Archev's adventures in the Berlingo

[siteguru]

For a motorised version there's the Piaggio MP3

 

[Archev]

For a motorised version there's the Piaggio MP3

View attachment 36646

Aye and I think BMW make a version of that sort of thing too. They look rather peculiar when they come towards you on corners.

 

[securespark]

Thank you, Archev!

 

[Archev]

Bandits 11:48 ish

 

[Archev]

Oops no - it’s Delta flight 291 Paris to LA.

 

[Rolfe]

I was at school when out geography teacher dragged us up Goat Fell. And sundry other large bits of geography within handy travelling distance of Glasgow.

I did the London to Brighton bike ride at least twice (once in a bathing costume and got home the colour of a lobster), and the London to Cambridge one once (and got back to Hatfield - by train - in time for choir practice).

 

[securespark]

You were very honest!

I may have missed the train and missed choir practice!

We had a very embarrassing choir competition at our boarding school... We all piled into the minibus and got driven to a hall somewhere that escapes me and we were competing against other schools in the region. I think we were in second year and we had practiced the song ad infinitum, but when the pianist started playing, we all started on the wrong (but exactly the same) note!

Consequently, the whole thing was out of kilter! Blinking disaster and we went back with our tails between our legs and the school's reputation in tatters....

The head was not best pleased at breakfast and assembly the following morning.

 

[OriginalBigAl]

At junior school my friend and I joined the choir because it was raining and the choir room was dryer than the playground. They were practicing " I'd like to teach the world to sing" like the Coke advert, for an inter schools competition at the town hall in a months time.
A month later we performed this song at said venue and being judged. Of the ten participating schools nine performed the same song , I hated it and felt even at that age sorry for the judges and family member audience. Even today that song turns my stomach.

 

[Archev]

At junior school my friend and I joined the choir because it was raining and the choir room was dryer than the playground. They were practicing " I'd like to teach the world to sing" like the Coke advert, for an inter schools competition at the town hall in a months time.
A month later we performed this song at said venue and being judged. Of the ten participating schools nine performed the same song , I hated it and felt even at that age sorry for the judges and family member audience. Even today that song turns my stomach.

I’d have been fizzin’

 

[securespark]

Groan.

Never drank Coke, but we did have Cresta.

It's frothy, man....

 

[Archev]

Groan....

Sorry.

 

[OriginalBigAl]

Groan.

Never drank Coke, but we did have Cresta.

It's frothy, man....

Does too much Cresta give you the Cresta runs? Its all downhill from here.

 

[Archev]

Groan.

Never drank Coke, but we did have Cresta.

It's frothy, man....

Well, I’ve got half a dozen outsize dust sheets. I used them in a former life replacing hot water cylinders for some of the major manufacturers. I laid out the sheets all round the cylinder cupboard and hallways, down the stairs right to the door.
So yesterday I took the best of the used ones plus one that I don’t think I ever used along to a garage forecourt near the life size Supermarine Spitfire on a stick that I photographed yesterday.
There’s one of these large size washers and driers there that I’ve used for washing my sleeping bag.
So I loaded the sheets in and set the machine to wash and sat in the car with the door open in the glorious sunshine.
Just then a lovely young lassie in T-shirt and shorts drew up and checked her car tyres with the air machine adjacent. She remarked on the beautiful weather and I agreed and said I must check my tyres too. Before I knew it she was checking them for me as the air machine was still running. I thanked her and bid her a safe journey.
I changed the sheets from the washer to the drier and wandered over for a picture of the Spitfire.
On returning to the forecourt I went to the shop and bought a bottle of apple juice to quench my thirst.

Now THAT was frothy !

 

[securespark]

How very kind of the bonny lassie!

 

[T1 Terry]

I did 5 x Sydney to the 'gong rides, first in my early '40s, the last a few yrs after the motor vehicle accident after they did the knee fix .... which turned out to be a serious mistake, it wasn't fixed and by the end of the 100km ride, the knee was so swollen I missed a full weeks work while it was packed in ice wraps.
Home The finish line has been moved back to avoid the congestion it created on the shore line roads at the Wollongong end getting to the lighthouse. It was originally 100kms, then we had another 20km ride from the finish line to home.
The Sydney to 'gong bike ride involves numerous climbs above sea level, with the total elevation gain being 559 meters for the 54km ride, and a total elevation gain of 950m for the 82km ride, according to MS Gong Ride website. The 82km route also includes a well-known climb called the "kicker", which is the first kilometer of a 5.8km climb averaging 6.4%, with a maximum gradient of 10%, according to Bicycling Australia.

All in our team road standard type road/trail bikes, no racing bikes in our group that blew out to 12 members at one stage. The afternoon/night before was a ride through Sydney, a Saturday night so the streets were full of party people moving from one venue to the next, quite a sight with 12 people ranging from me in my 50's down to a 12 yr old, even mix of blokes and Sheila's, all standing out like dog's thingy's, in our orange fluro shirts with the company name, that I works for at the time, plastered all over them Our leader and rounder upper was a Sydney local originally and knew all the push bike back allies, including riding through shopping malls after hours and taking the lift of down the escalator for the more adventurous, causing complete chaos for the security guards .... so we were knacked before we even started the ride

My knee is hurting just thinking about it

T1 Terry

 

[Rolfe]

The London to Brighton ride is about 50-55 miles. In the early stages it involves climbing the easy face of the North Downs, then descending the scarp face. As that descent is the first chance to cut loose once you're out of the city, people are often seriously injured or killed there. They put piles of hay bales at the corners but even so...

Then there's a long ride across the Weald without a lot in the way of hills. Then towards the end you have to climb the scarp face of the South Downs, which is a killer. I just got off and walked. So did a lot of people. But we were all well told to walk in single file and keep to the edge of the road so as not to obstruct people who wanted to ride up. Amazingly there were some. (It's not as bad as the Hardknott pass and I saw people cycling up that.)

Well, I was riding a bike I bought third hand in 1972, with a three-speed Sturmey Archer gear.

The London to Cambridge ride is a bit longer, maybe 60 miles, but there aren't many hills. I saw a guy doing it on a unicycle. He wasn't going very fast but he literally didn't stop. He kept overtaking us when we stopped to eat, then being overtaken again on the road.

 

[decrep]

Well, I was riding a bike I bought third hand in 1972, with a three-speed Sturmey Archer gear.

I'm still riding a bike with 3 speed Sturmey Archers gears, I bought 2nd hand in 1959. A few years ago I could get up steep hills without getting off the seat. But it doesn't go real fast.

 

[decrep]

Looked something like this when I bought it.

This is what it looks like now.

I think a Dutch couple bought it to Aus but left it behind when they returned.
It was in one of Perth's big department stores, sitting dusty in a corner. My mate was looking at the cheap flashy Australian bikes, but I recognised real quality. Cost me my life's savings at the time, best buy ever.

 

[OriginalBigAl]

A friend and myself aged around 18 decided to cycle from Bury to Blackpool then catch the train home. We departed around 10 in the morning expecting a 5 hour ride. A few hills between Bury and Bolton then the long arduous climb up Crompton Way and on to Belmont village near the Winter Hill TV transmitter. Around 11.30 ish and needing a drink , Oh look, the pubs open, the first never touched the sides , second and third more relaxed. Right, onwards , still climbing through the village and now stiffening up , another pub , Oh go on then , another couple of pints and some crisps for energy , its now 2.30 ish . We are not going to make it are we ! best call it a day ! what's that bell? last orders, Oh go on then.
3,20 kicked out and ever so wobberly, remounted for the careful ride home ???? that long hill we just rode up was now a challenging descent , challenge accepted, 10 th gear with full alcoholic boost mode engaged and zoom.
The speed limit was national lowering to 40 mph as it approached the urban areas half way down the 7 mile long drop , we did stay upright and managed to overtake a couple of cars on the way down giggling like loons. Back down Crompton Way hoping the lights would stay green along its course again staying level with the traffic flow, to the final set and the lowest point of the trip.
Then back along Bury Road its ups and downs, mainly ups finally arriving home at 5.00 , sober and knackered.
Total distance 30 odd miles , did we try again , not on your nelly.

 

[Archev]

Berlingo didn’t know what hit it yesterday when I loaded the pressure washer and doused it down then rinsed it off. Then I actually vacuumed out the inside (first time).
I’ve fitted button switches to the tailgate to enable me to open the back window or the tailgate from the inside. Of course I broke most of the blind rivet fixings and I’m having trouble locating replacements. I’m heading west with an additional flavour of north tomorrow so I’ll go back to Arnold Clarke Citroen and see if I can pick some up.