Long time without posts
Mostly my Facebook status has been updated via Twitter, I've kind of switched to microblogging in the main (username aenikata on Twitter as well).
Still, the weather recently has made things... interesting. I spent over 6 hours travelling yesterday, between a physio appointment and being relegated to a struggling public transport system.
I'm not so worried about riding along the roads - almost all of the roads I'd be on are major roads and fairly clear of ice. It's the initial logistics of it... 240kg hire bike needing to be backed out a snowy garden and down an icy driveway. I'm not sure I can do that without dropping it. Perhaps I should have taken the £50 up-front payment to have no excess...
In one sense I'm wanting to see more snow, because I haven't had a play in it so far. But I'm not really wanting to be stuck on public transport. It's playing a part in my indecision on what replacement bike to get following a kind car driver knocking me off my existing bike and writing it off... I prefer proper bikes to scooters, appearance-wise, but I'm now considering that the storage space, low centre of gravity, good fuel economy, etc, makes something like a 250cc scooter seem like the sensible option for something that's primarily a commuting vehicle. I could pick up an X9 for just over a grand, and for the most part that would be fine. However, I'd prefer to get a Piaggio MP3, with the double front wheel. Unfortunately, since they're relatively new, prices are still high, so I'd really be looking at around £3K then - which is rather more than the insurance would pay out on the bike (if it pays out - it's been nearing 2 months and still no admission of liability).
I guess I can wait out the snow this time, get the X9, and see how I like it, and if I decide to sell it, then the entry price for a Piaggio MP3 will probably have reduced more than I'll lose on the X9...
Still, the weather recently has made things... interesting. I spent over 6 hours travelling yesterday, between a physio appointment and being relegated to a struggling public transport system.
I'm not so worried about riding along the roads - almost all of the roads I'd be on are major roads and fairly clear of ice. It's the initial logistics of it... 240kg hire bike needing to be backed out a snowy garden and down an icy driveway. I'm not sure I can do that without dropping it. Perhaps I should have taken the £50 up-front payment to have no excess...
In one sense I'm wanting to see more snow, because I haven't had a play in it so far. But I'm not really wanting to be stuck on public transport. It's playing a part in my indecision on what replacement bike to get following a kind car driver knocking me off my existing bike and writing it off... I prefer proper bikes to scooters, appearance-wise, but I'm now considering that the storage space, low centre of gravity, good fuel economy, etc, makes something like a 250cc scooter seem like the sensible option for something that's primarily a commuting vehicle. I could pick up an X9 for just over a grand, and for the most part that would be fine. However, I'd prefer to get a Piaggio MP3, with the double front wheel. Unfortunately, since they're relatively new, prices are still high, so I'd really be looking at around £3K then - which is rather more than the insurance would pay out on the bike (if it pays out - it's been nearing 2 months and still no admission of liability).
I guess I can wait out the snow this time, get the X9, and see how I like it, and if I decide to sell it, then the entry price for a Piaggio MP3 will probably have reduced more than I'll lose on the X9...