Turf Zone – Suttieslea
Today, I want to look at the benefits of the humble mobile phone handlebar mount and how it makes turfing by bicycle so much simpler, and quicker. I was turfing Dunbar today and my partner does not have a mobile phone handlebar mount and had to carry her phone either in a pocket or the rucksack, which is far from ideal. This essentially meant I had to do all the work, choosing the next zone, planning the route and stopping where the zone was, even telling my partner if they were inside the zone or not. Not that I minded really, my partner is ChoccyMuffin after all, and I’d been bribed with the promise of coffee, scones and four bars of chocolate*. It really is a disadvantage when one or more members of a turfing party lack a mobile phone handlebar mount.
Mobile phone handlebar mounts are relatively inexpensive, costing around £15.00 to £25.00 on Amazon and there’s a wide variety of choose from, some good and some totally rubbish. My preference is a manufacturer called Lamicall, the model that fits bars up to 40mm in diameter and I use them on all my bikes and kick scooters. This model allows you to clamp onto the handlebar stem which is much more stable than the handlebars themselves and also leaves the bars free for lights, favourite mascot, or whatever.
One issue I’ve found is clamp slippage on the bars, the mount slipping forwards, or backwards, when jarred by bumps during riding. Two ways I’ve got round this. One is to smear a thin layer of clear silicone sealant around the handlebars and clamp inner surface, leaving a slightly tacky surface for the mount to grip. Leave it 24-hours to dry before using the mount. Another method, one that is less messy, is to wrap a layer or two of self-fusing silicone pipe repair tape, as used by plumbers to repairs leaks in waste pipes or the like, round the bars. It’s slightly tacky and grips well. No more slipping phone mounts.
Now, a new turfer has appeared in Edinburgh recently and being a newbie has perhaps not understood the way the game of Turf actually works, which resulted in a few unsavoury words on the Turf app messaging service. Of course, in wades a few members of the Scottish Turf Crew to show him/her/them/they the error of their ways. Actually, I feel kind of sorry for any newbie that falls foul of Turf Law when the Scottish Turf Crew are involved. Mess with one, mess with all, might be the motto. Like a biker gang or Hells Angels chapter. If you read this, New Turfer, the idea is to take zones, loose them, and take them again, the more the merrier.
New turfers who exhibit a questionable attitude might find themselves undone further down the line. For example, imagine you are trying for any of the Greed medals and ask other turfers to leave your takes. You may find other turfers less agreeable to doing this when you’ve crossed the wrong paths, so to speak, in the past. Even simple things like assists or avoiding blocking each other might not be granted. What goes around, comes around, as they say.
Now, I must give thanks to turfer Hodge and Fearglas who mention about a new Midlothian zone, might have missed it otherwise, at least this evening, but would likely have spotted it tomorrow. Mind you that could have been too late! And also, thanks to Pastry Chef a.k.a. CardiffSoulCru, for requesting zones be cleared around Dalhousie, which got us out of the house for a very pleasant turf/ramble in the woods. A FTT zone is always desirable. This one was called WouldDean and was created at 04:23 today, taken at 18:12, so not too bad. Back soon.
*the chocolate has not appeared yet!
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