Man Does Weekly Shopping Run

I promised amazing adventures of doing the shopping and i mean to deliver!

Mike and I usually do a mid week shopping run to local Market town Saffron Walden. Previously i could only pick up bits and pieces that could fit in a pannier and a basket. This always meant shopping had to be carefully packed into the panniers which was always a bit of a stacking puzzle. It also had to be done one handed while holding onto Michael.

I went on my first shop with the trailer this Tuesday. It was interesting. A quick note here. Mikes still on the seat. There's no way he's going in the trailer, he wants to sit on the bike with dad. Here's how it went:


Getting ready: Took about the same time. No mounting of panniers and basket, but had to get the trailer out of the shed On the plus side the weather looked iffy, so i just chucked jackets into the trailer. A lot less hassle than deciding on the optimum amount to carry.
Verdict: Nothing in it so far.


Getting there: Hmmm. Well the ride was fine. I was taking it easy, just to get used to the handling, (which is very good). The trouble began when i got to town. First i got to the usual traffic light queue. Instead of shooting down the right hand side until i got to the lights (no RLJing mind you!) i felt very stuck. After 5 minutes of queuing i got through the lights. Right time to park the bike..... I suddenly realised that the bit of railing outside Waitrose that i normally chain up to would be inaccessible with the trailer due to the chicane of pedestrian barriers that i'd need to negotiate. I decided to park in the Waitrose car park bike racks. Of course this is Essex, so the bike racks are out of the way, in a dark corner... Its an extra few minutes cycle round as well.. grumble grumble...
Verdict: Hmmm, mildly annoying


Locking Up: When i get there, I'm met with a kerb that might as well have been a cliff face. So i get off, push the bike through the car park, past the waitrose entrance, and back round to where i wanted to get to in the first place.....Phew! Got there now its time to lock up. Actually that went quite well. I stopped, whipped Mike off the seat , dumped him in the trailer (to restrain him), locked up bike, stuck trailer next to bike , locked up trailer, pulled out Mike and bag and off we went.....Locking up took about the same amount of time but was easier because i could leave Mike in the trailer. Verdict: Finding a bike rack: Angry letter to council! Locking up , lovely job!


Normally the journey takes 20 minutes it took 30 minutes this time. I could find a better place to lock up, but I'll still get stuck in traffic. Now it was time to sprint to the GPs (where i was now 5 minutes late for an appointment.....

Going: After a couple of hours and coffee and cake at CouCou, its time to complete the shopping and head home. This worked great, dump bits and pieces into trolley, do shopping, take trolley to bike dump into trailer. Its like a boot! Mount up off we go.
Verdict: I have a boot on wheels!

Mike dozes off on the bike and i unpack the shopping and put my feet up!

Conclusion: Mixed! I'll use it a lot , for big shops. For trips to the library and a loaf of bread i'll stick to the panniers. Real pros and cons. Parking and in-traffic handlling being the biggest. Not for rush hour! Still a good buy for £80.

Buggy Business

So i have my new buggy. I wanted to blast out some first impressions while they are fresh:

• Its easy to hitch up
• Michael doesnt want to sit in it but thinks Doggy should. Doggy is his soft toy.
• After a while you forget its there
• Its impossible to maneauvre bike and buggy once dismounted
• It has a biiiiig turning circle
• Cars cant overtake very easily (which is bad?)
• Its great just throwing stuff into it , no careful packing of the panniers
• Its a hassle to park
• It rattles which is unnerving, but not dangerous (its the buckle on the safety strap
• Its great for a sunday trip out i wouldnt fancy it in town in the rush hour

Its first trip out was a Sunny sunday out to Audley End on Apple day. I felt very 'Sunday driver', cruising around with a trailer full of picnic stuff. Mike spent all day carrying Doggy, which was sweet. We filled the trailer up with apple juice and headed home. Mike obvioulsy spent the whole day on his Bike seat. He thinks the trailer is great (it does look like a childs toy), but its clearly not for people.

Nursery Trips

I finally got the hang of picking Mike up from Nursery on the bike. The real hurdle had been manoeuvring bike and Mike up and down the stairs at my station. In the end i decided to use a parents oldest trick....looking helpless. Someone always offers to help, someone always grabs the handlebars of the bike to help me onto the train with it, someone always smiles and waves at him on the train or the bike. People are basically nice. Children give them the opportunity to express that. Isn't the world great?

Now I've been waxing lyrical about how wonderful people are , I'll move on to gloat at my proud father one-upmanship moment while picking Mike up from Nursery. The first time i picked him up, he was ever so pleased to see me and the bike (Ah bless him!). We were just getting his stuff together and his helmet on, when a second dad squeezes by in his car and picks up his toddler. CarDad looks at us and the bike with a look that says 'Oh dear is that the best you can do?'
CarDads Toddler looks at the bike all eyes wide and excited, then turns to his dad and gives him a look that clearly says 'Dad that looks fun. Why cant we do that?'.
CarDad looks at me crossly with a look that clearly says 'Damn it! That's not fair, now look what you've done!'. CarDad grabs Toddler and and shoves him in his car. We smuggly mount up and head off.......Weeeeeeeeee!

Trains and Roundabouts

My normal commute is ride to station (4.5 miles all hills), take train to Harlow Station , ride from station to work (1 short hill and 1 busy roundabout).

Since i got the Agattu, I've left it at the station and picked up a second bike at the other end. The Agattu just looked too big to fit on the train and was going to be very heavy to lift up the stairs. I'd been thinking that I'd try it when the school holidays started on a day when Mike wasn't going to nursery. As it happened when i got to the station this morning i found that I'd left my bike lock by the backdoor. Time to take the bike on the train....

Damn its heavy to lift! Eventually i found a spot to hold that worked. There's no way i could lift it with one hand while carrying Mike in the other. But i have a secret plan on how to handle that......

I got it onto the train and yep the damn thing is far too long to sit in the corner like my Dawes tourer can. However, i put the stand down, put the front brake on (with my magic hair tie, that i keep on the handlebars) and left it stretched across the carriage between the doors. In this position it was very stable, didn't move and people could get around it easily. Hurray!

So i got to Harlow and get to my busy roundabout. As i approached i saw a car turning left into the exit before mine and a blue van moving fast behind it. I slipped the gear into 5th, shot out (like a rocket!) , quickly slipped to 7th and Bam! I've cleared the danger zone of entering the roundabout. The blue van was left standing. That's the quickest start I've ever done! That'll cut minutes of my commute (it wont be any safer I'll just adjust when i can pull out at junctions :-)

The capability of these machines continue to amaze me. Why doesnt everyone have one?

This Bike is a miracle!

When i got the electric bike i wanted somthing that:

1. Would be a good baby transporter.
2. Would let me do our hilly local journeys of 4.5 miles to the station and 6 miles to either of our nearest market towns, without sweating.
3. Would let me cycle when poorly.
4. Would let me cycle when injured.

Well now my knee is playing up and i cant get to work on my Dawes Sardar or Birdy , so i'm using the Kalkhoff to get to the station. So thats point4 answered. My knee still hurts a bit by Saturday but its not getting any worse.

The thing is while taking it easy to rest my knee i'm equalling my best journey times on the Sardar! Now its very rolling hilly, so i go slow up, but on the sardar, with the drop handlbars and lycra i'm like a rocket on the downs and one long flat stretch, so i was shocked to see the Agattu match these speeds while taking it easy and wearing office clothes.

When my knees better will i get back on the Dawes?

Family Ride

The whole family went out for a small ride at the weekend. We rode to a duck pond which is 6 miles away. Its quite flat but has a couple of ups and downs. This was our first 'true' family ride (as opposed to few test runs). It was a lovely day and Mike wore his Sunglasses for the whole journey which was a first (normally he always pulls them off). Unfortunately in training for this I'd been letting him wear 'Daddys' shades. This worked only too well, now if i pick him up and I'm wearing shades he grabs them of my face. I have little baby scars on my nose!

A few notes on from my wife's perspective. It was my wife's 3rd ride since she'd had Michael and it was also her first ride on the Agattu. She's lost the 'habit' (in the drug dependency meaning of the word) of cycling.Her first challenge was what to wear (I'll refrain from the obvious comments here as a) I'm just as vain and image conscious and b) she'll hit me). When i pointed out that the bike had power, rubber pedals and a skirt guard and that she wasn't going to get sweaty and that she could wear what she liked, she instantly thought great! and went off to change. Of course she was back 5 minutes later moaning her nice summer skirt was in the wash.....

The other things she liked were:

• She instantly liked the smooth ride which was reminiscent of an old dutch style bike she used to have.
• She loved the power when we hit our first hill. I told her to wait for me at the top:-)
• She loved the way having Michael on the back had no effect on the ride.
• She liked the new basket on the front. Great for throwing stuff into

All in all a convertee. I just need her to use it more now so that she can get her own!

And the new bike does babycare as well!

I've not posted for a while as my wife and i have had stinking colds all week, caught from mini Mike. Last Tuesday , i was at home with Mike all day along with my stinking cold. This was my first time looking after him while feeling poorly. Mums of the world you have my admiration!

Anyway by the time he woke up from his post lunch sleep i was exhausted and couldn't face 4 hours of entertaining him. Bring on the bike! I took him straight out in the garden and pointed at the shed. Mike started his mini fit of excitement that he gets when he realises he's going out on the bike.

We went for a 4o minute ride to a nearby play park. Then he ran round the park screaming for half an hour. Then we picked up some food and headed back home. He fell asleep again after 20 minutes and then once i got home he stayed asleep in the bike for another 40 minutes, while i kicked back and dozed in the sun. With 3 hours killed my wife came home early and the afternoon had passed!

So the parenting moral of this tale is: When the kids are driving you to your wits end get on the bike!

The biking moral of this tale is: A good pedelec will carry you on a nice gentle ride when your too poorly to ride normally. Fantastic!

Car Free Weekend

My wife was away this weekend leaving me to mind the baby. I did what I'd normally do on a weekend.
On Saturday i popped to our local Market town (6 miles each way and hilly), picked up some shopping, had some lunch and headed home.
On Sunday i popped to our local garden centre and picked up some seedlings (2.5 miles and mildy hilly), headed home and did some gardening. Mike loves his watering can!

Prior to getting the child seat and the new bike, both of these would have been car based journeys, as it was they were really pleasant outings. We passed 'horsies' on both trips. As we cycled slowly past Mike had a good long look coupled with urgent pointing. Normally horse riders and cyclists have a slightly fragile relationship , but this time we got 'Oohs!' and 'Aahs' and 'Look at the little baby!'

In fact we get this reaction wherever i go with Michael on the bike. Utility cyclists are quite rare round my way and i don't think I've ever seen a baby on the back of a bike, so i guess we're a bit of a novelty. What fascinates me is that people smile and they have this sort of pleased look on their faces , which is clearly saying 'That's so nice to see'. Makes me wonder how many think it would be nice to do !

Kalkhoff Agattu: Second Impressions

I’ve now used the Agattu for a day out round town with Mike, a commute to work via the station and several mini trips. I now have a good idea of what it can do. This is my first big city style bike (although my wife used to have one) and my first electric bike.

Ive noticed 4 things I love about it:

1. Its so heavy and such a strong ride, that you don’t notice the weight of a child in a rear child seat. Obviously the Dutch have known this all along, while I learnt it yesterday.


2. If I get home from work and I want to take my son out for a 5 minute ride I can just get on it and go. Its got full lights and reflectors (so I don’t have to worry about visibility), Its got a chain guard (so I don’t have to tuck my trousers in my socks), Its got plain rubber pedals (so I don’t have to put on shoes that I don’t get mind getting roughed up or my ‘special’ clipless shoes), Its got a built in lock and no quick release mechanisms so if I park it at the village play park or outside the local shop, I can just clip that shut and walk away.


3. The electric motor is incredible when pulling away. Just push the pedal gently and off you shoot. In top gear! In the city with a child seat, this is just amazing! I cant wait to try a roundabout!


4. It climbs my local steep hills (again top gears best!), with very little effort from myself. In fact it climbs better than it goes on the flat! This is what i bought it for, the other three things are icing on the cake.

Any cons? Well more niggles really:

1. I wish I’d bought the step through frame to make using the child seat easier.
   
2. The inner tubes came with woods valves. For those of us born after the war, Woods valves are a very old type of valve that first appears to have been used by Stone Age man. Why they’ve been fitted to a 21^st century bike I have no idea. Annoyingly the free (Not free! I paid for this useless lump of plastic!) pump is for woods valves only as well. As I’m not a body builder I couldn’t actually pump my tyres up. They’ll be making bikes from wood next.
   
3. They should have fitted forks that completely lock out, on very smooth roads, the fork travel is wasted. That said the forks are very well behaved , you don't feel like your bouncing and the handling is superb on fast descents and braking.
   
4. The handle bar grips are incredibly comfortable, but on a hot day they felt very sweaty compared to old fashioned handlebar tape. I might sew a posh leather sleeve for them.

Overall though, 9/10 with lots to love.

Great Day Out

I had a great day out yesterday with my son. We took the new bike to Cambridge for a bit of an explore. I'll have to add some more detail on the bike and the hamax plus system at a later date.

It was a lovely sunny day, so Mike loved cycling from our house to the station, which is very rural, i could see him in my rear view mirror twisting around and pointing. He loved the trip on the train and then riding round cambridge at the other end. Citycycling is really stimulating for countryside kids, just because of the diversity of what they see. Plus Mike loves all the bikes and cambridge folks love kids in bikes.

It was my first full day out with him and the bike, so it was a learning experience. I think some of the things i learnt were:

• He loved it and we're doing it again!
• I was a bit alarmed to see him sticking his arms out all the time trying to grab or point at things. This was bit of an issue when cycling in a narrow 2 way cycle lane, but much less so on the road, where theres more space. Its something to pay attention to.
• He's happy to have his hour long sleep in the bike seat, whether its moving or still. I rode round a park with him for 10 minutes to get him to sleep and then adjourned to a riverside cafe with a good book and a coffee.
• The bike becomes the pram, which means i couldnt spend the day shopping, but if my wife had been with us as well, we'd have had plenty of space for luggage and someone to share baby carrying duties.
• Cambridge has a fantastic central bike park
• The piccies taken on the train going home. Mikes got that dazed but happy look on his face.

The new bikes here!

Hurrah! The new bikes here! Wow it weighs a tonne! Its like riding in a tank! Once you get it up to speed though it just keeps going. I cant see myself being blown around in the wind on this thing!

I took it out for a ride, while the battery was charging, its a nice steady ride, very very stable. Once the battery was charged i went straight down my local very steep hill and took the bike up it from standing. Nice....! It felt hard and i wasnt sure if the engine was doing anything but then i turned it off and almost stopped dead. I remembered this is the type of climb where your legs burn and your heart thuds, but with the engine it was more just a bit of effort.

Cant wait to get it baby...ised.

The baby bikes coming!

So you'll remember a while back that i discussed my inspiration for the perfect baby transporter.

Well this has driven me to source my own version and i've just heard the bikes arriving Monday.

The bikes a Kalkhoff Agattu Pedelec from 50cycles.

I chose this bike for a number of reasons:

• The reviewers who i trust said this was the bike that the Uk had been waiting for
  
• Its a panasonic drive thru engine, that only works when i do (so i dont get lazy), but will boost me up any hill.
  
• Its adjustable stem and saddle post mean it should fit my wife and me


• Its got a great lighting system


• I'll be one of the first in the Uk with it!


• The Kalkhoff bikes ooze quality and sturdiness, and look more agressive than their Dutch cousins.

A forum friend has just posted a piccie of it! This is breaking news in the UK pedelec scene! I have to say that it doesnt do it justice. They have a lovely paint job, Kalkhoff , that doesnt shine through in a photo.