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Cycling log - random events in the day of a cyclist II

mentalp said:
one legged cycling
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Your post reminded me of an old chap who used live near me when I was a boy. He had one leg amputated above the knee. He went around with an old fashioned wooden crutch. He had a strap over the bike pedal. I would see him cycling around locally. Never saw him mount his bike but it must have involved balancing with the crutch while he got organised then sticking the crutch safely on the bike as he set off.

When I think about it the best phrase in the Doric would be to call him a "hardy cheil".
 
Direct Line have been in touch again, this time regarding the damage to property aspect of my claim. In a nutshell, they've agreed to cover the full cost of the replacement bike (a Genesis Day One 10), which cost £561. All I need to do now is to accept the offer regarding personal injury when the guy who was dealing with my claim phones back and then that's that, time to move on completely.

All in all, I think £2,200 plus a chunk of change is pretty fair and I think the process has been fairly quickly handled as well considering the current Covid situation, plus the fact that insurers don't always cough up within a few months.

Anyway, that's how it's almost certainly going to be settled unless the guy says they've got a better 'oven ready' offer sitting on the sideless, as it were.
 
windhoek said:
Direct Line have been in touch again, this time regarding the damage to property aspect of my claim. In a nutshell, they've agreed to cover the full cost of the replacement bike (a Genesis Day One 10), which cost £561. All I need to do now is to accept the offer regarding personal injury when the guy who was dealing with my claim phones back and then that's that, time to move on completely.

All in all, I think £2,200 plus a chunk of change is pretty fair and I think the process has been fairly quickly handled as well considering the current Covid situation, plus the fact that insurers don't always cough up within a few months.

Anyway, that's how it's almost certainly going to be settled unless the guy says they've got a better 'oven ready' offer sitting on the sideless, as it were.
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That's a good outcome. My injury claim took 4 years and 6 months to the day. Then again I was half killed, and it was a very significant amount. The outcome that you want is for have to think that you would have preferred not to be knocked off but that as it has turned out you think it's fair and you aren't worse off. Having no significant or lasting injuries helps.
 
That's pretty good!

On a different note, I want to make a go/no go chain gauge like the Park one. Anyone know the 2 distances for the 2 sides? I generally use a steel rule but I want to make something.
 
stevec67 said:
That's pretty good!

On a different note, I want to make a go/no go chain gauge like the Park one. Anyone know the 2 distances for the 2 sides? I generally use a steel rule but I want to make something.
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Here you go, if I were going to have a bash at making one I'd just make it single sided and go with .75



 
That's great, thanks Matt. Time to fish out a bit of steel. So 120.3 is "suggest you change it nowish" and 120.6 is "yeah, it's buggered now, and probably your cassette too" is that right? The steel rule is 12 links, 12" new, 12+1/16, getting ready, +1/8" totally done. Measured centre to centre on the rivets .
 
stevec67 said:
That's great, thanks Matt. Time to fish out a bit of steel. So 120.3 is "suggest you change it nowish" and 120.6 is "yeah, it's buggered now, and probably your cassette too" is that right?
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Yep, I'd change at .75 (120.3), if it gets to 1.0 there's a good chance a new chain won't play nicely on the cassette/chainrings. You can see from the grime on it I only use the .75 side.
 
Interesting, a chain I thought was fairly done was a NG on the shorter one. Showed about 12+1/16" as far as I could see in a gloomy garage.
 
Wore my winter jacket for the first time this season. It's got bigger pockets than my jersey so I decided to take a more robust lock than my combination cafe lock. Trouble was though that whilst I remembered to take a key, I took the wrong one! Luckily there was a bike shop less than 50m away. Much amusement a top of Crystal Palace hill as we cheered on the mechanic wielding an enormous set of bolt croppers!
 
Last Sunday's ride came to an abrupt end at Notting Hill in a collision with a van. Reaching the top of the hill from Holland Park with the lights ahead turning green and road ahead apparently clear, the bus in the lane to my right apparently flashed him to go ahead and turn across the traffic. Suddenly appeared a couple of metres ahead of me, tried to brake and steer round but no time or space and went into the side of it and down. Started to get up but my back was so sore decided to lie there for a bit. Some passers by tried calling an ambulance but were told it would take a long time - so the guys in the van took me to St Mary's and then dropped my bike off at home whilst I was there. Have come off pretty lightly - dislocation and small fracture of the tip my right ring finger, grazing and bruising on my shoulder that I wasn't even aware of for a couple of hours - but it's my lower back that's the most painful - they reckon the injury there was just muscular. Sit or lie in one position too long and it's murder to get up. Lucky escape though. Finger splint is a pita though , keeps getting caught on things and can't hold a pen or spoon properly or tie laces. Did manage to cycle down to the dentist on the other bike this morning without too much trouble.
 
If you can’t spoon properly, that’s awful. ;)

Glad you’re not too bad, here’s to being
Hunky dory before Christmas.
 
mentalp said:
Last Sunday's ride came to an abrupt end at Notting Hill in a collision with a van. Reaching the top of the hill from Holland Park with the lights ahead turning green and road ahead apparently clear, the bus in the lane to my right apparently flashed him to go ahead and turn across the traffic. Suddenly appeared a couple of metres ahead of me, tried to brake and steer round but no time or space and went into the side of it and down. Started to get up but my back was so sore decided to lie there for a bit. Some passers by tried calling an ambulance but were told it would take a long time - so the guys in the van took me to St Mary's and then dropped my bike off at home whilst I was there. Have come off pretty lightly - dislocation and small fracture of the tip my right ring finger, grazing and bruising on my shoulder that I wasn't even aware of for a couple of hours - but it's my lower back that's the most painful - they reckon the injury there was just muscular. Sit or lie in one position too long and it's murder to get up. Lucky escape though. Finger splint is a pita though , keeps getting caught on things and can't hold a pen or spoon properly or tie laces. Did manage to cycle down to the dentist on the other bike this morning without too much trouble.
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Glad you're OK. Ambulance here is $1k minimum, so I'd rather they not show up unless I'm at death's door.
 
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