Canadians are the Texans of cold weather - everything is worse, harder, colder than anywhere else!

Like Texan brags, that's not even true but its a phenomena i've seen not just here but on other Fora and streams across diverse subjects, someone says its cold/icy and immediately the Cannucks wade in with 'thats nothing its xx degrees here'. Thing is it gets tiring quickly and bears no relationship to the conversation, if i say its 0c here it'll be -25c in Ontario but i'm not in Ontario, i know its colder in other places, i've been to colder places, i've been to hotter places, i don't need telling every time i mention the weather. Gripe over

So, for the UK, it's been more cool weather since the weekend getting down to -6/7c even here in the balmy South West, Scotland has been into the minus teens. Its dry and we've even seen more sunshine but its certainly vest weather! (undershirt to the colonials) Monday i put the thermal knikers on and took a walk, almost 7km, i was quite chilled when i got back. Once indoors i set about sorting out the files to publish the new Gaby title with Lulu.com - why do all the publishers/printers use different file formats? Its a complete pain and then you have to duplicate all your effort for the cover artwork even for different formats with the same publisher/printer.

If you sell hundreds, thousands of copies the cost is negligable, but when, like me, you count monthly sales in single figures for the most part, at even minimum wage those costs can wipe out the income for months. In truth the economics don't add up for writer/publishers unless you sell hundreds of copies each month. I could set higher prices, maybe i should, but i know that would impact sales adversely so instead i keep the price points as low as possible, you could easily be paying the same for 'books' a quarter of the size and double or more for a similar sized volume. Of course, wider distribution should mean more sales which is why i do multiple platforms but real success relies on reader feedback. I've said this before and i'll no doubt repeat myself in the future, please, if you buy one of my books or a Doppler Press title, go back to the platform and tell others what you think, even a short 'i enjoyed this' will influence the algorithms positively (they count number not content). Gripe 2 over.

Anyhow, you can now get Balancing Trick over at Lulu.com as well as Amazon, the direct links below will take you to left, digital and right, paperback.

and just a reminder of the Amazon links too

Of course, a big thank you if you have purchased this or any of my titles.

So onto Tuesday. I knew it was gonna be another cool ride, i added an extra layer for my hands, and set out for a shorter ride for some lunch. The cold was eating into the battery performance but i was well within the 'safe' range. A few of the smaller lanes both before and after my food stop, had icy puddles and field run off which created a few moments of 'interesting' riding, even with the E behemoth. All was going well, i was just contemplating an extra loop to bring the distance up to the century mark when i realised the front tyre was softening.

These things happen, i've not suffered a deflation for quite a while afterall, so i pulled up and prepared to change the tube. Not an easy job, it took me maybe ten minutes to access the tube, the tyre being a very tight fit. Couldn't find a cause for the deflation so i proceeded to put the new tube in, that was simple, what wasn't was refitting the tyre. My hands were cold, i'd get so far and for every inch i got on, one would come off! After thirty minutes i gave up and made the call for a rescue, that organised i thought i'd give it a last try et voila, it went on, grrr! I cancelled the pickup and headed more directly back than i might otherwise have done for an 85km ride length.

Whilst the cold may have not helped, the real issue is the move in the cycling world to hookless rims which require a much tighter tyre fit which is fine if you are in a workshop, not so good if you are at the side of the road. I have the tools in my tool box to do it easier, i'll have to carry them with me on Ebike rides in future, which is a pain to say the least.

I'll be back with more and another chapter of On the Edge on Sunday, until then,
Ciao,
Maddy Anafrid