Bikes (and Bill)

Who thought it was a reasonable idea to have a 7.30am Click and Collect?  It’s not.

The day dawned and we were enveloped in the Haar. Quite the worst I’ve seen for a while. We could hardly see across the road! And you wouldn’t know we had a castle. And it stayed all day. (Please God it’s away tomorrow). 

We dropped Archie off with Rufus and his mum, as we had our morning appointment in a bike shop. Elizabeth picked him up from there at the appointed time, and brought him back here after 5pm, so we had the whole day.

When we eventually found the bike shop, we tapped at the door as per instructions. But inside, looking up at us, was a Very Big dog’s face! It was Bill, but he was friendly.

The staff were very friendly and helpful. But my ‘research’ was sadly lacking. They only dealt in electric bikes (as per their name) and we wanted electric fold up bikes... But they did have one. They almost had us persuaded to get full sized bikes (‘Pop ‘em on a bike rack on the car’) and wanted us to take a couple out for a ride. 

‘There’s a nice big steep hill to try the motor on,’ he enthused. NO!

We drove along the waterfront, but my fond notion of proper fish and chips for lunch at Newhaven Harbour did not eventuate. You could hardly see the harbour, and anyway you had to phone in and pre-order them. 

We went to another couple of bike shops, to find that they mostly dealt in proper bikes, with maybe one fold up one. So we went to an out-of-town large store, joined a queue, and eventually got a nice man who was able to advise us that a (two) bike rack on our wee car wasn’t ideal. So, fold-ups it is...

We’ve got it down to a choice between two models. Much the same price, one is from a local dealer, and one would be sent from the makers in England. Either way, there would be a wait. It might come down to the most important detail - the colour.

PS Watched some live tennis with spectators! Also, there was the first rugby match in NZ, with spectators. Getting there...