Typical!
After a week of sunshine, it was bound to be raining today.
It was another wet Saturday morning, but we headed to Portsmouth anyway, with helmets and wet-weather gear in hand.
We were off to the e-bike takeover of the Portsmouth outdoor velodrome to try out some of the newest electric bicycles and generally have fun, cycling round in circles, on a ton of demo bikes.
We weren’t planning to buy just yet, but I was keen to get Sue to try the new ‘G line electric’ Brompton. I’d seen a few reviews, and it looked like a much better shape for her with a more familiar flat handlebar and wider tyres than the electric version of my trusty steed that we had tried before. Its lower step-through and foldability just added to its appeal as the next bike for my friend.
So having paid our £1 entry fee, we headed to the stands where over 40 different electric demo bikes were waiting for us to try.
The early shower had ensured the track was quiet, so we headed out with our first choices, swapping after a couple of laps before heading back to pick another bike to try.
Sue tried several different options, but each time I picked one of the Bromptons - both the C and G line electrics were available to try. We did a couple of loops, then swapped bikes until the rain got too much to bear.
The Brompton Electric G line did not disappoint. It was everything I expected and more. The gears on the demo model didn’t work, but even in this’ fixie + motor’ mode, it was still nippy round the track and light enough to be rideable with no assist too.
After trying all the others, Sue agreed that this bike was by far the best on the track. We both came away wishing it had been around before she had invested in her bike.
Wind forward a couple of weeks, and you find me in my HR's office asking about the cycle-to-work scheme and how long it takes to get a bike. She talked me through each step, explaining that each one would take a couple of weeks so I’d be looking at September at the earliest if I wanted a new bike.
To make the application, I would need to make sure it was the bike I wanted and, of course, decide on colours. It was too difficult to choose online. I just needed to see them.
So at the weekend Sue joined me for a trip to Ascot, to the best Brompton bike shop in the South. I was pretty confident they could help.
And I was right. We were able to see all four colours available and check out all the e-luggage too.
It was great to chat to Hannah, the star of their exceptionally useful YouTube channel (I will link to it below). She was so knowledgeable about the full range of Bromptons and all their accessories.
I was quite concerned that the biggest bag available was still very small, hardly enough to fit my school stuff, let alone a touring load. Hannah happily used a couple of bags from the display, taking them apart to see if it would be possible to convert a big bag to take the electric frame. It wasn’t!
I began to waver, but Hannah gave me some other ideas to investigate. My brain was, by now, buzzing. I had got it down to two colours, but I still couldn’t choose between them.
We walked away, armed with more knowledge about the cycle-to-work process, a bag option, and a much better idea of the available colours.
With just two weeks till the end of term, I filled in my Cyclescheme application and checked back with HR. It will take a month they said.
Then on Friday the certificate arrived. I contacted Brilliant Bikes so that they could order the bike. I expected that would take a month too, as I’d chosen the size and colour combination that they didn’t have in stock.
‘Hi Hannah, the school and cycle scheme have excelled themselves. I have my certificate; what do I do now?’
‘That’s great to hear, shall we get it ready for you to collect next weekend?’
Oh my word!
That’s crazy quick!
I was in shock!
The diary was consulted and I could just squeeze in the trip to Ascot on the Friday morning. This would be just before heading to Portsmouth to jailbreak my mum out of hospital and take my dad to his Drs appointment, but that’s a different story.
I left home early and arrived at Sunningdale just in time for a delicious coffee and a spot of breakfast before heading back to Brilliant Bikes for the second time within two weeks.
I spotted Hannah standing beside a couple of very large boxes and two forest green Bromptons. It took me a moment to realise that I was looking at my new bike. This time I remembered to ask for a photograph!
Her husband kindly took a couple of photos with us both. Then fitted a quad lock mount for me while Hannah went through all the useful pieces of information that made this bike different to Iona. I tried really hard to remember it all.
Thankfully, the bits I didn’t remember were in the handy quick-start guide that came with the charger box.
Hannah helped me take everything out to the car. She showed me how to remove the pedal and grabbed some tissue to catch the exposed grease.
I mentioned that I couldn’t believe that I was walking out with a bike two weeks after I first enquired about it.
She explained that they actually made up my bike from a two others to make sure I had the right colour and size as they didn’t want me waiting for one to be ordered. They truly are Brilliant!
Thank you Hannah and all at Brilliant Bikes! What excellent service.
It was another two days before I finally had a chance to take her out for a ride.
But, when I got to it, the maiden trip made an excellent excuse to search out a couple of test hills and some riverside breakfast.
On day 3, I tested the commute route as I had to pick up some forgotten paperwork from school.
Day 4 took us a little further afield. It was a trip that incorporated an exploration of an orchard, some shopping errands, lunch and a train trip home.
Day 5 - was a trip to Portsmouth to visit the folks with time to enjoy the sounds of the sea whilst waiting for the next train home.
The beauty of the fold is that you don’t have to fight with the four other bikes all trying to fit in the allocated bike space. Or worry about it going missing at every stop. You just pop it in the luggage rack beside you.
The folded bike had also triggered a 20min conversation with another passenger on the way to Portsmouth that morning. She had recently sold her mountain bike as she couldn’t store it in her new house. She was intrigued by the way it just packed so small, yet looked so substantial when reformed.
She excitedly left the train, armed with the name and address of Brilliant Bikes stored in her phone for investigation when her day's chores were done.
Day 6 comprised of a trip to Winchester to meet Daisy (and Jo). This visit wasn’t initially going to involve public transport, but thankfully, I found out in time, that the roundabout at junction 9 of the M3 had been shut. This was causing huge delays and a long diversion. I didn’t fancy either, so it was back to the station for the 2 stop, 20 minute, journey to Winchester instead.
Jo met me at the station, and we rode out for the city, along the canal, before heading back for a coffee. After a long chat in the sunshine, we headed back to the station and took the short trip home
A Breeze ride was booked for the evening, which took us on an extended loop around the River Itchen before heading back into Ocean Village for coffee. I was amazed that this tipped the weeks total to over 70 miles - pretty good going for just 6 days of ownership and 4 fun-filled days of cycling.
Having taken all week to decide on a name, I can now say ‘Welcome to the fold, ‘Genie G’. I'm sure it's going to be a fun ride.
Links
Brilliant bikes - https://www.brilliantbikes.co.uk/
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