Throttled

History will be kind to the climate protestors, as it is to the Suffragettes. They chained themselves to things (no superglue back then) and smashed windows (no spray paint back then). But they were right, it was madness women lacked basic rights and the government was dragging its feet over those rights. It is the same now, we need immediate action over climate change and the government is not acting fast enough.

Rode the bike in some pretty windy and very wet weather. First time in ages. Felt very wobbly. There is definitely a thing, bike fit, where if you ride regularly, you are better at it. I have gone from being very fit, to very unfit.

Switched from Asda to Aldi and the savings should cover the increased home fuel bills.

Bloody hell, £101 to tax the bike!

Liz Truss is my favourite joke.

When I did my mod 1 test, a lady was not allowed to take her mod 2 due to her lack of protective gear. She was on a scooter and had matched her helmet, jacket, trousers and gloves with the colour of the scooter. I don't know how it worked with the fees.

For warmth, I think what is under the jacket is more important than the jacket. A jacket is primarily for protection. If it is waterproof that helps. The thermal layers under it are for warmth and what comes with a jacket is not that great. I recommend thermal stuff you can get from outdoor shops.

Finally, bike ridden. Out for an hour round the local area.

Between holidays, work and decorating, this is the longest I have gone without riding my bike since I started biking.

I have a relative who lives on his own in a one bedroom flat, who has a fixed rate deal into next year and when the subsidies appear in next bill, he could pay less than £5.

I also do not get why prices are predicted to rise as high as suggested next year. Fuel prices collapsed when driving stopped during the first lockdown. A litre of petrol was about £1.40 and I was getting it for less than £1.05 for months. If everyone cuts domestic fuel consumption by even 10%, the price should come down, or at least stabilise.

Cyclists need to be reminded; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/rules-for-cyclists-59-to-82 "Rule 66 You should ...be considerate of the needs of other road users when riding in groups. You can ride two abreast and it can be safer to do so, particularly in larger groups or when accompanying children or less experienced riders. Be aware of drivers behind you and allow them to overtake (for example, by moving into single file or stopping) when you feel it is safe to let them do so"

This is a worse economic shock than the pandemic. The government is going to have to bail everyone out, or the economy collapses as so many people stop spending on anything other than household fuel and the cheapest of foods. Even if people do not use any electricity or gas, their bills will be bigger than before just because of the standing charges.

4 helmets 2 jackets (one armoured denim, the other Gore-Tex textile) 2 trousers (as above) 1 waterproof over jacket and trousers (left over from when I had one not totally waterproof textile jacket and trousers) 3 pairs of gloves (winter, spring/autumn/summer) 1 pair of boots loads of buffs and thermal and thin layers for the different seasons. Riding all year round is the justification for the different kit.

About the same, but is feels easier and quicker, because all the power is on tap all the time with an electric motor.

West Coast Harley Davidson in Glasgow sell Horwin electric scooters, and since they have a EK3 as a demonstrator, and I have never ridden a scooter, I though, why not? https://www.horwin.eu/ek3/ It is rated as a 125cc (the EK1 is rated as a 50cc), so it can be ridden after completing a CBT on L plates. The specifications are that it will top out at 60mph and in the lowest power mode, it will allegedly do 60 miles on a charge. There are three power modes, the lowest tops out at 29mph, the middle one is ideal for around town and should do for about 50 miles, so you can go 25 miles from home without having to charge to get back. Charging is with an adapter that just plugs into a wall socket and it takes maybe 4 hours to charge. The batteries can be taken out of the bike to charge in the house, or plug into a socket in the footwell. The key is a proximity fob, so you have that in your pocket, walk up to the bike and switch it on. There is an alarm, a side stand, a centre stand, cruise control and even a reverse, which you do not need, as it feels as light as a bicycle. That surprised me, as I associate batteries with weight. It is quite compact, I have size 9 feet and cannot fit them in the footwell without having to splay them out like a duck. The seat is huge and I found it comfortable. The mirrors are hopeless, far too narrow. The brakes were excellent and engine braking, which is not regenerative, is also very good. It will not even coast downhill, it slows down. There is a bag hook and a small amount of storage under the seat. The centre stand is good, as it is chain driven, so you will need to keep that chain clean and lubed. Initial performance is better than me on my YBR125 as you just take off. 0 to 30mph is quite rapid, but then it needed a run to get to the maximum 59mph I achieved. It is fine around town in power modes 2 and 3, but power mode 1 leaves you feeling a bit lost. The smaller EK1, 50cc equivalent is like power mode 1 and even on 30mph roads, it is not enough. It is very nimble and flickable, great fun to ride. The ride itself is fine over the bumps, which I think is as much to do with the very large padded seat. It makes a nice electric whine noise, so no worries that people will not hear you. I got lots of looks riding it around Renfrew, obviously everyone was very jealous. Electric is the future and I think the future is about fun personal transport. West Coast will sell you one for £4198.

@Hoggs I asked that since Barrontop was closed and there is nothing there, could I substitute the Dark Hedges for it. You agreed.

It was the small print of the policy that had a list like that, which Hastings said were mods and had to be declared. I think that makes Hastings pretty much useless as a bike insurer.

I had a long chat with Hastings. They are a broker, so they got in touch with their underwriter and the sad answer for me, is that Hastings and their underwriter are very strict with modifications. They agreed a side stand puck is not a side step, but that made no difference to the cost. They also refused to tell me what mod, or if it was the total number of mods, that was causing the price increase, which is unreasonable. I would now not recommend Hastings and I see others are not so strict about mods. Indeed, for now on, I will check to see before getting a quote.

I have complained to Hastings. If there is one mod causing the problem, like crash bungs, I will remove them. (Reference Id-O56Z7835 for my own info).

I tried the Hastings site for a quote and it declined me. What mods did you declare?

That's what I thought a mod was, not heated grips and mods for comfort and to protect the bike if it falls over. A crash bung should reduce insurance, not increase it.

This is the first and last time that happens. I am going to contact Hastings properly to get them to explain why each accessory causes a hike in insurance. The guy on the phone, with a terrible line and English not his first language, was clearly reading from a script/drop down box, try to find each mod to enter on the policy.

Hastings initial renewal, with no modifications recorded for the bike - £214.24. Hastings renewal after declaring dealer fitted heated grips, larger screen, crash bungs, cruise control, side stand flat foot - £355.23 On Confused. com, where there is nowhere to add modifications when getting insurance quotes, the second cheapest quote was £355.04 from MCE. I am not prepared to ditch the comfort of the mods so I am paying the extra, but what a rip off. Though, having never declared any modifications before, I have obviously been saving money for years.

I decided to read the small print for my renewal (Hastings) and saw there is a section on modifications, which states they include things not fitted at the time of manufacture, like heated grips, braided hoses, performance air filer and bar ends. My bike is down as having no modifications, but when I got the policy via Confused.com, there is nowhere to list them. The bike came with dealer fitted heated grips (they are Oxford, not Kawasaki) and I have fitted a side stand puck, a larger screen, crash bungs and a Kayoko cruise control. Is that the kind of thing I should declare and if so, how much of a difference will it make? They are all mods for comfort, not speed.