The Other Way

I have arrived at Anne Maries and I am now resting.
I covered aproximately 300kms from friday morning of last week to thursday eve this week.
A bit too much for me and the trike, as now i have stopped for a moment, tiredness is catching up with me.
I have been using off the shelf tyres that you can  pick up in the big supermarkets  as well as anything i can find in the dumps, but the quality is so poor that it only took four days to completely wear down and cause a blow out on a wheel and one that i used as a spare just seemed to rip innertubes. I eventually sussed out a bodge using a second innertube after fixing my sixth puncture in rercord time in the blistering heat.. The heat is playing a major factor in the fast deteriorationof tyres, and i am only pleased this is happening here and now when i can do something about it.
I have arranged to  go and see eric from lovelo, the trike company on monday, so i can share with him my ideas for mark2 and try to make a working plan that suits us both. I may be able to stay on site during the week and at anne maries house at the weekend. if that is the case I am going to put the 500 watt motor and lithium battery on a bicycle wlilst i am building mk2 , so i can commute back and forth.
I have more clips as i have said before and they will appear very soon.
big hello to everyone ,
i'll keep you posted
nick

Hello all.
firstly a massive thankyou to all who have been helping me along the way. i have had a lot of fun and spent time with some very good people.a special thanks to jerome and grace for their assistance on the site profile and the work they have done on my behalf to enhance the project.
thankyou to everybody who has fed and watered me, now too many to thank personally here, but when the new footage appears in a couple of weeks  we can all look back and remember the good time we had.
Anyway, slight change of plan.
The otherday i managed to put the trike in a ditch, but with the help of a van i hauled it out and was amazed that there was no real damage.
A few weeks ago i met a tricycle manufacturer in france and he has an enormous unit where he produces his machines. after spending a day or so with him and discussing the modifications i will need for my suspension we agreed that in the south of spain i would contact him and he would help with my components.
one of the forks is now a little bent from the ditch incident but even though it does not effect the performance of the trike it made me stop and think. whilst busking the other day i met a man and woman called Olivier and magarit who invited me to stay with them. They also offered to help me find work as the police stopped me busking the other day and as that is my source of income it poses a problem. I have no problems in the little villages but I need more in the war chest for emergencies and components etc as the dumps arent full of bikes like in the uk and so spares are tricky to come by. with my current set up i now have a good idea of the lifespan of my components. before i go through the pyrannees it is very important that i am fully prepared, and as i my income and component gathering is too random for my liking i have come to a decision.
yesterday Olivier drove me round and rang people and generally tried to help me find work. i could pick melons in ten days or help a builder in a few weeks.
I need a birth certificate for the melons and something
 to do to kill time before the possible work with warren the buider. I could always circle and busk but i dont want to do that.
I met a lady called anne marie on my travels and we hit it off. you will see her when the footage appears. after speaking with her last night she offered to help me find work and said i could live at hers with her two boys quentin and bastion as they have the space and workshop space etc as her house used to be a little farm. she also plays bluegrass banjo and is very witty. we get along very well.
After thinking it through last night I thought it might be sensible to take her up on the offer.
the only fly in the ointment is that it is 300km back up north in normandy and would mean i am travelling away from my goal. 
However, isee it as a one step back , two steps forward situation.
Before i agreed i phoned lovelo the tricycle company and told them i was thinking of coming back their way and would like if possible to do my modifications in their factory in exchange for work. they have all the kit, experience, expertise and engineers to make this happen the way i would like it to. They happily agreed  and could see the mutual benefit for both of us as they are very busy and could also use the help. I said i would arrive in a few weeks. They said they look forward to it.
couldnt be a better situation for me.
Now the experimental phase is over and i know what i want from my machine it will be quite easy to make mark2.
in a few weeks i will start taking you through the design and construction process with text ,images and footage.
i will leave in the morning for anne maries. we have just spoken on the phone and the plan is made.
This way when i set off again it will be on a machine that will be able to pass mountains and the rough terrain of the african roads without  much difficulty.
Having satisfied myself that the concept of the camping trike using solar and wind for enegy sources, with an electrically assited drive system is not just an eccentric idea but a viable means of transportation I am going to go for it properly. To get the fully working article it is going to require resource.
I am therefore going to seek sponsorship and look for television coverage.
I have met a woman in england who asked if she could write the book and I have posted her my journals to read and decide the best way to approach the task.
so there we are.
love to all my family, friends and all the people who have helped get me here.
 Thanks again to stef for the site and paul for being there every step of the way.., I like the translation,
p.s hello flo. I hope you read this, thankyou for my email will write back soon when i get to annemaries. give my love to your mum and dad, lucie, lola and sonny, granny, auntie di and uncle anthony
p.ps
hi aunty marg , iwill get there .....eventually.
and dad.....can,t wait to show you the trike, i think you are going to love it!
bye for now,
nick