I’ve been away from biking for almost a year and even before that I hadn’t ridden regularly for a couple of years. The main reason for the lapse is that I took the decision to use the train to commute to work as biking it was getting too expensive. That and the fact that my working locations had varied from week to week. Sometimes I was working nights in London, other times I was in an office somewhere or other. At the end of 2009, I was made redundant and took a new office based job in January 2010. At this point I decided that I would continue to commute by train as it was just easier and safer than biking 50 miles a day. After this I just got out of the habit of regular riding.
Last weekend I decided that it was time I got back in the saddle. So with this in mind I bought 6 months road tax at the post office, bought new oil & filter at the local bike shop and returned home to fire up my bike. I uncovered her, unplugged the trickle charger, removed the chains that stop her from escaping when I’m not watching her and wheeled her onto the front path. As I turned to key, she sprang into life and all was well, right up to the moment I thumbed the starter button. There was a click from the starter and a strange ticking from the back of the bike and then ...... total silence. The battery was completely flat in a split second. Not the start to my re-energising experience that I had hoped for.
In the end I had to bump start her to warm the engine oil to help it drain out easily. I rode her round the block a few times to limber her up a little and everything, except the battery seemed to be in perfect order. Once I had changed the oil and recharged to battery I was once again unable to start her up. It was very clear that a replacement battery was needed, which meant another visit to the bike shop and an overnight charge.
The next morning I was off on the open road with wind in my face and flies in my teeth. Biking Heaven 8-)
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