Provision for emergencies

"Mark" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My long & arduous trek into work is enjoyable but lurking at the back of my mind is the question
"What are you going to do if something goes wrong?" Punctures I can fix, but anything more serious
than that means I end up without a paddle within a certain creek. I don't have anyone I can ring
up to plead to come & pick me up, for example.

Just wondered how other people cater for such emergencies. Is there anything else I can do?

Carry enough money with you to get a taxi, then find a good mini cab firm with a people carrier that
will carry bikes free of charge. That was my solution when I was cycling in Wales away from family
and friends who lived in London.

Gadget

Mark said:

My long & arduous trek into work is enjoyable but lurking at the back of my mind is the question
"What are you going to do if something goes wrong?" Punctures I can fix, but anything more serious
than that means I end up without a paddle within a certain creek. I don't have anyone I can ring
up to plead to come & pick me up, for example.

Just wondered how other people cater for such emergencies. Is there anything else I can do?

You could consider joining the ETA, they offer a bicycle recovery scheme. Unfortunately, they don't
send out Michael Palin to repair your bike in situ but they will get you to the nearest bike repair
shop---though I expect there's some small print involved.

Colin

"Mark" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My long & arduous trek into work is enjoyable but lurking at the back of my mind is the question
"What are you going to do if something goes wrong?" Punctures I can fix, but anything more serious
than that means I end up without a paddle within a certain creek. I don't have anyone I can ring
up to plead to come & pick me up, for example.

Just wondered how other people cater for such emergencies. Is there anything else I can do?

Anything more serious happens rarely. In the last 10 years I've had 3 'incidents' that stopped me.
(A chain broke, a rear axel broke and the chain wheels fell apart).

1 was within 3 miles of home so I walked, 2 required a friendly local to store the bike in his
garden while I taxied home, showered and drove back to get the bike and 3 resulted in some bodging
and a very gentle last 20 miles.

Unless you are cycling across Siberia or up the Orinoco there is always a solution 🙂

T

"Gadget" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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Quoted message said:

Carry enough money with you to get a taxi, then find a good mini cab firm with a people carrier
that will carry bikes free of charge....

Wouldn't a bike easily fit in a standard car with both wheels removed?

"Mark" wrote ...

Quoted message said:

My long & arduous trek into work is enjoyable but lurking at the back of my mind is the question
"What are you going to do if something goes wrong?" Punctures I can fix, but anything more serious
than that means I end up without a paddle within a certain creek. I don't have anyone I can ring
up to plead to come & pick me up, for example.

Just wondered how other people cater for such emergencies. Is there anything else I can do?

Ta

Mark

The bus system where I live will transport bicycles during the summer months- is this an option for
you? I've got a few tools that I carry (chain tool, spare power link), and I try to keep the bike in
good repair so that it won't break at too inopportune a moment. I also carry a cell phone so that I
could, if necessary, call a taxi for a ride home or to work, or let my employer know that I will be
a few minutes (hours?) late.

--
mark

Quoted message said:

The bus system where I live will transport bicycles during the summer months- is this an option
for you?

Thanks for the thought, but there *isn't* a bus system where I am. Hence the ride.

Mark

In "]news:[email hidden], Mark
<[email hidden]> typed:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

The bus system where I live will transport bicycles during the summer months- is this an option
for you?

Thanks for the thought, but there *isn't* a bus system where I am. Hence the ride.

Black cabs take bikes reasonably happily. But then again, they only operate where there's a bus
service, don't they.

Mark said:

My long & arduous trek into work is enjoyable but lurking at the back of my mind is the question
"What are you going to do if something goes wrong?" Punctures I can fix, but anything more serious
than that means I end up without a paddle within a certain creek. I don't have anyone I can ring
up to plead to come & pick me up, for example.

Just wondered how other people cater for such emergencies. Is there anything else I can do?

Keep bike in tip top condition, practice some maintenance, carry some tools and you'll most likely
be able to proceed somehow.

If anything _really_ serious happens, you'll get a free taxi service. Look out for the large white
vehicles with flashing blue lights.

~PB

Quoted message said:

Wouldn't a bike easily fit in a standard car with both wheels removed?

Usually yes, but most cabbies don't like having to put back seat down or resting the forks on the
backseat. Plus I didn't see many black cabs up in wales

Gadget

Mark said:

My long & arduous trek into work is enjoyable but lurking at the back of my mind is the question
"What are you going to do if something goes wrong?" Punctures I can fix, but anything more serious
than that means I end up without a paddle within a certain creek. I don't have anyone I can ring up
to plead to come & pick me up, for example.

Carry a multitool; allen keys or spanners for everything on the bike, chaintool, tyre boot,
something you can adjust spokes with. If you ride at night, have two _entirely independent_ lighting
systems front and rear, and carry spare batteries or bulbs as appropriate.

Know where the railway stations closest to your route are.

You may have to limp in once a year, but everyone's commute goes wrong once a year...
--
David Damerell <[email hidden]> Kill the tomato!

I joined the ETA scheme via the CTC.Have not used them but there doesn,t seem to be any ' small
print ' except that they don't cover punctures.Who exactly comes out or how long you would have to
wait I don't know but just knowing someone was on their way would do for me.

Sam Salt

"Mark" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

My long & arduous trek into work is enjoyable but lurking at the back of my mind is the question
"What are you going to do if something goes wrong?" Punctures I can fix, but anything more serious
than that means I end up without a paddle within a certain creek. I don't have anyone I can ring
up to plead to come & pick me up, for example.

Just wondered how other people cater for such emergencies. Is there anything else I can do?

Ta

Mark

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David Damerell said:

You may have to limp in once a year, but everyone's commute goes wrong once a year...

I've been lucky so far then. I've only limped home once and that was a puncture I decided a half
mile walk home, a beer and then fix it. was preferable to changing the tube at the roadside

Regards,

Tim.

--
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t," and there was light.

tjw.hn.orgtjw.hn.orgOpen ↗ locofungus.btinternet.co.uklocofungus.btinternet.co.ukOpen ↗

Colin Blackburn said:

Mark wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Just wondered how other people cater for such emergencies. Is there anything else I can do?

You could consider joining the ETA, they offer a bicycle recovery scheme. Unfortunately, they
don't send out Michael Palin to repair your bike in situ but they will get you to the nearest bike
repair shop---though I expect there's some small print involved.

You have to be more than 5 miles from home when you break down IIRC. But if there's no repair
facilities available (e.g. it's Sunday and everywhere's shut) they'll take you home. At least
they did with Rob when his lights failed on the last leg of his ride from London to Taunton a few
years back.

--
Carol Hague "The bicycle is the product of pure reason applied to motion."
- Angela Carter, "The Lady of the House of Love"