Any question answered...

Ears need some deforestation

My hair has migrated from scalp to eyebrows and nostrils

Repped!

sorry to intrude on this… i feel like I have walked into a room at a party where everyone knows each other and wants to maintain their vibe… buuuut… how do you hitch hike? should i get myself to a motorway feed road or will camberwell church st do? hitch hiking, btw, is going to make a return. you heard it here first! we are all too poor to pay

Thumb up high, hint of a bollock in the headlights.

Keep a clean look about yourself, walking is better than standing, signage may or may not help, don't wear a trench coat, looking like a female will get you more rides, don't carry a weapon because someone meaning to do you harm will be be better at it than you.
Mostly, nowadays you're not likely to get any rides.

A sign helps. Internationally, remember to use the local spelling.
Feed roads are better because more drivers are going to or passing through your destination.

I really hope it does make a comeback in the UK. Just before I left I hitched a ride in Gypsy Hill because I'd missed the bus to a friend's birthday party in Thornton Heath. Stuck my thumb out and got the ride in about 5 mins.

I found it much easier in most of EU countries I visited. Scandinavia was tricky at times.

Is there no app equivalent these days? In Europe there is one called blablacar for ride sharing although there is a cost sharing element.

It's been 30 years since I did it.

When you pick your spot make sure drivers have a good place to stop once they've decided to pick you up and try to have your thumb out at a point where they are not pedal to the metal.

If you want to go long distances be prepared for some epic detours.

I never used a sign but maybe it helps.

You pretty much always end up walking until you find a spot, sometimes it's not the best spot but it used to be pretty easy to get picked up within a few hours from even the worst spots.

I don't think it's dangerous but coaches got so cheap it stopped being worth it for longer trips.

I think people take the piss with blablacar these days.

The last long trip I did, hitchwiki.org was helpful

Where I live now there are a few ride sharing fb groups as well. Might be worth checking there also.

! I’m the kind of person (on the spectrum but extrovert?) that always goes too far and would find hinting difficult.

thanks to everyone else too. my silly dilemma is that i impulse bought a bike in carlisle and am now finding it difficult to justify going all that way. It’s not just the cost -which is a factor- but the guilt (those of you who had fathers like mine will understand) so I am looking to either do it cheaply or do it in a nice way. I tried to volunteer to help at LEL, with a plan to get the cheap train over from Newcastle, but they said no, probably thinking I was a weirdo. Currently thinking I’ll hitch or coach up and try and ride/train back down, although this involves a good amount of risk. What if the bike doesn’t fit/work/clashes with my outfit

ps it’s not that i don’t have real problems, just that bikes have always been a distraction from insurmountable difficulties! sorry tmi!

.

If the coach is cheap enough try to box the bike and get a return?

good idea! thanks

Any idea if a cardboard MTB box fit a gravel bike and 2 sets of wheels?

Or, could I use a normal bike box for the frame and stick 2 wheel boxes together to make 1 piece of luggage containing the second wheelset?

cardboard MTB box

If you mean the newer breed of massive boxes that mountain bikes come in virtually fully assembled, then aye. Gravel bike and two wheel sets easy.

If you use a normal bike box then fuck about taping wheel box’s to it, depending on its final shape, it might end up being too chunky and exceed the max dimensions if you’re posting it.

I got a bike box from my lbs recently and it was fucking massive, it might have been an ebike that came in it. A 54cm track bike could fit in it without taking the wheels off.

Ta. I guess the tricky part is getting hold of one of the big boxes.

This is for a flight, not postage.

This is for a flight

Ah ok, check if the airline have max dimensions for a bike box, they might(will) be cunts.

Thinking about it, the massive bike box I have in mind might even be too big to get on a plane though.

Just go into the biggest bike shop you can find and ask for a box, if they don’t have one they will keep one aside when they do.

If you can find a way to pick it up (near Hastings) you're welcome to borrow my Evoc bike bag for a few months, I'm going nowhere. Like me it's well padded and has never failed on a flight.

Check local Evans - picked up couple of boxes las t night for the same purpose (flight). They have some extra large ones (electric bikes) which you can resize down. To fit two sets of wheels you'll need 22cm width minimum, 25cm perhaps. Wheels off and strapped to the frame on each side so frame rests on them. Use cable ties and pipe insulation and any old paper/cardboard to double up on sides. Take rear mech off and wedge rear dropouts with piece of wood, remove forks and strap to top/seatstays. Have travelled many of times this way. BA is best as it takes bike as your luggage, no extra cost.

I might have a massive box at work. I'll have to check on Monday though!

Just the tip...

Ta. I've got a proper flight case that I've used often enough so my bike will go in that. Missus will need to borrow a flight case again or scout out a cardboard box. It's the extra wheels I've not tried to take before that I can see being a problem. Yeah, we have BA flights.

I guess I need to look at their rules to see if two cardboard wheel boxes taped together to form one piece of luggage will be allowed.

Ta

Done with a degree of caution, drilling a new valve hole in an aluminium rim is a legitimate exercise right?