Enlarging the windscreen...

[bluegoatwoods]

A few months back, I took an old set of (home-made) Bar-Mitts and put them on my handlebars. Followed by a sheet of tarp stretched between them to make a windscreen.

I'd call it a 'faring', by the way. Except that I don't know how to spell it. Faring? Fairing? Ferring? Fishbone?......Nah, that's silly.......I might as well call it a windscreen.

This is pretty much it here. Other than some slight modifications.



I found, though, that it's really not enough protection. I could tell on those chilly mornings that my upper legs needed something more. Plus, it seems that the insulation in the Bar-Mitts had settled down toward the bottom. Making it crowded in there and not very warm starting at about my wrists. They didn't cover much more than my wrists anyway.

So I threw out the old Bar-Mitts and made some new ones. A bit taller. I widened the windscreen frame a bit and made a new windscreen.

The new windscreen is more than just a sheet of tarp. It's two sheets with some insulation between them. And up at the top I made them long enough, side to side, to go over my mirrors and wrap down to the under side of the Bar-Mitts. This has the effect of wrapping almost another set of Bar-Mitts around the first set.

This ought to be warm.

 

[bluegoatwoods]

However, having used this sort of thing before, I was able to anticipate one particular downside.

Imagine a bike parked on a blustery winter day. The wind will grab that windscreen and slam the bike over on its side as if it had been kicked by a mule. I know this from bitter.......very bitter....... experience.

But I think I've figured out the answer. I've made a strut that reaches from the end of one handlebar down to my trailer. Like this:





I'm feeling pretty sure that this will take my bike/trailer combo and convert it into a sort-of tripod with a nice, wide footprint.

The upper end of this strut will stay attached to that handlebar. When it's time to ride, it pulls up and swivels around to the front. Then it gets clipped down out near the end of the other handlebar.



This does mean that I'm pretty much married to my trailer now. But that's okay. The trailer is handy enough that it's a pleasure to have along.

 

[bluegoatwoods]

Is my bike starting to take on a "Quadrophenia" look? I almost think so.

That wasn't my intent. But it's okay, too.