Archev's adventures in the Berlingo

[OriginalBigAl]

Did you never have the bits of stiff cardboard (plastic from a washing up bottle ) sellotaped to the forks and click/clacking on the spokes ? as well as a dinger dong , mainly for " look at me " rather than pedestrian warning. Nice touch with the gloves though!
On my first motorbike ( 2 stroke AR 125 ) and on L plates we went to the 1984 TT , trying to get half way around the course just before the roads closed , my mates long gone. I cranked it into Braddon Bridge , a fast left / right ( 30 mph limit )a bit faster than the posted speed . Around a thousand people in the stands in the churchyard waiting for the races to start, a plastic sandwich bag floated through the air and got caught on the very end of the left hand bar. What a racket ! it sounded like I I'd blown the engine , certainly got the attention of the crowd , I could not get at it until after the bends as I did not want to take my hand off the grip. The next seven miles were done on closed roads with the bike near the redline ( absolute joy ) until being waved off by the police and marshals at Ballacraine. Strange how unrelated things trigger the memory.

 

[securespark]

And an even MORE padded seat to obviate the paralysed perineum problem

When I cycled Manchester to Blackpool both times I got a numb you-know-what, then pins and needles as sensation returned.

Weird!

Talking of bells, IDK what car drivers on the road are like now, but in the 70s and 80s they did not give a damn. I gave up with polite bells and fitted a super loud air horn.

It certainly gave some of them something to think about!

 

[Rolfe]

Well, Hilda is off the road until I can get her back to the bike shop, I think. I was going out to the shop this afternoon, unclipped the elastic tie I keep on the rear carrier just to hold a jacket so I could fasten the pannier on, then forgot about it. As I wheeled the bike out of the garage it wrapped itself round the rear axle. Now I can't get it off. Trip to the bike shop I think. (I took the ordinary bike to the shop, but I ain't taking that into Edinburgh tomorrow, so that might be another trip off.)

 

[Archev]

Well, Hilda is off the road until I can get her back to the bike shop, I think. I was going out to the shop this afternoon, unclipped the elastic tie I keep on the rear carrier just to hold a jacket so I could fasten the pannier on, then forgot about it. As I wheeled the bike out of the garage it wrapped itself round the rear axle. Now I can't get it off. Trip to the bike shop I think. (I took the ordinary bike to the shop, but I ain't taking that into Edinburgh tomorrow, so that might be another trip off.)

Oh no poor Hilda, it’s horrible being hobbled like that. I’ve got a Stanley knife if that helps

 

[Rolfe]

So have I, and my neighbour suggested that, but the elastic is so tightly wound I doubt if it would work. A trip to the bike shop for another gear fix seems indicated. I'm going away on Wednesday for a week, so I'll sort it out when I get back.

 

[Archev]

So have I, and my neighbour suggested that, but the elastic is so tightly wound I doubt if it would work. A trip to the bike shop for another gear fix seems indicated. I'm going away on Wednesday for a week, so I'll sort it out when I get back.

Beat you to it. I’m off on Tuesday for a few days. Might take the bikes to Bute.

 

[Rolfe]

Caliban and I and my friend Elsie are off to Brighton for a few days for a convention.

 

[Archev]

Caliban and I and my friend Elsie are off to Brighton for a few days for a convention.

I wish you safe miles. We’ll probably leave the car at Wemyss Bay and just take the bikes on the ferry to Rothesay.

 

[Archev]

I test drove a Ford Transit Connect the other day. That’s the wee transit, the Ford lookalike to my Citroen Berlingo. My daughter is still thinking about a small camper and is still vehemently opposed to EVs. She wants a diesel and isn’t keen on automatic transmissions.
What a complete pigs ear I made of trying to look intelligent driving the thing. It’s yonks since I last drove diesel and “stick” together. The car was actually fairly good ( for a Ford / diesel / manual ) but I have to say I hated the experience/ vibrations/ noise and the stink when I knelt down to have a look underneath.
Daughter might go for a look herself but again I extolled the virtues of the ev to her deaf ears.
Anyway, to my test run all that clutching, revving, gear selecting and braking - what’s all that nonsense about??
E Berlingo was truly serene after that nostalgic nightmare.
Daughter drove me in her Hyundai i30 diesel through Glasgow’s backstreets last night to park near the exhibition centre. She’s a superb driver and I marvelled at the way she effortlessly threaded through the traffic and the streets. She really would love electric if she gave it a chance.
The Tutankhamen exhibition was very interesting and quite peculiar in parts trying to cope with VR headsets etc.

 

[Rolfe]

Your daughter is weird. No offence meant!

I keep seeing that exhibition advertised, but on the other hand I have seen it all at the Cairo museum (before it was looted in about 2011) and been actually inside the actual tomb in the Valley of the Kings, so it's probably not worth it.

 

[decrep]

So have I, and my neighbour suggested that, but the elastic is so tightly wound I doubt if it would work. A trip to the bike shop for another gear fix seems indicated. I'm going away on Wednesday for a week, so I'll sort it out when I get back.

A sharp Stanley knife lubricated with water should cut through elastic. It's surprising how much easier it is to cut wet rubber than dry.

 

[Ian Key]

Your daughter is weird. No offence meant!

I keep seeing that exhibition advertised, but on the other hand I have seen it all at the Cairo museum (before it was looted in about 2011) and been actually inside the actual tomb in the Valley of the Kings, so it's probably not worth it.

I've not been to the Valley of the Kings but I did go to the Tutankhamun exhibition at the British Museum in London in 1972 with the school and I've still got the catalogue.

 

[Rolfe]

A sharp Stanley knife lubricated with water should cut through elastic. It's surprising how much easier it is to cut wet rubber than dry.

That's not going to help. Cutting the ends off the strap isn't going to help unwind the part that is tightly and inaccessibly wound round the axle.

 

[GaryMG4]

Your daughter is weird. No offence meant!

I keep seeing that exhibition advertised, but on the other hand I have seen it all at the Cairo museum (before it was looted in about 2011) and been actually inside the actual tomb in the Valley of the Kings, so it's probably not worth it.

I remember the Cairo museum being very cluttered and quite hard to appreciate things (1980/90s) and the tomb being quite plain in comparison to some of those visited in the Valley of the Kings.

 

[decrep]

inaccessibly

Yes that word is the killer!!!

 

[Archev]

Your daughter is weird. No offence meant!

I keep seeing that exhibition advertised, but on the other hand I have seen it all at the Cairo museum (before it was looted in about 2011) and been actually inside the actual tomb in the Valley of the Kings, so it's probably not worth it.

Och we’re all weird in our own sweet ways but though an electrophobe I know of no better person to be my power of attorney
What would it be like if king Tut was around these days I wonder? I’m thinking gold might be in short supply for starters.

 

[Rolfe]

Yes that word is the killer!!!

All sorted. I shoved the bike in the car this afternoon, drove to the bike shop in Innerleithen, where they said let's just have a look at it. They disassembled the rear axle (cogwheel by cogwheel), unwound the (now rather oily) elastic strap, put it all back together again, and Bob's your uncle. £20. Plus a plug for having the bike serviced in the spring.

 

[Archev]

All sorted. I shoved the bike in the car this afternoon, drove to the bike shop in Innerleithen, where they said let's just have a look at it. They disassembled the rear axle (cogwheel by cogwheel), unwound the (now rather oily) elastic strap, put it all back together again, and Bob's your uncle. £20. Plus a plug for having the bike serviced in the spring.

Everybody needs an uncle Bob to cough up for repairs I reckon