Any question answered...

Is there much noise? 100m away, a car every 2-3 mins? Can you hear it inside the house?

Mine are John Lewis. I stopped buying M&S ones when I tore several whilst executing the shoulders/back/drying manoeuvre .

It’s more for outside the house. Since its a “casita” it’s basically a shed on a plot with a pool. So we’re more concerned about how much the noise will ruin the beers by the pool!

Buy a decent Bluetooth speaker and forget about the road whilst drinking beer and listening to eurodisco.

Trying to cancel noise with a hedge is a tough one.
You need a bank/berm as high as you can and 2 or 3 m wide and plant 3 rows of holly or the like ( dense evergreen with branches that sprout from ground level) keep that trimmed to around 1.5m then plant 2 staggered rows of taller trees that will get to 3m with a gap of 1.5m (mature) Then plant a third row of low shrubs that look nice with a 1.5m gap (mature)
You can do the same with bamboos but you need to put in plastic boards to stop them growing into one mass. It’s the gaps that make it (sort of) work.
A water fountain or feature also helps.

Could try something like this surrounded by greenery

https://youtu.be/y9-p4AkgVU8?si=Z3LMVHeE9B-baBIU

If you want to learn with an actual person rather than a video then let's meetup for a drink. (My bona fides: I have the fiftieth fastest time in the UK for solving a 3x3 cube, for the over 40s age category)

Ha! What a star. I’m not in London any more Matt, otherwise that would fun. But thank you, I’m getting there slowly but not a natural (as I sometimes have to tell people not THAT type of ASD)

After a while, you won't notice it. I grew up on a pretty busy road, only 30mph, but cars all day and you don't notice it even though our front door was 6m away from the road.

Buy a decent Bluetooth speaker and forget about the road whilst drinking beer and listening to eurodisco.

so far, this is the best suggestion imo

Oh yeah, I live on a main road, totally used to it, we reckon it's like going to sleep with the sound of the sea 😂

There are several companies offering sound reduction fencing, e.g. https://www.acoustiblok.co.uk/our-products/acoustifence-external-noise-barrier/ You could hide it behind a hedge.

Can you calculate the weight of a bike by weighing the front wheel and then the rear?

Is there fancy maths required or just add the two weights together?

Does it matter if I weigh using a luggage scale so hanging the bike rather than sitting it on a bathroom scale type thing?

Can you calculate the weight of a bike by weighing the front wheel and then the rear?

Yes

Is there fancy maths required or just add the two weights together?

No

Does it matter if I weigh using a luggage scale so hanging the bike rather than sitting it on a bathroom scale type thing?

Not really

Excellent cheers.

I've generously rounded up my measurements to give a good margin of error.

I only need to know that the combined weight of bike plus rider (me) don't exceed 175kg.

The bike is a derny by the way, I'm nowhere near to that weight limit on a regular bike!

Can I convert a fat bike into a trike with some kind of replacement fork (plus some kind of reinforcement)?

Bought a fat bike a couple of years back to deal with Helsinki winter but it doesn't really cut it on ice. Was thinking whether I could turn it into a trike with two mountain bike wheels on the front for the ultimate no falling over machine.

I would just try studded tyres but they are €250 EACH and won't bother if I still end up falling on my arse.

Can I convert a fat bike into a trike with some kind of replacement fork (plus some kind of reinforcement)?

No, that's not how tadpoles work.

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Here's a fun question - just got a parking fine though for apparently overstaying my welcome at the local co-op last October - they reckon I was parked there overnight for about 12 hours!

For various reasons (aside from just knowing I've never left the car there overnight, whatsapp messages mostly - I know my wife had the car elsewhere between those times) I know that cannot be true, so can only assume the cameras have missed our exit/entry and is counting two visits as one visit.

Question is, I have no idea what I can do about it - the intial letter from the parking fine people went to our old house (now that is my fault) so first we've heard of is the letter from their debt collectors who I presume won't be overly taken by me saying "I didn't do it". Trying to appeal via the parking fine people's website and they say "your Parking Charge Notice has been passed to a Debt Recovery Agent for collection, therefore the time to appeal or make payment with Horizon Parking has elapsed. Please refer to your correspondence sent by our Debt Recovery Agent".

Any clue what to do?

Can I convert a fat bike into a trike with some kind of replacement fork (plus some kind of reinforcement)?

No, that's not how tadpoles work.

Are you sure? Stuff like this exists: https://add-bike.com/en/addbike-plus/

Im not after wheels being as far apart as your example, thinking more like the ratios of the three wheel motorbikes you see about.

Accept the mistake of not keeping your registration up to date and pay the fine for an easy life?

Nah, fuck that noise. Don't pay anyone, call a parking fine person and tell them to get fucked.

excellent contrast in advice!

And yes, this has been a costly lesson in not keeping the registration up to date.

I would contact the Coop and explain, ask them to have a word first. I worked briefly at a sainsburys store that had a private ANPR operated carpark and if staff received tickets, the store was able to contact the company and get rid of the tickets retrospectively.
You should tell the debt collection agency that you do not owe what they say you do. They shouldn't be able to chase you for payment until it is confirmed.
They won't come knocking to take away property or anything, debt collectors don't have any power to, only bailifs and only after a court has ruled you have to pay and the court is unlikely to rule in their favour if it ever went that far. The burden of proof is on the claimant (the parking company) and ANPR is unlikely to be strong enough

similar case here

If the parking company is a member of the British Parking Association, have a look at https://www.popla.co.uk/index.htm they can help with appeals

If you have any evidence that the car can't have been parked there like any messages from your partner saying that they're going here or there within those hours, submit those to the debt collection agency and/or coop and/or the parking co

See if their phone has recorded their location history, that could be evidence they returned to collect the car.

I am pretty sure you are out of date, the parking companies now usually win these cases:
https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/private-parking-tickets/

I recently successfully appealed one with ParkingEye. But I did it within the deadline, and I was fortunate that somebody else who got a fine at the exact same premises had it featured in the Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/oct/03/i-was-fined-100-for-queuing-up-at-a-carwash-queue

Very possible, I just googled