Page 1 of 5 123 ... LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 46

Thread: Bicycling....

  1. #1
    Senior Member bae's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Offshore
    Posts
    11,469

    Bicycling....

    I just got back from 3 weeks in the UK, in London and Cambridge.

    I bicycled everywhere. I did not bother with a car.

    In particular, I rented a Brompton folding bicycle. It folds in thirds, and fits in the overhead on most buses and trains and subways in the UK, and presumably Europe. It also fits in the overhead of larger airplanes, though not small regional jets.

    https://us.brompton.com/

    I stopped by the manufacturer in London - it's all old guys brazing up bicycles like they did 100 years ago.

    Anyways, this made the UK very very fun and explorable. I spent several weeks in Cambridge, and was easily able to head to St. Ives and Ely from there. Riding in the city was faster than Uber/cabs, or driving myself, and vastly better than walking.

    I liked the insane stupid clown bike so much that I brought one home with me. It has been doing fine here on my much much hill-ridden island, though I have ordered a new crank sprocket with a -12% gearing for our mountain. I managed to complete (in last place) our weekly community bike ride, which is not an easy course, on the clown bike.

    I'm 56 with bad knees and ankles.

    Anyways, the ability to have a bike small and light enough you can just carry it into a coffee shop, museum, or train is sort of revolutionary. I used it for a day in Seattle upon my return, and except for some of the insane Seattle hills, it was very freeing.

    I have now taken several trips in my small 16-foot Boston Whaler with the Brompton tucked inside a small Ikea bag, to visit nearby islands and the mainland, and it is kind of life-changing for my particular circumstances.

  2. #2
    Senior Member catherine's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Vermont
    Posts
    14,613
    That is so cool! Does it ride as well as a regular bike? I'm assuming it does, but with the smaller wheel circumference, I'm curious as to how. I have a bike here, but it's a traditional one, and it takes up a lot of precious shed space to store--it feels like a foldable bike could sit unobtrusively in my mudroom.
    "Do any human beings ever realize life while they live it--every, every minute?" Emily Webb, Our Town
    www.silententry.wordpress.com

  3. #3
    Senior Member iris lilies's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Always logged in
    Posts
    25,331
    That was a great adventure. The folding bike—interesting.

  4. #4
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Jun 2015
    Posts
    2,843
    Gosh, I kinda wanna come visit for a few weeks and island hop with you.

  5. #5
    Senior Member JaneV2.0's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Posts
    15,489
    I read a book years and years ago about a British (?) woman who brought a foldable or some other kind of little portable bike to the USA with the plan of riding across the country. She succeeded, though as I recall, she did hitch a ride across some particularly difficult mountain range. Your new bike sounds like an excellent new addition--I'm a little envious.

  6. #6
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Price County, WI
    Posts
    1,789
    Awesome! Reminds me that back in the 1980s I was lent a bicycle in the Netherlands, and I visited the Openluchtmuseum and other points of interest in the Arnhem vicinity.

  7. #7
    Senior Member razz's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Ontario, Canada
    Posts
    8,169
    Sounds wonderful! It is striking me so much more that there is so much wonderful stuff happening. The old as this foldable bike and the new items being developed. My DGS was telling me about his "Launch Pad" in which he can create music with an item like an Ipad and loop the music building amazing sounds still using the old notes with its sharps and flats. These are the joys of life that we lose sight of, don't acknowledge or even look for when we watch daily news which focuses on drama and tragedy. There is an enormouse amount of good going on daily.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

  8. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2012
    Posts
    533
    I'd like to bike where I live, but I'm frankly terrified. Too much traffic, and roads that were in no way designed to accommodate both cars and bikes.

    I don't think this is an idle fear, either. A friend who works in healthcare says he was speaking to an ER doc recently who stopped cycling because of all the people the paramedics brought in whom they'd scraped off the pavement.

    A co-worker has one of those folding bikes that he rides into the office from the train station. He loves it.

  9. #9
    Senior Member KayLR's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    SW Washington State
    Posts
    2,756
    That is way cool! Good for you!
    My therapist told me the way to achieve true inner peace is to finish what I start. So far today, I have finished two bags of M&Ms and a chocolate cake. I feel better already!

  10. #10
    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
    Join Date
    Dec 2013
    Location
    Nevada
    Posts
    12,889
    OH, when I rode bikes I only did it on trails. People in cars don’t pay attention and I found it to scary to ride on roads. Sounds like a great trip Bae!

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •