First camping trip

I'm taking my Brompton for its first camping expedition this weekend. Just two nights static camping. I shall take a backpack rather than a Brompton T Bag and this holds everything I'll need. Having looked at a helpful video on YouTube, I've managed to mount my backpack on the rear carrier. I hope it holds.

From home, I shall ride the half mile or so to catch a bus to Banbury bus station, walk the short distance to the rail station and travel by train to Derby. From there, by bus to Ashbourne and then cycle around eight miles along the Tissington Trail to my intended campsite. The Trail north out of Ashbourne is generally uphill. I use a very good app called Komoot for route planning. It tells me that my outgoing route from Ashbourne will be 1hr 26 mins and return route 1hr 6 mins.

I shall post again next week and assess how well, or otherwise, the weekend goes.

Mine's not the only Brompton in town

Ridng up to my local health centre for a 'flu jab the other day, only a couple of hundred yards from home, I caught up with another Brompton. His two gears were no match for my six, it seemed. We stopped and had a chat. He's had his for a couple of years. I think it might have been a special edition, brazed joints, etc. It was rather smart with S bars. No doubt we'll run into each other again.

The maiden outing

For those who are interested, my Brompton is an H6R. The H refers to the type of handlebars. I opted for the most upright riding position as I have a slightly dodgy neck which doesn't like a position where my neck vertebrae are compressed for any length of time. The 6 refers to 6 gears and I went for the one with -12% lowered gearing for, I'm told, better hill climbing. Finally, the R means that I have mudguards front and back and a rear carrier with little wheels attached which make transporting it very easy.

I chose a Brooks leather saddle and dynamo lighting.

On Saturday, I applied some Brooks Proofide to the Brooks leather saddle. There wasn't much in the little sachet that came with the bike but presumably it was enough. I shall have to buy a tin although whether it is any better than the Nikwax I put on leather boots, I don't really know.

On Sunday, I went out for a spin of five miles. It seems fine, although there is one little problem which I shall have to ask Walton Street Cycles about. The seat post, although it seems tightened, slips a little when I am in motion and this is very annoying so, several times, I had to stop and adjust the height of the seat.

Apart from this, I think I am going to like the bike very much.

My new friend

After a wait of about six weeks since placing my order, I received a call today from Walton Street Cycles in Oxford to say that my new Brompton folding bike had arrived, been assembled, and was ready for collection. I drove down to Oxford, parked, and walked the fifty or so yards to the shop. On saying what I had come for, the assistant in the shop exclaimed, "So you're the red and green one!" It seemed that everyone in the shop had been discussing the colour scheme. Anyone who buys a new Brompton must choose the colour or colours they want. One of the shop staff had said he definitely didn't like it whereas the others did like it, thinking it was rather Christmassy. I have to say, though, that after I had placed the order, I had second thoughts about the colour scheme and that perhaps I should have chosen all green (it's British Racing Green) as it would have been a little more discreet. Anyway, I didn't do anything about it and I actually like the way it looks. It's very distinctive.

I was taken through the folding and unfolding procedure which is quite straightforward and I will get the hang of it with practice. I paid and then carried it to the car. It was just starting to rain so I lobbed it in the back and dived into the car. Within a couple of minutes, the heavens opened.

I shall now plan some adventures. The bike will be taken to places in my camper van and so there be some overlap with my camper blog and there may also be an overlap with my backpacking blog. We'll see how it works out.

Anyway, here are some initial photos.

Weather permitting, I plan to take it for its maiden voyage tomorrow, just a spin of a few miles locally.