Utilitarian Adventures

[Samuel D]

That is good going through creaking infrastructure of every sort. I am amazed you braved all of that and then declined to ride the road at the end!

The whole voyage including that close-pass road is an object lesson in why few people cycle to their hospital appointments. The photos made it fun to follow along.

Heal well.

[Kim]

That was eventful then! I hope your bruises are minimal and heal quickly. I'm glad I'm not the only person with calendar confusion on occcasion.

I did it recently too, but living across the road from the surgery made it less embarrassing.

And for completeness, the GP also has calendar confusion, because they phoned this morning to tell me I'm massively overdue for the asthma review I did a couple of months ago (with my lovely GP who emits bogons and presumably failed to update the relevant wossname on the computer).

[nikki]

It's me that has the creaking infrastructure today!

I was quite enjoying the ride towards the end - especially since the sun had come out and was starting to heat my bones up again.

Several of the approaches to home generally leave me in a bad mood because of the terrible attitude of some humans towards other humans, so sometimes I opt for walking a section rather than having it leave me stewing for the rest of the day.

The fun starts on Monday when I have to try and phone the hospital to rearrange my appointment, as I'm otherwise engaged on the 23rd of March. I tried yesterday and couldn't get through. Indeed the whole saga could have been averted if I'd have been able to get through initially when I thought it'd be good to shift the appointment to a later time!

[andrewc]

Pah! Getting dates wrong is kids stuff.  My father recently turned for an appointment, correct time & date, wrong hospital 


Hope there are not too many bruises.

[Palinurus]

10 minute ride to collect 40 litres of compost from the hardware store that time forgot (a few years back the old boy who ran it would smoke behind the counter, the stock is all sun-bleached, there are things on the shelves with signs attached- 'Not for sale'- it's the greatest). Last time I did this I used a trailer, this time stuck it in the front carrier of the elephant bike.

[Cudzoziemiec]

That was a real adventure, Nikki. Perhaps less utilitarian than it was meant to be, but as you say, <insert rant about state of NHS>. I certainly wouldn't have ridden that flooded towpath, especially not through freezing cold water; that takes a special sort of courage (perhaps one not too far from foolhardiness, but still in a good way). I suggest a new phrase: "As brave as a box of frogs."

[Kim]

Trailer mission to panic-buy bulk shopping before the snowpocalypse hits.

A combination of lurgy and freezing conditions dictated the electron-assisted ICE trike for traction duty, which was definitely the right decision.  I timed it well, with a blizzard starting soon after I set off.  Evil wind, too.  I actually tried using a buff to keep my nose and lower face warm.  That works admirably well as long as I don't need to see.   

List of things that don't work properly in the cold:
- Fingers
- Lungs
- Elastomer trailer hitches
- Phaart rear lights with dubious vintage 7dayshop NiMH cells
- Photochromic glasses

Minor shouty WVM entanglement, presumably on account of being the most seeable vehicle on the road.  Managed to avoid most of the potholes, and the only skiddy stuff I saw was on a shared-use path that I was deliberately avoiding.  The absence of a brake lever for the left hand to grab while indicating right remains low-level alarming.

[Cudzoziemiec]

List of things that don't work properly in the cold:
- Fingers
- Lungs
- Elastomer trailer hitches
- Phaart rear lights with dubious vintage 7dayshop NiMH cells
- Photochromic glasses

I'll add one to that list:
- Brain.
But that might be a personal one.

[Cudzoziemiec]

List of things that don't work properly in the cold:
- Fingers
- Lungs
- Elastomer trailer hitches
- Phaart rear lights with dubious vintage 7dayshop NiMH cells
- Photochromic glasses

I'll add one to that list:
- Brain.
But that might be a personal one.

And I'll add another after yesterday:
- Lips. My top lip becomes frightfully British. Oddly, my lower lip and tongue are unaffected.

[Kim]

One from earlier in the week:

Brompton ride up to King[']s Heath to collect a car club car:  Took about 15 minutes, including a diversion through some Silly Sustrans Gates because there's diggy hole blocking the back entrance to Canon Hill Park, and taking it slowly on the hill to avoid dripping with sweat.

Car drive back to Silly Oak to fill said car with stuff:  Took about 35 minutes, because I forgot that driving anywhere in Birmingham during morning rush hour is stupid.

[Kim]

e-Trike + trailer mission again (electro-lqt to the tip to be recycled and a bulk supermarket shop), in *much* better weather.

This time I brought a rear brake, which makes right turns less scary.  Five wheels makes the proliferation of potholes a challenge.

[Cudzoziemiec]

I adventured up to Cycle Surgery in Filton (pretty much opposite GKN), where I, obviously, spent too much money on things I don't really need. Unusually, I did this on the bike that normally does out of town adventures, not the utilitarian adventure bike. Even more unusually, I saw the same cyclist twice – once in each direction, at the same set of lights! On the way, she pulled ahead of me thanks to some daring kerb hopping, I then overtook her by being lucky at the lights, she overtook me on Pigsty Hill, I overtook her on the slope towards the Mem, which prompted her to comment that she was "Not riding steadily" (and so??) and then our ways parted. On the way back in, got back to the lights where I'd first seen her and there she was again! Then she went into town on her Crosslight and I went up the hill on my Surly. But it was saddlebag utilitarian not pannier utilitarian, for a change (hooray for the big saddlebag!)

[Si S]

No coffee this morning, so into Hulme End to find the shop is closed, proper closed, on to Hartington where yesterday's tyre repair failed spectacularly on the descent, that was fun.

Tube and boot deployed, coffee procured,back to Alstonefield. 17km

[seraphina]

MissS and I to the hairdressers. Was deemed most unreasonable for making her finish the lollipop they give her before getting back on the bike.

[seraphina]

Ten miles of chores -post office and dry cleaners.

[Cudzoziemiec]

This mostly counts; it was utilitarian in that it was a ride to accomplish a purpose, in this case to meet some friends, but it's let down by the fact that I dressed up in Bikesters for it. This wasn't strictly necessary as they're in Claverham, which is only 24km away and dead flat, and if I'd happened to have more sensible trousers on (like jeans – or maybe one day it'll be summer and I'll be in shorts) perhaps I wouldn't have bothered, but as it was, I did. I kept the top half dressed for destination though (and nobody minded the Bikesters either). There was a little bit of adventure and it was nearly the wrong sort; see these cobbly things?
https://goo.gl/maps/hdMspWiXF7H2

They're rather nastier in reality than they look in the photo. Normally I'd either take care or use the shared pavement, but as I was riding the Utilitarian Adventure Bike with 42mm tyres, I reckoned some poxy lumpy half-bricks would not cause any problem. I hit them just fast enough and at just the right angle to have a Nasty Moment but not to actually come off. Perhaps I should measure the gap between the stones, I might find it's 43mm...

The other thing that casts doubt on the claim of this to be utilitarian is that it's simply such a lovely ride to Claverham, whatever reason you're going there for.

[Oscar's dad]

Bikesters as in those Ron Hill tights type things?

[Cudzoziemiec]

Yes. I am, as you will have realised, the epitome of fashion and sartorial elegance.

[Oscar's dad]

Yes. I am, as you will have realised, the epitome of fashion and sartorial elegance.

Much like myself.  Even though we have never met I can't help thinking we might be twins separated at birth, there is mounting evidence 

[Peter]

"mounting evidence" - that's bikes for you.

[Cudzoziemiec]

Today I was despatched to Forbidden Planet because of Free Comics Day, in addition to more usual errands. First UA of the year in shorts! 

[The Family Cyclist]

A 30km round trip today. Firstly off to shop to look at new cookers then some plastic pipe for the heath robinson water butt filling system. Then to butchers on way home which filled one pannier then round to friends to get the 4kg of nuts the wife had ordered.

Highlights of the ride the BMW that sat behind me for around a minute till was safe to past and then gave it the beans but was completely over the white line by that point.

Secondly was the huge amount of other riders. Probably at least a hundred in several large groups. All friendly especially one of the rovers groups out near Wickham bishops who where appolgetic about me having to stay far left as they came past.

My thorn did good although would probably have wanted front panniers as well to spread weight a bit better.

[rr]

Short trip to decathlon on the Rose to buy a replacement chain for the elephant bike.

Sent from my moto x4 using Tapatalk

[The Family Cyclist]

A 40k round trip to get the good lady a pannier so she stops nicking mine.  Made good use of the fairly good cycle paths from Boreham into Chelmsford. Couple of rather hairy road crossings and conditions deteriorate a bit on one stretch but last time drove in took an hour to park so a much better option.

[ian]

Pootling by the Thames on Saturday, a Deliveroo rider passed me going the other way. Not unusual, you say.

This one was riding a penny farthing, phone attached to the bars, bag on his back.