Turf Zone – Eskbank
Turfing requires quite a lot of time but not a lot of actual thinking is involved, unless you are hunting down turfer uniques or taking part in turf events. Yes, quite a lot of free-thinking time is available during a turf session. Time available to think about the mysteries of the universe, perhaps. Like why is a bicycle only stable when moving forwards? Or why can you see and eat Kit-Kat atoms when they’re composed of 99.99% empty space? Or why it’s so terribly, terribly difficult not to go turfing? Answers in a postcard please.
I was out turfing the other evening after sunset, actually taking zone EskPath in Dalkeith, located on an old railway line without any street lighting. Taking the opportunity to test out the full capabilities of my Hope Vision 2 lights, it occurred to me just how amazing the humble bicycle light actually is. You stand there in almost complete darkness, press a small button and instantly you throw a wide beam of pure white light in front of you lighting up the darkness at a rate of about 186,282 miles per second. Is that not truly amazing? Yet we take it for granted.
Have you ever wondered what light actually is? Well, I looked that up on the Interweb and there is no simple answer. Words like electromagnetism, quantum, wave-particle duality and sentences like “coupled electric and magnetic fields propagating through space as a traveling wave.” are used. What? Rocket science. However, light could be described as discrete packets of energy, called photons. Okay, what’s a photon?
Well, apparently it’s a minute energy packet of electromagnetic radiation. Okay, what does that mean? In modern quantum theory, electromagnetic radiation is the flow of photons through space. Now I’m really lost! Still don’t know what a photon is. And does it actually matter? Not, not really. So long as I can see at night to take zones, I’m happy.
Now, back to turfing. With any chance of League promotion now close to requiring some monumental effort to gather 86,000 points (add more!) before the next Round change on 7th April, my turfing is much more enjoyable, more relaxed and for the exercise as well. My main efforts are to gather a few more turfer uniques and I’ve managed to add two more locally, both locally straight from the house.
First one was Fergus2016, a recent convert by turfer CardiffSoulCru. Fergus2016 so far has only turfed the area around Dalhousie Castle hotel. I have seen his turfman icon in Bonnyrigg town centre, right next to zone Bonnyrigg, but no zones were taken. Anyway, I cycled out to Dalhousie yesterday and grabbed one of his zones. The other was turfer JimmySalad, who had taken a handful of zones around Eskbank. These two bring my total turfer uniques to 283. Only another 17 to go for my target of 300. Still wish there was a medal for this!
Now, a few thoughts, or rather hints and tips for you to consider during your turfing session. First concerns you needing a call of nature. I always keep an eye out for suitable locations, regardless of where I am or whether I’m on foot or cycling, particularly cycling in urban areas. Always useful to know where you can go when the need arises. Another good tip is to always go when you can, not when you need. The next one is where you can find shelter. This might be required when caught out in a torrential rain, snow or hail storm, an approaching tornado or simply for shade to get out of the sun.
My next one is places to stop for lunch. As I tend to usually carry food with me, I’m generally not looking for cafes or the like, unless I see an interesting scones on display, more locations with a nice view, out of the wind or rain, and if possible, with a nice comfortable bench to sit on. To finish, on bright sunny days when stopping to take a zone I tend to stop in the shade, if possible, it tends to be easier to see the screen on the mobile phone for the next zone. Back soon.
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