Search found 52 matches

by CathM
15 Feb 2024, 4:00pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Island Cycling
Replies: 7
Views: 725

Re: Island Cycling

marjoribanks@gmx.com wrote: 13 Feb 2024, 10:11pm In the map of routes there is no mention of the “Five Ferries” route around the Firth of Clyde. Great day out, clockwise or anti-clockwise. As long as the ferries are running!
Great day out? Great 12-day camping holiday, you mean. There's far too much to see on the route, too many beaches, cafes, standing stones , geological features, woodland walks, lighthouses...what a shame to bat round it all in a day :D
Catherine.
by CathM
22 Dec 2023, 4:55pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Access around Thirlmere reservoir
Replies: 53
Views: 10748

Re: Access around Thirlmere reservoir

I was in a hurry to reply and failed to mention that the track to the east of the A591 is stony and steep in places, and certainly isn't a replacement for the closed road. I agree that even mentioning its existence could undermine the campaign to keep the minor road open, although someone was bound to sooner or later.
For what it's worth, on my OS map it's designated as a footpath
by CathM
22 Dec 2023, 2:50pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Access around Thirlmere reservoir
Replies: 53
Views: 10748

Re: Access around Thirlmere reservoir

Yes, I've ridden that track once, to avoid the main road. It's an enjoyable off-road track for recreational cycling if you're prepared, but hard work (for me, at least!) with a fully laden tourer. It's not a route you'd use for general travel.
by CathM
21 Dec 2023, 12:37pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Access around Thirlmere reservoir
Replies: 53
Views: 10748

Re: Access around Thirlmere reservoir

Surely it's a pedestrian then? It's got twice as many legs as we have!
by CathM
21 Dec 2023, 11:31am
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Access around Thirlmere reservoir
Replies: 53
Views: 10748

Re: Access around Thirlmere reservoir

Grufty's comment suddenly makes sense! So horse riders are permitted to use the road provided they promise not to dismount. But the letter is signed by a Mr Groom, so of course he has a vested interest in the equestrian side. :D
by CathM
11 Oct 2023, 7:50pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Best wishes for Brucey
Replies: 613
Views: 73386

Re: Best wishes for Brucey

I had to look twice at the date when I saw the post signed "Brucey". Glad to see you back, Brucey, and I hope you're well.

Catherine.
by CathM
13 Sep 2023, 12:33pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Access around Thirlmere reservoir
Replies: 53
Views: 10748

Re: Access around Thirlmere reservoir

mattheus wrote: 8 Sep 2023, 10:16am
Traction_man wrote: 2 Sep 2023, 8:33am useful inf on objection here from CyclingUK

https://www.cyclinguk.org/blog/object-p ... trict-road
REMINDER:

The deadline for objections is 15 September, so anyone thinking of objecting (or signing the petition) PLEEEEEEASE do it now :)
Just bumping this as objections have to be in by Friday. Thanks!
Catherine.
by CathM
28 Jul 2023, 6:08pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Access around Thirlmere reservoir
Replies: 53
Views: 10748

Re: Access around Thirlmere reservoir

I don't consider myself to be of a particularly nervous disposition in traffic (although neither am I so bold as to take the lane on that stretch), but I loathe the A591and the lack of an alternative road certainly puts me off cycling to Keswick.
by CathM
28 Jul 2023, 12:11pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Access around Thirlmere reservoir
Replies: 53
Views: 10748

Re: Access around Thirlmere reservoir

Please sign this! The A591 is a horrible road, and the road under threat of closure is the only alternative route. It's yet another example of planning for the convenience of drivers at the expense of cyclists and other vulnerable road users. Alpine and Scandinavian countries manage to deal with the threat of rockfall on roads; we seem unable to.

Cath
by CathM
20 Mar 2023, 8:34pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Front derailleur query
Replies: 9
Views: 693

Re: Front derailleur query

By coincidence the same thing happened last week to the Sora FD 3304 front derailleur of my summer everyday bike - the little tab which held the spring in place broke. While searching for a replacement I came across this thread from 2018:

viewtopic.php?t=125826

Brucey wrote: "Finally if the 'pip' that restrains one end of the return spring has broken off, it is usually possible to repair the mech. Just drill an angled 2mm dia hole and fit (using epoxy resin or Loctite) a short length of 14g spoke in the hole. Then hook the spring behind that. I have repaired several similar mechs in this way." There are photos on the thread from another poster who had used the method with some success.

This afternoon I tried to do the same but too much metal had broken off to leave enough to drill into, which was a pity, but I'd nothing to lose by trying. Now I'm just waiting for the FD of my winter workhorse to go the same way!
by CathM
18 Dec 2022, 4:28pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Orkney Islands
Replies: 8
Views: 901

Re: Orkney Islands

We too stayed at B&B the first night. As it happened the weather was fine, but we didn't want to risk arriving in a gale and rain so booked ahead. The B&B owner was used to late arrivals, as others have said.
by CathM
6 Nov 2022, 3:46pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: dog dazers
Replies: 31
Views: 2941

Re: dog dazers

A good squirt from a water bottle has occasionally worked for me. It just takes the dog by surprise and the owner can hardly object.

I was once bitten on the ankle by a small, unaccompanied dog in an urban street on my commute home. As luck would have it, it was right outside a manned police station (well, it was a long time ago). I stamped angrily into the station and described the dog to the officer on duty, who laughed and said, "Oh, that one - he always chases our cars!" I suggested that he might try to run it over the next time (and I consider myself a dog-lover!).
by CathM
16 Sep 2022, 10:24pm
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: British Cycling advise us not to cycle (!) Then change their mind...
Replies: 119
Views: 4406

Re: 19th September

Jamesh wrote: 16 Sep 2022, 8:00pm
iandusud wrote: 16 Sep 2022, 5:34pm
Pebble wrote: 16 Sep 2022, 7:42am The RAC, AA and Piston Heads are going to ask their members not to drive their cars on that day as a show of respect.
Where did you get that info from? I can see nothing to that effect on either the AA or RAC websites.
Think he meant it tongue in cheek!
I'm kicking myself for not having seen the joke, but maybe it's a reflection of how mad things have become that I took it at face value.
by CathM
16 Sep 2022, 9:11am
Forum: The Tea Shop
Topic: British Cycling advise us not to cycle (!) Then change their mind...
Replies: 119
Views: 4406

Re: 19th September

Pebble wrote: 16 Sep 2022, 7:42am The RAC, AA and Piston Heads are going to ask their members not to drive their cars on that day as a show of respect.
Then I'll definitely be out on my bike!
by CathM
14 Sep 2022, 3:54pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Photos of your cargo bike
Replies: 13
Views: 1943

Re: Photos of your cargo bike

First of all, this is not “my” cargo bike, but I thought members might be interested in a project which is taking place for a month in Kendal:

https://slacc.org.uk/projects/woolly-sa ... ke-project

The aim is to use the e-cargo bike to collect supermarket donations for “Waste into Wellbeing”, a local social project, which would otherwise be picked up by car, and also to raise awareness among local businesses and organisations of the possibilities of cargo bikes as an alternative to motor vehicles for short deliveries.

The e-bike is on loan for the month from Raleigh, and I’m one of 12 volunteers who have been through a Bikeability 3 course on it (run by Phil Wade of Breaking Cycles CIC who was excellent); not having done a cycling proficiency course as a child it’s nice to have proof that I can ride a bike!

The bike takes a bit of getting used to, and as it’s the only cargo bike I’ve ridden I’ve nothing to compare it to, but once it gets going it’s huge fun to ride and it certainly turns heads in the town. I know that these bikes are commonplace in some cities abroad, and are becoming more familiar in UK cities, but it’s still something of a novelty in Kendal. I recently took it on a one-way delivery trip to an organisation which is trying it out it for a few days, and my Brompton fitted neatly into the cargo box, with plenty of room to spare, for the return trip. Very satisfying! I don’t need a bike like this as I use a trailer for load-carrying but I can see how useful it could be to many people.

Cath.