Test Ride

September 5, 2022

Heart

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Well the bikes certainly look like they are ready to go somewhere far away, but the look and feel of them still feels strange, after so much recent riding with larger bikes with fewer bags. We feel like we are back in 2012, though I guess that is not so bad.

Our first sortie with the fully loaded bikes is just our customary spin down the road and back. It does have a few small hills, and we can feel that with the low gears still installed on the bikes, we should be able to go up anything. Another possible benefit of the low gears is that should the assist fail, or batteries run out, we have a chance of carrying on to find a repair or a charge. With the larger bikes and their limited gearing, if the assist dies you are kind of stuck.

Normally we ignore any possible tourist attractions in our own area. This very much includes vineyards, since we are not drinkers. But here on a trial touring run, it seems appropriate to note that we are in a wine region.

Turkeys are often seen along our usual route. We are not sure if they are genuine wild turkeys or just residents of a nearby farm out for a stroll. In any event, they need to watch out with Thanksgiving approaching!

After riding the 16 km out and back, our conclusions are that for no real reason, we do not feel as safe on the little bikes as on the big ones. This is purely a self delusion, because the 5000 pound SUVs that you might be jockeying with on the road care as little for a 60 pound two wheeled vehicle with 26" wheels as for the same thing, with 20" wheels. And if they hit you, the results are exactly the same.

But we also are aware of wobbles that begin to be felt at speeds of about 25kph and beyond, and this may be related to wheel size. We only go this fast down hills, so we will have to keep that limit in mind in hilly territory.

Finally, we did some riding on the left side of the road, and of course felt totally disoriented. After a while in England we will become accustomed to it. In normal riding in Canada, Dodie up ahead tends to keep a bit left and I keep a bit right. This helps Dodie see around me with her mirror. This configuration of course tends to put Dodie out in traffic more, and me cowering in the ditch more. In England, this will be reversed, and each of us will have to adjust.

After arriving back home, I tried to pull out from the bikes the computer and accessories needed for writing this page and loading the photos. But things in the bags are juggled, in preparation for soon going on the plane. My failure to find the gear (after looking in all the old places) was undoubtedly due to the necessary rearrangement, but it is certainly true that with about thirteen total bags on the bikes (and many bags within the bags), the packing will take a bit to get used to.

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Scott AndersonSomething for you and two to think about: for me, the greatest risk riding over here wasn’t finding myself biking on the wrong side of the road, though that did happen a few times. It’s forgetting which direction to look for traffic when crossing a street or highway. It’s hard to break your lifelong instinct to look left first when you cross the street, while the nearest traffic is racing at you from the right. You might practice calling out to remind each other which direction to look first when crossing a busy street.
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2 years ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Thanks Scott. Valid point, duly noted. The other problem might be in using the mirrors to check for overtaking traffic. Our brains are wired to interpret signals coming from the right (being North American) and this also might take a bit of getting used to. Also, turning left is easy but right turns are now the issue-maybe until comfort levels increase we might walk across when it is time to turn right. It will be interesting for sure.
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2 years ago

Kathleen ClassenScott has an excellent point. In Australia and New Zealand, walking, biking or driving we routinely call to each other ‘look right’. What we found really interesting is that after several months of being on the other side of the road, it took a few days for us to adjust back when we got home!
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2 years ago

Steve Miller/GrampiesTo Kathleen ClassenLeaving after biking to the ferry and airport on the right, biking in England for 5 or so weeks on the left and then crossing to France for another 6 or so weeks on the right should have us thoroughly confused.
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2 years ago