Spooky, yeah thought about that. But, it needs a subscription and the phone is multifunction (if it can get a signal). But FFS, I don’t need an emergency beacon in everyday life…

I’m using a dedicated Motorola G8 power to upload tracking, and will be used for just the GPS really, so will last a week after charging.

The accuracy has been pretty good (in the UK).

I can’t decide if it’s a good thing to plot my course so accurately or a bad thing? I guess it means you know WHERE I was eaten by the bear, or the rattlesnake got me. But someone could track me and intercept me… but is that really a thing? Not as if I will have £10k in my pocket.

Ling

SPOOKY – You can’t flag anything at the moment. As soon as I set off I’ll delete all these test rides/drives, so it will be a clean start. Setting off mid-November.

Ling

Yeah but it’s historical, too. Normally when I go it will be one straight long line, far more understandable :)

I went to Lincoln 3 weeks ago (in the car) testing the tracking :)

Ling

I’m nowhere near as good as Ed, with filming/editing. Or riding. But will certainly have a good go. – Ling

Helooooooo everyone, my bloody alerts are pinging like mad.

Yes, what can I say??? thanks to all for the comments :)

I plan to set off and not come back to the UK, just keep going until I die, hehe.

I’ve got a brand new black (blue?) passport with extra pages, and have had every injection going. Rabies etc, about a dozen more, and yellow fever so I can jump on commercial boats if I want to. And a cholera drink thing. Fortunately money isn’t an issue as long as I don’t go silly.

I plan to cycle for years, getting to China is the first goal really, but getting Q2 visas (family visit) is impossible at the mo. I will have to fly back to the UK from somewhere on the route (Turkey, georgia, Azer, Caspian ferry, Uzbeki, all the stans around the M41 to China). Then down Yunnan to south east asia.

A lot of borders need to open, true, but waiting is depressing so fkkit, just go. Europe is pretty open.

My bike is a Surly Trucker, from Spa in Harrogate. Lovely bike, but steel, heavy etc, and will be loaded with my whole life. You’ll mostly laugh at my bike, it is slow and very low geared. 3 chainrings, who has those these days?? 9-speed cassette. I put a dropper thing on the derailleur and a lower (bigger) 1st gear cog.

True, I did look at Rolhoff or Pinion with belts and maybe choose them next time?? Got my eyes on a Co-motion Pangia to be honest. but i need to wear the Surly out first. Surly LHT was circa £1500, Pangia is about £6000+ with a 18 speed Pinion.

All my gear is boring – Deore/Sora and 2″x26″ tyres, sputnik rims, and v-brakes etc, nothing to excite you all. But all recommended stuff by Spa.

Must say the best thing I added is a Redshift suspension stem. if you haven’t tried one, these are just wonderful things. Takes all the bashing out of my wrists/arms on rocky gravel tracks.

Been doing some test rides, did 70km the other day… but christ it’s hard work. Will get easier.

I’ve made a nice map on my website showing where I’ve been, tracks a phone GPS. I have a phone for that, specially.

We’ve got an MSR Elixir 3 tent.

And a credit card.

What can possibly go wrong?

Ling

scaredypants – Member

you look a bit too grumpy on the 3 month one, Ling

It’s you lot that make me grumpy… cyclists on Radio 2, it’s a never-ending outrage.

– Ling

Poopscoop – Member

Heard your court appearance didn’t go well Ling!

No, not “that” one.

The other one.

You’ll be pleased to hear, and to celebrate, that I have *STILL* never lost a court appearance. :)

– Ling

Also, before anyone asks “how did Ling know we were all gobbing off about her?”…

Well, I monitor my website and email myself when I get a bit of unique traffic:

Look…

Snot rocket science :)

– Ling

Ta Daaaaaaaaaaaaaa. Here I am, cyclists. Put your helmets on.

In fact, I need some new INITIAL RENTAL (I write it in caps for the dimmer cyclists) gifs for my website, because some people want a longer initial rental period than the 3-months I have always shown (also other companies insist on advertising with daft 9-month IRs, to trick people into thinking the rentals are cheaper) …. so I though I’d share how I’m making them.

I try to do as much “real” as possible, the only digi bit will be a digital-style typface number to be divved on this sign board. I even make the board with real flashing lights (Land Rover LED indicators rigged up to a 12v motorbike battery jammed in the back of my pants like a Colt 45), rather than div them on later. Real is better than fake.

I film in my barn using a GoPro Hero 5 in 4k 30fps. Well-lit, including some backlighting to avoid a green halo effect. Then will be edited by David (my super new front end chap) in Premiere and After Effects on his new iMac.

The segments are then cut into small interesting bits, and reversed halfway through to make a reasonably smooth “looped” gif.

It’s a lot of effort, but a million times better than the crappy generic images used by other car websites.

How good can it get? These have been reduced to 64 colours to reduce the Kb weight, but still, not bad eh?

– Ling

Helpful?

Don’t let the EU ruin it.

– Ling

Did I forget to pull the pin?

– Ling

teethgrinder – Member

B) Just as well, because Brexitards have no need for experts, what with their knowledge and experience. The BASTARDS!

That’s not very nice.

You seem like a Brussels implant. You must feel very lonely here, eh?

MORE MAYONNAISE FOR MR TEETHGRINDER, PLEASE! HIS CHIPS ARE DRY!

– Ling

nickc – Member

Ever ridden a chopper? They were properly shite.

Errr, no.

But, what a stunning design. Superb, like Concorde or an Inter City 125 train, or… something else like a Hovercraft? I’m no expert.

– Ling

Junkyard – lazarus

oh, hello… :)

I am Ling…

I haven’t read all 1022 pages, but I’d like to think UK cyclists would support Brexit, in general.

Being forced to drive on the right by the EU will cause massive carnage among cyclists. We don’t want that!

Plus, as an immigrant to the UK, and doing my best for Britain to cast-off the hopeless (evil) EU, it’s hard to believe that cycling in the proud country that created the Chopper would do anything but create a warm, fuzzy feeling of pro-Brexit bounciness.

Hope all the cyclists tinkle their bells for Brexit, here!

– Ling

My final word on this topic (for now)…

You are all jealous of my 4CX. It can eat cyclists (well, some) for breakfast.

– Ling

Poopscoop – Member

Hello Trump-Ling!

I’m running out of cyclist clickbait, now.

I’m down to my last alligator.

– Ling

Poop… thanks.

– Ling

Now, the mods at STW are really being stupid. They are serving me pages with JAPANESE adverts.

If that isn’t racist, what is?

ADVERT

– Ling

Poopscoop – Member

Go away, Princess.

Ling

Poopscoop – Member

Go away, Princess.

Ling

Poopscoop – Member

Go away, Princess.

Ling

I ignore all your VHS tapes, and raise you a VCD.

– Ling

Poopscoop – Member
Can’t answer 3 simple questions eh Ling?

How about this, coming up any more ca-ra-zy and amazing publicity stunts at the moment. Being the self proclaimed marketing genius you are??

Go away, Princess.

Ling

Poopscoop – Member

Go away, Princess.
– Ling

Poopscoop – Member

Go away, Princess.
– Ling

Poopscoop – Member

Go away, Princess.

– Ling

Junkyard – lazarus

Sheesh. Poor you.

– Ling

giantalkali – Member

Chinese people being rude about Japanese people isn’t racism, it’s ‘bants’. Like when Brits are rude about the French

The Japs started it.

– Ling

geordiemick00 – Member

I’m doing the arguing on here because I put the post up. It’s not in Si’s nature to log onto a cycling forum and argue to the toss with you.

If you are so worried about Si’s personal details, then you should have a) Not posted on a forum full of rabid cyclists, for advice, blabbing out my company… -you know what cyclists are like at the best of times; The Lunatics… b) Lied when you posted and pretended that the post was about you… c) Not keep asking me for replies, when you’re not the customer and then screaming that anything I say is breaching Si’s Data rights.

It’s like communicating with Looney Tunes.

And yet from the un-disclosed real customer – SILENCE.

– Ling

Junkyard – lazarus
it snot like you

You are really vulgar, sometimes… I am not Japanese, I use a tissue!

– LIng

Junkyard – lazarus

You wear your deception like a badge of pride

I’m the most open, transparent and well-known people in this industry.

With any other leasing company, you have no idea who owns them, or how they work.

I’m deceiving no-one. I’m utterly transparent, like a Portuguese Man of War jellyfish. There is no shadowy hidden stuff.

If something is rubbish, I say so, I don’t hide behind words.

Everything is plain and simple, like my order form; no 5,000 tiny words of T&Cs.

– Ling

Junkyard – lazarus
any attempt to get any evidence from you will just result in insults

Correct. Good boy.

– Ling

crosshair – Member

No, I don’t think it was decided when the pre-order form becomes an order.
Ling isn’t denying the right to stop the order.

Surely, until the finance is signed, everything is pre-order?

No, in my view the car is ordered 100% with the car order form. As happened in this thread’s case. I order cars IMMEDIATELY. Within seconds.

The finance is just a method of paying for it. So that’s already in place and everything is fine…. until customers back out.

It happens very rarely. Often this is understandable, eg. a death or lost a job, or broken leg or some life changing disease (I am kind), but sometimes it’s to do with a character flaw, and in those cases I make a growling noise.

– Ling

Trust is a big thing… take it away, Ya Jun.

– Ling

Junkyard – lazarus

It’s my argument that it doesn’t.

have you tested this argument in a court ?

I tested it on the toilet and it sounded plausible.

I’ve never lost a small claims court case on this issue, maybe people don’t challenge it well enough, or maybe I am correct. I don’t interrogate the judge, afterwards. In fact, I’ve never turned up for one, I just get the “YOU WON!” paperwork.

– Ling

scotroutes – Member

Why does anyone deserve a cooling off period to sidestep these costs????

Buyers regret

Except the OP is NOT the buyer (or customer). Il ne regret rien.

– Ling

scotroutes – Member

Does that mean the only option is to take the deposit, wait 14 days, then order the car? I wonder if that would put off some potential buyers.

Yes, it’s ridiculous.

In this very thread instance, the customer would be dancing up and down if I lost that Skoda order because I sat on the order form for 14 days before ordering the car.

I act on car order forms within seconds – and still lose some rare stock cars that get snapped up or sold elsewhere.

I tell them “I’ll order the car”, not “I’ll hang on and fart around 2 weeks and then order you the car, if it’s still available”

– Ling