Cycling OSers

kittiwoz

My bike is pretty crummy really. It's a teen girls bike that I got from a car boot sale for £20. Adding panniers and bright LED lights more than doubled the price! However it has the advantage that it's not worth the bother of cutting the cable to nick it and since I'm very small (4'10") most people wouldn't be able to ride off on it anyway, even if they adjusted the seat up. It gets me about OK though. Saves a lot of money on tram fare and allows me to get to places the tram or bus doesn't run to. It gives me a lot of freedom since I don't have to worry about fares or timetables and can leave it pretty much anywhere.

I wasted quite a bit of money by buying cheap lights. The first front light was quite dim which I didn't like because although I cycle mainly on street lit roads I often use an unlit stretch of path that goes under the railway arches. I replaced it with a halogen light but that went through batteries at an alarming rate. I wish I'd bought the bright LED lights in the first place! They're not that much more expensive and much more economical with batteries.

krishna

Since we have a bicycle trailer (well, two actually), it doesn't really have any impact on the amount we buy. We buy both oats and brown basmati rice in 25kg sacks each (works out cheaper that way, esp for organic) and I have carried both at the same time, together with a week's worth of fruit and veg shopping.

If you want to avoid punctures my best bit of advice is to invest in a decent pump with pressure gauge and inflate your tyres to the correct pressure. I've tried all sorts of tyres that are supposed to resist punctures, etc. and while they have helped a little, the thing that has made the greatest difference is maintaining tyres at the correct pressure and keeping an eye out for glass etc.

kittiwoz

When I got my bike my uncle, who is a keen cyclist, advised me not to cycle too close to the pavement because you're more likely to encounter broken glass. You should keep your tyres pumped up hard because otherwise it will make it much harder to cycle.

These are the accesories I have for my bike: Bright light LEDs with integrated parabolic reflectors front and back, panniers, cable lock, helmet and cycle clips. The cycle clips aren't very trendy but they are reflective so they help me be seen and they mean I can wear nice trousers without worrying about getting oil on them or getting them caught up and ending up under a bus.

moggins

I bought my bike over a year ago but I'm having a hard job riding it, I can't seem to balance any more. Does anyone have any suggestions? I used to cycle everywhere when I was younger so this is getting me down a bit as I spent my last weeks wages of a christmas job on it (DH insisted I got something for myself)

Someone suggested it could be down to the fact that I lost one of my boobs 3 years ago and it's affected my centre of balance - could this be true and does it mean I will never cycle again?

[Deleted User]

I have taken up cycling but mainly for leisure as we are lucky to live surrounded by country lanes but unluckily hills are everywhere. We cycle to the farmers market and load up the rear panniers. Better gears and a lighter bike have made all the difference. I used to have to walk up many of the hills but get up by cycling now.

I only started a couple of months ago so am looking forward to losing weight and getting fitter. Honestly if I can do it so can most people, says this overweight, almost 60 year old

thriftlady_2

moggins wrote:

I bought my bike over a year ago but I'm having a hard job riding it, I can't seem to balance any more.

Love your avatar Moggins

I've only been cycling regularly for about 18 months and I also found it much harder than it used to be,wobbling all over the place.In fact I came off it(fortunately it wasn't the Pashley) and cracked my elbow, bent my specs and sat down on the pavement and cried !I'm still quite wobbly when starting off,but find once I get on the straight I'm OK. I think it is just practice and confidence.After my fall I felt like I was going to come off all the time.Don't give up,it's great fun on a lovely Spring day

Bargain_Rzl

I'm currently a wee bit phobic about bikes and haven't been on one since an accident I had 5 years ago

But getting one is part of my master plan. I've identified a part of London which is fairly central and where I should be able to afford to buy a small flat in about a year. Assuming I'll still be working in the same location, it would also give me a 15-20 minute bike commute to work which would save me having to have an all-singing-all-dancing Travelcard - I could potentially make a saving of about £90 a month (the monthly cost of an annual Zone 1-2 Travelcard) though in practice I'd still have bus fares so it wouldn't be quite that much.

I've never had a car so a bike would be an upgrade

krishna

moggins wrote:

I bought my bike over a year ago but I'm having a hard job riding it, I can't seem to balance any more. Does anyone have any suggestions? I used to cycle everywhere when I was younger so this is getting me down a bit as I spent my last weeks wages of a christmas job on it (DH insisted I got something for myself)

Someone suggested it could be down to the fact that I lost one of my boobs 3 years ago and it's affected my centre of balance - could this be true and does it mean I will never cycle again?

Just find a quiet place to practise and try to cycle every day. The really old style way of getting the balance is to lower the saddle and remove the pedals. Then you sit astride the bike and walk it. Lets you concentrate on getting your balance and not having to worry about pedalling etc. Idea has been reintroduced for young kids too; take a look at these wooden bikes for kids http://www.likeabike.co.uk/

Rest assured, with practice you will cycle again. I've seen people in India cycling with one leg. I'm sure that affects their balance a lot more than one boob.

amosworks

I'm not sure if it was a comedy program or not (I was briefly flicking through the TV) but for a few seconds I glanced upon images of somebody who had hooked up their bicycle to their in-hole washing line and was peddling to make it spin around.

Does that count? It might save your electric bill a bit more if it cuts out those nasty 1600RPM spin dries and tumble driers!

tanith

I have a lovely bike that I intend to ride a lot more when I retire soon. The one thing is I have a basket for the front but I got such funny looks when riding with it on I took it off and now have nowhere for my bits and bobs.... I have to bite the bullet and get it back on there , after all who cares what anyone thinks.... :rotfl: