London Host Opportunity

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Sharon Scholz

New Member
Hi Everyone,


- If you live in London, or know of someone who does and might like to be our host, please email me - sharonscholz2@bigpond.com asap.

My name is Sharon Scholz. I am a wife, mother and ultra distance running athlete from Australia. I compete internationally and will be flying to London on my way to Conway, Wales where I will be competing in the Commonwealth Championship 24hr Running this September. If you want more information with regards to my ultra-distance running, please visit my website: www.sharonscholz.com

My husband and I will be travelling to London in early September, and then slowly cycling towards Conway, Wales over the following weeks prior to my running event, then return to London by bike before flying home.

We intend to purchase a 2 x new touring bikes (similar to the one at the below) for our journey and do not intend to bring them back to Australia. I would like to know if anyone might be interested in keeping theses bikes as payment for the following assistance in London as described below. Each of these bikes will cost around 100 -120 GBP. I believe the bike below costs 110BGP. Please keep in mind that the bike will have been ridden over 1000km's, so would not be in pristine condition. Washed and cared for, but definitely not NEW.

In return for these bikes we would need the following assistance in London:

  • Someone reliable and willing to take delivery of 2 x new bikes (still in bike boxes) several weeks in advance of our journey
  • Appropriate storage of the bikes at their home until we collect them
  • Justin and I (+ baggage) would need to be picked up from Heathrow Airport on Friday 9 September at around 7am (our flight arrives at Sep 5:50 AM, so this allows plenty of time for airport procedures). Further discussions will be necessary to determine a pick-up details
  • Transport to the host's home where we can construct the bikes throughout the day
  • 1 x night accommodation with the host - we do not need anything fancy, just somewhere to sleep - the couch would be fine
  • Lunch, evening meal on the Friday and breakfast for my husband and I on the Saturday morning
We will start travelling towards Conway in the morning on Saturday 10 September.



  • On our return journey we would need a host to be available for us to arrive at their home on Saturday 1 September (time unknown at this stage, but can be negotiated through further correspondence with the host)
  • 1 x night accommodation with the host
  • Evening meal for Saturday 1 October and breakfast for Sunday for my husband and I
  • Delivery of us and our luggage to the airport on Sunday 2 October by 6:30am
We would like to be able to leave the bikes with the host.



Please let me know by 4/6/11 if this proposal is of interest to you or other contacts you know. If I have not received some sort of notification by this date I will seek alternate arrangements.



All my contacts are below, though email is the easiest form of correspondence.



Hope to hear from you soon,



Kind regards,



The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.......

Sharon Scholz

5 Hoysted Court Wangaratta

Phone: (03) 5721 5954

Mobile: 0407 081 070

Website: www.sharonscholz.com

Email: sharonscholz2@bigpond.com
 

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david k

david k

Hi
Location
North West
the cost of what your asking outweighs the cost of the bikes
 
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Pisquee

Regular
The deal does seem interesting to me, but not for the free bikes, just enjoy being hospitable and hosting people. However, around the dates proposed my wife will be very pregnant and a baby imminent so not great timing.
 
david k

david k

Hi
Location
North West
is it me or does anyone else prefer not to invite strangers from the internet into my home for a free used cheap bike?

If i was planning a trip of this nature my investigation would take in more than a post on a forum of strangers
 
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thelawnet

Well-Known Member
To the OP you may have misjudged your audience - for a cycling forum, the bikes in the OP are not terribly appealing, at any price. Assuming they make it back to London in working order, they will then be not new £110 bikes, but used ones, no different from a vast supply of similar low-quality used bikes readily available on ebay/gumtree etc (this one, basically unused, sold for under £50 http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Gents-Bike-Blue-Tiger-Aventis-22-Frame-Ex-Cond-/270749887299). Having by that point covered around 500 miles, more than most similar bikes do in their lifetime, it's quite possible that some of the cheap, low-quality parts used on them will have reached their design limits and the bikes will be little more than scrap.


Considering the considerable cost of flying to the UK from Australia, and then staying here for almost a month, it makes little sense to attempt a long journey on a cheap bike-shaped object; it would make more sense to request two used touring bikes, which you could then sell back, still used, at the end of the trip.
 
arallsopp

arallsopp

Post of The Year 2009 winner
Location
Bromley, Kent
Well, firstly let me say "Congratulations" on your first step towards what sounds like a captivating idea. I'm not sure the lure of two semi-disposable (and by that point fairly knackered) bikes will be a strong one, particularly here where most already have at least one good bike, and all will know just how naff these bikes are going to be...

I'd also wager that there are plenty in the London area who like the idea of all of it, except for the early morning dash to Heathrow.

Fortunately, there are plenty of minicab drivers who will willingly collect you from the airport and drop you to someone's house at a far more sensible hour. Last I did this, anything up to about an hour away was about £50 (approx $80AU).

Might be worth taking the hit on the taxi, because the leisurely bike assembly is going to be a complete pain if you don't have access to a few household tools and somewhere to store them on delivery.

If nobody does bite, there's also the chance that similar quality bikes could be bought online for 'in-store' pickup in a UK store (eg. Halfords / Decathlon), meaning you'd only need to get the dates right then go collect. Decathlon is generally better than Halfords, but both have assembly facilities, accessories and all the tools / waterproofs / lights / fluids you'll need to get going.

One advantage of Halfords is that they're dotted all along your route. If the bike develops a problem, you're only ever about 15 miles from a store that you can moan at.

Hope that helps some. All sounds like a marvellous idea. Sorry I'm not available to help.

Andy.

Edit: Cross posted with above. Yes, used touring bikes would be a much better bet, but (presumably) harder to find unless someone here can help out.
 
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thelawnet

Well-Known Member
arallsopp said:
Fortunately, there are plenty of minicab drivers who will willingly collect you from the airport and drop you to someone's house at a far more sensible hour. Last I did this, anything up to about an hour away was about £50 (approx $80AU).
Click to expand...


That really depends on the distance. You could get a minicab to somewhere like Windsor for about £20, less still to a nearby suburb such as Hayes.


It is a little unclear what the OP proposes to do for accommodation for the rest of the period, or whether she in fact has any business in 'London', as requesting accommodation in London if this is not the case may not be productive, as somewhere outside London may be closer to the airport, closer to Conwy, and more likely to have space to accommodate two cyclists.
 
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Pisquee

Regular
Thinking a bit more, if you're flying into Heathrow with the intention of cycling to Wales, then going into London is the wrong direction.If you're budgeting for the flights, and buying bikes and all other expenses, then surely, two overnights at a Heathrow/West Drayton hotel would not add too much more.
There's a Halfords in Hayes UB4 0RH, close to the airport area. So, you could taxi to Halfords and pick up your bikes and buy any other bits and bobs you need, cycle back to the hotel in West Drayton, and set off for Wales the next day.
 
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