More wittering about somene else's bicycle

[ewt]

Absolutely lovely.

I was too scared to ride on the roads, because I didn't have my helmet and I hadn't ridden a proper bicycle since before my fall in September, and so on. So, I rolled the folded bicycle to the start of the footpath, rode all the way to the church, got off, walked the bicycle to Tesco, folded it, rolled it around inside looking for a tyre pump, did not find a tyre pump but got some sewing elastic for attaching things to the luggage rack, left Tesco, unfolded, walked around the corner to the Post Office, picked up a parcel, attached it to the luggage rack, walked the bicycle to the other end of the footpath, saw the "NO CYCLING" sign, walked until I was clear of all the students and figured it would be okay to cycle, cycled the rest of the way back except for the bit with the busy road, where I got off and walked again.

Thoughts:
-cycling is actually less painful for me than walking. This kindof makes sense but it surprised me, especially when going from cycling to walking.
-tension when holding onto handlebars is bad and makes my elbow hurt. It also makes the steering wonky. If I relax and don't lean on my arms, though, I'm fine.
-gosh it's quiet
-the bell is cute
-I need to put the seat higher (currently it is at what I estimate is the right height for hairyears, who is not as tall as I am)
-the parcel did not fall off, so I win at parcel-attaching
-it's a lot easier to roll along unfolded than folded (I found it easier than a 'normal' bicycle in fact); however when it is folded the rolling along can be done without any horrible bending over and so on. I wouldn't want to do it for miles but it's certainly fine for changing between trains.
-fold-up pedals really do make a difference. I heart them.
-folded, it goes up and down stairs okay... again, I wouldn't want to do it for miles, but it should be sufficient for most Tube travel.
-wow it's easy to fold and unfold!

I think if it were mine I would start cycling a few days a week. I'd start with the Thames Path, which mostly doesn't have cars on it, and gradually work my way toward Actual Roads With Cars On, and eventually toward Riding To Visit Other People, and riding to and from students on Sundays...

So. Yes. I thought I wanted one of these, now I've tried one and I still think I want it. I might try to borrow it for a week or two at some point to see if I really really still want one, but I think I'd best let hairyears have a go first ;P

I didn't test it on long grass or anything so I'm not sure how useful it is off of paved surfaces, but even if it won't do grass it would be good for foraging because it would extend my realistic range so much. Who knows, I might even have to get a trailer...

Comments

[pink-weasel.livejournal.com]

Isn't it illegal to cycle on the pavement? I thought there was a £500 fine for that? They've just revised the cycling laws in the highway code in the last few monts/while so I'd check into that. I'm fairly certain it's possible to do a safe cycling course fairly cheaply.

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

At least some of the footpath I mentioned is actually a designated cycle path.

I believe it's illegal to cycle on pedestrian pavements that are right alongside roads, but that does not mean that all footpaths are verboten for cyclists.

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

Also large parts of the Thames Path are absolutely fine for cycling.

[hairyears.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the road-test!

[chained-girl.livejournal.com]

Hello. I saw you over in J's LJ and you were making complete sense, and I like people who make complete sense so wondered if I could friend you? I didn't want to crash his LJ entry any more than I had done, hence asking here.

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

Go right ahead :)

[chained-girl.livejournal.com]

Yay :O) Done :)

tricycle

[fingerbones.livejournal.com]

It might amuse you and hairyears to look at this
http://www.diblasi.co.uk/Folding_Tricycles.asp?Prd=Tricycles&Pag=Gruppo&Lng=en
I went on a Southwark Cyclists "easy introductory" bike ride where someone was using one. I uploaded some pics to a gallery called "tricycle" temporarily.

The "electric" folding tricycle is a particularly interesting idea. Now I want an electric folding recumbent when they invent it ;)

[mstevens.livejournal.com]

Obviously have not SEEN one of the things but it sounds like would be more unmanageable on the tube than you make it sound. Plus aren't there rules about where you can take bikes, or does that not apply to the foldy ones?

If you are riding long distances won't you either need a portable shower, or students who are willing to put up with a very smelly ewt?

Cycling is very low impact, which is presumably why reduced pain?

[ewtikins.livejournal.com]

You can take foldy bikes anywhere, it's only unfolded ones that are not allowed on deep Tube lines. It's hard to say how unmanageable it would be on the Tube without trying it, but it would be more manageable than other folding bicycles I have seen, and full-size bikes that don't fold aren't allowed on most of the Tube so wouldn't be anywhere near as useful.

I probably wouldn't cycle all the way from Island Gardens to Hendon - but having the option of cycling part of the way when things are broken would be very good indeed. I don't think I'll get much sweatier cycling than I already do walking in summer when it's hot.

Yeah, low impact and the fact that I'm not bearing all my weight probably helps a lot with the lack of pain.

[mstevens.livejournal.com]

I reckon you'd get sweaty. Still, try it and see :)