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The Cycling Chat Thread

This is daft though:

Carbon everything. £600-1000

Because let's make things that are going to bashed about out of non-recyclable materials.

Specialized-Hotwalk-Carbon-2023-Carbon-Balance-Bike-Red-2.jpg
 
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My nice shiny road bike is sitting gathering dust because I keep injuring myself just before a spell of decent weather when I was planning to get out 😭 was both knees separately and now my back :mad: I've only managed 200 miles on it since I built it in February.
 
Leafster said:
I came off my bike last Sunday as a result of a car. I was cycling along a narrow private road. Although it's narrow, it's wide enough for two cars can pass each other with care. I was rounding a bend which more or less turns 180° through the trees. I wasn't riding very fast - Strava reckons I was doing no more than 10mph - and was keeping close to the road edge as it's effectively a blind bend. Part way around the bend there's a car coming towards me which has cut off the apex of the bend so I didn't think there was enough space for me to carry on cycling without the risk of my handlebars catching on the car (or worse). I braked and headed for the narrow grass verge but forgot the local residents had put off-cuts of tree trunks on the verge to stop people driving on it so I braked harder to avoid them and locked up the rear wheel, lost control and came off.

I was OK but my shoulder still aches a bit from the fall. The driver did stop to ask if I was OK but, like you, I was too flustered to consider talking to him about his driving.

I've played the events over in my head a few times since then. Also, like you, I wondered if having a camera would have helped me review what happened. Was there really enough space for me to pass without risking hitting the car? Perhaps I could have kept the bike upright and negotiated the logs if I hadn't applied the brakes so hard?

But then I thought about it another way. If I'd been driving a car, he would most likely have hit it although he may have seen me sooner as the offside would have stuck out in the road more. If I'd been on a mobility scooter I couldn't have taken to the grass verge. If I'd been on a horse (there's a bridleway just off to one side of the bend) it could have spooked it. So, regardless of my inability to keep my bike upright, he should have kept closer to the kerb on his side of the road because he wouldn't have known what was round the blind bend.

I've only been back cycling two or three years after a 30 year hiatus and I'm wary of cycling on the roads as it is, so this has shaken me up a bit. I have been back out on the bike today but was even more cautious than I have been.
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If they did come on your side of the road then it’s bad driving, particularly if it’s a blind bend. Don’t let it put you off cycling but you have to make allowances for bad driving and have a good spidey sense for it.
 
a_chap said:
How big? Which one?
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Straight outta Hackney. 210k. Just going through the wide open fields with no cover. I almost bailed. Ran out of water and asked a random woman (in a village) where a shop was and she looked shocked, “We don’t have anything around here, you’d have to go to Fulsome - under - Matravers “ or something. Found a welcoming petrol station later.
 
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sleaterkinney said:
Straight outta Hackney. 210k. Just going through the wide open fields with no cover. I almost bailed. Ran out of water and asked a random woman (in a village) where a shop was and she looked shocked, “We don’t have anything around here, you’d have to go to Fulsome - under - Matravers “ or something. Found a welcoming petrol station later.
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That's not a ride I've done (much too far away) but many time I've knocked on the doors of residential properties to ask for water/bottle refills on long Audax rides. I cannot recall any time I've ever been turned away.
 
Tip; you see the metal baths cattle drink out of? They have a Tap attached, laid across the field to fill them up, it’s tap water, open the tap and fill your bottle. Don’t fill it from the bath.
 
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sleaterkinney said:
If they did come on your side of the road then it’s bad driving, particularly if it’s a blind bend. Don’t let it put you off cycling but you have to make allowances for bad driving and have a good spidey sense for it.
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It hasn't stopped me getting out on the bike but it has made me even more cautious of the potential for tricky situations. I'm also planning my routes a little more carefully to avoid risky junctions.

I got a GoPro to put on the handlebars and this is from yesterday's ride. It not in the same league as my accident but fortunately I was cycling slowly and the driver saw me.

I can't seem to upload the video clip so here's a screenshot.

GH020019(cut).jpg

I think he was going to attempt to reverse into a non-existent parking spot beyond the Audi by pulling onto the wrong side of the road on a bend.
 
Leafster said:
It hasn't stopped me getting out on the bike but it has made me even more cautious of the potential for tricky situations. I'm also planning my routes a little more carefully to avoid risky junctions.

I got a GoPro to put on the handlebars and this is from yesterday's ride. It not in the same league as my accident but fortunately I was cycling slowly and the driver saw me.

I can't seem to upload the video clip so here's a screenshot.

View attachment 391140

I think he was going to attempt to reverse into a non-existent parking spot beyond the Audi by pulling onto the wrong side of the road on a bend.
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He is very far out from the verge in that photo. Sometimes you have to be a bit Zen and let it all wash over you.
 
klang said:
My boy got a balance bike at 2 and a proper bike when he was 3 and a bit. Took him under an hour to learn. Now, 3 months later, we can go on proper little trips, 2 hours or more. We love it.
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That sounds good. Any recommendations for a balance bike for a nearly 2 year old then?
 
sleaterkinney said:
He is very far out from the verge in that photo. Sometimes you have to be a bit Zen and let it all wash over you.
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Yeah, in this instance, I wasn't too fussed about his behaviour. Both he and I had time to take evasive action but I was still annoyed that he attempted a risky manoeuvre on a bend.
 
klang said:
we had a Puky which served him well and took a lot of abuse. Dunno if there is better or worse out there tbh.

Happy to pass it on - you in London?
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did he have a trike first? I had a 3-wheeler in mind after she went on a friend's in the park. that's her only experience so far...

and that's very kind, but not to worry.
 
pbsmooth said:
OK. will overthink this for at least a few more days/weeks and then see where we are...
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I always felt that trikes are more of a toy than a mode of transport. The boy and I always loved how his balance bike expanded our ratio / ability to do stuff, like going for walks etc.
Trikes are ok for messing about in the garden or at the playground, but can be hard work for everyone involved.

But every kid is different....my boy happened to be super excited and bang into his bb. Not all kids are.
 
pbsmooth said:
That sounds good. Any recommendations for a balance bike for a nearly 2 year old then?
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Don't get a balance bike. My daughter had a Lil Lefty (as illustrated above) and used it for about 10 minutes before graduating to a proper bike with the cranks and pedals removed.

She's got this at the moment but upgraded to 6800 Ultegra and with various CF bits to get the weight down to 7kg. LOL.

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