So after riding home on the Brompton yesterday after dropping the ST off for its second annual service, I again trusted Apple Maps to direct me back to Group 1 and set off.
And yes, it was a different route with more roads, although avoiding the really major routes. An interesting route too, including the first stretch alongside the Blackwater River again, avoiding tree roots and brambles before emerging into a car park for the second road drag, which meant dealing with traffic and commuting car drivers. All of which went really well with nothing but courteous drivers slowing down and/or passing me with plenty of room.
Near to the end, I was directed into Farnborough Business Park which I went through easily … until the end at the back of the Village Gym: contractors were working overhead and had closed the footpath. Ah. Rather than retracing my route, I went right … and into some more vegetation through a small lunch picnic area and some lightly-trodden path through the trees. I eventually emerged through a hedge and across a planted border near to Group 1.
I last used the Brompton when I was commuting in London from our home in Rotherhithe. And then COVID-19 happened, so I worked from home. The company saw cost savings and I had been advocating remote working anyway, so we ended up having new employment contracts with WFH as the default. That meant we didn’t need to be in Central London any longer, so three years or so ago we moved out to Surrey and I started a lot of indoor cycling instead.
The only use the Brompton got was then by my stepdaughter in her year out between doing her Batchelors and Masters in Law.
Until today!
The estate where our house is has limited parking and of course all the numpties move in to houses with one parking space for their SUV and van to use (it’s always that mix…). That plus the narrow streets means parking is at a premium. We have space for two cars on our driveway in front of the double garage (which is actually the Man Cave for the motorbikes and the Pain Cave for our home gym). At a push, we can play Car Tetris and creatively park them, but it’s a bit of a palaver. So when the family on the corner briefly vacated the visitor space they use all the time (!) we put the Abarth there as we have family coming up to stay this weekend with a whole host of children, so they’ll need to park on our drive.
This meant that when I needed to take the Focus ST for its second annual service this morning, we didn’t want to lose that space by collecting me in the 124. Instead, I decided to dust off the Brompton, pump up the tyres, and shove it into the boot to ride back on from the dealership.
I’ve only ever done the trip there and back by car, so once checked in, I unfolded the Brompton, popped on my helmet and gloves, and entered Home as my destination in Apple Maps with directions for pushbikes. And that’s how I followed some cycle paths and woodland trails more suited to a mountain bike back home.
Nipped out to collect it at lunchtime and rode home from Evans Cycles (Waterloo Cut) as far as Great Suffolk Street before I realised I’d forgotten to start recording it on my Apple Watch – doh!
Yes, I’ve gone and done it: I’ve bought one of those ridiculous-looking folding commuter bikes, but in my case a strictly limited-edition one with a rather nice paint finish.
When I say “ridiculous-looking” it’s not been one of those bikes that lends itself to too much in the way of ridicule unlike the MAMIL (Middle Aged Man In Lycra) shots or at least that was until the BBC’s “W1A” satirical show featured them:
Anyway, I’d long thought about riding in to the office on my Carrera Kraken 09 20″ mountain bike but its lack of mudguards, our lack of a shower at the office and more particularly my lack of anywhere to keep a full-sized bicycle safe whilst I’m inside had put paid to that idea so instead I’ve been walking both ways, which is fine in itself other than arriving a tad sweaty in a suit and spending around 35 minutes each way walking the 3½km each way.
The downside of that is my getting through a pair of Nike shoes every year and it taking so long.
So I had a look on their website and decided that they looked quite good, but what colour to specify? Easy: when i saw the Nine Streets limited edition, I was sold.
“Originally launched in 2017 to celebrate the opening of the Brompton Junction Amsterdam. Nine Streets sports the never before seen, special fade finish. The effect is a special fade finish of Red and Blue lacquer which is created using a hand sprayed [sic]. The process leaves a unique finish on each Nine Streets bike, meaning no 2 bikes are the same.
“Nine Streets is produced in the Brompton factory in London. Each bike is handmade with the highest quality craftmanship to create the Nine Streets unique finish.
“Inspired by Amsterdam 9 Straatjesis well known for it’s stylish shops and creative influence, Nine Streets is a nod to the iconic canal-district area in the Netherlands.
“Only a small batch of Nine Streets Edition bikes have been produced…”
Brompton Nine Streets
The paint job is fantastic, starting with blue at the front and fading into red at the back:
Red at the back…
and blue at the front
Click on the first image to see it at larger scale.
I’ve gone for the higher-barred H-series handlebar version and a longer seat post for my 33″-34″ inside leg measurement. It comes with the 6-speed set of gears: 3 internal hub and 2 external rings.
H-type handlebars
Gearsets
It also comes with dynamo-driven front and rear lights powered from the dynamo mounted in the front wheel hub:
Front Wheel Hub
As it’s limited in numbers, I couldn’t order one direct from Brompton but found one at Evans Cycles near Waterloo; I pick it up tomorrow. This is the spec.:
Model: H6L
Edition: Nine Streets Edition
Handlebar Type: H
Gears: 6
Mudguards / Rack: Mudguards, no rack
Frame Material: Steel
Main Frame Colour: 2-tone fusion of Red and Blue lacquer
Extremities Colour: 2-tone fusion of Red and Blue lacquer
Gear Ratio: Standard
Seatpost: Extended
Lighting: Shimano Hub Dynamo
Saddle: Brompton Standard
Tyres: Schwalbe Marathon Racer
Front Luggage Mount: Yes
Luggage: No
Bike Cover: No
Toolkit: No
Additional info: Unique Serial Number plate
I’ve also ordered a cadence sensor from Garmin to grab a few more stats like on the Carrera onto Garmin Connect.
Activities List
WP Strava ERROR 429 Too Many Requests - See full error by adding define( 'WPSTRAVA_DEBUG', true ); to wp-config.php
