Intermission
Intermission
Meta-meta-narrative: this piece is written as an experiment. If it works, it will end up being the first of a series of intermissions into the narrative of a story on which I'm working, which has the work-in-progress title 'Merchant'. These intermissions will collectively describe the process by which the narrative arrived in its final form — if it ever does.
The Hall Fees Issue
The Hall Fees Issue
Auchencairn has a village hall. It's one of the most significant community assets the village has. It's a solidly built stone building on the south side of the Square that isn't a square, in the centre of the village. Its primary purpose, at least as it's been used over my lifetime, is as a general purpose venue for events.
Why not a bicycle?
Why not a bicycle?
This is a new post in a series of essays which, up to now, has been about tricycles. At the start I ruled out a bicycle because
- I'm designing a vehicle for my old age;
- my balance is deteriorating;
- I live at the top of a considerable hill;
- after Covid, I had considerable difficulty getting an unassisted bicycle up the hill;
- I've always been wary of recumbent bicycles because of their alleged poor climbing ability.
Tricycle Stability
Tricycle Stability
A tricycle is a vehicle with three wheels, typically with two wheels, spaced laterally apart, on a single axis, with the third placed laterally centrally with respect to the other two but significantly either forward of aft of their axis. Its contact with the ground is the contact patches of those three wheels. The forces on a tricycle can be considered to act through the centre of mass. These forces will typically be
- Gravity;
- Linear acceleration whether through acceleration or through braking;
- Lateral acceleration as a result of steering.
Recumbent drive trains
Recumbent drive trains
This is the fourth in a series of essays about the design of a tricycle; if it interests you you probably need to read the others for context. Most of the ideas I'm discussing in this essay, however, come from the design of bicycles, and little is tricycle specific.