The Retirement Thread

[gavroche]

Good morning all. Arrived here in Devon at about 1pm yesterday after an easy, trouble free drive, motorways not busy and fluid. Went to see our daughter's new house in Bideford in the afternoon. Moving in is planned for next Thursday but she is going to see if the removal people could make it earlier as she is all set to move now.
Nice and sunny at the moment.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

On my way home from my ride yesterday there were some roadworks - after them a bloke on a scruffy mountain bike past me - looked like he was coming home from work - which is good.

However, he seemed to have that "old fat bloke wearing a helmet and hi-vis - I must be loads faster than him" attitude

SO he past me - but then - due to male hormones - has to stay ahead.
Now - to be fair I was on an ebike - but when he past me I checked my speedo as I was rather surprised. I was doing 17.8 mph (OK OK OK - there was a tail wind I am not normally that fast on the flat!) so I carefully maintained that speed - even dropped a bit.
I could see he was starting to struggle
Problem is that I cycle nearly every day and only use the lowest assist level - sometime even have it OFF so I can ride at a reasonable speed for an old fat bloke - probably more accurate to say 'less fat than he used to be bloke'
and - remember - the motor cuts off at 15.5 mph - so it wasn;t helping

Anyway - I ended up slowing down to 16.5 mph so I didn't catch him up then he turned up towards a 'black path' that I sometimes use as a short cut to my house - I didn;t go that way because I would have finished with a mileage that was below my target.
So - I carry on via the main road and am still below target miles - so I take a long route round the park and back through a dodgy estate and onto the park
As I enter the park another bike was approaching a gate - so I stopped to let him go first
Guess who!
Yup - it was the bloke on the mountain bike who looked rather shocked to find me coming from the wrong angle after he took the short cut

He probably thinks I was cheating with a hacked speed limited

but no - he just got beaten by an old fat bloke wearing hi-vis and a helmet!!!!

I didn't tell him


Is gloating using a long winded tale allowed on here???
I just find it funny when men - or boys - feel they need to pass me and then struggle to keep ahead but would rather die of exhaustion than have me catch up


I bet some of the Ladies find the same thing??

I used to get this sometimes when I was commuting, I always rode in my work clothes so was rarely flat out, when I got passed I would speed up and sit just behind them, it was surprising how many couldn't hold the speed, a hundred yards down the road and they were slowing, at that point I just passed and was on my way.

 

[welsh dragon]

What a numpty I am. Started spraying Mr Muscle oven cleaner on my oven trays only to discover that I was spraying Mr sheen furniture polish on them. Same colour can. DOH

 

[Deleted member 1258]

What a numpty I am. Started spraying Mr Muscle oven cleaner on my oven trays only to discover that I was spraying Mr sheen furniture polish on them. Same colour can. DOH

Don't worry about doing that, I've done it.

 

[BoldonLad]

On my way home from my ride yesterday there were some roadworks - after them a bloke on a scruffy mountain bike past me - looked like he was coming home from work - which is good.

However, he seemed to have that "old fat bloke wearing a helmet and hi-vis - I must be loads faster than him" attitude

SO he past me - but then - due to male hormones - has to stay ahead.
Now - to be fair I was on an ebike - but when he past me I checked my speedo as I was rather surprised. I was doing 17.8 mph (OK OK OK - there was a tail wind I am not normally that fast on the flat!) so I carefully maintained that speed - even dropped a bit.
I could see he was starting to struggle
Problem is that I cycle nearly every day and only use the lowest assist level - sometime even have it OFF so I can ride at a reasonable speed for an old fat bloke - probably more accurate to say 'less fat than he used to be bloke'
and - remember - the motor cuts off at 15.5 mph - so it wasn;t helping

Anyway - I ended up slowing down to 16.5 mph so I didn't catch him up then he turned up towards a 'black path' that I sometimes use as a short cut to my house - I didn;t go that way because I would have finished with a mileage that was below my target.
So - I carry on via the main road and am still below target miles - so I take a long route round the park and back through a dodgy estate and onto the park
As I enter the park another bike was approaching a gate - so I stopped to let him go first
Guess who!
Yup - it was the bloke on the mountain bike who looked rather shocked to find me coming from the wrong angle after he took the short cut

He probably thinks I was cheating with a hacked speed limited

but no - he just got beaten by an old fat bloke wearing hi-vis and a helmet!!!!

I didn't tell him


Is gloating using a long winded tale allowed on here???
I just find it funny when men - or boys - feel they need to pass me and then struggle to keep ahead but would rather die of exhaustion than have me catch up


I bet some of the Ladies find the same thing??

Mrs @BoldonLad, on one occasion, we were cycling around Lac Annecy, France. Overall, it is reasonably flat, but, there is one big hill. Mrs B was flagging at about the 2/3 point of the hill, and, contemplating walking. She was overtaken by a lady, who, she decided was older than her. Red rag to a bull, new reserves were found, and, she made it to the top.

 

[classic33]

What a numpty I am. Started spraying Mr Muscle oven cleaner on my oven trays only to discover that I was spraying Mr sheen furniture polish on them. Same colour can. DOH

Now you've just to work out where you polished using Mr Muscle oven cleaner.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I used to get this sometimes when I was commuting, I always rode in my work clothes so was rarely flat out, when I got passed I would speed up and sit just behind them, it was surprising how many couldn't hold the speed, a hundred yards down the road and they were slowing, at that point I just passed and was on my way.

I have a rule that if someone is slightly slower than me then I won't pass them - if you are not careful you get into an arms race!!
Of course - having an ebike I can normally just drop to a lower motor assist level but normally that means 'off' - or even just slowing down and dropping a gear.
In desperate circumstances I stop at a shop for essential nutrition!

 

[Juan Kog]

What a numpty I am. Started spraying Mr Muscle oven cleaner on my oven trays only to discover that I was spraying Mr sheen furniture polish on them. Same colour can. DOH

Don't worry about doing that, I've done it.

Dave be honest, you sprayed heavy duty oven cleaner on your best Chippendale .
I have sprayed a large bluebottle with Mr Sheen .

 

[ColinJ]

I am making a cautious revisit, keeping an eye open for TdF spoilers!

I had a bit of a scare at the health centre. I am a needlephobe so it was a great thing for me when the local anticoagulation service switched from a big needle in a vein to a tiny needle in a fingertip to take the blood samples, and the blood test done immediately by a portable machine rather than the 'litre' of venous blood being sent to a lab. The thing is, the portable machine has to be able to scan a barcode on the appointment card, otherwise it is needle-in-arm time again. When I took my appointment card out of my bag, the bit with the barcode was missing. The nurse was tapping her feet and sharpening her backup syringe while I scoured my bag. I finally found the missing barcode crumpled up in a pocket on the side of the bag. Phew!

The blood INR reading was perfect so hopefully things will now settle back down to a normal 8-10 week testing frequency and I will be sticking with the dose that I have been on for the past month or so.

I called in at Lidl on the way home and accidentally dropped my shopping list in the car park. It started to blow away from me so I chased it for a few metres, and it came to rest next to a crisp £10 note! I looked around to see if I could spot anybody who might have dropped it but nobody was in sight. I thought the chances of me reuniting the note with whoever had dropped it were therefore minimal and I decided to pick it up and donate it to my bubble pal. She is on the way over and has just spent £30 on a rail card to help with her fares. I got another £5 in cashback at the store so I'll pay for half the card. Her visits to see me during the Covid lockdowns have been one of the few things that helped to keep me (vaguely!) sane!

 

[Dirk]

Bloomin' warm down the caravan storage this morning!
Good job I was wearing shorts and a T shirt.
Got the marker lights changed - all looks smart and matching now.
Did a couple of other little jobs while I was down there. All good to go for the next adventure.
Had lunch in the garden and a couple of GT Ales finest to wash it down.
New watch strap arrived, so the old one's been replaced.
Chased doggie around the bungalow a few times, so she's knackered now and sleeping.
Currently scoffing cherry short cake and having a cuppa.

 

[rustybolts]

Crikey. Just checked my Strava fly-by to see if the guy that passed me had shown up. No wonder he seemed to pass quickly. He is rather speedy!


That is pretty impressive but equally impressive or maybe more so ( IMHO) I see a link to the electric bikes forum saying 80 year old paperboy postpones retirement after getting an E Bike !

 

[Deleted member 1258]

We had a good afternoon down the club, we started at a favourite cafe for a spot of lunch, they closed during the first lockdown and only started back up about a week ago. I then walked down the club pushing my good Lady in her wheelchair, a stop in Morrisons on the way down then in the club for most of the afternoon, the Thursday club is better than the Monday club, more relaxed with more laughter and general p**s taking, my Good Lady and my Brother In law both won and a good time was had by all, the only slight disapointment was the Cider being off, I had to drink larger instead, that stuff goes straight through, bus home and now listening to the cricket.

 

[rustybolts]

My youngest brother used to work as a night shift delivery driver for Group4 many years ago. One night, driving though the wilds of Northumberland, collided with a deer. Transit van was wrecked, fortunately, brother was unhurt, deer dead. He spent the rest of his shift waiting for Group4 to send out another van and a recovery truck.

I remember Christiano Da Matta hitting a deer at Road America in his Indy car , it ended his career and nearly ended his life. Took him years to get back to some sort of normality

 

[gavroche]

Just back from the new house. We did a bit of tidying up and carpet fitters put two new carpets down. Tomorrow, I will put things on walls and new dishwasher, fridge freezer and tv delivered so will be busy putting new fireplace and TV on wall above it as well. Moving in is still scheduled for next Thursday as removal people can't bring it forward.
Loads of cyclists about in Bideford .

 

[Paulus]

Good evening all

MrsP and my good self have just got back from the RHS flower show at Hampton Court Palace.
It rained heavily for quite a while which dampened our spirits a bit, but we persevered. A good day out. When we got home, not a drop of rain had fallen.
Now to settle down with a beer or two and watch the highlights of the Tour.
Off to Suffolk tomorrow morning for a few days.
Retirement can be so busy.