I haz a bike!
(Well, I will have when I pick it up on Monday...)
OK, an explanation is in order, obviously.
Kai enjoys cycling, but has no one to go with. I used to enjoy riding, though I haven't actually ridden a bike for 42 years. I've idly fancied getting one for a while, but never enough to pay much for it.
Last Wed I had a Carer's Assessment visit from Carla at Carers Support services. These assessments are fairly new, and designed to help carers themselves: if accepted, the carer is eligible to a one-off payment of £300 to treat themselves to something. Themselves: you have to specify what you plan to spend it on (and keep the receipt) so they can see you spent it on yourself rather than on other people/general shopping. I am eligible - so I suggested a bike. Originally I thought electric bike, but the cheapest reasonable one is nearly two grand, far too expensive. So I thought about an ordinary bike instead, and on Wed I met Kai from uni, treated us to paninis at The Refectoire again, then we went over to Cycle Republic in Union Street to get some advice...
Getting the right bike isn't so easy for me any more. With the problems with my hips and back I can't actually raise either leg very high, so I can't cope with a high cross bar. I tried a Pendleton Women's step-through, but even that was a bit high (I find balancing on one leg very difficult since that bout of vertigo I had a couple of years back). So today I went up to Halfords, and there it was...
Easy to step through, comfortable seat, only 6 gears (I've never ridden a bike with gears so that'll be fun!) and high enough handlebars that using it won't put too much pressure on my hands (the carpal tunnel syndrome is getting worse, and my dr has now referred me for a steroid injection into my right hand - oh joy... She did, however, confirm that cycling is an excellent exercise for back pain, as, like swimming, it's weightless exercise. So that's good!) I was amused that the young assistant who served me called it a 'sit up and beg' bike - I thought that term went out of use back when I stopped riding!
Anyway - I found a helmet that matches it, and a couple of fun things at Tesco on the way back:
That is a truly horrendous 'clown' type horn. Too many people ignore bike bells these days - they won't be able to ignore that! And yes, that is a teal-coloured car freshener ('Ocean Paradise' fragrance). The thought of hanging a freshener on a bike came near to making me giggle - I couldn't resist it! And the Bumblebee is a little wind up torch.
Brief bit of clarification: there is a role player on tumblr who plays a Shattered Glass universe Prime Knock Out. Prime Knock Out is a Decepticon, of course - but in the Shattered Glass universe the roles are completely reversed, with the Decepticons being the good guys and the Autobots the bad. The good Knock Out is teal coloured instead of red - so the new bike is going to be called Knock Out (because most of my 'toys' end up with Tf names). And Bumblebee is of course one of the favourite 'Bots (not to me, but most fans like him).
A bit convoluted that, but now you know!
Will report back on how I get on later. First ride we plan is along the river cyclepath - quiet, not too long, and completely flat. Kai will need to service his bike first though.
In other news, Wendy came to visit yesterday. It was fantastic - we just sat and talked and watched the pilot ep of Dead Like Me, which Wendy had never seen, and then, continuing the Mandy Patinkin theme, Alien Nation (the original film). It was wonderfully relaxing! Many thanks, Wendy!
We've now finished watching Charlie Jade. It's slow-paced and tricky to follow, so close attention needs to be paid, and some of it is difficult to understand, but overall it's pretty amazing. The tension develops relentlessly, and there are some extremely unpleasant interludes... I've never seen anything like it and I really wish there'd been another season. Alas, much like other thought-provoking works, it was cancelled...
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was reduced at Sains, so I bought it to watch tonight!
To end - this is my prunus. Its autumn colours are glorious!
Labels: bike, films, friends, fun stuff, medical matters, visits
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Joules *Dances with Haddock* Taylor
pontificated this at 2:15 pm
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2 Comments:
An excellent idea, treating the careers and what a good choice for you. Good luck with the riding!
The autumn colours are beautiful at the minute, aren't they?
That looks fab. I hope you get chance to get out in some good weather before the winter hits.