Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Our house is being overrun by lights, inner tubes, lubes, saddlebags, pumps, repair kits , cleaners. How does everyone store theirs? It seems it has to be easily accessible for overnight repair works/ too cold to do outside and my idea of a discreet shed at the back of the garden is not cutting it with the 2 - 3 cyclists. I think some of it has to stay in adult sons' bedroom, but it's messy and slightly wiffy. Any ideas? before I lose all my kitchen cupboards and we end up living on takeaways as there is no room to cook. ;)

Depends on the size and layout of the house surely? Along with how many bikes and which one(s) need to be easily accessible for daily commuting vs only used at weekends.


We've got a big kitchen with hardwood floors so it's easy to store them to one side out of the way of food prep. Spares, tools, tubes etc all need ruthless control otherwise they tend to take on a life of their own and spread all by themselves. Got a small plastic box on the fridge for easy access and then a toolbox in an out-of-the-way kitchen cupboard that's too inconvenient for any food / utensils. Between us both, it seems to work.


I have in the past (in a previous house) kept a bike in the bedroom but I'm not a fan of it - no matter how much you clean it, you inevitably end up with road grime inlaid into the carpet unless you put rubber mats everywhere or have hard flooring. Plus carrying them up and down stairs is a pain.


When I was at uni, I used to clean my bike in the communal kitchen (it being the only place in the student flat that had lino floor). Initially, my housemates weren't happy with that but then they realised that it was the only time the kitchen floor got swept!


If you go down the option of getting a shed, make sure it (and/or access to your garden) is very well secured. Takes seconds to get through the walls or roof of most sheds - securing the door simply means that the roof will get pulled off. You can get (quite expensive, but much more secure) specific bike storage units: https://www.asgardsss.co.uk/bike-cycle-storage

We have storage blocks in the hallway for things like shoes and there is an additional one for bike locks and lights, bike gloves, buffs etc (inevitably overflowing). Bike cleaner and lube etc lives in a box on a storage rack near the cellar or in the bike shed. Basically some kind of lidded plastic box seems best for anything that might leak.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • I've never got Christmas pudding. The only times I've managed to make it vaguely acceptable to people is thus: Buy a really tiny one when it's remaindered in Tesco's. They confound carbon dating, so the yellow labelled stuff at 75% off on Boxing Day will keep you going for years. Chop it up and soak it in Stones Ginger Wine and left over Scotch. Mix it in with a decent vanilla ice cream. It's like a festive Rum 'n' Raisin. Or: Stick a couple in a demijohn of Aldi vodka and serve it to guests, accompanied by 'The Party's Over' by Johnny Mathis when people simply won't leave your flat.
    • Not miserable at all! I feel the same and also want to complain to the council but not sure who or where best to aim it at? I have flagged it with our local MP and one Southwark councillor previously but only verbally when discussing other things and didn’t get anywhere other than them agreeing it was very frustrating etc. but would love to do something on paper. I think they’ve been pretty much every night for the last couple of weeks and my cat is hating it! As am I !
    • That is also a Young's pub, like The Cherry Tree. However fantastic the menu looks, you might want to ask exactly who will cook the food on the day, and how. Also, if  there is Christmas pudding on the menu, you might want to ask how that will be cooked, and whether it will look and/or taste anything like the Christmas puddings you have had in the past.
    • This reminds me of a situation a few years ago when a mate's Dad was coming down and fancied Franklin's for Christmas Day. He'd been there once, in September, and loved it. Obviously, they're far too tuned in to do it, so having looked around, £100 per head was pretty standard for fairly average pubs around here. That is ridiculous. I'd go with Penguin's idea; one of the best Christmas Day lunches I've ever had was at the Lahore Kebab House in Whitechapel. And it was BYO. After a couple of Guinness outside Franklin's, we decided £100 for four people was the absolute maximum, but it had to be done in the style of Franklin's and sourced within walking distance of The Gowlett. All the supermarkets knock themselves out on veg as a loss leader - particularly anything festive - and the Afghani lads on Rye Lane are brilliant for more esoteric stuff and spices, so it really doesn't need to be pricey. Here's what we came up with. It was considerably less than £100 for four. Bread & Butter (Lidl & Lurpak on offer at Iceland) Mersea Oysters (Sopers) Parsnip & Potato Soup ( I think they were both less than 20 pence a kilo at Morrisons) Smoked mackerel, Jerseys, watercress & radish (Sopers) Rolled turkey breast joint (£7.95 from Iceland) Roast Duck (two for £12 at Lidl) Mash  Carrots, star anise, butter emulsion. Stir-fried Brussels, bacon, chestnuts and Worcestershire sauce.(Lidl) Clementine and limoncello granita (all from Lidl) Stollen (Lidl) Stichelton, Cornish Cruncher, Stinking Bishop. (Marks & Sparks) There was a couple of lessons to learn: Don't freeze mash. It breaks down the cellular structure and ends up more like a French pomme purée. I renamed it 'Pomme Mikael Silvestre' after my favourite French centre-half cum left back and got away with it, but if you're not amongst football fans you may not be so lucky. Tasted great, looked like shit. Don't take the clementine granita out of the freezer too early, particularly if you've overdone it on the limoncello. It melts quickly and someone will suggest snorting it. The sugar really sticks your nostrils together on Boxing Day. Speaking of 'lost' Christmases past, John Lewis have hijacked Alison Limerick's 'Where Love Lives' for their new advert. Bastards. But not a bad ad.   Beansprout, I have a massive steel pot I bought from a Nigerian place on Choumert Road many years ago. It could do with a work out. I'm quite prepared to make a huge, spicy parsnip soup for anyone who fancies it and a few carols.  
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...