Leaving

I would like to tell you how I was packed and ready to go in almost no time and how I got a full 8 hour sleep in before getting up refreshed and leaving on time with 2 neatly packed baskets.

But that’d be lying.

I wasn’t at all ready for anything and I didn’t sleep and apart from the baskets I also had a backpack and a shopping bag for extra stuff I couldn’t fit in the baskets but didn’t want to leave behind.

But.

Against that, I did pack and change the water in the aquariums and water the balcony and kind of clear up the kitchen* and the sitting room and sweep most of the flat and attempt to open and save my tax return** ..

..and I even showered.

I left later than I wanted to and then had to go back for my helmet. (Which I embarrassingly only noticed I wasn’t wearing because I wasn’t wearing my gloves and my handlebars felt weird.***)

But.

I still got to the bus on time.

See the clock in the background? that proves I was on time 😉

Or at least: I got to the bus before they stopped letting people onto it 🙂

And I wasn’t the last one to arrive.

The lady who arrived while they were hanging my bike on the hooks thanked me for getting her the extra time she needed to be able to catch the bus 🙂

What more can you want?

Yeah.

Ok.

Sleep’s important too.

Zzzzzzzzzzz

* kind of cleared up is basically an extravagant way of saying I emptied the table by piling things closer together on the work surface..

** the tax office loves playing the we’ll-delete-everything-you-haven’t-opened-in-a-while game with me. Sometimes I win, sometimes I lose by a few days or, occasionally, minutes. This time I’m destined to lose because I couldn’t find the letter with the new secret code in it.. *sigh*

*** my gloves live in my helmet

Packing

Apparently normal people don’t wait until it’s 10 pm on the night before they leave to start packing.

It seems I am not normal people.

Also. I had started piling things up well in advance.

See! Even sorted into bags and baskets of similar things..

Not pictured: the piles/boxes of clothes, waterproof bags, food, ……… etc

And I didn’t have the baskets finished until 10pm.

Don’t tell me normal people don’t take until it’s nearly 10 pm on the night before they leave to get their baskets ready.

Hmm.

Those normal people might be onto something on the chance-of-giving-your-neighbour-a-heart-attack front.

Maybe also on the meltdow-esque ‘I’m-never-going-to-get-all-of-this-in-there!’ front..

🤔

Whatever.

That’s not how I roll.

The rest of the night passed in a blurry haze..

No way I’m showing you the unblurry version 😂

Baskets (part 4)

The coolbag inserts were the perfect shape, size and colour to go in the baskets:

Look how the rims match!
The shoelaces I’d saved were the exact right length to each go around a basket at the height needed to hook the clips in 🙂
The handle folds back as normal

Et voila!

Behold le finished basket!

Isn’t it beautiful?!

Ok, a couple of centimetres more circumference wouldn’t be awful, but I’m pretty impressed 🙂

I am incredibly grateful to my neighbour for driving me to the shop (and to work)

I guess I have to be grateful to Decathlon too, for not stocking the bags I originally wanted..

Let the packing begin!

Bottle holder, baskets and bar grips (part 5)

Bottle holder

It was almost closing time again when I got to the bike shop. I was supposed to be picking up the bottle holder adapter and maybe a bottle holder to fit to it. I’d been looking at some for sale elsewhere but hadn’t bought one because it felt somehow ungrateful since he was ordering the other parts for me to look at.

The bike shop guy met me at the open door with a grin, “I’ve found you something much better” he said, holding out a bottle holder. “The clip’s built in so it attaches directly; you said you’d need to take it off for bus journeys, so I had a look at other options. I think this is a good solution……?” He looked hopeful.

It was the kind of look that in a different situation might have persuaded me to be kinder than I felt, but here it was entirely unnecessary: if it’s possible to fall for a bottle holder, I already had. Even without the hopeful look. 🙂

The holder is made with the same principle as my (now probably redundant) phone holder and has the same kind of quick release screw my wheels have. And that means I can mount and unmount it whenever I like in seconds and without tools.

Awesome.

Especially compared to the other option. He showed me the parts he’d ordered at the weekend. It would probably have worked, but it would have felt temporary, like I’d be on the look out for something better. This feels like the ‘better’.

(I might have to follow his lead and show more initiative at work, it’s great being on the receiving end).

Baskets

I asked, on the off-chance, if he had any rain-covers in stock that might fit my baskets. He didn’t but he looked at them approvingly, “genuine Electras?” I assumed so (they have a label saying Electra ;p) and asked if they were a known make and admitted that I hadn’t heard of them a week or so ago. “Californian company. Make cruisers. Hard to come by here, not many stockists. Expensive. Good though.”

If that isn’t justification I don’t know what is.

Handlebars – part 5

On my way out I thanked the bike shop guy for being so helpful and specifically mentioned how great the handlebar grips were…

“Yup. They came in a while ago. I was going to put them on one of my own bikes..” He shrugged. “Have a great trip!”

🤭

Only feeling slightly guilty now 🙃

Later:

Perfect fit 🙂

Another parcel! – Baskets (part 2)

This should have been delivered on Monday while I was at work but they took it to the post office instead.. (apparently no one was in the building.. possible but unlikely)

Hiding..
‘You still can’t see me!’
‘Boo!’

Awww, so pretty 🙂

And they’re silver so they match the bike better..

And they’re so much more stable than the old ones 🙂

One of the screws came undone on the way and a spacer was missing, presumably fell out of the gaping hole in the box.

I think this was at least partially a packing fail rather than a pure delivery fail. The tape is all stuck to itself rather than the box.

Getting rid of the squeaks

The old baskets squeaked on the pannier rack. I have no idea if the new ones will – I have just installed anti-squeak tubing 😉

I bought a couple of metres of dark grey aquarium hose pipe and slit it lengthwise with a pair of scissors.

Then I cut it to lengths that fit on the thicker metal bars on the top and side of the rack, cutting out little half circles to make them lie flat past the thinner bars.

Later: I begged some miniature cable ties off my neighbour and tied one around each piece of tubing (not pictured). They stayed on pretty well on their own, but I don’t expect them to stand up to a month of mistreatment without attempted mutiny.

Flapjack!

Is there any better Kalorienbombe to take cycling?

Is there any better way to make flapjack than via a late night Skype call with a friend? *

Bits missing? Nah.. the tin was a funny shape officer…

* (If so,. I imagine it only involves said friend also having the following day off work ;p)

Getting a laptop case, a baking tin, a rear light and a bit lost ;p

Laptop case

This one fits perfectly 🙂 and it has a pocket. Theoretically for the cable or a mouse but I have another case for cables. This is perfect for SD cards..

Baking tin

Leftover from a barbecue party in May.

Rear light

Super bright, clip on/silicone band. I’m not entirely sure it’s road legal on the brightest setting..

Losing track of the time

What’s the best thing to do when you have so much to do, you don’t know where to start?

Catch up with a friend you haven’t seen for a while 🙂

Obviously.

🙂

The wrong lake

‘Let’s meet by water feature at the palace we walked round’ he says.. ‘Right, I’ll head to the lake we walked round” she thinks.. Oops..

Getting in ~40 km and assorted small-ad pick ups while you’re at it is a bonus (or was that the other way round?)

Either way it was a pretty solidly packed evening, even without counting the time spent getting lost..

But then, as the saying goes,

If you don’t have time for a half hour break, you should take a full hour.

And it was all worth it. Even the wrong lake was beautiful.

Saddle sor(e)ting

Once upon a time I had a great saddle.

Then the surface cracked and it lost it’s bounce and took on water when it rained.

I bought a new saddle when I got the cassette changed.

It was apparently a wonderful saddle, on several top ten lists for women’s saddles, but it wasn’t my shape. And it wasn’t slippery. In fact, it was especially non-slippery. That’s possibly a good thing for some lycra-clad internet commenters, but I don’t appreciate leaving my (non-lycra) skirt on the saddle when I stop at traffic lights as much as some drivers do..

The bike shop very kindly offered me a couple of alternatives to try instead. The first of which I’d given back after a couple of kilometres – the edge was sharp/scratchy – and would have given the third back if I’d been free at the same time as the bike shop was open. It’s not exactly uncomfortable, it’s just super long and means I can’t stand up straight (on the ground) without it poking me.

And now they’d been closed at the weekend and would be closed again on Wednesday and I wouldn’t be able to give it back before my trip.

Riding ~1,500-2000km on a test saddle seemed a little unfair, but not to be changed..

..and then I woke up later than expected and as I waited for the traffic light to change I decided that late was late and took the road to the bike shop instead of to work.

I have now paid the difference in price (to the first of the three test saddles) and own a Selle Royal something-or-other. I will know it pretty well by the time I get back. Maybe we’ll be better friends. Maybe I’ll decide to go on a new hunt.

New handlebar grips (parts 1 – 4)

Part 1

You know those things you’ve been putting off, and then need doing urgently just when it’s least convenient?

This is one such thing:

Falling apart..

They’re rubber and old and have been getting progressively stickier for quite a long time. I’ve been to bike shops and held various handlebars. I’ve looked at handlebar grips online. I’ve read articles about different shapes and sizes and materials. I’ve talked to the people I know about what they have and to people I don’t know about their experiences with horns.

I spent a lot of time thinking but zero time replacing.

And now the rubber is actually broken and I’m going on a 4 week cycling tour in less than a week…

It’s Saturday. I’ve been at work or otherwise busy during normal opening hours all week and had a list of things to talk to the bike shop about. I was comparatively prepared, considering how unprepared I actually am. And then they had the audacity to be closed. Seems I’m not the only one to go on holiday.

*sigh*

Time to look for a new bike shop.

Part 2

The search was slightly nervewracking but ultimately successful, which is the way things usually are..

The guy was great and even though I rolled in 10 minutes before closing time, he obligingly answered all my questions (I can still ride with scratched tyres, my chain was making weird noises because I threaded it the wrong way through the derailleur, saddles are weird but he doesn’t know where to get narrow woman’s saddles or short stubby-nosed man’s saddles) and sold me all the things (a spare inner tube – the last one in my size – and new(ish) handlebar grips with horns 😈) ..and he’s ordered a thing for mounting a bottle holder without drilling holes in the frame 🙂

The grips are ‘newish’ because they’d been taken off a different bike and put in a drawer of spares. They’re mostly fine, the horns are scuffed on the ends and they’re a bit grubby, but the rubber’s still good, almost new, and they were ridiculously cheap, cheaper than the cheap rubber hornless ones he had on the display and much cheaper than the leather or wooden ones I’d been considering.

The bike shop guy only pulled them out when he saw how miffed I was that he didn’t have any with horns for sale. I figured I need something asap and it can’t hurt to try these out. So here we are…

Part 3

They’re now mounted and ready to go 🙂

What a difference!

(picture taken and added later)

Part 4 – test ride(s)

Wheee!!

They took some adjusting – the horns and the grips are semi-independant, so setting them up involved multiple stops in a handful of kilometres to change all the angles – but they are so worth it.

Parked for inspection

I don’t remember reading an article about how much difference having the right handlebars make to speed, not that I’ve looked specifically, but I’m convinced they’ve added a couple of km/h.

Still got to get the hang of the horns though 🙂

New Thing (part 2 of X) neoprene case

I want to take my laptop with me. There’s something to be said for a keyboard.. I wanted to pack said laptop into something bike basket friendly, preferably also dust and waterproof. A neoprene case seemed to be a good idea.

Look what I found on the small ad site!

Awww!!

It’s too small for my laptop, but I wanted it anyway and all the cables and powerbanks fit in it 🙂

I booked a bus trip..

Bus trips sound dire.

I don’t think I’ve ever been on an official one and several people who have have told me how much they enjoyed theirs… and yet they still don’t appeal.

This is not that sort of bus trip.

This is a journey on a bus.

Flixbus offers a bus service directly from Berlin to Malmö and one from Stockholm to Berlin.

Bingo.

🙂

Wheee!!

In which I book a month of holiday at once

I’d like to say I’ve never had that much time off, but that wouldn’t be true (hallo national lockdown). Instead I will say I’ve never had that much time on a proper holiday before.

I would have liked 5 weeks but my colleague said he’d like some time off too, so I’ve adjusted my timetable a bit and will be home just in time for him to go away.

Whee!

Flixbus Corona regs

The Flixbus app says this about travelling in general:

“Please check what you need to do and then do it (or we won’t let you on our bus)”

This about the specifics of travelling on their busses:

“We want to do our job and we won’t be allowed if you mess up. Check and play by all the rules. Bring all the paperwork. Oh, and remember to wear a mask.”

And more specifically this about Sweden:

“We’d love to offer more journeys but we’re not allowed..”

Right.

Time to read the rules.

New things! (Part 1 of X) pump holder & trowel

The local supermarket/department store (household/clothes/toys/outdoors/sports) is closing down and having a massive sale with up to 80% off pretty much everything. What do you buy?

Maybe I am an adult after all.. 🤔 Not pictured: almost full-priced shampoo, small hooks for the back of doors, non-microfibre microfibre travel hand towels, the things I bought for a friend’s kid and a don’t-make-me-cook-after-having-my-brain-mashed-by-all-these-decisions frozen pizza.

Turns out that sometimes the best thing you get from a sale is the knowledge that there is a LOT of stuff you really don’t want to have (and that you already do have pretty much everything you want).

Having said that, I did get some things I needed/wanted for my trip:

A bike pump holder:

My bike pump came with a holder that needs screwing onto the bike. I don’t want to drill holes in my bike so I’ve been packing it into a bag/basket if I’ve taken it at all. This has a couple of tough rubber bands, no holes required.

..and a trowel..

Travelling trowel (actually sold as a space- saving garden trowel, but really, who has a garden but not enough space for a non-folding trowel??)

Train? … Ferry. :)

After Nachhilfe.. Talking to the kid’s mother about various things, I ask if she has any experience of travelling by train in or through the baltic countries. She didn’t personally, but..

“My husband does. He’s the best person to ask.. He’s a train expert.. Let’s ask him” <calls husband>

Kid’s Mother: “Jess wants to know the best way to get to Tallinn by train” <expectant look>

<husband looks at me>

KM: “I told her you were the best person to ask”

<husband looks at me>

KM: “she wants to take her bike.. There’s bound to be a connection, right?”

<husband looks at me>

KM: <nudges husband slightly impatiently>

Husband: Take the ferry.

***

This seems to be the best solution.