Your R&M in your Lockdown world

Mike Owen

Member
With huge swathes of most continents now in various states of extended lockdown, many folk on here will be experiencing something they and none of their forebears have known before.

Going for a bike ride just changed a whole lot.

Perhaps it would be interesting and maybe even therapeutic to share experiences amongst R&M riders.

Possibly this isn’t the correct EBR Forum area to initiate this thread. However R&M and it’s riders seem to me to be a bit of a distinct collective. Open to something new and avant-garde if you will. Your perspective of this new world might be worthy of sharing. A phenomenal image might inspire.

What are you experiencing and feeling? What is your fab bike allowing you to do or achieve? Have you got something inspiring to tell, that might encourage others going through a testing time?

On another thread Chris Nolte related his eerie feeling of an urban wilderness ride on his Delite Mountain through Long Beach last weekend.

I’ll start the ball rolling. I may get slapped down or folk may feel this is not the time and place, and this thread may fill with tumbleweed, but what the heck... have a go.




I’m in the north of England. In the countryside. All of a sudden a super calm and quiet countryside that feels like it’s now the 1700s: but without the clip clop of horses hooves; but with an iPad delivered tsunami of harrowing world news.

3 days into our Lockdown, not been on a bike ride. Just fretting about supplies to survive and avoiding contact at all costs (that jars). Spent those 3 days on long walks under an astonishingly clear sky. Seen one jet in the sky and I’m under the Europe - North America flight path! Even those walks are starting to feel stressed. We are allowed out once a day for exercise: a walk, a run or a bike ride. But you walk a long way and you get the sense that it’s wrong. “Folk think this is a holiday” said one farmer who good-naturedly turned us back ‘cos he was freaked by all the walkers who had been going through his farmstead and had resorted to disinfecting his gates. It feels the countryside may be closing soon.

The odd eBiker or acoustic biker passes by the house now and then, whereas normally in this weather groups of club racers would be a common sight, as would loads of couples and family groups riding.

I don’t even have my R&M bike here. It’s trapped on the other side of the country for the duration. A two month old Load 60 Vario GX Dual just sitting there in my brothers house. While he is here with me until July, September, who knows?. The other piece of my R&M jigsaw puzzle, a Chilli Matt Delite E14 GX is somewhere? Somewhere between Mühltal and a bike shop in York. A shop hopefully still trading when it appears.

A fantastic bike trapped. A new dream machine somewhere. Awesome skies. Even awesomer empty trails and lanes. But a local population on edge, braced for impending doom. And tragically fellow humans in dire straits.

There has never been a time like this. And I hope for everyone there never will be again.


Long spiel! Maybe you have an inspiring one liner?
 
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Update of R&M Delite production in these unprecedented times:

Finally got to speak to the owner of my bike store. The Delite production has understandably been pushed back.

Ordered early Jan. Original delivery target mid Feb. Production then pushed back to w/c 9th March. Now due to Covid situation it’s expected to be assembled w/c 6th April, a four week slide. In the circumstances I reckon that’s quite amazing.

As another example of Covid impact, I read capacity at the Brompton factory in London is around 40% less than normal due to changes to protect the workforce.

He said the store is inundated with repairs... folk digging out forgotten bikes from the back of garages. No browsing. But new bike sales strong. Reduced hours. 2 of 3 stores closed. And they are beefing up their eCommerce offer and getting a better van to take their business to the customer.

Until we get that vaccine this is a whole new world.

Also offered to deliver the Delite 120 miles to me over here in the new van and do a social distanced hand over. Excellent.

Been a joy previously to deal with this team. And now they haven’t just given up, they’re battling to beat this darn thing.

In the North of England? Piers Moffatt co-founder of Cycle Heaven York deserves a special shout out.
 
With huge swathes of most continents now in various states of extended lockdown, many folk on here will be experiencing something they and none of their forebears have known before.

Going for a bike ride just changed a whole lot.

Perhaps it would be interesting and maybe even therapeutic to share experiences amongst R&M riders.

Possibly this isn’t the correct EBR Forum area to initiate this thread. However R&M and it’s riders seem to me to be a bit of a distinct collective. Open to something new and avant-garde if you will. Your perspective of this new world might be worthy of sharing. A phenomenal image might inspire.

What are you experiencing and feeling? What is your fab bike allowing you to do or achieve? Have you got something inspiring to tell, that might encourage others going through a testing time?

On another thread Chris Nolte related his eerie feeling of an urban wilderness ride on his Delite Mountain through Long Beach last weekend.

I’ll start the ball rolling. I may get slapped down or folk may feel this is not the time and place, and this thread may fill with tumbleweed, but what the heck... have a go.




I’m in the north of England. In the countryside. All of a sudden a super calm and quiet countryside that feels like it’s now the 1700s: but without the clip clop of horses hooves; but with an iPad delivered tsunami of harrowing world news.

3 days into our Lockdown, not been on a bike ride. Just fretting about supplies to survive and avoiding contact at all costs (that jars). Spent those 3 days on long walks under an astonishingly clear sky. Seen one jet in the sky and I’m under the Europe - North America flight path! Even those walks are starting to feel stressed. We are allowed out once a day for exercise: a walk, a run or a bike ride. But you walk a long way and you get the sense that it’s wrong. “Folk think this is a holiday” said one farmer who good-naturedly turned us back ‘cos he was freaked by all the walkers who had been going through his farmstead and had resorted to disinfecting his gates. It feels the countryside may be closing soon.

The odd eBiker or acoustic biker passes by the house now and then, whereas normally in this weather groups of club racers would be a common sight, as would loads of couples and family groups riding.

I don’t even have my R&M bike here. It’s trapped on the other side of the country for the duration. A two month old Load 60 Vario GX Dual just sitting there in my brothers house. While he is here with me until July, September, who knows?. The other piece of my R&M jigsaw puzzle, a Chilli Matt Delite E14 GX is somewhere? Somewhere between Mühltal and a bike shop in York. A shop hopefully still trading when it appears.

A fantastic bike trapped. A new dream machine somewhere. Awesome skies. Even awesomer empty trails and lanes. But a local population on edge, braced for impending doom. And tragically fellow humans in dire straits.

There has never been a time like this. And I hope for everyone there never will be again.


Long spiel! Maybe you have an inspiring one liner?
You are still in good hands with John and Jamie in York , as it happens bike shops are still allowed to trade under the restrictions , i just managed to get into York to have a service on my Supercharger before the curtain came down ...best of luck
 
You are still in good hands with John and Jamie in York , as it happens bike shops are still allowed to trade under the restrictions , i just managed to get into York to have a service on my Supercharger before the curtain came down ...best of luck
Hey there Mr MountainDweller. Is that the same Mr MountainDweller of Saltburn that me and my brother bumped into last end of September on the prom at Redcar??? We were walking his fab Fox Terrier and were amazed to spot you on the blue R&M Supercharger. It was a super bright day and you were enjoying it by biking for 🐕 food.

We had just got into R&M and considering getting one, and low and behold we came across you... our first R&M in the wild. Your tales of bike touring were impressive. I’d recognise all those bottles and funky rear light cluster anywhere.

Anyway, thanks. Meeting you felt like a good omen and really spurred us on to jump into R&M land. I got a Load 60 Vario in late December. And the Delite Rohloff is imminent. We’re currently hiding from the world at mine in Cumbria. 3 to 6 months of brotherly harmony... good luck with that!

Be safe. And enjoy your Boris sanctioned once-a-day 60 minute Supercharger rides.

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You are still in good hands with John and Jamie in York , as it happens bike shops are still allowed to trade under the restrictions , i just managed to get into York to have a service on my Supercharger before the curtain came down ...best of luck
Hi Guys , sure is , small world , so glad that you managed to make the right choices , and the Vario will be so much fun, as for the Delight , that is a great machine , i like the 2020 improvements , more so the motor and front drive chain , have you opted for the kiox display , great to lock your bike ! i note that you are still trying to work out how you are going to get your new bike delivered , the home delivery sounds good , when you first mentioned York, i thought it was electric bike sales in York , but it sounds like you are well happy with Cycle Heaven. Redcar at present is a ghost town and still as windy along that stretch of the coast, i have been out most days in and around my local area to include the North Yorks National park, and as you mentioned, strange to see so many people who appear to have dusted off their old bikes as an excuse to stop going stir crazy ! i am still on track to tour the Danube and down into Croatia and its islands late June ? , pending travel restrictions etc. When this all blows over , we should all meet up for a coffee , looking forward to checking out your R&Ms .......stay safe. picture of river tees south gare lighthouse .
 

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Hi Guys , sure is , small world , so glad that you managed to make the right choices , and the Vario will be so much fun, as for the Delight , that is a great machine , i like the 2020 improvements , more so the motor and front drive chain , have you opted for the kiox display , great to lock your bike ! i note that you are still trying to work out how you are going to get your new bike delivered , the home delivery sounds good , when you first mentioned York, i thought it was electric bike sales in York , but it sounds like you are well happy with Cycle Heaven. Redcar at present is a ghost town and still as windy along that stretch of the coast, i have been out most days in and around my local area to include the North Yorks National park, and as you mentioned, strange to see so many people who appear to have dusted off their old bikes as an excuse to stop going stir crazy ! i am still on track to tour the Danube and down into Croatia and its islands late June ? , pending travel restrictions etc. When this all blows over , we should all meet up for a coffee , looking forward to checking out your R&Ms .......stay safe. picture of river tees south gare lighthouse .
Hi mate. It’s YOU!

Great to see the Tees Mouth and your ride.

Been clear beautiful skies over here in Cumbria since all the cars stopped! But still always better weather in the East. Remain a Yorkshireman, even though the road grate outside my house has Lancashire County Council stamped on it. Bro is still true, he’s usually in Egton Bridge under a cloud of fecking grouse moor burning 🤣

Piers at Cycle Heaven has been really good to us... went there ‘cos they were closest dealer (at the station) for my first eBike... a Brompton. Then just sniffed around their main store, got excited about all the R&Ms and belts and hubs, and bumped into Piers, and had FUN. Fealt another good omen, like meeting you.

“A coffee and a chinwag.” What a fantastic thought, when we all finally get vaccinated! Although I seriously doubt we could keep up with you even in Turbo!!! We both spent a lifetime pushing mice around desks, unlike your career of turning wimps into fighting machines.

Yeh, a meet up at my brothers and a blast round Glaisdale and Fryup... a great day to dream about.

Hey. Really hope you get to do your Danube tour. An excellent thing to look forward to, and a really superb antidote to Kovid Kaptivity.

Keep sane.
Keep 🚲.
Keep your distance.


Tintin’s new bike...

 
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