laura_seabrook: (Default)

While I was travelling on Tuesday, Kali came and picked up the EazyRide. She phoned me while I was on the train, surrounded by mad teenagers all in fancy dress (it was someone's birthday). I was just going to give it to her, but she said she'd trade it for a "Postie Bike".

Of course she hasn't got one to trade yet, but I know she will, and Kevin will help me get it running.

Wow - didn't expect that, but I'd love to have one! I can just see myself riding around with great bike pannier bags full of stuff. My experience with the EazyRide was that while I loved getting about with it, for me it was underpowered and unreliable when it came to range. Some of that is related to my being overweight and reducing both speed and range. Kali is lighter and pretty good at using/fixing vehicles (she used to be an NRMA roadside service rep).

So, the Eazyride will now either be used to run about 15km of gravel road on her property, or used to convert Ranier's (her associate in Flowtrack) wheelchair into an electric one. Either way, I feel I've done the right thing by giving it away.

laura_seabrook: (Default)

And another nice surprise for me is that riding my electric scooter in public streets is now illegal.

There was a high court case recently that confirmed this. Kevin found out about it from a Sydney Morning Herald article. As mentioned in that article, "The director of the bicycle company Eazy Ride, Trevor Patrick, was dismayed by the Supreme Court's decision and has closed his business" so that means I can't even get parts for it.

All I can do is ride in the backyard. I don't know what to do about this. There's a rumour of legislation about this, but I have no idea what. So for the moment, it sits in the shed.

.    
.
    .

I've e-mailed my friend Kali and offered it to her. It'd be useful on her property at Lorn.

F.U.B.A.R.

May. 14th, 2008 12:11 pm
laura_seabrook: (Default)

Everything  is F.U.B.A.R. today.

I was going to go down to Sydney to look at an art exhibition. To do this would mean driving my EazyRide early morning to Cardiff Station, and then catching a Train down to central.

First set of problems - the bike wasn't fully charged, and I couldn't find my backpack or the keys to the bike. The backpack turned up eventually, but I had to wait until 10:40am when Kevin woke up and he found where he'd left it (he used to bike to do some shopping Monday).

OK, I left and was in a hurry. Drove over the footbridge and up a hill in Barnsley and then the grip on the throttle came off! I lost control and the front wheel went sideways and the scooter fell on top of me! I have a grazed wrist and the muscle on my right leg is badly bruised where the kickstand dug in. My left shoulder is aching too. After about a minute of shock I managed to push the bike back up and drive home. The steering was bent slightly (Kevin fixed it after I got back) but the left pedal is bent up and back so I can't pedal or reverse it far - there's no way I could continue on to the Station.

When I got back home I discovered that the latch on the connecting door between kitchen and lounge had broken and the door was stuck! After removing the pins from the hinges and with the help of a Jimmy bar Kevin and I were able to get it out. If I can remove the handle and replace it, we can probably put the door back on.

Sigh, what next? Everything feels like it's fucked up beyond all recognition. What if that accident had happened in traffic?! I think I'll be staying home today (my right leg feels very wooden).

laura_seabrook: (Default)

Kevin couldn't get the parts from up here, only from the distributors in Sydney. That being the case, I didn't have to pick up anything today. However, tomorrow Kevin needs to go to uni. I offered a lend of my Eazyride and also to go down and get the bits.

Sounds like a long trip and it is, but I've done it before and spent most of the time in contemplation and reading. I like that. It'll only cost me $2.50 on a pensioner excursion and Kevin's paying me $15 for the trip (much less than the $40-50 dollars the couriers wanted. Even so, I'll need to be up and away early to get home late but on time.

For now, I just sit back and watch Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honneamise which I found at the Wallsend Library. It's that sort of night.

laura_seabrook: (Default)

Kevin went up to Cessnock today to visit a friend.

Or at least he tried. He got there, after a fashion. But the throttle and brakes on his electric bike fell apart! He was able to flag down someone who put the bike in the back of their Ute, and get there anyway. A friend of his friend brought him home tonight.

Gack - Kevin's not been having much luck with that bike lately. He's going to order replacement parts from my dealer (the bunch that fixed my scooter, not someone shipping me drugs) and try and fudge something with that.

I'm going to be going off to Charlestown tomorrow morning (found a library mag that I'd thought I'd lost) and will cut down to Westfields afterwards for a browse. If Kevin's ordered something I can walk up the road and pick it up directly. And he'll be borrowing my Eazyride on Thursday if it's not fixed.

laura_seabrook: (Default)

Got over to Jenn's today, but it was a struggle to do so.

The plan was ride the Eazyride to behind the BP at Glendale, and catch a bus from there. Only the cap that held the cover on the throttle fell off! I stopped the bike immediately and after ten minutes, found the two bits that'd fallen off. Without them, the cover over the throttle was held on only by my hand.

I packed the bits away for later examination (might be able to get them back on tomorrow) and continued on to the BP. Locked the bike up and then discovered I'd missed the bus by 5 minutes. Decided to check out the Salvation Army op-shop until the next bus came. Missed buying a fold out sofa (better than the one I have) for $80, but found a wooden Shogi board for $3 and a book on "Royal Scandals" for $2, so that was good (especially as I have a Shogi set at home but with only a paper board).

Caught the 101 direct to Jenn's, but got there a hour later than she expected. She was better than last time I visited. Her mother was there which was just as well as we both had to help her into the toilet. Jenny used to use a wheelchair to get to the seat but now she needs to use the shower chair (with a hole underneath) to go. Her physical condition is deteriorating more all the time.

Not a cheerful subject, but better to be honest than pretend otherwise. And we can still joke about things, so even though she's in a difficult situation it's not hopeless. I left after 2pm when she needed to take a nap (her mother left first) and did some browsing at Jesmond. Then caught a bus back to the BP and rode home.

I think I need to pop over sometime this week and see how Jenn is. I worry about her. She's been told that if she can't get into/out of /off the wheelchair and her bed and/or sofa, that they'll put her in hospital. I know she doesn't want that.

laura_seabrook: (Default)
Looks like my scooter will be ready on Friday. Better late than never I guess.
laura_seabrook: (Default)
Phoned the shop. Things need to be teed up, and I'm thinking that I won't be able to get the back tire fixed until Wednesday. Tomorrow, I'm seeing Sweeney Todd again with Kelli regardless!
laura_seabrook: (Default)

Just phoned the distributors of the EasyRide. If I can get it there repairs will be $35 for parts and $25 for labour. If I can't get it there they can transport it for an extra $20.

The guy at the other end didn't sound too impressed when I told him the tire had been slashed at the university, but then, neither was I.

laura_seabrook: (Default)

OK, just a "brief" outline.

Last night when I got home Kevin suggested burgers from the chip shop down the road. That would have been fine but I only had $6 in cash and needed $2.50 for bus fare today. I give him my $5 for $2 of chips but he never returned the change.

Which meant  that when I tried to catch the 7:47am bus this morning to go to a 9am appointment with my counsellor, I didn't have enough money. In fact, I had to go back home and drive the scooter there instead (and then noticed that he hadn't plugged it in to the re-charger yesterday).

Morning peak hour traffic to Wallsend was not pretty  and I coped abuse from some drivers who though I shouldn't be on the road. I got there in time (just) and it was a pretty fucking intense session. I have just been so confused and unfocused in the last few months.

After that, I drove to the university where I parked and locked the EasyRide behind a sign. I checked the Printery for a price on Painter, which I can get for $185. Then I had lunch, and caught the bus in to my afternoon's appointment at the employment agency. I hadn't heard back from the council and while I was there I phoned them to find out.

Seems interviews were last Monday and I never made the short list. Hmmm. Well in a way I'm relieved, but I need to sort of what sort of work I do want to do while doing my Masters (cleaning seems the go, and there's even a group that might train me at it).

As I left I commented that I wanted to find a pawn brokers to buy a 2nd hand mobile phone. One thing led to another and they thought I had a working phone (I don't - 1st got the screen broken, and the 2nd can't make outgoing calls) but of course I didn't. So then they offered to buy me one!

Paperwork got arranged while I went to the library and paid $17 worth of fines (somehow, I forgot to check what was due last week). I got back and my case worker drove me to K-Mart at Waratah where they bought me a Nokia 2310 (locked to Vodafone, which is fine as I already have a prepaid with them). Then he drove me back to the university where I went to retrieve my EasyRide.

Someone had slashed the back tire. It's currently parked inside the Printery (and can stay there until Monday) but I'm not sure what to do.

Caught the bus to Glendale, did a little shopping, and went home. I'm going to have a bath in a minute and "vegge out". What mixed fucking day!

laura_seabrook: (cheerful)

I went to Neon Newcastle tonight. This is a trans support group which I hadn't been to for over a year. Part of the reason was lack of transport.

In this case, I drove the EasyRide to in front of the NIB Office in Glendale and locked it to the fitting on the entrance ramp. The office was just 20 metres away from the bus stop, and I caught a 363 into Hamilton, and later caught a 101 back. It was still there (right under the light of the NIB sign) and I rode it back home. Of course It rained on the way out and I was soaked, but I really didn't care. Once again, this was a "proof of concept" in using the moped, and it was successful!

It was a good night. Ang, who I hadn't seen in 3 years turned up. So did Maz, whom I hadn't seen for over 5 years, and it was her 7 year wedding anniversary with Darryl (and I was at the wedding). On the way there I also popped into ALDI and checked out a couple of bike coat and trousers they had for $39. They only  had Large (I probably need XL) so I didn't buy either.

An enjoyable night, especially as my taping of HOUSE worked this time and has sound. This makes the 3rd day in a row I've gone out using the EasyRide.

laura_seabrook: (cheerful)
Locked my moped to the bike rack at Cardiff Station yesterday. It was still there when I got back at 1am this morning. Looks like I have a social life again.
laura_seabrook: (Default)

I've been experimenting with the EasyRide scooter.

Last Monday saw me with two appointments at Wallsend Hospital. I rode the bike Wallsend Library and then the hospital, and after that to the library at the University. Then I rode it back to the hospital for the 2nd appointment, and and from there to the Bi-Lo  in Elenore Vale for some pet food, and then back home (see map below).

07-10-08 Moped Trips Map - click for a full sized image

I'd been using the "A" battery until it died on the trip back (marked "A" on the map above) and then I switched to the "B" battery - which also died on the trip back (marked as "B" above) when I had to switch back to the "A" again and run off its surface charge.  The same thing happened to me after I visited Jenny in Wallsend. What wears out the batteries is struggling up hills, and there are a lot of steep hills between there and back again.

The "B" battery gave me some trouble on the following Wednesday. I was going down to Wetherill Park on an errand for Kevin. Wasn't sure when I'd get back, so I thought I'd drive the EasyRide to Cardiff Station and catch a train from there. Then it'd be there when I returned. Parked the bike in the lower car park, though the "B" battery (which I'd been using on the way there) cut out just as I went up a hill to get there. I locked the bike to a post with a sign that said "LOCK IT OR LOSE IT!" and yes, it was still there when I got back about 6-7 hours later.

Now this is quite significant. One of the problems I had was that before when I had a working car, I could easily drive to a railway station, catch the train to Sydney, come back much later on the same or next day, and then drive home. Otherwise I was limited to the last bus to Barnsley, which (from Cardiff Station) is 6.58pm weekdays, 5.27pm Saturday, and 5.55pm Sunday. Whereas now, I don't have to worry about the last bus, as I can get home on the EasyRide.

More to the point, I can travel into Newcastle and elsewhere as much as Sydney or points south (and via the bus as well). Which means I might have a social life again! There are still a few things to sort out. Wherever I lock up the bike will have to be secure, and reasonably public, so that there's less incentive to steal it. And if I'm away for a couple or more days, it might be better to leave it at home.

But we'll see - I can get to (and more importantly back from) events at night at the uni and elsewhere now. Hmmm.

laura_seabrook: (cheerful)

Tried out the scooter again.

LinkRdTrip

 This time I road from Barnsley to the library at Wallsend, then to Jenn's, to Stocklands at Jesmond, and then back home via West Wallsend (as coloured in the image above). Interesting trip.

Riding any bike on the Newcastle Link Road is a potentially dangerous thing to do, as a lot of heavy traffic goes down it. However, most of the way there's a 1.5 to 2 metre should/bike lane each way, so one doesn't have to share the road with such. The exceptions are the roundabouts which have no shoulder/bike way. I normally wouldn't go that way on my push-bike because of the constant winds that blow down it. No such problem with the EasyRide. However...

...coming back it got dark and cold, and I had to turn the lights on. That may have helped exhaust the "B" battery (I'd swapped from the "A" when I got back on the Link Rd) by the time I got back to Minmi Rd. I struggled at low power the rest of the way home, but it was mostly flat or downhill from there on.

I'm effectively finding the range of my scooter. The main energy drains were the hills I had to climb. The dogleg on the outwards trip via Seaham St and George Booth Drive was to try to avoid a very steep hill leading into West Wallsend, followed by another hill before getting to the first roundabout. In any event, I went up one very long hill to that same roundabout.

On a push-bike, I'm normally out of breath going up that one, and also the first slope coming back from Wallsend. On the EasyRide that wasn't the case, and I rarely had to additionally pedal. However, the batteries did get used up.

laura_seabrook: (cheerful)

07-08-28

Um, it was scary to have large truck pass on a two lane country road, but no scarier than on a non-electric bicycle (also posted to [profile] comicdiaries)!

laura_seabrook: (cheerful)

I took my scooter out for an excursion yesterday, via the route shown below:

BikeTrip_2007-08-25

I wanted to do three things on the trip:

  1. explore the range of the bike;
  2. scout out Teralba as a potential terminus for trips to Sydney and into Town; and
  3. have some fun!

Theoretically the scooter has a range of 80km, but there are lots of variables in play, including exhausted batteries, the weight carried and the terrain travelled. I have two batteries on it, and used the first up until returning via Teralba, and then swapped over. According to Google Maps the route from Barnsley to Warner's Bay is about 13.7 km (I had to adjust this though, because the default would take you via private roads where giant coal trucks run). Adding an extra 2.5 km for the detour to the Lake Macquarie City Art Gallery, that gives a round trip of about 30 km. Not bad for a test. I might be able to visit Jenny's and come back without recharging.

One of the things I was hoping was to use the scooter to get to a railway station in order to catch trains to Sydney, and to get home when I come back. The bus service here is such that on a weekend that last one out is at 4pm. That means that if I want to go to a club down in Sydney, I have to leave real early, and can't get back from the station coming home without waiting for a mid day bus. That's one big reason why I stopped going to clubs and other events in Sydney. The exceptions were when I was staying with friends, and travelled back the day after (or even the day after that). When I had the car, it wasn't an issue, but no car = great difficulty.

Can't say that I was impressed with the facilities at Teralba, but the do have a caravan park there - perhaps I could rent a spot for the night. I mentioned this idea to Kevin and he said I could probably even get power there, and recharge the bike while I was away! The other location is Cockle Creek Station, which has a platform you can walk on (rather than stairs to a central platform - makes a difference lugging a 70 kg bike) on either side, so I could take my bike with me. That has issues too, but it's a possibility. I can just see myself riding around Sydney on my yellow scooter.

And did I have fun? Yes. Had a waffle at Warner's Bay, did some shopping at the Coles there, and got home safely.

 

laura_seabrook: (Default)

Went to Edgeworth to do some shopping today. Only we went on the electric bikes.

First stop was an auto parts shop, where I bought some nuts and bolts and we attached a milk crate to the rear rack of my scooter. Then it was off to Coles for some more shopping. I wasn't exactly all here for that - I've had continual pain after the extractions earlier this week in the tooth next to the teeth extracted. They ripped off the filling, and it has to be replaced. Felt very very strange (and still do).

Anyway, came back just as it was getting dusk. Put some more air in the back tyre, but with an almost full load in the crate I found it awkward to drive the scooter wearing a backpack. On the whole the scooter behaved much better than when we went to West Wallsend - perhaps the hills were shallower.

However, on the way home someone in a car threw a beer can at Kevin. e recovered the can and reported it to the police when we got home.

laura_seabrook: (Default)

I had no reply as such to the email I sent on the 7th. However, a package post-marked the 8th arrived yesterday. It contained a very annoying security lock and a proper manual (not, as one of them claimed, something they'd downloaded and printed). And that was it.

Kevin wants me to go to eBay about getting some money back. I don't want to do this until the end of the day, otherwise I'll never get the cleaning done.

eBike

Aug. 8th, 2007 12:01 pm
laura_seabrook: (Default)
no reply yet.

Test

Aug. 4th, 2007 07:24 pm
laura_seabrook: (Default)

I drove the scooter up to West Wallsend and back today. Put some air in the tyres at the servo and had chips with Kevin at BlueBells.

Vroom Vroom (can you get the reference?)!

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