Unicyclist spotted in West Devon lane!



N

Nick Kew

Guest
Was pedalling into Plymouth for choir rehearsal last night[1].
At maybe ten past six, I was on the uphill stretch of road from
Walkhampton to Yelverton, when the unicyclist came the other way.
He was spinning furiously - presumably that's fixie+downhill
style. But more impressive, he was riding as if it were a
natural means of travel from A to B, rather than anything
else it might be, such as a stunt.

Anyone of this parish own up to being or knowing this person?

[1] We're doing the Verdi Requiem in Totnes on the 16th.

--
not me guv
 
On 07/09/2007 14:04, Nick Kew wrote:
> Anyone of this parish own up to being or knowing this person?


I've taken the liberty of copying your question to rec.sport.unicycling.
I know a few unicyclists in that area, but there are plenty of others I
don't know.

If you're not doing anything next weekend you might be interested in
popping along to SWUM:
<http://www.uk.unicyclist.com/swum.html>

I won't be there, it clashes with Bristol juggling convention. I'll
probably play in the hockey tournament in January, though.

--
Danny Colyer <http://www.redpedals.co.uk>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2
 
On 07/09/2007 18:52, Danny Colyer wrote:
> I've taken the liberty of copying your question to rec.sport.unicycling.
> I know a few unicyclists in that area, but there are plenty of others I
> don't know.


It's been suggested that it might have been Rob Northcott. He reads
rsu, so he should be able to confirm that. This is Rob:
<http://www.bristoltobathonaunicycle.co.uk/photos/rob_riding.jpg>

--
Danny Colyer <http://www.redpedals.co.uk>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2
 
On 7 Sep, 14:04, Nick Kew <[email protected]> wrote:
> Was pedalling into Plymouth for choir rehearsal last night[1].
> At maybe ten past six, I was on the uphill stretch of road from
> Walkhampton to Yelverton, when the unicyclist came the other way.
> He was spinning furiously - presumably that's fixie+downhill
> style. But more impressive, he was riding as if it were a
> natural means of travel from A to B, rather than anything
> else it might be, such as a stunt.
>
> Anyone of this parish own up to being or knowing this person?



My guess would be Rob Northcott (long dark hair? possibly wearing a
lid though). He lives in Princetown and has been known to commute on
his uni. Bloody quick too!

--
Paul
 
Danny Colyer wrote:
> On 07/09/2007 18:52, Danny Colyer wrote:
>> I've taken the liberty of copying your question to
>> rec.sport.unicycling. I know a few unicyclists in that area, but there
>> are plenty of others I don't know.

>
> It's been suggested that it might have been Rob Northcott. He reads
> rsu, so he should be able to confirm that. This is Rob:
> <http://www.bristoltobathonaunicycle.co.uk/photos/rob_riding.jpg>


Looks vaguely like a uni-cyclist I vided going up White
Ladies road onto Black boy hill in Bristol on the 19th
August. That guy was wearing a white T-shirt, with a
hi-viz with lits attached, and a lid.
(footage is about 1s long.)

Martin.
 
On 07/09/2007 21:11, Danny Colyer wrote:
> It's been suggested that it might have been Rob Northcott. He reads
> rsu, so he should be able to confirm that. This is Rob:
> <http://www.bristoltobathonaunicycle.co.uk/photos/rob_riding.jpg>


This has now been posted by Rob:
"It was probably me on my way home from work yesterday - I was on my
coker going down the hill towards Walkhampton. A bloke with a beard
was heading the other way, towards Yelverton, on what looked like a
small-wheeled folding bike like a Brompton or something - I suspect it
was he who posted the comment."

--
Danny Colyer <http://www.redpedals.co.uk>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2
 
On 07/09/2007 22:53, Martin Dann wrote:
> Looks vaguely like a uni-cyclist I vided going up White
> Ladies road onto Black boy hill in Bristol on the 19th
> August. That guy was wearing a white T-shirt, with a
> hi-viz with lits attached, and a lid.


I think that would be more likely to be Peter Haworth:
<http://www.bristoltobathonaunicycle.co.uk/photos/peter_riding.jpg>
<http://www.redpedals.co.uk/temp/z-bristoltobath/slides/0610221040cbristoltobath.html>

He regularly commutes by unicycle in Bristol. He wears the lid because
he feels he gets more respect from motorists if they think he's dressed
as a serious cyclist.

I play unicycle hockey with him on Wednesday evenings.

--
Danny Colyer <http://www.redpedals.co.uk>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2
 
Danny Colyer wrote:
> On 07/09/2007 22:53, Martin Dann wrote:
>> Looks vaguely like a uni-cyclist I vided going up White Ladies road
>> onto Black boy hill in Bristol on the 19th August. That guy was
>> wearing a white T-shirt, with a hi-viz with lits attached, and a lid.

>
> I think that would be more likely to be Peter Haworth:
> <http://www.bristoltobathonaunicycle.co.uk/photos/peter_riding.jpg>
> <http://www.redpedals.co.uk/temp/z-bristoltobath/slides/0610221040cbristoltobath.html>


That is definately him, the footage I got was not
brilliant, I am not used to aiming the camera.
(same hi-viz and lit).

> He regularly commutes by unicycle in Bristol. He wears the lid because
> he feels he gets more respect from motorists if they think he's dressed
> as a serious cyclist.
>
> I play unicycle hockey with him on Wednesday evenings.
 
On Fri, 07 Sep 2007 23:02:44 +0100
Danny Colyer <[email protected]> wrote:

> On 07/09/2007 21:11, Danny Colyer wrote:
> > It's been suggested that it might have been Rob Northcott. He
> > reads rsu, so he should be able to confirm that. This is Rob:
> > <http://www.bristoltobathonaunicycle.co.uk/photos/rob_riding.jpg>

>
> This has now been posted by Rob:
> "It was probably me on my way home from work yesterday - I was on my
> coker going down the hill towards Walkhampton. A bloke with a beard
> was heading the other way, towards Yelverton, on what looked like a
> small-wheeled folding bike like a Brompton or something - I suspect it
> was he who posted the comment."


I was on the Dahon. And the beard is indeed my strongest identifying
feature (at least for those who would consider it rude to comment on
the paunch). So, we've small-worlded that:)

I was well-impressed by what I saw. And if he commutes it to
Princetown ... he's *seriously* mad! Dammit, I've half-contemplated
moving to Princetown myself: it's a fine location in the moors,
(AIUI the highest town or village in the UK) and houses there are
much cheaper than most other places. But I fear if I moved up there
I might be tempted to get a car, which is something I definitely
want to avoid.

--
not me guv
 
"Nick Kew" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...

> I was well-impressed by what I saw. And if he commutes it to
> Princetown ... he's *seriously* mad! Dammit, I've half-contemplated
> moving to Princetown myself: it's a fine location in the moors,
> (AIUI the highest town or village in the UK) and houses there are
> much cheaper than most other places.


I thought it was a bit bleak up there (based on a one-evening stay). I think
I'd want to be a bit lower. And I reminded myself yesterday evening of the
joys of starting at the bottom - had an excellent ride up to Dale Head, and
back down again. The hard bit of the climb is quite hard work (for me), but
it then slackens off, flattering you into thinking you're recovering whereas
in fact it's just not as steep - but it's nice anyway. Then return the same
way is a glorious whizz, so you finish feeling really happy and suitably
exercised, and not needing to recover immediately.

cheers,
clive

(in case of any confusion, in the second bit of that I'm talking about
somewhere quite a long way from Devon :) )
 
On 08/09/2007 01:18, brendon557 wrote:
> yeh i know but how can they start a thread and not be a member??? maybe
> its in there but i missed it:confused:


You start a thread on usenet, it gets passed through the gateway to the
forum. There would be very little point in having a gateway between
usenet and the web forum if posts only went one way. Don't forget,
usenet was here first; rec.sport.unicycling pre-dates the web forum by a
good 5 or 6 years.

One thing you won't have noticed is that this thread was actually
started in uk.rec.cycling, then later cross-posted to rsu. Normally
cross-posting is frowned upon, but this is one case where it's entirely
appropriate.

Unfortunately the web forum doesn't seem to handle cross-posting [1] (a
significant weakness IMO), so you didn't get to see that it was
cross-posted and your reply has only gone to rsu, not to urc. I thought
that might be the case, which was why I originally started a new thread
on rsu rather than cross-posting. It's also one reason why I'm posting
this reply via usenet rather than the forum, so that I can restore the
cross-post and clarify to the urc regulars why they're not seeing any
replies coming back from rsu.

[1] Posting to 2 or more newsgroups simultaneously.

--
Danny Colyer <URL:http://www.colyer.plus.com/danny/>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"He who dares not offend cannot be honest." - Thomas Paine
 
On Sat, 8 Sep 2007 01:14:44 +0100
"Clive George" <[email protected]> wrote:

> "Nick Kew" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
> > I was well-impressed by what I saw. And if he commutes it to
> > Princetown ... he's *seriously* mad! Dammit, I've half-contemplated
> > moving to Princetown myself: it's a fine location in the moors,
> > (AIUI the highest town or village in the UK) and houses there are
> > much cheaper than most other places.

>
> I thought it was a bit bleak up there (based on a one-evening stay).
> I think I'd want to be a bit lower.


To do that, either you're seriously rich, or you're living
somewhere whose bleakness is measured in a rich cocktail of
toxic chemicals, and a wide range of 24/7 noise. Or maybe
urban Plymouth student-land or an unfashionable suburb.

--
not me guv
 
On Sat, 8 Sep 2007 01:14:44 +0100
"Clive George" <[email protected]> wrote:

> "Nick Kew" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
>
> > I was well-impressed by what I saw. And if he commutes it to
> > Princetown ... he's *seriously* mad! Dammit, I've half-contemplated
> > moving to Princetown myself: it's a fine location in the moors,
> > (AIUI the highest town or village in the UK) and houses there are
> > much cheaper than most other places.

>
> I thought it was a bit bleak up there (based on a one-evening stay).
> I think I'd want to be a bit lower.


To do that, either you're seriously rich, or you're living
somewhere whose bleakness is measured in a rich cocktail of
toxic chemicals, and a wide range of 24/7 noise. Or maybe
urban Plymouth student-land or an unfashionable suburb.

--
not me guv
 
Copied from rsu - cross-posting threads with rsu really doesn't work,
because the vast majority of posts there are made via the unicyclist.com
web forum, which doesn't handle cross-posting:

On 08/09/2007 20:35, rob.northcott wrote:
> Hello Nick - sounds like it was indeed us who saw each other. I do
> commute from Princetown to Yelverton (Crapstone actually) every day,
> either by bike or unicycle (probably about evenly split between the
> two). If I'm biking I'll go straight down the main road, but if I'm
> unicycling I'll go via Walkhampton, past the church and up onto the old
> railway line track. I prefer riding off-road as much as possible if
> I'm on one wheel - people tend to pass a bit fast and close for my
> liking on the main road, which is annoying on a bike, far worse on the
> uni.
>
> Princetown's not as bleak as people think - but don't tell anybody.
> House prices here were extremely cheap when we moved here in 1995, but
> seem to be less so now (but still less expensive than places at the
> bottom of the hill like Yelverton or Tavistock).
>
> Rob


--
Danny Colyer <http://www.redpedals.co.uk>
Reply address is valid, but that on my website is checked more often
"Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down. Daddy, put that down.
Daddy, why did you put that down?" - Charlie Colyer, age 2
 
On Sat, 08 Sep 2007 21:37:36 +0100
Danny Colyer <[email protected]> wrote:

> Copied from rsu - cross-posting threads with rsu really doesn't work,
> because the vast majority of posts there are made via the
> unicyclist.com web forum, which doesn't handle cross-posting:


Thanks:)

Since you raised the matter, I checked r.s.u on google groups,
so I'd have seen it eventually. But I got your post first.

> On 08/09/2007 20:35, rob.northcott wrote:
> > Hello Nick - sounds like it was indeed us who saw each other. I do
> > commute from Princetown to Yelverton (Crapstone actually) every day,
> > either by bike or unicycle (probably about evenly split between the
> > two). If I'm biking I'll go straight down the main road, but if I'm
> > unicycling I'll go via Walkhampton, past the church and up onto the
> > old railway line track. I prefer riding off-road as much as
> > possible if I'm on one wheel - people tend to pass a bit fast and
> > close for my liking on the main road, which is annoying on a bike,
> > far worse on the uni.


Ah, I see. That figures.

Yes, I'm not keen on either of the roads up to Princetown: they're
both too busy. My favourite on the mountain bike is the track going
up from Burrator Reservoir and reaching Princetown from behind the
Plume of Feathers. But that's a bit rough for a road bike or - I'd
presume - a uni. The railway path is a bit boring (when cycling for
leisure), but a good halfway-house between road and offroad.

> > Princetown's not as bleak as people think - but don't tell anybody.


:)

I haven't let bleakness put me off. Just the thought of that return
journey from Plymouth after an evening out, in the winter. And nothing
like the bus service to Yelverton and Tavistock - no way to chicken out
of doing a big hill.

> > House prices here were extremely cheap when we moved here in 1995,
> > but seem to be less so now (but still less expensive than places at
> > the bottom of the hill like Yelverton or Tavistock).


I understand it has a bit of a troubled history, with a lot of problem
families being put in council houses up there at some point. But it
looks fine (though not pretty) now. And it has all the tourist
facilities, like nice food pubs and restaurants, to liven it up.

Is broadband universally available up there?

--
not me guv
 

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