Ash !

[carpetbagger]

Cycling along last night i had a nightmare scenario... what if my bike suddenly ground to a halt.....infected by,,,,,Volcanic ash ! Bikers country wide pushing their ebikes home.....how would we cope ? Worse still you take it back to where you bought it and they say 'sorry, both the motor and the battery are dead and are not covered by the warranty as we have found traces of volcanic ash in them !' Think we best wrap them in cling film until those big birdies are back in the sky.......better safe than sorry

 

[flecc]

It's ash-tonishing what could happen, windings in our motors shorting out, controllers burning out and battery short circuits.

Of all manufacturers, BikeTec of Switzerland should be the most worried, they make the Flyer range of e-bikes.
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[carpetbagger]

funny thing is, a helicopter flew past our house this morning...he must have been praying the ash hadn't dropped a few thousand feet...and as i speak another has just gone by....have BA found a way to move their passengers......

 

[NRG]

....have BA found a way to move their passengers......

Nope 'cause I'm still stuck in the USA! Was due back yesterday but the earliest date
I've been given is the 25th! What was a 5 day trip is now turning into a 15+ day trip...

 

[carpetbagger]

if you are stuck in the business class lounge you have it made !!! free everything....if not i really feel sorry for you.....

 

[WALKERMAN]

funny thing is, a helicopter flew past our house this morning...he must have been praying the ash hadn't dropped a few thousand feet...and as i speak another has just gone by....have BA found a way to move their passengers......

The cloud is at 20,000 ft so why can't they fly below it just like these helicopters, especially the prop planes which fly lower than jets?

 

[flecc]

funny thing is, a helicopter flew past our house this morning...he must have been praying the ash hadn't dropped a few thousand feet...and as i speak another has just gone by....have BA found a way to move their passengers......

That was probably because there was a break in the ash cloud that allowed Manchester airspace to be opened for a short while this morning. That allowed a few planes to get away on transatlantic flights, so maybe the local helicopters were able to take advantage too. All closed down again now until at least the morning though, though Scotland and Northern Ireland airspace is open this evening for a while.

NRG, sorry to hear you are stuck, there seems little prospect of it freeing up for a few days yet with the volcano gaining fresh strength and the winds staying in the same direction.
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[flecc]

The cloud is at 20,000 ft so why can't they fly below it just like these helicopters, especially the prop planes which fly lower than jets?

Everything including helicopters is grounded, just in case of some drop out from the higher levels. Even the parked jets at Heathrow have their engine intakes masked with polythene at the moment. Those Northern 'copters were taking advantage of a break when flying was allowed as I've mentioned above.

P.S. It's just been reported that ash is being measured down at 6000 ft on the UK's eastern seaboard and it's expected to go lower, so that scuppers everything. E-bikes in East Anglia may have to watch out yet!
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[WALKERMAN]

Everything including helicopters is grounded, just in case of some drop out from the higher levels. Even the parked jets at Heathrow have their engine intakes masked with polythene at the moment. Those Northern 'copters were taking advantage of a break when flying was allowed as I've mentioned above.

P.S. It's just been reported that ash is being measured down at 6000 ft on the UK's eastern seaboard and it's expected to go lower, so that scuppers everything. E-bikes in East Anglia may have to watch out yet!
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I noticed the plastic over the jet engines when it was on the news tonight. If it is to become that much of a problem they will have to sweep it up off the ground as well surely before the planes take-off again.
At what stage will we have to put a plastic bag over our heads?

 

[Bikerbob]

Just to cheer you up, NRG, I've just been listening to local radio and they had some volcano 'expert' saying that one Icelandic volcano continued to erupt for eight months. An ocean voyage could be enjoyable! Look on the bright side, at least you are missing all the election TV.

 

[flecc]

The thing really needed is a change in the weather system wind direction. It probably won't be long before we get one of the usual vigorous lows and there's a southerly airstream pushing the ash over the pole toward the Far East and wider dispersal with thinning.

They are a load of trouble these Icelanders though, first they stopped us nicking their cod, then their banks pinched our savings, and now they've grounded all our planes.

Al Qaeda must be really envious of their disruptive ability.
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[NRG]

The thing really needed is a change in the weather system wind direction. It probably won't be long before we get one of the usual vigorous lows and there's a southerly airstream pushing the ash over the pole toward the Far East and wider dispersal with thinning.

They are a load of trouble these Icelanders though, first they stopped us nicking their cod, then their banks pinched our savings, and now they've grounded all our planes.

Al Qaeda must be really envious of their disruptive ability.
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Thanks for the kind words guys, its amazing the amount of chaos this is causing and how we are so dependant on air travel. I have another flight booked for the 22nd, we'll see if I actually takes off.

I also blame the Icelanders as, funnily enough Icelandic air are still operating flights to Iceland from here. . A colleague needs to get to Glasgow so he's flying out from Boston to Iceland then onto Prestwick...or so he hopes! All other routes are fully booked.

 

[carpetbagger]

if you are going to sail home you better book quick,,,,cross channel ferries are doing a roaring trade as are eurostar..and there is a mention of a lot of motor bikes and bikes being used in todays rags !!!
Greenpeace will be sticking dynamite in volacano's to give them a jump start in future !!

 

[carpetbagger]

you might be interested in this NRG....sorry in advance
Eyjafjallajökull frá Hvolsvelli

 

[Rab C Nesbitt]

Just read in the Glasgow Herald - obviously lots of coverage of this erupting volcano called Kyjafjallajökull.

One of the reporters noted that the last time he typed the name of this volcano was a few years ago when he came back to the office after a long pub lunch and fell asleep at his desk with his head on the computer keyboard . . . . .

Rab

 

[NRG]

Things are looking worse, no improvement due until Thusday at the earliest even though some of the airlines have been flying test flights to asses any potential risks. Still I have had time to check out some local bike stores and seen some amazing road and mountain bikes, some costing a crazy $11K !!

I've aso found an electric bike store: Electric bicycles - Electric Cyclery in Laguna Beach, California. Not open until Monday though.

 

[CheKmx]

It's ash-tonishing what could happen, windings in our motors shorting out, controllers burning out and battery short circuits.

Of all manufacturers, BikeTec of Switzerland should be the most worried, they make the Flyer range of e-bikes.
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Can't report any impact on mine at the moment but I will keep you posted. On the other hand my eyes have been killing me and I've had some massive sneezing fits which I put down to tree pollen but could it be something more sinister?

 

[alex_h]

As David Cameron would say "The ash has been caused by Gordon Brown when he tried to bail out Iceland, now our economy is suffering more than ever before and its all because of the Prime Minister"

 

[NRG]

Manged to get a flight back yesterday so relieved to be home and I've just heard on the radio that Reykjavik airport is now closed due to the volcanic activity....ha!.....serves 'em right
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[flecc]

Good to hear you're back ok NRG, and a bit earlier than the gloomy outlook originally.
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