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Post by peterboat on Sept 29, 2020 18:04:28 GMT
Tony a bike with large basket and electric motor is the way forward for you
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Post by brummieboy on Sept 29, 2020 18:22:55 GMT
Tony a bike with large basket and electric motor is the way forward for you Or a pet type trailer, It'll hold more beer groceries.
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Post by Clinton Cool on Sept 29, 2020 21:52:09 GMT
Tony a bike with large basket and electric motor is the way forward for you Not fast enough to keep up with traffic and nobody hears you coming. Death trap.
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Post by JohnV on Sept 30, 2020 5:21:14 GMT
G G G Granville's bike ?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2020 5:52:23 GMT
Disagree about e-bikes being dangerous - no more so than any cycle. The key is to make yourself seen and heard. Admittedly this is not a guarantee of safety. A trailer is a very good thing but when not in use its just another big lump with nowhere to stow it, and sadly just as big a target for thieves. I would suggest front and rear panniers instead.
In any case I do believe Tony said he already has an e-bike.
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Post by Clinton Cool on Sept 30, 2020 7:22:37 GMT
My view is an electric bike would be OK for going a few miles on roads. Below 20mph. Tony has stated he was to do longer journeys on occasion. Any bike that can't do 35mph is in my opinion dangerous. I'd ride a bike anywhere in the world but only when that bike is capable of keeping up with the average speed of cars, on the roads you're travelling. You need to 'own' your section of road to be safe, you can't do this if your top speed is 10mph less than what cars average.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2020 7:33:55 GMT
And I think motorcycling is a young man's game. And since you cant have anything over 125cc AND keep it on the boat (a stupid idea in any case) you may as well get a cheap small-engined car and put up with the hassle of going back for it on ones electric bicycle. Although Stabby has adequately demonstrated the sensible nature of a moped.
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Post by Clinton Cool on Sept 30, 2020 8:01:46 GMT
Why is it a stupid idea to keep a bike on a boat, a bike capable of being relatively safe on all roads apart from motorways and fast dual carriageways?
I don't agree that biking is a young person's game. When I was young and if not stupid, at least unaware of the many potential dangers lurking on the roads, I not only lost 2 good friends to bike accidents but came very close to joining them. It's never going to be safe, riding a motor bike, but the more you ride one, the more you become aware, the safer it is.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2020 8:10:33 GMT
I didn't mind riding through all the shit and shite the average winter throws at you - when I was 20. Balls to that now though. I prefer a four-wheeled moped. Its definitely easier on the bones. And my ancient Yaris may be on its last legs but it has a very efficient heater. BTW, we all knew someone who died on two wheels.
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Post by quaysider on Sept 30, 2020 8:24:32 GMT
I think you've hit the nail on the head re. 'boating epiphanies'' - I too have now succumbed to the "sholley"... a butch black one though... not a black and white spotty thing like some favor dogless lol. It's quite a big bugger though and walking back from Morrisons Nantwich with it full of diet coke/gin/tonic etc AND a back pack nearly finished me off yesterday - still, at least NOW you can hide your shame under a mask and not get accused of being a bank robber.
MY realization that I was a full time boater was last year when I stupidly ran out of gas on the way up the calder and Hebble. I moored as close as I could get to Horbury bridge, knowing there was a go outdoors about half a mile up the road. Strapping (or so I thought) my empty gas bottle to my folding trolley thing, I set off up the road in direction of aforementioned store. When crossing the busy road, my gas bottle managed to roll OFF my trolley and under a truck... you should have seen/heard the chaotic stopping of the traffic and brakes screeching - THEY didn't know the bottle was empty and quite understandably panicked.
Suffice to say, the RETURN journey with a full bottle involved a LOT more care then mounting the kerb back on to the pavement!
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Post by Clinton Cool on Sept 30, 2020 8:38:30 GMT
I didn't mind riding through all the shit and shite the average winter throws at you - when I was 20. Balls to that now though. I prefer a four-wheeled moped. Its definitely easier on the bones. And my ancient Yaris may be on its last legs but it has a very efficient heater. BTW, we all knew someone who died on two wheels. I take your point about the cold and wet. I try to avoid riding the bike when it's wet and certainly, when it's wet and dark. Dangerous, as well as uncomfortable. I'm lucky in that I don't (generally) need to be at a certain place at a certain time so can plan my trips, which are usually only to the supermarket, around weather forecasts. It's horrible riding when it's close to zero degrees. Many times I've pulled over and put my gloved hands on the engine, just so I can feel them again. There again, it's not always cold and wet and dangerous. At most times of the year you can find a weather slot in 2 or 3 days when it's not too bad. At the end of the day it's not perfect, it's a compromise. The alternative, to cruise around and move a car after you is much worse, in my opinion. Not only do cars cost a lot more to buy, run and maintain you've got the problem of backtracking to pick the thing up. And then you need to find somewhere to park it that's legal and safe from thieves etc. Personally, considering all the positives and negatives, I wouldn't have enjoyed this lifestyle for 7 years without my motor bike, it amazes me that more people don't do it.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2020 9:16:33 GMT
I didn't mind riding through all the shit and shite the average winter throws at you - when I was 20. Balls to that now though. I prefer a four-wheeled moped. Its definitely easier on the bones. And my ancient Yaris may be on its last legs but it has a very efficient heater. BTW, we all knew someone who died on two wheels. The alternative, to cruise around and move a car after you is much worse, in my opinion. Not only do cars cost a lot more to buy, run and maintain second-hand Yaris £500 you've got the problem of backtracking to pick the thing up. electric bike And then you need to find somewhere to park it that's legal and safe from thieves There's a modicum of risk in everything
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2020 9:27:04 GMT
From my viewpoint, pushbikes are great if you have reasonable leg muscles- so that rules me out, for a while anyway.
The ebike is great if you need to nip to a village say 3-5 miles away and get a bit of shopping (i.e. beer), and it makes light work of hills- but as its already very heavy, and I must be 14 or 15 stone as well, I'm not sure I would want to add a heavy shopping load to that- the tyres already shrink with fear when I approach. So maybe ok for a bit of lighter shopping, up to say 10 miles each way distance (if your battery is in good nick).
But Ricco is correct in terms of my needs. Being moored around the Cheshire area for this winter (assuming I ever get there), means I have about a 30 mile trip to visit my mum in Liverpool, and that's just not feasible on a 15mph ebike with a range of 15 miles.
So for my particular circumstances, at least for visiting family, a motorbike looks like the best long term option. That said, I will be keeping the car until early march- so for this winter I'm covered in terms of the longer trips. The car can be a headache to manage though, I will say that.
Its currently back at Gayton marina (very cheap parking rates, I must say), and I need it for a work trip tomorrow, so I've got to get a cab into Rugby, then a train to Northampton, and then a cab out to the marina- and that's all before I start the work drive. And then when I get back from Birmingham tomorrow pm, I'll have the same cab/train/cab thing to get back to the boat.
I'm near Brinklow for a few days, and I cant see a decent place to park in the vicinity- certainly not for more than a day or two. So it has to go somewhere cheap and safe for another few weeks, until I need it again. Probably back to Northampton, unless Lime Farm marina will let me park cheaply- Rugby is more central for trains so might be my best bet.
The car has to go in March, and they are too expensive, too difficult to park securely, and too infrequently used to be worth keeping- for me personally.
A motorbike is great for visiting family if I'm permanently in one general region, e.g. travelling from Cheshire to Liverpool, but when I move on next Spring (probably down the Shroppie), the journey to Liverpool becomes too long even for a small motorbike, and its back to trains etc anyway.
So I am re-evaluating the motorbike idea at the moment, given that it might be tricky to mount safely and securely on the boat, and that it only suits my needs when I am in the Cheshire area and visiting locally. I'll probably end up with one just for the extra range and speed to visit towns say 20 miles away- but still not decided at the moment.
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Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2020 9:29:32 GMT
I think you've hit the nail on the head re. 'boating epiphanies'' - I too have now succumbed to the "sholley"... a butch black one though... not a black and white spotty thing like some favor dogless lol. It's quite a big bugger though and walking back from Morrisons Nantwich with it full of diet coke/gin/tonic etc AND a back pack nearly finished me off yesterday - still, at least NOW you can hide your shame under a mask and not get accused of being a bank robber. MY realization that I was a full time boater was last year when I stupidly ran out of gas on the way up the calder and Hebble. I moored as close as I could get to Horbury bridge, knowing there was a go outdoors about half a mile up the road. Strapping (or so I thought) my empty gas bottle to my folding trolley thing, I set off up the road in direction of aforementioned store. When crossing the busy road, my gas bottle managed to roll OFF my trolley and under a truck... you should have seen/heard the chaotic stopping of the traffic and brakes screeching - THEY didn't know the bottle was empty and quite understandably panicked. Suffice to say, the RETURN journey with a full bottle involved a LOT more care then mounting the kerb back on to the pavement! The difference between you and I quaysider ... I bought the first trolly I could find ... you selected a 'suitable' trolly I just know the trolly cost £7 and the basic taxi fare from the supermarket to Nantwich embankment is £5. Any embarrassment I may have felt rapidly disappears when I think of the fivers I'm saving. Rog
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Post by Clinton Cool on Sept 30, 2020 9:30:21 GMT
The alternative, to cruise around and move a car after you is much worse, in my opinion. Not only do cars cost a lot more to buy, run and maintain second-hand Yaris £500 you've got the problem of backtracking to pick the thing up. electric bike And then you need to find somewhere to park it that's legal and safe from thieves There's a modicum of risk in everything Do you actually live like that? I'm thinking of the spots where I often moor, few of them have anywhere nearby where I'd like to leave a car. Mind you, a bike limits mooring possibilities as well, you can sometimes go miles without there being a gap in the hedge, or all the bridges have steep steps up to roads.
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