|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Provence Tour: Technical Glitches but Proof of Concept
Back since Friday from touring Provence on my recumbent trike, Widdershins.
Here's a non-exhaustive performance account. I was able to prove that Widdershins, folded, bound and wrapped up in a slipcover, can travel perfectly happily on French TGV lines and is within regulations. Despite the fact that I was occupying a prodigious amount of space, no one even commented. Many kind people offered to help me with the luggage, and even the staff seemed perfectly at ease with this cargo. The only recommendation is that Widders must always travel First Class, where there is much more space. Luckily I had taken that into account. Widdershins also surprised me with his outstanding performances in traffic, both on large roads (against my wishes, I ended up on the Nationale 7 between Caumont and Avignon), and within towns. I bought him as a touring bike, I return with a suspicion that he aspires to be a city-bike. These are areas where Flyzipper fails me altogether. Widders is impeccably polite at traffic lights, stopping and restarting on command. He waits his turn to enter roundabouts, permits me to signal, and then gets quickly out of the way of faster traffic. He can even inch his way at 20 metres per hour through pedestrian quarters, respectful and patient behind old ladies with their walking cages, who do not even notice there's a metallic orange monster arachnid just behind them. However, I'm not really finding him comfortable over distances, and here we have some glitches to work out. The worst was the excruciatng pain caused by the SPD pedals and clip-in shoes. This was torture after the first few kilometers. A long discussion in the cycling newsgroups helped somewhat, as I was able to adjust the position of the clip to hurt less, but these still are not comfort shoes by a long way. The SPD shoes also meant that I couldn't really walk anywhere. I feel the road much more than on an upright bike. I especially hate the configuration of a cambered road, cycling lane on one side, and ditch just next to the lane. All my effort goes into keeping out of the ditch, and however flat, such roads are always uphill. The wireless bike computer (Sigma BC2006 - piece of ****e) also conked out after the first 6km. It was new, an essential navigation tool, and this was infuriating. On the upside, I discovered what it would have helped to know from the beginning - no need for a wireless, it is perfectly possible to position a wired model on the mudguard mount. So Widders now has a bog standard Sigma 1600, just like my other bikes, courtesy of a very nice bike shop in Vaison la Romaine. Travelling with Widdershins is a bitch. I have to allow about an hour and a half for the dismantling or reassembly - a VERY far cry from the 90 seconds folding time advertized on the Web site! "Quick release levers" is a joke. The central lever, that permits the bike to fold or holds it rigid, works or not, entirely on its own terms, and in its own time. You might get lucky and compact the bike in half an hour - or you could be there, struggling in a pool of sweat, until the train has left. The wheels too, are very tricky to remove and replace, and every time they have been out of the bike they get "voilées" - I don't know the English expression - it means that they stick in the brakes and do not turn fluidly. On the way into Vaison, the left wheel was so stuck that the trike was drawing to a halt on downhill runs! When he delivered the trike, my Darth told me that this is because the brakes must absolutely not be touched, or the levers activated, when the wheels are not in their axels. All very well, but it is pretty much impossible to edge them in or out without touching the brakes, and you have no control over what happens to the levers when the covered bike is being squeezed into a train compartment or a taxi. The manual says that the brakes should be blocked with the clips used in delivery - but I was given no such clips. I tried bits of cardboard on the way back but they didn't stay in. This is a big glitch to sort out because I cannot go to the Darth to get the brakes readjusted every single time the bike has been folded. Trike apart, the trip had its ups and downs. The base hotel in Avignon was so far out of town that once you were there, you were its prisoner. It had a restaurant, but this was pretentious and exorbitantly priced, with portions so small as to be insulting. On the day of arrival I hadn't eaten all day. The entrée was four little steamed asparagus tips and four prawns with a dollop of pesto in the middle; the main course arrived with an enormous papillote which proved, on unwrapping, to contain about 3 tablespoons of overcooked fish. Plus despite systematically starting at 7:30 they never could get me served in time for the weather report at 8:45. Never has so little food taken so long to serve. In compensation, this hotel had a lovely pool. But no sooner in, than I destroyed my beloved Timex Ironman watch, which was supposed to be waterproof and wasn't at all. So first day in Avignon was all about getting a replacement watch and a real lunch. After a day of trekking papal cobblestones in 30° heat, I still had the 6km walk back (not confident enough yet to use Widders), and very sore feet. It forced the realization that the most precious things in life are cool water and shade. Another big annoyance was that the maps and routes provided by the tour company were impossible to follow. As usual, 50% of my time on the road was spent being lost. The first day, I made a concerted effort to follow the instuctions, which took on little paths through fields. There was an ambiguous or outright wrong turning every km or so. This was so in the middle of nowhere, that I could have disappeared from the earth and they'd only find the body three years later. The worst was a gravel path that was completely blocked with enormous puddles, about 15 inches deep. Widders, all 25 kg of him, had to be _carried_ through the brush, and this for over a kilometer. Moreover, although I had a GPS, it was useless because the stupid thing (TomTom, not recommended) only knows about routes for cars. After that, I stuck to Départementales - they may not be so pretty but at least there is some hope of _signposting_, and the dangers from passing traffic ultimately seemed to me much less than those of facing uncharted wilderness alone and without instruments. In retrospect I think this kind of route is only practicable on guided tours. I suggested to the company that they provide customers with the option to rent a GPS system for trekking - there is one made by the company IGN which also makes trekking and ordinance maps. The wench actually _laughed_ at this suggestion, because she "couldn't imagine" people on _bikes_ using a GPS system. Shows you where they're at! I never even saw the town of Orange apart from the hotel and a pizzeria in the central plaza - the drama of that day was finding a shop to sell me a new bike computer. Nothing open in Orange, since this was Monday and any excuse to be closed is good in France. I headed off to Vaison and had another foodless day. The only restaurant I passed refused to serve me because it was _already_ 2pm. Vaison la Romaine was my favorite stop of the trip. The hotel was right in the central plaza and there was a cornucopia spread of eateries. Also the town had an excellent, OPEN bike shop, beautiful Roman ruins, and on Tuesday, a famous market. I visited a statue, a rather unflattering, scowling one, of the Emperor Hadrian, one of my tutelary deities (not having a nose never did much for anyone). And that day, I decided that I would not even attempt the 65 km distance to the next stop, Isle sur Sorgue, because my tortured feet could never bear it and because the taxi that was transferring my luggage could transfer me as well. That was great - a day of peace. And the hotel at Isle was extremely luxurious. Same thing about being prisoner because it was too far out of town, but at least this overpriced restaurant was reasonably good, and had portions of normal size. A 21 km stint around the Luberon the following day, up to Fontaine la Vaucluse and back, was cool and pleasant. Finally, the trip back to Avignon. Here I was faced with a decent Départementale as far as a town called Caumont. Then, there were three choices: try to follow the far-out-of-the-way route through tundra provided by the company (and again risk getting lost or dying of heat exhaustion), try an alternative, shorter route that visibly cut through some rather menacing elevation lines, or do as the nice man in the news shop advised: just follow the nice signs and take the nice straight road, marked in orange on the map, straight to Avignon. So that's how I ended up on the Nationale 7 on a trike! Hey, it wasn't nearly so bad as you might think. The cars were very courteous and there was plenty of room; indeed, most of the time there was a navigable shoulder. I was able to cruise Widders at around 23 kph for most of the trip - he even hit a high of 35 kph. The roundabouts were orderly and the signs clear. The only part I didn't like was the entry to Avignon where the traffic became much more congested and the hideous industrial wasteland around seemed to go on forever. But I found a delicious restaurant in the town center and had a nice rest before proceding out into my wilderness hotel once more. Now I'm back doing laundry. At Antony market this morning I bought lovely fresh things with a Provençal slant - artichokes, tomatoes, lots of herbs, some beef fillet for carpaccio, whiting fillets, asparagus and gorgeous goat cheese. Gotta go cook! EFR Ile de France |
Ads |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
Provence Tour: Technical Glitches but Proof of Concept
Artemisia wrote:
I feel the road much more than on an upright bike. I especially hate the configuration of a cambered road, cycling lane on one side, and ditch just next to the lane. All my effort goes into keeping out of the ditch, and however flat, such roads are always uphill. My first go on a kettweisel I spent some time riding into the kerb... A bike has a lot of steering done quite unconsciously by leaning, but you can't lean the trike so all of the steering has to be by direct steering. It is often said that it's easier for a novice to ride a trike than a bicyclist because there's no "unlearning" of steering to do (this is much more the case on an upright delta than a tadpole 'bent, but the difference is still there). But it should go away with experience as you simply learn how the steering works and do what's needed unconsciously. Don't worry, just get more time on it. The wireless bike computer (Sigma BC2006 - piece of ****e) also conked out after the first 6km. It was new, an essential navigation tool, and this was infuriating. Never have bothered fitting a computer: while the information can be interesting it's not really "essential" for touring. Travelling with Widdershins is a bitch. I have to allow about an hour and a half for the dismantling or reassembly - a VERY far cry from the 90 seconds folding time advertized on the Web site! It is typically the case with this sort of thing that practice makes perfect. I can fold a Brompton in 15 seconds, first time I tried I had to study it for quite some time before I realised the sequence order was crucial. So practice... "Quick release levers" is a joke. The central lever, that permits the bike to fold or holds it rigid, works or not, entirely on its own terms, and in its own time. QRs are an industry standard and really /are/ quick release... *if* you have the tension set properly. If the nut opposite the QR lever is too tight it'll be a bitch to move either way, if it's too loose then it will come undone at random. So you do need to fiddle about with the tensioning nut on the opposite end of the bolt to the lever, but once you've got that fettled then QR really is easy and works very well. my Darth told me that this is because the brakes must absolutely not be touched, or the levers activated, when the wheels are not in their axels. All very well, but it is pretty much impossible to edge them in or out without touching the brakes, and you have no control over what happens to the levers when the covered bike is being squeezed into a train compartment or a taxi. The manual says that the brakes should be blocked with the clips used in delivery - but I was given no such clips. I think by "touching the brakes" he just meant the levers: if having the pads hit the brakes ruined things you'd really be in trouble... every time you braked! But it is important not to hit the levers with the brake out as they'll adjust themselves fro where they hit something, usually the disc but with no disc in place it will go wrong. So get onto HP Vel and have them send you their locking clips. Point out you didn't get any and you're having trouble without them. Pete. -- Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/ |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
Provence Tour: Technical Glitches but Proof of Concept
Peter Clinch wrote:
So get onto HP Vel and have them send you their locking clips. Point out you didn't get any and you're having trouble without them. Good idea. I've been trying to contact the Darth, but no answer on the phone this week, so perhaps they're all on vacation. HP Vel gives me someone else to nag! EFR Ile de France |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Provence Tour: Technical Glitches but Proof of Concept
"Artemisia" wrote in message ... Peter Clinch wrote: So get onto HP Vel and have them send you their locking clips. Point out you didn't get any and you're having trouble without them. Good idea. I've been trying to contact the Darth, but no answer on the phone this week, so perhaps they're all on vacation. HP Vel gives me someone else to nag! EFR Ile de France If you have Magura brakes, the plastic whatits that keep the pads from closing together can be purchased directly from Magura through one of their branches. Trying to get some for free from the dealer/manufacturer is a good idea as Maggy overcharge for the little *******s like they were some precious body part like a liver or a kidney. Good luck with your quest. gotbent aka frvt rider ** Posted from http://www.teranews.com ** |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
Provence Tour: Technical Glitches but Proof of Concept
"Artemisia" wrote in message ... Back since Friday from touring Provence on my recumbent trike, Widdershins. Here's a non-exhaustive performance account. [...] I think rather it is an exhaustive account and most definitely not worth reading unless you like to be exhausted yourself! The only reason to tour Europe is to have a look at the ruins. This is best accomplished by any means other than bicycle. You want to have the least contact with the inhabitants of Europe as possible. Any fool knows at least that much. But Artemisia is no doubt a Francophile and so is 100 times worse than a fool. If I were were doing a tour of Europe, France and freaking Provence is the one nation and people I would avoid at all cost. Regards, Ed Dolan the Great - Minnesota aka Saint Edward the Great - Order of the Perpetual Sorrows - Minnesota |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Provence Tour: Technical Glitches but Proof of Concept | Artemisia | General | 13 | May 20th 08 02:11 PM |
Widdershins Born on Schedule, Minor Glitches | Elisa Francesca Roselli[_2_] | UK | 21 | November 5th 07 09:07 AM |
Widdershins Born on Schedule, Minor Glitches | Artemisia | UK | 0 | November 3rd 07 10:45 AM |
Proof that this was a "cleaner" Tour | Mark VandenBerghe | Racing | 2 | August 17th 07 02:56 AM |
Proof if proof be needed... | Jon Senior | UK | 11 | April 30th 04 07:55 PM |