Author Topic: Utilitarian Adventures (Read 153450 times)

Kim · « **Reply #450 on:** 02 December, 2016, 11:36:57 pm »

2km or so up to Audiology in search of flatteries, then about 16km home via COR (to try out the new tyres^[1]), a couple of bastard hills and rather too much tediously slow traffic that there wasn't room to filter past.

_{[1] 40mm Marathon Dureme. Seems to be a win compared to the previous 28mm Marathons on the local crumbling tarmac.}

Jock Stewart · « **Reply #451 on:** 06 December, 2016, 06:54:05 pm »

Went to buy some beer this morning. Offie only a 100 metres away but route took me on a 31 mile detour via Thames towpath and Richmond Park. It was cold and foggy wet. As I approached Queen's Road from the lane that passes Isabella Planatation, I saw a cyclist walking morosely with a flat tyre. No gloves, hands raw red.

"You ok?"

"Got a puncture." She was bedraggled but looked suddenly hopeful that I could help.

I looked at her wheel. It was a small hybrid.

"My tubes are too large. And I don't carry a repair kit as I just put in a new tube." I was disappointed not to help. "There's an Evans in Kingston, just a couple or so miles away. They'll fix it for you. You know where it is."

She had no kit.

"I live in Kingston." She replied.

"Ok." I said and prepared to carry on, not wanting to be patronising.

"But I'm only a student" she quickly said "I'm still getting to know the area."

She was sodden and her hands looked so cold. Otherwise she was pretty well wrapped up.

"Carry on and take the first left. At Kingston Gate - only a mile away - take the first right then keep going straight. About another mile and you'll be out on the main road to Richmond. Take a left and you'll be at Evans. Only about 40 minutes walking."

"Ok. Thanks. It just went by the cafe."

I thought she was going to cry, as she walked off.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #452 on:** 15 December, 2016, 05:31:57 pm »

To Christmas Steps with Napoleon disc two (of four) and back with disc three. Was not even remotely tempted to ride down the steps themselves. Parked at one of the three stands outside Foster's almshouse, leaving my bike all alone, and came back after a few minutes being ignored by Poppy and Alfie* to find it now had two other bikes for company.

*Poppy is a fat cat, Alfie is very fat.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #453 on:** 20 December, 2016, 08:40:55 pm »

Heavy one yesterday, and it wasn't due to Christmas shopping. I'd forgotten that branch library is closed on Mondays, so went out with library books, came back with books and shopping all stuffed into one pannier. This also meant I took the pannier round the stupormarket – I normally leave it on the bike and just use a carrier bag, but I had it with me cos of going to the library – and was half expecting a security guard to jobsworth me, but I was ignored. Whether this is because the 5p has made it acceptable to take your own bag, or because I'm now a trustworthy middle-aged-man-with-solar-panel-beer-gut-2.4-mortgages-and-a-mondeo, or maybe they're just slacking, I don't know. Anyway, the Sequoia remained admirably stable with more in one pannier than I would really like to put in two.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #454 on:** 20 December, 2016, 08:51:08 pm »

Quote from: Jock Stewart on 06 December, 2016, 06:54:05 pm

Went to buy some beer this morning. Offie only a 100 metres away

Definitely utility

Quote

but route took me on a 31 mile detour via Thames towpath and Richmond Park.

...and adventure!

Jakob W · « **Reply #455 on:** 20 December, 2016, 09:43:01 pm »

Library and supermarket run. Was glad I was wearing my brevet gilet, cos when I got home in the dark I realised my rear light wasn't working

. Will have to have a fettle this week; hopefully it's just a loose connection, as the front was fine.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #456 on:** 24 December, 2016, 02:33:12 pm »

Surprisingly little traffic this morning, but for some reason all the roads were covered in oil. Also, it seems to be National Park on a Double Yellow Line Day.

The Family Cyclist · « **Reply #457 on:** 27 December, 2016, 05:44:22 pm »

A multi purpose one yesterday. Bottle bank which was pretty much full but managed to shove the bottles and jarsbin. Then to deliver our no longer required reusable nappies to hopefully Grace a new bottom next year then on to collect presents couldn't carry Christmas day. Made good use of Burley bee with no children but was like towing a sail into the wind.

MikeFromLFE · « **Reply #458 on:** 27 December, 2016, 08:42:48 pm »

A ride to the allotment to get some sprouts. Very little traffic about, mainly because - round here - they were all parked on the road junctions. Rather icy on the way there, but it felt like cycling through treacle.

Sent from my brain to my iPad using my fingers and Tapatalk

matthew · « **Reply #459 on:** 30 December, 2016, 09:35:03 am »

yesterday, 22km to visit my aunt. frost on the roads at 15:30. one twitch on ice, I then put the bike in the back of a car for a lift home at 19:30.

mrcharly-YHT · « **Reply #460 on:** 02 January, 2017, 06:33:49 pm »

Many bags of christmas rubbish to the municipal tip, plus junk from clearing some boxes. Felt smug and sorry for the people queuing in cars for the tip; there is a special bit for bike/pedestrians, although they don't mean it for people with trailers like mine. I filled an entire bin with waste, then half a bin with electrical waste, then there was the cardboard . . .

Kim · « **Reply #461 on:** 02 January, 2017, 06:44:06 pm »

Quote from: mrcharly on 02 January, 2017, 06:33:49 pm

Many bags of christmas rubbish to the municipal tip, plus junk from clearing some boxes. Felt smug and sorry for the people queuing in cars for the tip; there is a special bit for bike/pedestrians, although they don't mean it for people with trailers like mine. I filled an entire bin with waste, then half a bin with electrical waste, then there was the cardboard . . .

Funnily enough, I gave CrinklyLion (along with her former microwave and some other stuff that wouldn't fit in a pannier) a lift to the municipal tip last week. We got to admire the special bit for bikes/pedestrians while we queued in the CAR along with all the people offloading Christmas decorations and excess packaging.

We don't have that sort of thing in Brum, as the motorists would just abandon ship and offload their stuff there the moment a queue developed.

sg37409 · « **Reply #462 on:** 05 January, 2017, 04:17:06 pm »

Haircut.

(100)

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #463 on:** 13 January, 2017, 02:57:49 pm »

Various bulky/heavy items had built up on the shopping list so it was a rare double-pannier trip to the supermarket; my first ever since I got the extremely capacious Super C panniers. Because I didn't want to leave the panniers on the bike (I'm fine leaving one, but not two, which is probably illogical), I took a trolley rather than a basket, hanging the panniers off the outside like fenders on a boat. Fortunately the supermarket wasn't crowded and no one seemed to mind, but I think if I need to take both panniers again, I'll put them inside the trolley. Felt a bit unsteady wheeling the bike away from the stand but the weight disappeared as soon as I was riding, as it tends to do. Fortunately it's downhill almost all the way home, but when I got back and wanted to swing the back of the bike round to lean it against the wall more conveniently, I could hardly lift it! Some lever effect there. Thought of Pancho on this utilitarian adventure.

MikeFromLFE · « **Reply #464 on:** 26 January, 2017, 09:10:54 am »

<sound of phone ringing> "Hi Pete"
"Are you going tonight"
"Yes, 6 isn't it?"
"That's right, can you give me a lift"
"Sorry Pete, I was going to cycle there"
"But it's a smart do - suit and that"
"Yes, I know, smart"
"But you said you were cycling there"
"Yes Pete, I'm going on my bike, dressed smart"
"OK, if you say so"
"See you there then"
<Sound of phone being put down and heavy sighing>
So, I went to one of the annual national charity 'networking events' at the King Power Stadium, dressed smart. I do wonder how far we have to go to deal with this sort of attitude (and Pete has family in Amsterdam).
It's a long time since I've had the joy of 1) cycling in Leicester's evening rush hour traffic and 2) riding home in the dark along the deserted Great Central Way.

Sent from my brain to my iPad using my fingers and Tapatalk

Ruthie · « **Reply #465 on:** 26 January, 2017, 09:01:43 pm »

A ride out to Fellowship and back, which was hard work on the way there, slightly uphill on spiked tyres into a headwind. And my word, it's seriously cold out there.

Tonight's earworm was 'when you live on an island, nothing ever falls in place, the winters are violent, and you can't even feel your face, you can't fucking feel your face'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1dQI4Gjt9I

When lightning strikes, I will be on my bike, I won't be stuck inside, I will be taking flight.

mcshroom · « **Reply #466 on:** 26 January, 2017, 10:30:58 pm »

20km to choir in Whithaven and back again. Getting there was a breeze, getting home again into a freezing headwind wasn't quite as fun.

As it was Icy I stuck to the A595(T) main road. It's not the most fun riding along but the traffic was playing nicely tonight mainly. There's new tarmac on the steep hill out of Whitehaven now which is much more pleasant to ride on. It's a shame the same can't be said about Clint's Hill out of Egremont which is still crater-strewn.

The other choir members thought I was mad

Kim · « **Reply #467 on:** 08 February, 2017, 08:40:36 pm »

Took a trailer load of heavy compu-tqt to the tip. Should have used the trike.

Jacomus · « **Reply #468 on:** 14 February, 2017, 09:38:27 pm »

I nipped out for a quick errand on Sunday morning, probably 5km round trip. The weather conditions were Not Nice, but 5km isn't very far... unless you forget to engage brain and leave it on autopilot and bugger off near enough 5km in the opposite direction before realising your mistake.

On the plus side, nothing at all happened. And I stopped to say hello to a friendly cat.

The Family Cyclist · « **Reply #469 on:** 20 February, 2017, 12:13:27 pm »

School run first, oh the joys of getting the monkey to ride rather then a slow walk, straight from there to shops for fruit and veg. Home quick change into cycling clothes. Should have gone shorts not tights then a worryingly fast 10 miles to camping shop (semi successful ) and accross road to cycle shop (entirely unsuccesful) grabbed focatia bread for lunch and some reduced goats cheese (price not distilled in some way) and then 10 slow slow miles into the wind on way home.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #470 on:** 23 February, 2017, 11:14:04 am »

A very windy doughnut run. Not far, but it seemed to be a headwind in both directions that wanted to blow me across both sides of the road alternately, regardless of which way I was going. Fortunately all the motorists were considerate. Matt and Jake seemed grateful for the little (big, actually) balls of fat and sugar; not sure about Colin... And of course he's right, they would've been better and cheaper in Bemmie, but I didn't have time. Now, where's this Telefonica thing I'm waiting for?

matthew · « **Reply #471 on:** 05 March, 2017, 06:06:06 pm »

Going up to church in London, engineering works meant the direct line into Waterloo wasn't available so went via Wokingham and Reading to Paddington. Then a couple of miles to centre point. Coming home this afternoon was more problematic, I made the mistake of following the blue signs for Paddington which wound there way west rather than going up to the Euston rd and then west to Marylabone.

Worse was to come when I got to Reading. The trains to Wokingham were badly hit by engineering works. Instead of the 4 an hour it was 2 an hour with a 40 minute wait for the first so I cycled home from Reading as it was dry in Reading. However I then got rather wet later when I wasn't dressed for the riding.

Soggy Jeans are not great for cold wet conditions.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #472 on:** 05 March, 2017, 06:53:12 pm »

Soggy jeans are not good for anyone except Nick Kamen. Your journey reminds me that today I walked past two churches which are almost next to each other while services were being held in both. One, the Cornerstone Church, was of no interest, but outside the other, called City Church (such an inventive name!), numerous bicycles were parked, while "happy clappy" type songs issued forth.

Oscar's dad · « **Reply #473 on:** 06 March, 2017, 10:06:21 am »

On Friday evening Daisy the Cat needed collecting from the vet having had her "bits and bobs" removed. The car was elsewhere so Penelope bridged the gap ...

Guy · « **Reply #474 on:** 06 March, 2017, 12:40:00 pm »

I had to go to the PO cash machine yesterday morning, but I'm too damn' lazy to walk all that way. What should have been a 10-minute round trip on foot became a 35-minute 5.5 mile bimble on the folder.