I have faith in his abilities). I have done the carb myself. The wiring is perfect (Favourite Man again). Faith in our abilities has me unworried about potential problems - and knowing who to blame if something does go wrong.. :-)
I have faith that the bumper's not going to fall off. Faith that the roofrack will stay put. Faith that my seat won't fall out onto the road. Faith that the truck will start in the first place.
Yup, driving a Landy's a pretty much religious experience.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Friday, August 08, 2008
Oily matters
This morning Favourite Man checked Olivia's oil before I left for work, reporting back "if you ever wanted to take a photo of oil at a perfect level, that dipstick is it right now".
Yay! That's quite the achievement for an old Landy. Instead of emptying a couple litres into her belly every day, she's doing OK on the oil consumption at last.
Months ago I put diesel oil instead of petrol oil into her by mistake during an oil change. That probably scrubbed crud to a level where compression was lost and oil found new exits... But we added Prolong and it seems to be helping.
Today she was going very well again. Except for the wipers. Blown fuse last time, apparently the same thing this time, and another interesting bit of commute until the windscreen cleared. Favourite Man and I will be spending some time with the electrics this weekend before we take her to stretch her legs and see some whales.
For now I'm just happy the oil level's staying constant. It's amazing how much difference that makes to how she functions.
Yay! That's quite the achievement for an old Landy. Instead of emptying a couple litres into her belly every day, she's doing OK on the oil consumption at last.
Months ago I put diesel oil instead of petrol oil into her by mistake during an oil change. That probably scrubbed crud to a level where compression was lost and oil found new exits... But we added Prolong and it seems to be helping.
Today she was going very well again. Except for the wipers. Blown fuse last time, apparently the same thing this time, and another interesting bit of commute until the windscreen cleared. Favourite Man and I will be spending some time with the electrics this weekend before we take her to stretch her legs and see some whales.
For now I'm just happy the oil level's staying constant. It's amazing how much difference that makes to how she functions.
Monday, August 04, 2008
The Call of Africa
(from a forward, just a bit of inspiration for the day)
When you've acquired a taste for dust,
The scent of our first rain,
You're hooked for life on Africa
And you'll not be right again
Till you can watch the setting moon
And hear the jackals bark
And know that they're around you,
Waiting in the dark.
When you long to see the elephants.
Or to hear the coucal's song,
When the moonrise sets your blood on fire,
You've been away too long
It's time to cut the traces loose
And let your heart go free
Beyond that far horizon,
Where your spirit yearns to be.
Africa is waiting - come!
Since you've touched the open sky
And learned to love the rustling grass,
The wild fish-eagles cry.
You'll always hunger for the bush,
For the lion's rasping roar,
To camp at last beneath the stars
And to be at peace once more.
C. EMILY-DIBB
When you've acquired a taste for dust,
The scent of our first rain,
You're hooked for life on Africa
And you'll not be right again
Till you can watch the setting moon
And hear the jackals bark
And know that they're around you,
Waiting in the dark.
When you long to see the elephants.
Or to hear the coucal's song,
When the moonrise sets your blood on fire,
You've been away too long
It's time to cut the traces loose
And let your heart go free
Beyond that far horizon,
Where your spirit yearns to be.
Africa is waiting - come!
Since you've touched the open sky
And learned to love the rustling grass,
The wild fish-eagles cry.
You'll always hunger for the bush,
For the lion's rasping roar,
To camp at last beneath the stars
And to be at peace once more.
C. EMILY-DIBB
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Blur
Winter in the Cape is a wet one. The general trend is a drifting rain for days - or a couple of hard-hitting cold fronts that rattle the doors and pound the windows.
Today it's a bit of both. And I drove Olivia to work.
She reminded me she loves me by pouring the contents of the gutter down my jacket as soon as I opened the driver's door, then continued to do so with a steady dripping stream as I got all my work goodies inside her. Fortunately my pants soaked up what had hit the seat.
Bar a brief struggle with the fuel pump she started first time, which she's been doing lately - lovely. No more half-hour struggle!
Hit the lights, hit the wipers, hit reverse... hmmm.. something's missing. It's been a while since I drove Olivia in the wet - have I forgotten where the wiper switch is?
Well I fiddled them all, and yup - no wipers. Not even the hint of a reaction from anything mechanical. And no other choice than to simply drive.
I'll say this much - it's not easy driving down a wet road where the markings disappear under streetlight reflection, with oncoming commuter's lights shining in your face! It's even worse when there's rain pounding the windscreen. At the best of times I tend to clear the screen of the merest water while driving. This morning's commute was... well, interesting.
Fortunately Olivia is slow and I could hug the road edge, judging how far over I was by what I could see next to me. Equally fortunate was the gale force wind I drove into, which whisked a good deal of the water away. And also fortunate was the fact that the sun's starting to come up earlier, and it wasn't pitch-black dark.
Fun times, people - fun times.
Tonight Favourite Man gets to check out what's going on behind the dash. Or in the fuse box. Or with the wiper motor. Whether the rain's put paid to a connection, or if it's just Olivia being obstinate.
Whatever the issue is, life with a Landy's never boring.
Today it's a bit of both. And I drove Olivia to work.
She reminded me she loves me by pouring the contents of the gutter down my jacket as soon as I opened the driver's door, then continued to do so with a steady dripping stream as I got all my work goodies inside her. Fortunately my pants soaked up what had hit the seat.
Bar a brief struggle with the fuel pump she started first time, which she's been doing lately - lovely. No more half-hour struggle!
Hit the lights, hit the wipers, hit reverse... hmmm.. something's missing. It's been a while since I drove Olivia in the wet - have I forgotten where the wiper switch is?
Well I fiddled them all, and yup - no wipers. Not even the hint of a reaction from anything mechanical. And no other choice than to simply drive.
I'll say this much - it's not easy driving down a wet road where the markings disappear under streetlight reflection, with oncoming commuter's lights shining in your face! It's even worse when there's rain pounding the windscreen. At the best of times I tend to clear the screen of the merest water while driving. This morning's commute was... well, interesting.
Fortunately Olivia is slow and I could hug the road edge, judging how far over I was by what I could see next to me. Equally fortunate was the gale force wind I drove into, which whisked a good deal of the water away. And also fortunate was the fact that the sun's starting to come up earlier, and it wasn't pitch-black dark.
Fun times, people - fun times.
Tonight Favourite Man gets to check out what's going on behind the dash. Or in the fuse box. Or with the wiper motor. Whether the rain's put paid to a connection, or if it's just Olivia being obstinate.
Whatever the issue is, life with a Landy's never boring.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
On the move
Olivia's on the move this morning.
Favourite Man is taking her and a trailer in to Cape Town to collect e-waste for me, with the kid in tow. Although there are only 4 stops on the list, it's probably going to take most of today, and a couple stops at the petrol stations.
Lucky for me, she's fitted with an FM Protector unit, so I can sit at my desk and watch her progress. Nope, she's not flying in a straight line.. :-) The waypoints are marked by GPS/GPRS at regular intervals, so the route is only picked up and displayed where the point is plotted. We've set it to notify out-of-hours driving and low battery, both of which have come in handy in the past - there's a lot more it can do that we don't have set.
Today though it's main function is peace of mind. I can see where Favourite Man and the kid are, know they haven't been hijacked or veered way off the planned path, and track the stops as they go.
Olivia had a good run on Friday - today she gets to stretch her legs again.
Favourite Man is taking her and a trailer in to Cape Town to collect e-waste for me, with the kid in tow. Although there are only 4 stops on the list, it's probably going to take most of today, and a couple stops at the petrol stations.
Lucky for me, she's fitted with an FM Protector unit, so I can sit at my desk and watch her progress. Nope, she's not flying in a straight line.. :-) The waypoints are marked by GPS/GPRS at regular intervals, so the route is only picked up and displayed where the point is plotted. We've set it to notify out-of-hours driving and low battery, both of which have come in handy in the past - there's a lot more it can do that we don't have set.
Today though it's main function is peace of mind. I can see where Favourite Man and the kid are, know they haven't been hijacked or veered way off the planned path, and track the stops as they go.
Olivia had a good run on Friday - today she gets to stretch her legs again.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Special Parts
One reason I love Landy people is because they inevitably come with a sense of humour. Proving yet again you can sell anything on e-bay .. :-)
The quest for a signal
Olivia recently acquired a WorldSpace satellite/digital radio, which Favourite Man fitted expertly last weekend.
During Olivia's rennovation, we'd hooked the unit up to the newly-installed wiring to check that it worked, and picked up reception loud and clear. This time around we've struggled to get more than a bar or two, no matter where we place the antenna.
Now there are many theories as to why this is. They range from incorrect installation (basically impossible - it was done properly) to being on the edge of the "satellite footprint" to mere interference from everything else flying around the radio/wireless/satellite channels. The amount of aerials and antennas that have been sprouting everywhere lately is horrific.
The quest for a signal will continue though. That WorldSpace thing is a very handy device.
During Olivia's rennovation, we'd hooked the unit up to the newly-installed wiring to check that it worked, and picked up reception loud and clear. This time around we've struggled to get more than a bar or two, no matter where we place the antenna.
Now there are many theories as to why this is. They range from incorrect installation (basically impossible - it was done properly) to being on the edge of the "satellite footprint" to mere interference from everything else flying around the radio/wireless/satellite channels. The amount of aerials and antennas that have been sprouting everywhere lately is horrific.
The quest for a signal will continue though. That WorldSpace thing is a very handy device.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
All Revved Up
Olivia's been doing weird stuff recently. I'll be just beginning the commute when her revvs will suddenly increase and get stuck there - scary-high with engine screaming. It doesn't happen often, but...
This morning it couldn't have come at a worse time. My side windows were misted up in icy morning darkness, the windscreen wasn't much better, I was approaching a traffic circle, and had cars front and back hemming me in. Suddenly the revvs were hugely high again - instead of merely idling along I was now speeding. Trying to sort that out, not hit the car in front of me and turn around the circle... I didn't see the motorbike coming around the circle next to me!
A split-second later and we would have collided, but fortunately we didn't.
And the revvs problem?
Well I suspect the choke.
It only happens when driving with the choke out - which is a normal occurrence on an early-morning commute. It feels as if the accelerator is sticking - but I think it may actually be the choke cable.
So here goes with a bit of cable-following/fixing very shortly!
This morning it couldn't have come at a worse time. My side windows were misted up in icy morning darkness, the windscreen wasn't much better, I was approaching a traffic circle, and had cars front and back hemming me in. Suddenly the revvs were hugely high again - instead of merely idling along I was now speeding. Trying to sort that out, not hit the car in front of me and turn around the circle... I didn't see the motorbike coming around the circle next to me!
A split-second later and we would have collided, but fortunately we didn't.
And the revvs problem?
Well I suspect the choke.
It only happens when driving with the choke out - which is a normal occurrence on an early-morning commute. It feels as if the accelerator is sticking - but I think it may actually be the choke cable.
So here goes with a bit of cable-following/fixing very shortly!
Sunday, July 13, 2008
Safe & Secure
You may remember a while back we had a bit of a "Surprise" when Olivia's bonnet flew open while travelling.
Well, Favourite Man - being handy and all that - made Olivia a pair of hood sticks to make sure that doesn't happen again. We fitted them a while ago and they've worked most excellently.
As you can see, they're strong and metal and stick up through the bonnet - held closed with an R-clip.
A few weeks ago we moved Olivia from her outside parking to the in-yard one, and noticed that some idiot had nicked the R-clips! This is Africa - these things happen. If it's not tied down and secured it disappears. Unfortunately.
So shortly thereafter I took a trip to our local locksmith. Olivia's bonnet is now VERY secure....
Well, Favourite Man - being handy and all that - made Olivia a pair of hood sticks to make sure that doesn't happen again. We fitted them a while ago and they've worked most excellently.
As you can see, they're strong and metal and stick up through the bonnet - held closed with an R-clip.
A few weeks ago we moved Olivia from her outside parking to the in-yard one, and noticed that some idiot had nicked the R-clips! This is Africa - these things happen. If it's not tied down and secured it disappears. Unfortunately.
So shortly thereafter I took a trip to our local locksmith. Olivia's bonnet is now VERY secure....
Thursday, July 03, 2008
New Blog
It had to happen. The Landy Chick has a new blog - solely for her Land Rover addiction. :-) Comments and submissions are welcome.
This blog remains property of Olivia though.
This blog remains property of Olivia though.
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Oily
You know you drive a Land Rover when you travel with a 5 litre container of engine oil behind the driver's seat... (not to mention 5 ammo boxes of assorted tools, parts, recovery gear and manuals)
In recent weeks Favourite Man has been panicked by Olivia's oil consumption. She was emptying out the supply at an awful rate, leaving the dipstick levels way too low after a simple day's driving.
Last week we decided to try something. We bought a bottle of Prolong and chucked it in to the oil. I've driven her a bit since then, and so far so good.
The oil level this morning hadn't dropped, and she's still running pretty well. Fuel consumption seems to be OK too!
Let's hope this is a long-term solution....
In recent weeks Favourite Man has been panicked by Olivia's oil consumption. She was emptying out the supply at an awful rate, leaving the dipstick levels way too low after a simple day's driving.
Last week we decided to try something. We bought a bottle of Prolong and chucked it in to the oil. I've driven her a bit since then, and so far so good.
The oil level this morning hadn't dropped, and she's still running pretty well. Fuel consumption seems to be OK too!
Let's hope this is a long-term solution....
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Night Fever
Last night saw Favourite Man and I out and about in Olivia after sunset. We had a shopping run and an airport-distance run to accomplish, so a good deal of pottering in the dark.
At which time I discovered a problem. A very serious problem.
You see, Olivia has LIGHTS. And not just lights or Lights, but LIGHTS. 16 of the blerry things on her front alone, and then there's the ones in her rocksliders and the Christmas tree out back. All functional (well, OK - there are one or two for mere bling), and all nicely aligned.
So when it comes to night driving, I have this big old problem in wanting to flash all my pretty lights at people.
The worst was when we were parked outside the Spur restaurant, with lovely crowds of people just the other side of big plate-glass windows mere metres away. Perfect flash-fodder!
But Favourite Man wouldn't let me... Not even after I'd reversed 10m back. Damn! :-)
I'll just have to stick to flashing people when I'm on my own.
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At which time I discovered a problem. A very serious problem.
You see, Olivia has LIGHTS. And not just lights or Lights, but LIGHTS. 16 of the blerry things on her front alone, and then there's the ones in her rocksliders and the Christmas tree out back. All functional (well, OK - there are one or two for mere bling), and all nicely aligned.
So when it comes to night driving, I have this big old problem in wanting to flash all my pretty lights at people.
The worst was when we were parked outside the Spur restaurant, with lovely crowds of people just the other side of big plate-glass windows mere metres away. Perfect flash-fodder!
But Favourite Man wouldn't let me... Not even after I'd reversed 10m back. Damn! :-)
I'll just have to stick to flashing people when I'm on my own.
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Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Olivia goes to work
I had a bit of a close call this morning, driving to work in the dark.
Being a slowpoke, Olivia tends to stick to the "yellow line lane" uphill and let the speedier commuters past. This morning she was doing just that in the early morning blackness, when I suddenly noticed a HUGE pothole that had opened up overnight - right in the middle of the lane I was traveling!
I was very very lucky that traffic was thin - I managed to swerve out and avoid it. But if I hadn't.... I shudder to think of the damage. Overturned vehicle. Broken axles. Probably broken me too. Oh my - it would have been horrible.
Luckily we avoided it and by the time I next came by the traffic department were helping others give it a wide berth.
I know Olivia loves going off-road, but that was a little bit too extreme... even for her.
Being a slowpoke, Olivia tends to stick to the "yellow line lane" uphill and let the speedier commuters past. This morning she was doing just that in the early morning blackness, when I suddenly noticed a HUGE pothole that had opened up overnight - right in the middle of the lane I was traveling!
I was very very lucky that traffic was thin - I managed to swerve out and avoid it. But if I hadn't.... I shudder to think of the damage. Overturned vehicle. Broken axles. Probably broken me too. Oh my - it would have been horrible.
Luckily we avoided it and by the time I next came by the traffic department were helping others give it a wide berth.
I know Olivia loves going off-road, but that was a little bit too extreme... even for her.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
Wet Run
You get dry runs - and then you get wet runs. Being Olivia, and being winter, today Favourite Man is on a Wet Run.
It's a typical Cape winter day - howling northwest wind, rain on and off (when it's on, it's ON), not a hint of sunshine to be seen anywhere. Driving a solid, square block of metal with some wind-catching aerials and a roofrack is not easy - add in a topside load and it's going to be quite the trip home.
Olivia is doing e-waste fetching and carrying today. She's already taken a load of sorted goodies to the processors this morning, is on her way to another to drop off a different type of stuff, then will be picking up ready-to-work-through new waste, along with a rather large pole-type structure. Which in this wind is going to be "fun" to get home via the coastal road...!
Nevertheless, she appears to be going pretty well today (touch wood - or aluminium, seeing it's a Landy). She sounds fantastic, and even though she's merely pottering along at Olivia speed, she's getting where she needs to be - in style.
Used to be a wet run like this was a VERY wet run - water streaming down behind the pedals, dripping through the windscreen onto the steering wheel and dash, and running down your neck through the door tops. Favourite Man fixed that - and now it's merely a damp run.
Holding thumbs the rest of it goes as smoothly as it has thus far.
It's a typical Cape winter day - howling northwest wind, rain on and off (when it's on, it's ON), not a hint of sunshine to be seen anywhere. Driving a solid, square block of metal with some wind-catching aerials and a roofrack is not easy - add in a topside load and it's going to be quite the trip home.
Olivia is doing e-waste fetching and carrying today. She's already taken a load of sorted goodies to the processors this morning, is on her way to another to drop off a different type of stuff, then will be picking up ready-to-work-through new waste, along with a rather large pole-type structure. Which in this wind is going to be "fun" to get home via the coastal road...!
Nevertheless, she appears to be going pretty well today (touch wood - or aluminium, seeing it's a Landy). She sounds fantastic, and even though she's merely pottering along at Olivia speed, she's getting where she needs to be - in style.
Used to be a wet run like this was a VERY wet run - water streaming down behind the pedals, dripping through the windscreen onto the steering wheel and dash, and running down your neck through the door tops. Favourite Man fixed that - and now it's merely a damp run.
Holding thumbs the rest of it goes as smoothly as it has thus far.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Going everywhere - slowly...
Right children, pay attention. Now - what is the title of this blog? Good! "Going Everywhere - Slowly"!
Which is a general trend in a 30-year-old Landy with her original engine. But hey, it's faster than walking.
Still... Rising fuel costs and this Treehugger post have me pondering today.
Remember I briefly said something about the "death of adventure" in my last post? That cost of travel is making it a luxury? Well - I'm wondering. What if, along with the drive to find new, cheaper and eco-friendlier ways to travel, there were a return to the beast-powered adventure?
What if, instead of taking a year off to travel the world, you spent that year travelling just a single continent or country? And doing it non-mechanically?
Heck, our ancestors travelled by horse, by oxcart, by donkey-power. We may have progressed considerably, got all nifty and gadget-heavy, customized and turned our mechanical beasts of burden into homes on wheels, built smooth roads to take us everywhere, but that's SO run-of-the-mill lately! :-) You just go try the same route by animal power. Now THAT'S an adventure!
And you'd get to see the scenery! You could even walk it, you'd be moving so sedately.
Sure, you'd have to plan food and water for the beasts, but you're planning food and water for yourself anyway and it wouldn't be too great an adjustment (sorta). I know it's not really that simple - where you could leave a truck standing for months, then simply fire it up and go, you can't do the same for an animal. But perhaps a new breed of safari-transport-hire company would spring up - stabling full in the off-months, everything gone over the holiday season.
Yup, I know. SERIOUSLY random ramblings in a totally illogical direction.
But hey - it's an option. Even if it's much slower than a Series Landy.
Which is a general trend in a 30-year-old Landy with her original engine. But hey, it's faster than walking.
Still... Rising fuel costs and this Treehugger post have me pondering today.
Remember I briefly said something about the "death of adventure" in my last post? That cost of travel is making it a luxury? Well - I'm wondering. What if, along with the drive to find new, cheaper and eco-friendlier ways to travel, there were a return to the beast-powered adventure?
What if, instead of taking a year off to travel the world, you spent that year travelling just a single continent or country? And doing it non-mechanically?
Heck, our ancestors travelled by horse, by oxcart, by donkey-power. We may have progressed considerably, got all nifty and gadget-heavy, customized and turned our mechanical beasts of burden into homes on wheels, built smooth roads to take us everywhere, but that's SO run-of-the-mill lately! :-) You just go try the same route by animal power. Now THAT'S an adventure!
And you'd get to see the scenery! You could even walk it, you'd be moving so sedately.
Sure, you'd have to plan food and water for the beasts, but you're planning food and water for yourself anyway and it wouldn't be too great an adjustment (sorta). I know it's not really that simple - where you could leave a truck standing for months, then simply fire it up and go, you can't do the same for an animal. But perhaps a new breed of safari-transport-hire company would spring up - stabling full in the off-months, everything gone over the holiday season.
Yup, I know. SERIOUSLY random ramblings in a totally illogical direction.
But hey - it's an option. Even if it's much slower than a Series Landy.
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