TV transport

Finally got rid of my TV by transporting it with the trailer to a friend. Another good excuse for testing the trailer for its workings. And also, what it is like to cycle down a road with something in the back you really don’t want to break, fall off, or crack by hitting the next hole in the street.
Result: If you want to have attention being drawn to you – that’s the way forward. I live in a town where you can walk around in the oddest clothes ever, carry a huge teddy bear under your arm and nobody will bother looking at you – get a trailer with a TV on it and the heads start turning…
Ok – but that wasn’t the reason for me doing that, only an odd side effect…
The TV worked on arrival – so, no damage taken by getting there. I had to fix it with my climbing rope because the ribbons that come with it don’t do the trick at all.
What I wasn’t to happy about during the transport was the jumpiness of the trailer and the rattling noises. Might have something to do with the trailer being not completely balanced. TV was further to the back – should maybe have been more to the front. Did not have that when having my flatmates on there or on the way back, thus empty.
The other thing is the surface of the trailer is really rough – similar to one of these errr… callus files – it really takes off the surfaces. Got the cable stuck underneath the TV – just pulling it out would not have been a good idea – would have taken off all the plastic coating…

We did it!

Experiment 1

attach the trailer to the bicycle and have a test round on your own… checking if you lose the back wheel

Experiment 2

put a cushion on the trailer platform, put one of your flatmates on it & cycle another one, two, three rounds – if possible at higher speed and smaller radius around other people’s cars and past the curb.

Experiment 3

choose the other flatmate for the same experiment above and check for screaming noises

Experiment 4

put one flatmate on the trailer platform and the other one on the rack and repeat experiment 2 & 3 in one go

Avoid any uneven ground or random youngsters, who try to crash into you purposely (yes! wrong neighbourhood)

If all of the above worked out fine & your flatmates still talk to you – call it a success!
And I do )! Particularly as I was able to move them around and I know, I will carry less luggage with me on tour. The trailer responds really well. I just have to remember when going around the corner that I have an attachment behind me that is a bit bulkier – just give it a few more centimetres but I am more than happy with my test results. Would not have thought it would be that good. Just need to practise now & also take better care of my bike… spotted rust…

The trailer has arrived!

Yeap! My little CarryFreedom Large Y-Frame got here yesterday – set it up last night. Still need to fix the bicycle setting.

Will be tested tonight with my flatmates as luggage ;o). Also, had already a dry test, what type of luggage I could put on. Again, excited! It’s clearly not the type of trailer, I wanted to use for the backs of Nordmarka… wouldn’t get very far. But for transporting stuff around town or even longer distances – just by the plain look of it – any time.

I also found out that Google Maps have an new feature! Called Terrain:

View Map

Shows even contour lines when moving in close! Brilliant new feature!

And now an update on the typical life of a PhD student… or I guess, any student…

Today was the second day of testing my Ortlieb bags for carrying weight. And they were great! I know, not really a particularly good but subjective description. But the fact that suddenly the weather decided to get rid of some water by opening the gates for rain left me “cold” despite the fact that I was transporting my computer et al. Got fed up sitting in my room – hence went for my typical ride to change the scenery and get also some fresh air. Will do that again. The luggage had a weight of roughly 13kg and I was amazed by the ease to transport it. At times it felt even easier to cycle with this weight in the back than what it is like without it.

The trailer is ordered as well. Should arrive during the next week. I have decided on a CarryFreedom large Y-Frame. More to that once it has arrived.

Otherwise, I have to practise cycling now with luggage… also up & down hills, what I have been avoiding so far. Less because of the hills but more because of the concept of British car drivers that only a hit & dead cyclist is a good cyclist…