Author Topic: Utilitarian Adventures  (Read 152495 times)

Pancho

  • لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ
Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #50 on: 07 March, 2016, 01:53:11 pm »
Does going to the postbox count?

second ride of the morning, fatbike this time on 1" of snow :P

Snow! I'm so jealous. All I've had down here for several winters is brief morning ice to put the terror in my commute. Today, of course, I just waited for it to warm up before my adventure of the day.

Which was into town to visit the optician, buy some dollars, and pop into Aldi for two-panniers worth of groceries. Lovely sunny ride in at about 0930. Chilly headwind, though. Once again, benign and sparse traffic - I love this non-rush hour riding. No sign of ice, thankfully.

Counted other bikes approximately; at least 12 making way on the road and all the bike racks were full in town. Not bad for a cold day.

Did notice some rubbing, squeaking noises which I studiously ignored till I got home. Spin of the wheel shows a major rub somewhere - no wonder it was hard going! Will investigate more once feeling has returned to fingers and toes.

16 cold miles total (and wearing fruitcake's trouser clip things - well, one of them as I'm a no wasted effort, drive side only type of guy).

Guy

  • Retired
Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #51 on: 07 March, 2016, 02:16:26 pm »
My total, non-pub, utility miles this weekend was a staggering 0.37 (approx 600 metres) round trip to the Magic Money Machine at the uselessmarket. A whole 5 minutes, including waiting for the little man in the machine to print and dish out the cash, and for a sloow-moving moton to get his arras in gear so's I could come back out onto High Street.
"The Opinion of 10,000 men is of no value if none of them know anything about the subject"  Marcus Aurelius

fruitcake

  • some kind of fruitcake
Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #52 on: 07 March, 2016, 02:44:30 pm »
In January I bought a bike specifically for utility cycling, here is Penelope the Pashley Pronto (eBay - £135  :thumbsup:  ) ...




I saw a red one of those at the local Sainsbury's and was impressed by the massive rack.

fruitcake

  • some kind of fruitcake
Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #53 on: 07 March, 2016, 02:51:51 pm »
Excellent thread, Pancho.

You need to contact fruitcake for some of those wonderful trouser straps.  Far better than clips IME.

Thanks for the tip. Oscar's Dad will soon be the owner of a pair of trouser straps.  :thumbsup:
 

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #54 on: 07 March, 2016, 03:21:54 pm »
Once I've measured my ankles and paid some money!

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #55 on: 08 March, 2016, 02:17:07 pm »
According to Strava  ;D Penelope and I have just enjoyed a 3.6 mile round trip which included popping into the doctor's surgery (as unsatisfactory as usual  >:(  , not entirely sure who to blame, let's not go there) and visit to Tesco ...



Much fun  :thumbsup:

Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #56 on: 08 March, 2016, 04:25:13 pm »
My usual Tuesday trip to twins club in the bakfiets - really felt my lack of miles in the legs, and had to stop for a breather at the top of a couple of climbs. Not helped by getting some groceries as well. Still beats the bus by a country mile.

Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #57 on: 08 March, 2016, 04:28:10 pm »
Does going to the postbox count?

second ride of the morning, fatbike this time on 1" of snow :P

Snow! I'm so jealous.

Don't be, it only lasted until lunchtime.
OnOne Pickenflick - Tour De Fer 20 - Pinnacle Arkose cx - Charge Cooker maxi2 fatty - GT Zaskar Carbon Expert

Pancho

  • لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ
Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #58 on: 08 March, 2016, 04:44:23 pm »
My usual Tuesday trip to twins club in the bakfiets - really felt my lack of miles in the legs, and had to stop for a breather at the top of a couple of climbs.

Twins? As in a matching pair of offspring? Maybe they've got bigger. That's what ours (non-matching) did. I bought Mrs P an electric bike in the end so that she could still get up the hill and make it home. She loved it. So did sprogs.

Pancho

  • لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ
Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #59 on: 09 March, 2016, 12:50:08 pm »
1 mile :( Week-to-date total: 17 miles :(

Quick run in to collect prescription, buy milk, and buy more dollars from village travel agent (surely a dying breed).

Tried long Barbour coat, flat cap, and Shimano SPD walking boots in lieu of bikie waterproof jacket and trousers. Worked well. Only downside was cap not quite brimmy enough to keep rain totally off specs. Overall, a good solution for riding in rain in civvies.

Back wheel definitely wrong. I think I need to get my trueing spanner out again and try and fix the bodge I obviously managed last time :( It's not wonky (ie pringley) or lumpy (ie fifty pence coin) but I think the rim is shifted left in it's entirety. I know how to fix this. In theory. Maybe a job for tomorrow. 

Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #60 on: 09 March, 2016, 01:05:18 pm »
Accompanied little miss h to school for her academic mentoring session (10 minutes). Then to the local store to drop a returns package off. Down side to that was the twat in a tall dark blue Transit who passed so close to us on a downhill section (we were doing about 15mph) that little miss h swore like I've never heard her before, just before she crumpled into tears outside the store. (He was about 3" from my right elbow and doing about 40mph. I was riding behind, and about 6" further out than lmh.) She wants to get a GoPro so that people like that end up in prison. Alternatively, if they do that again she will scratch the side of the van with her fingernails to damage it. I've never seen her so angry.

Then up to the local school for a meeting with the Head and to deliver lmh for her day helping out.

About four miles total.
Rust never sleeps

Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #61 on: 09 March, 2016, 10:14:41 pm »
Yes, buy one get one free* offspring. I've thought about e-assist, but sweat is free, and I need the exercise! The solution to maintaining fitness may just have to be to use the bakfiets a bit more and the buggy a bit less.

*ha - if only...

Pancho

  • لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ
Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #62 on: 10 March, 2016, 11:50:06 am »
Back wheel definitely wrong. I think I need to get my trueing spanner out again and try and fix the bodge I obviously managed last time :( It's not wonky (ie pringley) or lumpy (ie fifty pence coin) but I think the rim is shifted left in it's entirety. I know how to fix this. In theory. Maybe a job for tomorrow. 

Bicycle Maintenance Tip: before you dismantle your bike and stared wielding spoke keys, check that the apparent misalignment isn't, in fact, due to a shifted mudguard probably knocked about by your Great Big Utility Cycling Panniers.  :thumbsup:

Everything works now.

Just need to remove bike, tools, dirt, and oily marks from the kitchen before anyone gets home  ;D

Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #63 on: 10 March, 2016, 12:20:21 pm »
Bicycle Maintenance Tip: before you dismantle your bike and stared wielding spoke keys, check that the apparent misalignment isn't, in fact, due to a shifted mudguard probably knocked about by your Great Big Utility Cycling Panniers.  :thumbsup:

Everything works now.

Just need to remove bike, tools, dirt, and oily marks from the kitchen indoor heated workshop before anyone gets home  ;D

I've corrected it for you
Duct tape is magic and should be worshipped

Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #64 on: 11 March, 2016, 04:17:10 pm »
After fitting a new pedal sensor to my Ridgeback ebike, I went for a test run on my normal on-/off-road loop of about 10 miles. The pedal assist mode now works a treat and is much more convenient than the throttle I've been using up to now. The bridlepath wasn't as muddy as I'd feared, but the canal towpath was strewn with lots of puddles after Wednesday's deluge.

The fettling was done outside in the sunshine. So warm did I get that I had to shed layers. Lovely day here in Warwick.
Haggerty F, Haggerty R, Tomkins, Noble, Carrick, Robson, Crapper, Dewhurst, Macintyre, Treadmore, Davitt.

slope

  • Inclined to distraction
    • Current pedalable joys
Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #65 on: 13 March, 2016, 05:42:56 pm »
Having willingly brought on the ignomy of letting one's final car (all the previous ones for 30 years + went the same way) go to the scrap yard in the sky - J'adore UTILITARIAN ADVENTURES on a daily basis.

Much much prefer it to all those previous years driving miles and miles, every weekend to do soft Audax (max 200k) rides with mudguards, printed route sheets and a wired speedo ;D

Today was 36 miles almost in shorts weather, for 2 cans of Spar lager.

Anything less feels shy of purposeful pleasure ;D


Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #66 on: 15 March, 2016, 12:07:55 pm »
A run to Roehampton to drop a package off. Managed to include a lap of Richmond Park. It's nice out there, and no numpties.
Rust never sleeps

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #67 on: 15 March, 2016, 09:02:00 pm »
At last I've got something to report here! I've done absolutely no utility cycling in the past month or so – shops too near, weather too wet, brain too grey – until today. Just a trip to the stupormarket (that must be, oooh, over half a mile each way) and then later on to the station to pick up a prepaid ticket. This latter journey was truly living the PoB life: I rode on a pavement (for about ten metres, to avoid the cobbles, no one walking on it) got half way there in the dusk before I realised I'd turned my front light on but not my back one, and then on the return journey I
(click to show/hide)
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.

Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #68 on: 15 March, 2016, 09:04:38 pm »
A run to Roehampton to drop a package off. Managed to include a lap of Richmond Park. It's nice out there, and no numpties.
Ooo yes. And this was preceded by a run to the dentist to accompany mini-h there.
Rust never sleeps

Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #69 on: 16 March, 2016, 09:05:33 pm »
Into Wimbledon to buy a combination lock for the MiL. Then up the hill and along Parkside to head to the schools rugby 7s at Roehampton to meet some friends. Didn't manage to sneak in a lap of Richmond Park. All motorists impeccably behaved. (Including during the 36mph blast down the hill on the A3 from the junction with Roehampton Lane down to Robin Hood Gate. Great fun. And wind assisted.)
Rust never sleeps

Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #70 on: 16 March, 2016, 09:46:48 pm »
Into Wimbledon to buy a combination lock for the MiL.

Nah, I'd get a decent shackle - she'll guess the combination eventually.

Pancho

  • لَا أَعْبُدُ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ
Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #71 on: 16 March, 2016, 10:07:05 pm »
Into Wimbledon to buy a combination lock for the MiL.

Nah, I'd get a decent shackle - she'll guess the combination eventually.

Nah. I think it's for the cellar door - just so no one accidentally lets her out.

Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #72 on: 17 March, 2016, 07:17:06 am »
:-)   That should read "Into Wimbledon to buy a combination lock for the MiL's side gate."

How I wish we had a cellar though.
Rust never sleeps

Oscar's dad

  • aka Septimus Fitzwilliam Beauregard Partridge
Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #73 on: 17 March, 2016, 08:59:40 am »
Unfortunately we had to change our big car last year, the much loved C-Max started to show it's age  :'(  Since getting the new box on wheels we haven't done any camping so haven't needed to tow the trailer but that's changing this year  :thumbsup:  In recent weeks a tow bar has been fitted but I suddenly remembered we'll need a new number plate for the trailer.  Off down to GK's went Penelope and I yesterday.  GK's is our local independent motor factors and bike shop.  They are a splendid bunch of people who don't mind you parking your bike in their shop ...



Yesterday's jaunt also included a trip to Tesco and a ride through the park where I noticed some volunteers were planting trees.  The world ain't such a bad place sometimes.

Cudzoziemiec

  • Ride adventurously and stop for a brew.
Re: Utilitarian Adventures
« Reply #74 on: 17 March, 2016, 09:02:15 am »
Does it count as utility if you're going out to chatter, eat biscuits and drink tea/coffee/beer with cycling bods, but there's no actual social riding involved?
Riding a concrete path through the nebulous and chaotic future.