Month: May 2015

Accident

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So, from day one I have been skeptical of riding a bicycle or motorcycle in London. Mostly because of the taxi drivers who drive like they are alone on the roads (just like in any other city). On that Sunday afternoon I was about to turn left on Regent Street just before Piccadilly a hundred meters short of my destination (MPC). With the left blinker on, at only a few mp/h I was lining up to turn left. Slowly rolling up towards the turn after the green light I got hit by a taxi driver from behind causing me to drop the bike.

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Luckily neither of us was hurt.

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He hit me at my right pannier. The impact force tilted it 45 degrees against the mounting position. I didn’t think that was even possible. It must have been quite a force but the good thing is that I didn’t feel much of the bump because of this buffer effect. Having panniers probably the closest thing you can get on a bike to haven some sort of crumple zone or bumper. Not only do they protect the rider but also the bike from more expensive damage.

I was coming from where the bus is with the cab driver right behind me kind of like in the picture below with the cyclist and the cab behind her.

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The taxi driver claimed it was my fault for dropping the bike after him hitting me. I thought he was joking. He tried to convince me not to report it to my insurance because I would be held responsible for dropping the bike anyway – as a result of his mistake crashing into me.. He hadn’t thought this through despite trying to tell me the same thing fifteen times. Besides the broken right pannier and mount the left side of the bike is all scratched up. But luckily after contacting his insurance the next day they very quickly got back to me saying that they will pay for the repairs thus accepting the cab drivers obvious fault.

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Looks like this was not the first time he had hit something either.

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I also reported the accident to the police the next day (which I found out you have to do within 24 hours anyway). Interestingly my insurance and his insurance both offered me a hire bike free of charge for the time my bike will be at the mechanic. Initially my insurance wanted to pick up the bike and bring it to Birmingham for repairs since they have their headquarters there and their own mechanic. But they agreed to let me bring it to BMW in London to get it fixed which makes it a lot easier for me to keep track of things. After getting an estimate of the repair costs I’ll send them to the cab drivers insurance I hope everything will be sorted out quickly so I can still do my Spain trip.

All in all there wasn’t anything I could have done differently to prevent the crash which is a bit comforting at least. Most people I know who ride bikes/motorcycles in London all have had either a few close calls already or accidents so I guess I can only hope for the best in the future – and maybe try and avoid cabs as best as possible.

Gear Test – Vango Nemesis 200

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After getting the sprockets of the bike changed by the dealer and getting the bike checked over I felt safe riding the bike again. Apparently the clicking sound is normal according to the dealer. I will just have to take his word.

Finally I also had all the essential camping gear that I need for my future trips read so I wanted to give it a first test right away.

I rode to a little campsite close to London to stay one night.

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My tent is the Vango Nemesis 200 two persons tent. I am very happy with it. The best things about this tent are that you can put it up with the inner and outer layer simultaniously so you don’t get the inner layer wet in bad weather. Also since it is a geodesic design it stands on its own without any ropes. You can just pick it up as a whole and carry it somewhere else. Of course it can also be tied to the ground. It packs down to 40cm x 20cm and weighs close to 4kg. The hydrostatic head is 5000mm which should be perfectly fine for bad rainy, stormy UK weather.

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It’s got a lot of sotorrage room on both sides. Both of those seperated storage compartments can be folded away and have two openings each. Very handy.

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For somebody my size it is just big enough (6’3). My head and feet just about touch the edges. For two people of the same height I’d recommend the bigger (300/ three person tent) version of the tent.

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For my purposes I am very happy with the tent. It is exactly what I was looking for.

Breacon Beacons 2 – Engine Trouble

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The next morning after breakfast I packed my things, and got ready to continue my journey. But when I started the engine I noticed a strange clicking sound just like the sound that you hear on a bicycle with different gears idling when the pedals are not moved. So I stopped at the next parking lot to look for the source of the troubling sound.

 

 

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The front sprocket cover was filled with chain oil residue. A sign for bad lubricant being used (applied by the dealer).

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I tried to clean it as best as I could but nothing would stop that strange rattling sound. (A plastic bag is a pretty decent substitution for a working glove to keep your hands clean so you don’t get your biking gloves all oily on the inside if you don’t have the chance to wash your hands right after the work.)

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After two hours of fiddling around with the chain it became more clear that the sound had to be coming from the chain or the sprockets and not from inside the engine. That was a big relief. Still I wanted to find a mechanic shop to get an expert opinion to know whether it would be safe to continue the journey or not. Google said there was a shop half an hour from my location but when I got there I discovered that it was closed which was not a big surprise because it was Sunday. From there I decided it was best to end the trip here and try to get back home without adding to the damage on the bike.

This was disappointing but I am actually glad this happened because I learned a few valuable lessens:

I need to carry more tools with me. I should have the possibility to take off the chain and sprockets, to inspect inspect them, clean them or swap them. I should have the tools to adjust the chain tension and I should lubricate the chain regularly and carry the lubricant with me on bigger trips. Also I will add disposable plastic gloves to my tool kit.

 

Breacon Beacons, South Wales

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After visiting the North of Wales the South was next. Breacon Beacons is a National Park with great hiking trails and great scenery. I didn’t have the time to go hiking since this was just another weekend trip but I was hoping to experience the scenery on the bike as well.

 

The first day was pretty much just spent getting there since I left pretty late on Saturday.

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Snowdonia 5 – Holy Island

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After reaching the western outskirts of Snowdonia I decided to also check out this little island even farther north called Hollyhead.

 

The villages I passed through on the island all seemed deserted except for a little spot in on village where some jet-skies took off.

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It looked so calm, quiet and relaxed. It really seemed like time was standing still.

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Hollyhead was my last destination on this trip. I spent an hour on a little beach and afterwards went straight back to London. I wish I had had more time to stop at Liverpool and Manchester which were right beside my route but that will be another trip.