I am going to have to scale down my riding considerably this winter as I sheepishly have to admit that I have bowed down to my Wife/Family pressures NOT to go night riding this year at least..
To overcome the complete and utter bordome I expect to wing its way towards me I need a hobby to work on over the dark nights of winter.
I am thinking along the lines of electronic / mechanical devices that can be built from scratch with the possiblity of programmable control..
Is there anyone out there who could recommend anything along these lines ?

build a distortion/effects box for an electric guitar? – then use it while learning how to play… they'll soon kick you out on ya bike again 😉

more seriously – go into WHSmiths and have a look through the electronic mags. Theres always loads of pointless stuff in there.

Start building radio controlled planes.
a) they're ace fun
b) they're mind bogglingly staggeringly expensive and when your wife sees the credit card bill, she'll allow you to resume your (comparatively cheap) hobby of night riding!

Take up the banjo or bagpipes.

Drum kit or fixing an old oily car which smells loads.

potential there crazy-legs, especially if you start work on a large scale multi engined job. They'll be begging you to quit to get the space back.

diy hifi also has the potential to start out extraordinarily cheaply then spiral totally out of control by the third project. And to make your conversation mindnumbingly tedious.

Lego Mindstorms/NXT?

vinnyeh,

Lego Mindstorms/NXT?

That looks just the ticket, never knew it existed, with LabView as well..

Rubbing my hands and hoping to take it further.. Thanks

(the reason I bowed to no night riding is cos I havent fully recovered from a bad injury sustained in June)

beer?

FFS, retrieve your balls from back out of yer wife's handbag and get out night riding again!

Or if that's too difficult then enrol on an assertiveness course at your local Adult Education Centre.

kamel_bakskuttle;

I had a serious injury to my neck.. that has worried not only me but my family..
Its nothing to do with lack of balls etc..

never mind the r/c aeroplanes. They won't fly until April even if you finish them tomorrow.

r/c helicopters is where it's at.

You can even fly the electric powered ones indoors on a dark wet windy night if you have access to a sports hall / village hall / church hall kind of thing

And if you get the really small ones, you can fly in your front room.

I had a serious injury to my neck

That'll be her Vulcan death grip then 😉

kamel_bakskuttle

Like it, 😆

Still ok for daytime rides tho'

make your own LED lights 😀

for next years night riding !!!

deus,

Possible..

Just sold a brand new P7 I had brought earlier b4 my spill.. used once.. so will need a new set of or new hand made light anyhow..

You could work on an airbag system for neverfastenuff… 🙂

Evening PT.. if only I had landed on your ample air bag..

This might sound a daft call, but I've got into restoring old school bmx bikes.

Theres parts aplenty, but sometimes hunting down the "right part" is a bit of a challenge, and many require restoring. But finding a frame and forks, doing the acid path, possibly sending for rechroming or powder coating, and refurishing a nice bike is satisfying, and requiring slightly different(but simpler) skills to usual bike maintanace.

I've got 4 on the go at the moment, and the fun of making a new set of bike contacts, swapping parts, making newcontacts and being able at some time to actually ride the fruit of your labours is great!

Race you on my Harry Learyalike Diamond Back Senior Pro with Leary Pro bars and a DB Formula1 crank.

Any time Juiuuk.
I'll be there on either my Kuwahara Lazer-Lite or my Hutch Pr-Class.
A Diamond Back Harry Leary Pro…mmmm.

Lol must be a radbmx member then?

As a DB lover (Before the Raleigh years) http://www.os-db.net is where us old schoolies hang out.

Got a Silver Streak built up, the Learyalike is awaiting the paint (the chrome was knackered) but complete, with Araya 7x, DC890's, and NOS DB pedals. Alos got a pacer500 which will be finished next week, and I have a nos never built up DB formula1 frameand a Sugino DB crank, awaiting a collection of parts. I do have some black skyways with whitewall tyres, and nos DB bars, will look smart finished.

(See OP, this becomes a collection addiction, but you can't use stamps, but you can ride a bike!)

Amateur explosive devices. Blow stuff up in the garden, but don't, repeat, don't loose any important fingers that you may need for braking / changing gears once she makes you get back out on your bike again. Or go for the worlds biggest elastic band ball build starting in the front room. Think the biggest is about 5ft high.

So your wife wants you to give up night riding so she can see more of you? Your solution is to take up another, presumably solitary, hobby instead.

Good luck with that!

Full contact tiddley winks?