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bsb-
Yeah - this just forces you to stay firmly seated under any circumstances, as any attempt at getting off the saddle eg for the smallest of hills will exacerbate massively any lateral flex there is in your frame and result in the whole bike shaking and swaying massively as if it were one big noodle. Similarly you can forget about riding no handed.
If you're seated it's alright, but... I like getting off the saddle every now and then.
cgg
I mini-toured to and from a wedding through Normandy last year, riding to a wedding is ace! Although the thing itself can be a bit boring coming after a few days of riding.
Last weekend I rode to Lille to deliver some presents. Started by riding from Rainham to Dover on Friday evening. I had to be in Lille at noon or after on Saturday, so was aiming for the 2am ferry to Calais. Got there for the 1 am anyway, so didn't use my relatively straightforward planned route, falling back to maps for something a bit more circuitous. Rode over some hills, took a few wrong turns, slept 1h on the side of the road, did a bakery stop in Saint Omer and then another coffee stop in Hazebrouck and finally ended up at my destination at noon more or less on the dot.
On Sunday, left Lille aimed for Dunkirk and the 6pm ferry. Uneventful, flat 100km ride through France and Belgium. Killed almost too much time on the seafront in Dunkirk and realised I had just under 45 minutes to make the remaining 18km (gasp!) to the ferry check-in, which would have been fine if not for the mother of all headwinds blowing in my face. Still, made it on the dot again though next time I'll try to leave a bit more time for it. At least I didn't have to wait for very long before boarding. And then, 40 km from Dover to Ashford in the basking end-of-day sunlight, over the Kent Downs, way to end a good weekend!
The key take away of the weekend is that I don't really like riding with a full and heavy Carradice, this thing is terrifying. It is convenient though.
The last photo should be first. (Chilham on Friday evening, France on early Saturday morning, ferry arriving back to Dover on Sunday and views of the Kent Downs on Sunday evening)