Turf Blog 31-01-26

Turf Zone – SubWreckOne

Oh, my goodness, the power of a new turf zone appearing close to home. How amazing that such a small event can have so immediate an impact. This is the power of FTT and that burning desire to be first to take a new zone. This one was in the old policies of Dalhousie castle, a few minutes’ walk south of Bonnyrigg. It was quite by chance that I actually noticed this new zone, going by the name DalDeanPath. I was checking my League status and saw the wee symbol for a new zone. And that was that, I just had to have it.

So, first decision to make, take the bike or go on foot? Knowling the likely ground conditions at this time of year, and following some recent wet weather, I suspected the ground would be waterlogged and very muddy, which indeed it was. My decision to go on foot was the right one, even the Trek Farley fat bike would be tested in these conditions. I know this for a fact having cycled here in similar conditions, more than once having to stop to clear mud and leaves from the wheel to allow them to rotate. Sometimes good old muddy boots fit the bill. This zone brings my FTT total to, wait for it, a whopping 39.

Turfing this round has been mostly routine, out each day for an hour or so taking a few zones and keeping up with the exercise, along with a few TvT takes here and there. Having said that I have also been paying some attention to my League position as I found myself jockeying for prime position in my League with turfer BlitzIvo2. As I was holding either first or second position all without too much additional turfing, I decided to see if I could get a promotion.

By the Saturday before the Round reset, I’d put in a few additional hours and managed to get myself a 20,000-point advantage, hopefully enough to keep me in the prime spot for advancement overnight and until the 11.00am reset. However, just in case, I completed a round of Bonnyrigg, helpfully cleared earlier by turfer sjami44, with the help of a friendly turfer called TurfAssistor. In other words, a second turf account on my spare mobile phone who I let take the zone first.

This allows me to get the points, and the assists which are always welcome towards a medal, but keeps the zones free for me to take again tomorrow morning if required. Sort of keeping 6600 points in the bag. Or more if I complete more than one session around Bonnyrigg. The only down side is I lose any PPH from actually holding the zones myself. That would amount to about 2600 points over 24-hours. Hopefully, when I check the League tomorrow morning, I’ll not need any additional points. Fingers crossed.

Now, an update on the issue of sore toes, one I’ve mentioned on previous turf blog posts. For years I’ve suffered painful red patches on my toes during the colder months of the year but I seem to have largely solved the problem this year. The secret was to replace my footwear with a size larger and wear electrically heated socks when the temperature falls below around 8 to 10 degrees.

In addition, wearing a set of M&S thermal underwear helps keep the core body temperature high, which in turn, also helps keep extremities such as toes and fingers that much warmer. The body has a mechanism where it reduced blood flow to the likes of toes and fingers if it thinks the core body temperature is too low. It’s so nice not to have sore toes! Bliss! Bye for now.

Copyright ©2026 Gary Buckham. All rights reserved.

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