Ribblehead Viaduct

Another weekend, another drive.  Have to say that March and April have been very kind with regards the weather and free mornings to go for a drive.  Today I decided to drive up to Ribblehead Viaduct, ~43 miles.  The idea was to get onto the road under the viaduct to get some pictures but access prevented that.  Instead I took some pictures from the west side of the viaduct with the light passing through the arches.

Getting home was touch and go and the last 15 miles were driven with great care as I was approaching 200 miles which is roughly where I run out of fuel depending on how I have been driving.

Dropped a bit of a clanger when driving out of Slaidburn and instead of trusting the sat nav I went with instinct and found myself clocking up an 10 miles I could have done without giving I was running out of fuel.  #Lesson Learnt.

Ribblehead Viaduct

Ribblehaed Viaduct

Lythe Fell Road

Lythe Fell Road

Oil Level and the 'O' Ring

I have never been completely happy when reading the dip stick on the Duratec.  I always felt I had enough oil in there but the dip stick barely had any oil on and it always seemed to be a bit of a thin film of oil.

I read a while ago about removing the 'o' ring at the top of the dip stick and so decided to give it a go.  The idea is that the 'o' ring creates a good seal and so pushes the oil out of the dip stick tube thus giving a false reading.  So today I took a reading and the oil seemed to just be touching the minimum.  I took the 'o' ring off and suddenly the oil was just over maximum !!!

So I have drained some oil, taken 3 more reading to check I am in the middle of the min and max.  Interestingly, putting the 'o' ring back on gave me barely a drop of oil on the dip stick.

Duratec Dipstick picture from Caterham website.  

The 'o' ring is on the yellow plastic section at the top.

Three weeks in a row

I didn't have long this weekend as the kids needed their usual taxi rides to football and rugby but still found enough time to get out and about around Ribchester.  I was hoping the mist would lift, alas not but still managed a few shots.

Forty Acre Lane

Stonybridge College

Second 2017 Blat, ok I'll stop there

I have been meaning to get to Wayoh Reservoir for a long time now and so I headed there on Sunday morning.  The weather forecast seemed to suggest I would get some morning sunlight, alas no luck.  The sun only came out when I got home to my garage.

First 2017 Blat

It seems an age since I managed to get out in the car.  Between builders work last year and the snow, ice and rain this year it feels like I should have SORN the car this winter.  None the less, the weather report looked good and so I headed out on one of my 70 miles routes around the forest of Bowland.  Found a few nice spots to take some pictures aswel.  The car ran perfectly as always albeit a bit dirty.

Near Whitewell, Forest of Bowland

Near Tosside

Annual Service

I'm not sure I can really say this is an annual service as I check the car regularly during the year anyway.  e.g. before going on holiday I check all the key nuts and bolts, the tyres and oil are checked etc.  None the less, the Christmas period has become the oil change, longer than normal bolt tinker and general review / tidy of the car.

This year I downloaded the excellent Duratec service schedule which was put together by Marcus and Shaun and available from the Lotus Seven lub Blatchat area.  I think I will add the bolt tourque settings to the spreadsheet so I only have one document to review when I next service the car.

I put Fuchs Titan Race Pro S 5w30 in the car again with a Mahle OC11 oil filter.  Neither the gearbox or the diff needed any oil.  Happy Days.

Raspberry Pi 3

We have had some building work done through October and November which rendered the seven out of bounds as the scaffolding came down in front of the garage.  I do plan to get out over Christmas as much as possible now the scaffolding has gone.  However......

Meanwhile I bought a Raspberry Pi 3 as I was intrigued by all the projects people are showing on the web.  I am not sure what I expected but what I have found is that the RPi is quite simply an outstanding and versatile piece of kit.  So much so that I will be getting another one for the garage so I can search the web and listen to music as I work on the Seven.  I have a PC there now but it is very old, a new cheap one would cost at least £150 to £250 to get something useful.  But the RPi is a no brainer at £30 (+case +keyboard +mouse).  

Within a few days of having the RPi I have managed to build (on a breadboard) and program an external lighting control system for my garden.  This is something I was going to talk to Lutron or Helvar about with the hope of getting some end of line kit cheap.  However with all the commercial lighting control kit out there it is the commissioning that costs money as you are not able to do it yourself.  So the fact that a £30 RPi (and £10 of relays) can do everything I need and I can change the control via Python software is just fantastic.  

When I wired the garden lights ~8 years ago I planed multiple circuits with the intention of controlling it via a simple system.  As it is for 8 years we have controlled it all via a 20A DP switch in the kitchen.  I will update this post once I hardwire the RPi into the garden lighting.  

Screen shot of the Radiance Lighting Software (Bonus)

Garden Lighting Test Program

Spare Battery Master Switch Key needed.

Are they all the same or do I need a specific make to match the switch I purchased from Caterham?

Holiday in Tomintoul

After France last year we opted for somewhere closer to home this year and headed north to the Cairngorms.  The better half took the kids in the tin top and I took the Caterham.  We took the Stirling to Perth to Braemar A9 / A93 route on the way up and the Perth to Edinburgh to Carlise M90 / A702 route on the way home.  Whilst there we explored various places and many good roads but the A939 from Tomintoul to Nairn was a favorite.  Not many car pictures as we were having to much fun.

Balneden Steadings was a superb base and very high quality home from home.  The car was outside in some pretty horrific wind and rain and I only had the smallest of pools of water in the drivers footwell.

We walked up Cairngorm although the views were poor on the day.

 

We also walked up Carn Eachie where we had better but very windy views.

A stopping point on the A939.

I found the M6 again

A fabulous 3 hour blat in, around and over the forest of bowland this morning.  Found some great spots for taking pictures and some great new roads.  I just need a road to take me from Dolphinholme south towards Longridge rather than do the last 30 miles on the Motorway.  I suffered 3 showers with the hood down but no more than two minutes each.  As I await my new camera I had to make do with the wifes today.

All three pictures taken HERE

Taith Eryri Tour 2016

A massive thank you to the Caernarvonshire and Anglesey Motor Club for organising a fabulous 90 mile drive around the Llyn Peninsula.  Whilst it started out a bit misty it cleared up nicely. Great to see the club raise £1400 for the Air Ambulance aswel.

Yorkshire Again

We decided to have a weekend away and found a fabulous hotel in Scalby nr Scarborough.  On the Friday we stopped at Fountains Abbey before heading to Scalby.  On the Saturday we visited Castle Howard and the motor museum / auction house in Thorton Dale.  On Sunday we drove up to Whitby and Sands End for a quick peak before travelling back to Pickering and Helmsley via the A169 and A170.  We had a quick final stop for coffee and cake in Skipton before heading home.  I am currently camera less and so only have the phone for pictures.

Love Yorkshire.