…somewhat cruelly by reporting that the recumbent is off the road.
During heavy rain two weeks ago I bounced through a monumental pothole that was obscured by surface water. If you fancy a chuckle at another’s misfortune, the onboard video is here:
This had the unfortunate effect of punching the supporting bracket for the MetaBike’s seat up through the carbon fibre, resulting in the two circular cracks you can see at the top of the page. Given carbon fibre’s failure mode being a sudden state change from solid to cloud-of-razor-sharp-splinters, I’m electing not to ride the thing until a new seat arrives.
Thankfully David from Laid Back Bikes had a spare seat that he’s kindly let me borrow whilst I wait for Glasgow City Council’s insurance firm to cough up, so I can hopefully get the bike rolling again over the weekend. On a related note, having a just-collected large recumbent seat with you at a professional networking event is a remarkably handy conversation starter…
It’s also scarily light at 414g:
Anyway, more useful posts to follow on the B&M IQ-X dynamo headlight (good, with some flaws) and the brand new Blaze Burner rear light (also good, but with some more severe flaws).
Talk soon!
PS: if you got a spare few minutes, check out this interview with Barbara Murray, who competed in the Strathpuffer endurance mountain-bike race whilst stopping to breastfeed her three-month-old baby between laps. Hats off… Also thumbs up to the Strathpuffer organisational folk who sorted out a heated room to make that a little more straightforward.
PPS: You know Pedal on Parliament? The annual big ride in Edinburgh calling for proper investment in cycling? An inside source (OK, me) can confirm that they’ll be a Glasgow edition this year. Stay tuned for more info on that front – it’s a cracking few hours for all the family. Date still to be confirmed, but the 23 April wouldn’t be a bad guess to pencil in…
