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-   -   AG: Aunt Granny's Advice, or How to become an elderly cyclist: (http://www.cyclebanter.com/showthread.php?t=245154)

Joy Beeson April 12th 15 01:21 AM

AG: Engine insulation
 

When wool tights went out of fashion, I had to make do with sweat
pants.

Sweat pants are too long as purchased. I have learned the hard way
that it's a bad idea to shorten anything before it's been washed, and
I didn't want to wash them until after they had gotten dirty. Well,
pants that are pinned close around the ankles aren't going to draggle
or get tripped over, and I can push the excess up above my knees and
put garters just below the knees.

When pants are short enough to walk in, pinning leaves a gap that I
usually cover with gaiters; too-long pants can be brought right down
to the tops of my shoes. And that doesn't leave all that much to be
held up; if I'm not wearing multiple layers, I can dispense with the
garters.

So now all my winter cycling pants are too long to walk in.

--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://n3f.home.comcast.net/ -- Writers' Exchange
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.


Joy Beeson April 19th 15 03:02 AM

AG: Twist-ties
 

You should have a sheet of twist ties in your wallet or card case. You
never know when a little piece of wire will come in handy.

--
http://n3f.home.comcast.net/ -- Writers' Exchange
joy beeson at comcast dot net


Andrew Chaplin April 19th 15 05:01 PM

AG: Twist-ties
 
Joy Beeson wrote in
:

You should have a sheet of twist ties in your wallet or card case. You
never know when a little piece of wire will come in handy.


Twist ties are not strong enough. Nylon wire ties in your bonk bag are more
useful.
--
Andrew Chaplin
SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO
(If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.)

Joy Beeson April 26th 15 03:27 AM

AG: Riding is Communication
 

Safety on a shared roadway is achieved entirely by communication: you
tell other operators what you are going to do, and they tell you what
they are going to do.

When you are learning a new language, memorizing vocabulary and
grammar help -- but actual learning takes place only when you go out
and communicate.

There is no substitute for on-the-road experience.


--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.




Joy Beeson May 3rd 15 02:38 AM

AG: Shopping
 

I have mastered the art of folding a canvas bag neatly so that it
doesn't take up much space in my pannier.

Now I need to master the art of remembering to take it into the store
with me.

Tip: If you need to go back to your bike, leave your cart next to the
restrooms so the cart boy won't clean it out and put it away.

Leaving personal property in the cart isn't enough; he will turn it in
to lost and found.


--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.



Frank Krygowski[_4_] May 3rd 15 11:17 PM

AG: Shopping
 
On 5/2/2015 9:38 PM, Joy Beeson wrote:

I have mastered the art of folding a canvas bag neatly so that it
doesn't take up much space in my pannier.

Now I need to master the art of remembering to take it into the store
with me.


I've often thought it would make sense to just remove the two open-top
shopping panniers from my bike and carry them into the store, instead of
taking in separate shopping bags. Then I'd know to stop shopping when my
panniers were at capacity. If I needed more goods, I could replace some
less-essential items on the shelf. My handlebar bag could carry any
small overflow items.

Trouble is, my ancient Performance brand shopping panniers are a bit too
tricky to get on and off the bike's rear rack. Installing requires some
fishing about with the lower hook, which then gets cinched upwards with
a buckle and velcro. To release, the buckle must be opened, but it's
sort of hidden behind a rack strut.

So I'd say, before buying shopping panniers, it's worthwhile to be sure
they're easy to take off, and very easy to put on.


--
- Frank Krygowski

Joy Beeson May 4th 15 04:29 AM

AG: Shopping
 
On Sun, 03 May 2015 18:17:52 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

So I'd say, before buying shopping panniers, it's worthwhile to be sure
they're easy to take off, and very easy to put on.


Doesn't work as well as I thought it would. You have to let the
bag-boy pack the basket after the groceries are checked, and he
doesn't know how, and wouldn't have time to do it right if he did know
how.

But the handle was convenient when I impulsively stopped at the
Trailhouse to buy a new rack, left the bike and walked home, and
didn't want to leave the basket for them to have to keep track of.
Probably wouldn't have remembered to remove the basket if I'd meant to
go to the Trailhouse when I left.

(I didn't like the rack that came with my Trek Pure
cane/walker/pedal-powered wheelchair and finally decided to stop
putting up with it.)

--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.



Andrew Chaplin May 6th 15 01:20 PM

AG: Shopping
 
Joy Beeson wrote in
:

On Sun, 03 May 2015 18:17:52 -0400, Frank Krygowski
wrote:

So I'd say, before buying shopping panniers, it's worthwhile to be sure
they're easy to take off, and very easy to put on.


Doesn't work as well as I thought it would. You have to let the
bag-boy pack the basket after the groceries are checked, and he
doesn't know how, and wouldn't have time to do it right if he did know
how.

But the handle was convenient when I impulsively stopped at the
Trailhouse to buy a new rack, left the bike and walked home, and
didn't want to leave the basket for them to have to keep track of.
Probably wouldn't have remembered to remove the basket if I'd meant to
go to the Trailhouse when I left.

(I didn't like the rack that came with my Trek Pure
cane/walker/pedal-powered wheelchair and finally decided to stop
putting up with it.)


You still have baggers down south? I use the self check-out and pack my own
bags. If I were to go through a cashier I would invariably find myself
lining up behind old folks.
--
Andrew Chaplin
SIT MIHI GLADIUS SICUT SANCTO MARTINO
(If you're going to e-mail me, you'll have to get "yourfinger." out.)

Joy Beeson May 10th 15 04:21 AM

AG: Buying groceries
 

I've only a tad over a mile and a half to ride after buying groceries
these days, so I don't fret if a bottle of milk ends up in the other
pannier from the rest of the cold stuff. Sometimes I slide a bag into
a pannier and leave it the way the bag-boy packed it.

One of my quarter-century rides has a place where I can buy a pound of
cheese at the turn-around point. On these occasions, I insulate one
of my panniers with newspapers and plastic bags, and carry my extra
water in quart bottles filled with ice cubes. Keeps my lunch cold on
the way out, my cheese cold on the way back. And refilling one's
bottle with ice water goes a long way toward encouraging hydration: I
pour only a half-cup or so into my bottle at a time, and try to drink
it before it gets warm.

I used to live in a place where the nearest supermarket was in the
next town, and the return route averaged uphill. On a hot day, food
might have become not just warm, but rotten if I had packed as I do
now. I went to the market seldom enough that I wanted every cubic
inch for groceries; carrying ice and insulation wasn't an option.

So at every trip, I would buy a can of frozen juice, pack the cold
stuff around it, and insulate it with the shelf-stable stuff and any
spare clothing I might be carrying. At home I would put the juice in
the fridge to finish thawing, and mix it up the following day. (That
was when I learned that juice is *much* easier to reconstitute if you
thaw it first.)

In those days I had a luxury that is no longer available: paper
grocery bags were still common, and plastic bags were the same size as
the paper bags. My panniers are designed to fit a standard grocery
bag. So I'd put a paper bag into a plastic bag, line my pannier with
the combination, and put another plastic bag in so the paper wouldn't
get wet. The plastic made the package slick to slide down into the
pannier, and provided handles to pull it out again. The paper made it
stiff so groceries wouldn't stick out between the wires and lock the
package into the pannier.

This was so convenient that I didn't replace my wire panniers with my
nylon panniers for multi-day tours: I would line a pannier with paper
and plastic, line the paper with another plastic, put in stuff I
wouldn't want until later on, fold down the bag, put another plastic
bag in, pack the next layer, and so forth. When the pannier was full,
I'd drape a plastic bag over my luggage and tuck it between the
outermost bag and the wires all around. Once I was caught in rain so
heavy that I couldn't see to get off the road, but everything in my
panniers was bone dry when I unpacked at the hostel that night.

And it's loads of fun to check into a fancy hotel with grocery bags
for luggage! (They don't turn a hair, actually, just summon a bell
boy to carry the bike up the stairs.)


--
joy beeson at comcast dot net
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
http://n3f.home.comcast.net/ -- Writers' Exchange
The above message is a Usenet post.
I don't recall having given anyone permission to use it on a Web site.



Joy Beeson May 18th 15 03:25 AM

AG: Pit stops
 

In public facilities, have the paper actually in your hand before you
commit yourself to using it.

--
http://wlweather.net/PAGEJOY/
http://roughsewing.home.comcast.net/ -- needlework
http://n3f.home.comcast.net/ -- Writers' Exchange
joy beeson at comcast dot net




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