Just before I start, I'm not sure but from some research of what's openly available of peoples commute info, it would appear I might just have the British (non verified) commute record happy with that and am even thinking to get a part time job there - Scarbados - to drill it firmly into the non-official record books (Strava off course).

Sorry about that, just wanted to share as I bought my first bike for commuting when I was 20ish. The bikes have changed and the commutes just gotten longer. The info above being a long term research project of mine...

Anyway, so most people om here do their bit recycling and reducing their impact on nature, the wales (not Wales) and turtles etc etc. Ever since Duncan shared the picture of the [url =http://www.ecolife.com/recycling/plasti ... patch.html ]plastic island[/url], I reckon my resolve has only gotten stronger. Both in terms of commutes as well as hand-deliveries.


If anyone has any other of their own 'satisfying deeds' of 'neutralising the carbon' then please do share on here. In the meanwhile I've got another compost bin (last one burnt down courtesy of me) and I always try to run my cars into the ground. Successful on my last 2 cars

Onto the nitty gritty. Last 2 deliveries that needed making, I managed to post by hand. Thanks to both recipients for being happy with personalised delivery or else it'd just not work for me. Postage saved - £12 yesterday and £7 today as I'd have sent special delivery - will be sent straight to the Yemen Hunger Crisis project.

Yesterdays delivery being the Fox Forks. Possibly my biggest in terms of mass, not distance. But thankfully my 20 year old trusty Deuter pack came to the rescue.



I also managed to activate a few squares. Twas hard work riding up to Tims though.


Enroute I managed to say hello to an old aquaintance, the Liverpool to Leeds canal towpath. Met these two beauties too who were happy to stay still long enough for me to pull out the camera and get a pic. They dispersed soon after though.




Star of the show was this here toadster though.


Or was it Eccles Hill (star of the show).

Food consumed, just tiny flapjack the missus sent me out with and a lovely cuppa coffee.

Then todays delivery, thankfully a superlight bag by PHD himself. Is it a 300, or a 400 with down leakage. I guess we'll never know, but we do know that I didn't want it arriving wet through. Nor did I need a 20 year old heavy backpack.


Out came the collapsible Osprey. Thankfully I could just stuff it in the framebag enroute home. I also took a spare drybag in case it started raining as we are afterall in Yorkshire (second only to Wales itself I guess).


14 or so miles later and the BBer was ecstatic. Well, ol, maybe not ecstatic. But he's dping his bit in the carbon neutralization project by being the 3rd owner of this beauty of a bag. Sadly I forgot to give him the stuffsack as I'd not wanted carry it slightly squished up.

At some point it'll hopefully be carrried on the Dragonsback over the Welsh hills. Only one thing worse than a Bearbones200 I guess and I bet its designed (the [url
= https://www.dragonsbackrace.com/ ]dragonsback)[/url] by some 'bond-villain'.

Bag delivered and now firmly on the way home. Now, this is the time I should tell you that these two deliveries were required. I'd eaten a full Asda sized, 6 or 7 peoples worth, tub (no, I meant 'box') of ice cream the night before yesterday. It was plastic (sorry) and I got rid of all the evidence in the recyling bin. So I needed some calories burnt asap, before I got poorly or the 'football' became a 'volleyball'. Hence why I'd just taken a home-made flapjack yesterday. Today that didn't quite work though.

So after the next hill or two, I spied a shop and got some grub. Nothing wrong with a full pack of Jaffa Cakes hey


Washed down with a Magnum and Ginger Beer


Saw some trees and got home...

Looking to hear other peoples carbon neutralising projects anytime they gets a chance... More to come from mee as I have a delivery to make to Southport but not sure Covid-rules would allow such a thing!?

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Fri Mar 19, 2021 11:40 pm Just before I start, I'm not sure but from some research of what's openly available of peoples commute info, it would appear I might just have the British (non verified) commute record happy with that and am even thinking to get a part time job there - Scarbados - to drill it firmly into the non-official record books (Strava off course).

How far have you commuted so far this year? I was doing roughly 120km a week before being furloughed again but I expect you do that in a morning.

Did your delivery run involve some low bridges on the canal? I can image riding Regent's Canal with a pair of forks scraping the top of every tunnel.

On the opposite end of delivering items I try to buy as little gear as I can get by with (both saving money and materials/packaging) but it does irk me that there are some things which I just cannot find in local shops which require internet shopping. I started walking an hour each way to go food shopping when the ground started to dry up which means my car has not moved for six weeks. I need to remember to try to claim some of my car insurance back as the mileage has decreased so much.

Wow... that's amazing Dean about the hour walk for shopping. I just about manage to grab the kids to walk to town for shopping, but still working on it (them and myself).

This year, commutes have been a little bit slower Dean. About 1 full 40 miler so far. 2019 I managed the 80/84 miler commutes to Scarbados 3 times with q 4th that only lasted 64 miles. 2020 saw about 11 x 39.5 milers so that's all O need to aim to topple for this year. Since having the lovely Covid though at the end of last year, I've been much slower at commutes. So still working on getting my timings back...

Right then, almost lost this here thread. A couple for my arsenel of reducing waste/pollution etc etc.

1. Probably my biggest ever for a long time. Bought a Patagucci jacket for £20 with a knackered zip and needing resizing. Spoke to Dan and he kindly agreed to resize it for me, remove hood and arms and rezipper. Then added it for auction for the projects that deserve it

2. Hopefully once I've been for a ride with baby (6) I might (visa pending) go and drop the Super C SQR saddlepack to Firestarter. Who knows how old that bag is. Quality speaks for itself and keeps living on

i retired a couple of weeks ago, prior to that i have cycle commuted for 38 years without fail.

distances varied over the years. wakefield to leeds for 10 years. rothwell to bradford for 5 years and rothwell to armley for 20 years, which was a 6 mile ride, but i rounded it up to 10 each way.
most years were about 5000 commuting miles.

i must have a huge amount in my carbon bank to call upon.

ton wrote: ↑Sun Apr 11, 2021 2:27 pm i retired a couple of weeks ago, prior to that i have cycle commuted for 38 years without fail.

distances varied over the years. wakefield to leeds for 10 years. rothwell to bradford for 5 years and rothwell to armley for 20 years, which was a 6 mile ride, but i rounded it up to 10 each way.
most years were about 5000 commuting miles.

i must have a huge amount in my carbon bank to call upon.

Sounds like you do Tony... Well done

ton wrote: ↑Sun Apr 11, 2021 2:27 pm i retired a couple of weeks ago, prior to that i have cycle commuted for 38 years without fail.

distances varied over the years. wakefield to leeds for 10 years. rothwell to bradford for 5 years and rothwell to armley for 20 years, which was a 6 mile ride, but i rounded it up to 10 each way.
most years were about 5000 commuting miles.

i must have a huge amount in my carbon bank to call upon.

In response to Tonys outstanding achievement he's earned an Alpkit Hunka XL bivy bag in Yorkshire Blue... Will drop it off this aft. Well done and hope it lasts you well amazing kit ia this alp stuff

nice little delivery of goodies received . perfect Shaf. greatly appreciated.

ton wrote: ↑Sun Apr 18, 2021 7:07 pm nice little delivery of goodies received . perfect Shaf. greatly appreciated.

Thanks Tony. That really was a well earned 'cycle-commuter of the half century' prize. Hope the bag does you well, it really is a good'un and already you're the 3rd owner so a good carbon neutralization right there

Obviously if it gets miserable in there you have the chocolate to fall back on

Right then, todays delivery was me bringing back a 'work car'. So probably my biggest purchase (in terms of engine size ) using the bikepacking gear method. The collection was only in Barnsley and its 15 miles away.

But, Barnsley has a 'bit of a rep' and I can assure you it's not in my head. Thankfully only one 'white van man' tried to skim past me (twice). Actually it was a highway maintenance flat-base long lorry. A bit scary and I have my theories (not unfounded) that it wasn't just cos of me being a cyclist!.

I digressed, sorry. So apart from the other few idiots giving me a close pass, the ride was rather nice. With me being away from cycling for a while I had my worries about my range. 15 miles felt slightly intimidating. But I have the Aafia Siddiqui Ride - Bagram to Guantanamo, abused, and abused and then hidden away from the public eye... a womens rights protester and frontrunner if there ever was one - coming up next month!


Beautiful V8 with some minor niggles. At bargain basement prices. It'll be my long distance commuting car (don't tell the missus what a V8 is, we already had a bit of a tiff about money before I went to collect it ).

The bike fits Alhamdulillah...


Though I'm yet to test the mtb and then there is the 29er Highball Maybe I'll give up mtbing if it doesn't fit.

Most importantly...

The ride was scenic and enjoyable. Except for a few drivers, but that's standard (sometimes in some places).

Before anyone spots it, yes I appreciate that the title of the thread and a v8 don't really gel very well. But it is 22 years old so I am doing my bit and I thought there was another thread called 'Bearbones Deliveries'. But it's obviously a figment of my imagination

No Thru Rd Delivery Services

Been a while since I've managed to drop off something in person. Sciatica and life been getting in the way, plus maybe sometimes people feel they might need to 'be in and entertain' which hinders progress in lots of ways. Not only myself but the recipients too. Last time I had a (100% donation policy) charity project going on I was honoured with head gasket leak and in turn a new to me chauffeur-Lexus.

As people might be aware, I'm currently trying to sponsor the Afghan people from the brink of death. Just because piss bottle - cynical freezing of their bank funds of 7.1 billion of which 3.5 billion he's stolen to fund the 9/11 victims - thinks they're not worthy of an equal right to life/opinion and ethics, I'm inshaAllah (God Willing)not going to let them starve to death. I'll be the who told the colony that the Prophet Solomons army is coming, so don't be trampled.

Everesting off road challenge set - though a bit silly I know - and a target of £88480 I popped a few bits in the classifieds and a nice person bought. Looked up the address and wondered whether I should be riding across, especially with it being the Peak District that needed crossing. Surely a route with 7000ft of climbing in just 80 miles would be worthy.

I'd also catch a few squares for my VeloViewer. So 2 cranksets, a dropper post with a 2.3 inch wide tyre, all packed smartly away in my Osprey. I'd bought this specifically but not limited to, these type of errands. Then a few too many hours of organising my time for an appropriate window, and I was off.


Thankfully - Alhamdulillah - I'd packed my jacket so when the rain came I was prepared. This was the first of a few sections that brought about he new name. The delivery service that doesn't make any money, but does save a few quid and is ethical for the environment. No Thru Rd Delivery Services


First major hill was about 8 miles away and hadn't been conquered by myself uphill before. Though I'd given up a time or two. This time, Alhamdulillah I got to the top.


Some views from the top and round the corner.








Until I got to this which was truly mesmerizing and my prize for this current charity project. Cars, nor motorcycles couldn't just stop here and marvel at that amazing view, but we and ours push bikes could.

After/beforethis I got smacked a faai bit in my eyes with midges so (had to) pop(ped) on my specs.

TBC

Soon after I went past the next sign for, 'No Through Road' I worried that maybe it was a mistake, as there appeared a car here and there. But then the Pennine Bridleway started. A section hidden away between other traffic roads and one that I'd hardly visit on the mountain bike. Eventually this is what prompted me the new name for the potential hobby business idea


To top it off, I was perfectly within my square. No bog trotting needed and just some careful consideration. Of what was and wasn't rideable (by me) on 25c tires and clipped in. Breaking of the face isn't good business sense when you're trying to outrun the delivery services and do a drop off before they'd ever manage. Unless of course you wanted to pay an arm and a tyre!

It was not long before this that I'd taken that photo shown in the introduction. One thing to add is about the midges. Before I put my specs on during stopping the fast descent, they'd been trying to take out my eyes. I wasn't actually what it was at the time but later it became evident.


Gorgeous!


In my new VeloViewer square during my Pennine Bridleway traffic-free time. This person in the Audi had maybe taken a wrong turn, possibly not believing the signs about , 'No Through Rd'.


After dropping off the good their rightful owner, I was now making my way back. Again through the Peaks but a different route back. I always try to make my loops anti clockwise as it's the way we circumambulate the Ka'Ba. There it happened.

Not long before the sharpest section of the route and the one I wondered, 'hmmm, what could it be'. Surely I'd not dialled in the back side of Holme Moss into the loop. I hate that road, especially coming back northbound. Traffic I find to be scary and I always tend to avoid driving up it... Vertigo!!

That's where I saw this epic scene - before the sharpest/longest rise that is. Had to look it up and it seemed to be Holme Moss. But my mapping skills told me otherwise.

Could it be West End Moss, as it's the highest section of what I could probably see from where I shot the pic!? Dunno, but it was long bwfore I relaised the sharp rise was indeed the backside of Holme Moss. Tried to not let it disorientate me too much and I put on my tough face and arms - to fend of the silly traffic that tries to drive you off the narrow road.



The snaps taken riding the ascent. Was indeed beautiful and I managed to keep moving 'forth'. If you look towards Holme Moss Mast (at least that's what it muat be called), the last rise to the top can be seen. Turned out it wasn't too tough, so maybe the training had been doing me good.




After the top of Holme Moss and another legendary pic full of old memories. Reminded me of the day we'd mountain biked up and then Swaza told us which route we'd be DownHilling back down. Me and my little bro rode back down the road and almost froze to death. Only slightly worried about the other two that had decided to take the off road that wasn't there (according to OS). Especially since we barely survived ourselves and they were adamant that it was all good and safe!!


Prayer time where I made ablution and spoke to the (what I thought was) farmer. Told him that it'd take an awefully long time cutting the field with his tiny petrol lawn mower. Turned out he was only the owner and during most of the year the sheep manage to length. He waa only cutting a square big enough for the grandson to show off the footy skills during an upcoming party.

Rest of the year the lady that owned the sheeps would hire the proper equipment and give it all a good final cut before the winter! Then was the ride home ater fighting the midges. Never met em in such force before but what I've learnt in these pages over the years somewhat helped.

Did one unit of prayers. Quickly moved myself to confuse the little 'horrids', then offered the other unit of prayers before moving yet again to quickly pack up and ride...

THE END (for now).

NB. The new owner did get his gear and does seem happy with it. £105 raised Alhamdulillah

Todays has been a bit of a wierd one. Need to drop of a tyre (or two) to Riderdown on here. Only 35 miles away so decided I'd make a ride out of it. 65 miles (pr 70 if I don't fijish the route 10 miles from home and nab the train).

Not cos I wanted to ride that way as it's a tough old ride with lots of expised bits. Tyres packed in folding backpack and all ready set, rain. I've come back in. Took a while even getting my head round doing a 70(ish) miler but convinced myself it's good training. Especially wih the retunr leg being in the dark and a bit of Rooley Moor Lane (?? broken road or ?? doubletrack as it's shown as PB on the map).

Anyway, I'm gonna post em and stay indoors. Getting scared of riding far and up... maybe!


Bad post person

Could have popped this in the Commuting thread as well as today's ride. But I saved enough CO2 getting to work and doing the job (all 20 minutes of it and for the handsome sum of £20). Then dropped the brandnew Teko socks to my little bro as appreciation for him accepting my used socks (also Teko but lots of life left).

After that a quick trip to mum and dad's and say hello to them and the cats. Then a quick ride to Leeds to grab some walking poles. One delivery, a collection and a tiny work shift. In pics...


Kinda started with me asking if I could take my daughters bottle as the backup. Answer was no as I'll just make it black and it's her favourite. Therefore one bottle to quench the thirst.


Been ages since I saw a lock in action. Nothing too special so permission to grab a pic and off I went.




Oh, could have also posted in the fatfighters thread. I went out on an empty stomach but by Halifax I was feeling the pangs of the tummy. This bench invited me to sit and enjoy the view. So I did.

Ride was to Hedben initially so I knew it'd be hilly. It didn't disappoint, especially the scary downhills.

Onwards and upwards. There was alot of steps. Steep and deep enough that they were scary to 'hike a bike' with the spd shoes. View from up top.


Then 3 footpaths a few miles along. Now firmly on the way to Huddersfield as my shift was complete a couple hills earlier. Judgement call as to which footpath I'll descend the 150 or so metres. There were three paths, one being a permissive and the direct route down.

I took the middle and by now I was totally dry of water. But a nice little fill up half way down. Twas a scary 0.7 miles with 350ft of undulating drop.





The path I'd chosen to hike, had this contraption in/at the stile?



Scary steep steps.


Dropped off the socks and had some pasta. Still zero spend so within budget. Then mums and a snap of her crazy cat. 5 years old now!


Me in my 'garm'. Chequered shirts do seem to keep the traffic awake.


Quick trip to Rich for the hiking poles and he'd thought ahead with zip ties. Otherwise no way they were getting in my frame bag. After that, the ride home and lots of pizza Alhamdulillah_All praise God.

19.11KG of Co2 saved apparently.

Contraption stile gate allows dogs to pass through without needing to jump/be lifted.

Ooh, thanks for that Dean. Very clever. Bonus was that there was no poo on ground or poo bombs in trees. Well done dog owners.

How much carbon could be saved by you shifting to uploading smaller image sizes?

UnderTheRadars wrote: ↑Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:18 pm How much carbon could be saved by you shifting to uploading smaller image sizes?

Yes. Something I really struggle with. Pls advise.. I even transfer the image into the Imgur app. Even when using the lower setting in my camera the image mb is massive

Sorry about that

redefined_cycles wrote: ↑Thu Jun 27, 2024 2:33 pm

UnderTheRadars wrote: ↑Thu Jun 27, 2024 12:18 pm How much carbon could be saved by you shifting to uploading smaller image sizes?

Yes. Something I really struggle with. Pls advise.. I even transfer the image into the Imgur app. Even when using the lower setting in my camera the image mb is massive

Sorry about that

Heh I’m only being cheeky, sorry. I don’t use the imgur app, just the website but you can choose the size there

Oh. So I can change my settings in my Imgur account. Nothing like losing data just looking at boring images. I'll try and get it sorted