Bike & weekend
Dec. 22nd, 2003 12:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
julietSome bastard has nicked my bike *again*. Out of the back garden - looks like they came in over next door's fence. Could have been worse - they only took mine, not Pete's as well, & the house wasn't broken into. And I'm definitely insured this time. Insurance-bike-person is phoning me later; I should be able to sort out a cash claim, so that I can go down to Evans today & get a new bike (rather than going through the Halifax's slow & tortuous replacement procedure). 50 quid excess, of course, but that's better than 300quid which is what bike+lights+lock comes to.
Pete & I now have New & Exciting bike-security plans, involving large blocks of concrete & really heavy-duty iron chains. Dad's agreed to drive me back from their's on Saturday via Homebase, so I can get concrete-mix & the chains, & Pete's going to ask Threshers for a couple of wine boxes (to put the concrete-mix in). We're also going to investigate rearranging the shed to fit the bikes into it, but I suspect there's just not enough room - it's a pretty tiny shed. For the moment, Pete's bike is in the living-room, but this is not a useful long-term solution, & certainly not for *2* bikes.
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mouseboks's for a bit afterwards, before passing out cold splat.
After 3 hrs sleep or thereabouts, home & then off to Oxford. At least there was more sleep on the Ox Tube. Met up with Cathy & Ian, & then a rather hungover Richard, in the Wheatsheaf (& also got the battery on my watch replaced, yay). This was Good as I haven't seen any of them in ages. Talked to Rich about recent stuff, & got a v useful different perspective on some things. Which has caused me to think some more. Was late to dinner due to the talking, but not by *too* much, so... Dinner was good - Gino's is a nice restaurant, & by this time I'd been drinking Red Bull for several hours, so was awake again & ranty :-)
Yesterday I was mostly Useful Person. Dealt with bike-thievery, cleaned the rats out, tidied the living-room, made Christmas presents for Mum & Wendy, ate pizza (OK, that's not so much useful as just enjoyable), went over to dye yarn withmarnameow. It was supposed to be black but appears to have come out a rather greenish grey. I think I'll try overdying it with indigo, but possibly will make it up first & then dye the finished thing. Not sure.
This morning the office is largely empty, & I am bored & irritable & wish to go *home*. Bah.
Pete & I now have New & Exciting bike-security plans, involving large blocks of concrete & really heavy-duty iron chains. Dad's agreed to drive me back from their's on Saturday via Homebase, so I can get concrete-mix & the chains, & Pete's going to ask Threshers for a couple of wine boxes (to put the concrete-mix in). We're also going to investigate rearranging the shed to fit the bikes into it, but I suspect there's just not enough room - it's a pretty tiny shed. For the moment, Pete's bike is in the living-room, but this is not a useful long-term solution, & certainly not for *2* bikes.
mouseboks's for a bit afterwards, before passing out cold splat. After 3 hrs sleep or thereabouts, home & then off to Oxford. At least there was more sleep on the Ox Tube. Met up with Cathy & Ian, & then a rather hungover Richard, in the Wheatsheaf (& also got the battery on my watch replaced, yay). This was Good as I haven't seen any of them in ages. Talked to Rich about recent stuff, & got a v useful different perspective on some things. Which has caused me to think some more. Was late to dinner due to the talking, but not by *too* much, so... Dinner was good - Gino's is a nice restaurant, & by this time I'd been drinking Red Bull for several hours, so was awake again & ranty :-)
Yesterday I was mostly Useful Person. Dealt with bike-thievery, cleaned the rats out, tidied the living-room, made Christmas presents for Mum & Wendy, ate pizza (OK, that's not so much useful as just enjoyable), went over to dye yarn with
marnameow. It was supposed to be black but appears to have come out a rather greenish grey. I think I'll try overdying it with indigo, but possibly will make it up first & then dye the finished thing. Not sure.This morning the office is largely empty, & I am bored & irritable & wish to go *home*. Bah.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2003-12-22 04:53 am (UTC)Bloody hell! You must stop buying such nice bikes... Only kidding. Much sympathy. That really sucks, especially if you use it every day.
Can't help with the wish to go home, but if you'd like to come to a pub in the West End with me and a fairly disparate collection of bots after work then... do!
no subject
Date: 2003-12-22 04:55 am (UTC)The daily use (though due to Badness over the last fortnight I haven't been cycling much - due to restart this week, though) is why I want to get a cash claim, so I can go straight down to Evans *today* & sort it out.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-22 04:57 am (UTC)Dude! It's the 22nd of December! I shall count myself ahead of the game if I know what I'm doing by 11pm on the 31st.
Mm, buying a new bike with cash. I mean, obviously the whole thing sucks, but that IS (relatively speaking) fun...
no subject
Date: 2003-12-22 05:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-22 05:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-22 06:00 am (UTC)And What Marna Said about the party.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-22 06:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-22 06:30 am (UTC)Oh! That's so crap.. esp from the back yard of your house, which is really sort of violating and icky. :/
no subject
Date: 2003-12-22 06:55 am (UTC)Yeah, and you manage your egg card online, pay the bills via direct debit - so nice and easy that way.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-22 07:12 am (UTC)There we go, that should sort it out for a few generations.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-22 08:10 am (UTC)When it comes to making the large concrete blocks something you may want to do is to make a number of blocks - say six or so - which are linked together by chain which you can then attach the bikes to. Would make it a lot harder to move.
However when you do this you have to bear in mind that a plain concrete block is actually quite easy to break as its relatively brittle when it comes down to it. I'd also suggest putting short lengths of steel/iron re-bar into it (both Homebase and B&Q sell suitable lengths you can cut down to size using an angle grinder) to strengthen it up. Alternatively you bend it into a suitable shape to fit within the box, threading it through the chain.
And when you fill the boxes with the concrete remember to tap the sides of the boxes as you fill them to remove any air bubbles from the mix.
You'll also have to make sure that you get the right type of mix for the concrete - you should be able to get away with a pre-mixed post-hole bag.
no subject
Date: 2003-12-22 10:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-23 02:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-23 02:32 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-23 02:34 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-23 03:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-23 06:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-12-23 06:37 am (UTC)