towpaths - a cautionary tale

[12xu22]

Went out for a spin this morning along the local towpath, served slightly to avoid patch of mud, the path narrowed, and next thing I know I'm in the canal, electric bike, expensive camera and all. Never more grateful for my childhood swimming lessons, I managed to drag myself out of the water and there was no sign of the bike, but I could see some bubbles, so back in I went and managed to locate it with my foot and drag it out onto the towpath, and myself after it.

My question: is the bike ruined? The motor is actually still running.... is it safe to try and recharge the battery? what should I do.

And camera buffs, is there any hope for my Nikon P500?

 

[flecc]

Bring the battery in and give it 24 hrs to dry out, them try it, it will probably be ok. If the bike is running it should also be ok, especially with some drying out time.

With the camera, open up everything you can and leave out the memory card and battery leaving flaps open to air. There's a chance it will be ok after a drying out period.

If you can put everything in a closed warm room with a dehumidifier running for several hours, so much the better.

 

[thunderblue]

Sorry to hear that - hope you are alright!
Elaine

 

[NRG]

Glad you are OK! Bet it was quite a shock. As Flecc says open everything you can and dry it in a warm room for 24hrs....maybe a good idea to open the controller up at one end to check for water ingress.

 

[12xu22]

thanks guys, i am fine, will try your suggestions ... yes it was quite a shock, but it could have been worse. Think I will stick to the roads in future (as we all know roads are 100% safe and secure ....)

 

[eddieo]

mobile phone?

 

[Hero Eco]

12xu22 sorry to hear of your accident. We had a customer return a bike once that had fallen off their barge into the canal! As advised above, let it dry out, check there is no water stored in any locations. For example on the one we dealt with, where you gain access to the controller was full of canal water. Once dry, you should be OK. But I would leave it for a few days and charge with an RCD socket or adaptor.

On the camera, similar, let it all dry out, remove any 'removable parts'. You may want to put it into a local store for a clean once dry

Good luck.

 

[eddieo]

get yourself checked out at GP's for Weils disease. It is a real risk......

Weils Disease

 

[Mike63]

I once stopped by the canal to allow cyclists coming the other way to pass, guy behind me stopped too, put his foot down but unfortunately a fisherman had dug out the bank in that spot and his foot met fresh air and he and his bike went straight into the canal.

....could have been worse....could have been me.....I mean it's not funny is it ?

 

[tillson]

Went out for a spin this morning along the local towpath, served slightly to avoid patch of mud, the path narrowed, and next thing I know I'm in the canal. Never more grateful for my childhood swimming lessons, I managed to drag myself out of the water and there was no sign of the bike, but I could see some bubbles, so back in I went and managed to locate it with my foot and drag it out onto the towpath, and myself after it.

This tale is going wipe that smug, all knowing smile off the faces of those who are always saying, "You can't miss what you never had."

The next time someone says that to me, I'll say, "What about the child who missed out on swimming lessons and then as an adult, rode their bicycle into a canal?"

 

[flecc]

This tale is going wipe that smug, all knowing smile off the faces of those who are always saying, "You can't miss what you never had."

The next time someone says that to me, I'll say, "What about the child who missed out on swimming lessons and then as an adult, rode their bicycle into a canal?"

An average of 500 people drown each year in UK inland and coastal waters, most of them swimmers. In the main they die because they were in the water as swimmers. If people stopped learning to swim, that total would be slashed to a fraction.

I've always been baffled by governments' obsession with encouraging children to learn to swim on the basis that it could save their life, when the truth is that it ultimately costs far more of their lives than it can ever save.

 

[eddieo]

My sons happy he learnt..He is working in Italy this summer for a few months as a life guard

 

[flecc]

My sons happy he learnt..He is working in Italy this summer for a few months as a life guard

Rescuing swimmers!

 

[Cyclezee]

I ride regularly on canal towpaths in and around Milton Keynes.
Within the city they are fairly wide and paved, but out in the countryside, they are quite narrow footpaths that are often muddy and slippery.
Some of the bridges that I pass under only have a very narrow track and require extra caution.

When the intrepid Wai Won Ching of the Silk Road fame etc. came to MK last year he was not at all happy about the towpaths. I did wonder if he had fallen in at one stage as he had dropped back out of site, but he was just being extra cautious

 

[eddieo]

Rescuing swimmers!

Noooooo posing in his ray bans...fighting of beautiful girls

In fact the money is more then double what he earns here..guaranteed weather and wonderful meals...I wish I was 18 again.......

 

[flecc]

Noooooo posing in his ray bans...fighting of beautiful girls

In that case you'll probably never get him back!

 

[funkylyn]

Went out for a spin this morning along the local towpath, served slightly to avoid patch of mud, the path narrowed, and next thing I know I'm in the canal, electric bike, expensive camera and all. Never more grateful for my childhood swimming lessons, I managed to drag myself out of the water and there was no sign of the bike, but I could see some bubbles, so back in I went and managed to locate it with my foot and drag it out onto the towpath, and myself after it.

My question: is the bike ruined? The motor is actually still running.... is it safe to try and recharge the battery? what should I do.

And camera buffs, is there any hope for my Nikon P500?

That is really frightening and could have been a real tragedy, hopefully your bike etc will
be alright after drying out....are you insured ?

Thanks for the warning anyway, I often cycle along towpaths and as a non swimmer....well, almost....and the sheer shock of going in would negate any little bit of swimming talent I might have had,
I will certainly heed your warning and be a lot more careful in the future......let us know if all dries out alright.....glad you are OK .

Lynda

 

[eddieo]

Like I said earlier get checked out as Weils disease a real danger in water infested with rats......Trust me I know what I'm talking about (have letter after my name)

 

[spiritburner]

pack electronics in dry rice it aids the drying process and they might work.

 

[funkylyn]

Hey thats a good idea about using rice Neil

Lynda