I've nto been on here for a while.

 Stay safe. 

Summer progress

I've had a full summer, so the bike has plodded along slowly. 

The foam core has been covered with one layer of glass.  This stabilised the foam, and while it still isn't anywhere near strong enough, the foam can now survive the odd knock or two. 

Next, holes were cut in the frame to accept the hard points for the suspension, pedals and steering.  These were aligned carefully and set into place using automotive body filler.  Surplus filler was ground down before another piece of glass was laid around them.

The swingarm is still wooden, but will be reinforced with carbon.  So now I've got something that is actually starting to look like a bike.  Tonight I assembled the major components to see how they look together.

Well the rear end is at the correct height, thanks to the lump of wood shoved in where the shock absorber should live.  The swingarm is still two lumps of wood and relies on the back axle to hold them together.  The swingarm shock mount is next on the list.  The bottom bracket is actually a bb30 bottom bracket adaptor, which was an ebay find.  This was easier than getting a framebuilder to supply me with a tube with the appropriate thread.  The head tube is at the correct angle, although for the purpose of this demonstration I have left out part of the headset assembly. 

More will follow...

Frame and Steering Progress

This was always going to be a slow build, but I'm in no hurry.

So, having realised that genuine fibreglass core materials were going to be on the expensive side, I bought four sheets of 1200x450x50mm cavity wall insulation for £20 all in.  Having extended the frame templates by 15cm to give me a bit of leg room, this meant the templates overhang the end of the foam sheets.  no problem, as there's plenty of scrap foam so I stuck some of the scrap on at the front with the glue gun.  This turned out to be a small error, as hot melt glue doesn't sand very well, so I've got a bit of a lump in the frame.  This is being rectified with a sharp blade, and by the time it's covered in epoxy, you'll not notice it's there.

Template on top of insulation board.

After a lot of cutting I was left with a bin bag full of random offcuts, which I'm not wanting to throw out yet. I also had something resembling a Groundhugger frame, at least in profile.

Frame blank, awaiting sanding.

The core of the frame needs to be 68mm wide at the rear, tapering off to the front.  the black lines are a guide for me to start sculpting this down.  Using a hacksaw blade, a surform file and a length of M8 threaded rod for fine detail sanding, I turned this block of foam into three carrier bags full of fine white dust and the foam core for the frame.

With apologies for the bleached out picture - the phone camera is OK.  Just OK. There's a couple of bits still look a wee bit rough, but I'll be dealing with them before the fibreglass goes on.  One thing I have already done is to mix a small bit of resin, just to make sure the foam won't melt.  It's OK. 

The disadvantage of using insulating foam instead of other core materials, at least as far as I can see is the occasional void in the foam.  They aren't too large, but I would imagine f you were doing anything more detailed, they may present a problem.

Now the steering.

The original Groundhugger design calls for a universal joint at the head of the steering tube.  I just don't have the facilities to engineer something like that, and I'm concerned that this could lead to play in the steering that I'm unable to correct for.  Instead I'm going to use a linkage from the top of the headset up to a set of handlebars in the "cockpit" and use traditional push-pull bars.

I have a threadless headset stem that allowed me to clamp in two 28mm diameter bearings.  These will take an 8mm bolt attached to a pair of metal brackets which are in turn attached to the frame. 

Rough design with completed brackets.

Brackets with bearings. Bolts need shortened and the nuts will be Nyloc. There's a washer missing as well.

Completed bracket and steering stem.

Both brackets are the same length.  Perspective is making them look different.

That's all for the moment.  Next step is to wrap the frame in a single layer of glassfibre before starting to add carbon.

Construction begins

in my last post i said I had begin cutting the templates for the chain stays.  The original XR2 design calls for these to be made from aluminium, and while it's possible for me to do this, I had thought about making them out of carbon.  My thought was to make a plywood and balsa former that was to be wrapped in carbon.  But when i started cutting the wood, I realised what a nice bit of wood I had.  It's 6mm modeling plywood, birch I think.  So by way of an experiment I'm going to attempt a wooden swingarm.

I've deviated from the original design again...  The original XR2 has a chain wheel in the middle of the bike, so the right chainstay is set in behind the sprocket, and above the bottom bracket.  As I'm dispensing with this sprocket, I've made the chainstays symetrical.  As a result, I can make a jig and use it to form both sides.

In order to stop the rear wheel rotating and stopping the roller brake from working, I've recessed some lumps of metal into my chainstays.  The epoxy is curing on these just now.  The plan is to add a couple of layers of ply to the chainstays, then join them together in the middle to take the suspension pivot.  I'll be adding a few layers of varnish to lift the colour of the plywood.  This is an experiment, so I'll see how it goes.

Of course, now I have chainstay and frame templates made up, I had to make a mockup using the other components, clamps and imagination.  Ignore the headtube height and angle - that's the angle it wanted to wedge itself in at.

Re-Cycling

The other day I visited The Bike Station in Edinburgh.  It's a project that takes old bikes, refurbishes them and sells them on, with the surplus cash being used to support cycling initiatives.  As a result of thework they do, they have piles of old bike parts for the homebuilder to buy.  After being welcomed from one f the staff, he pointed me towards a wall of filing cabinets full of every part imaginable. 

I came away with handlebars, 2 stems, and a set of pedals, but I was still short of a 20" disc wheel and a head tube.  After speaking with a member of staff, I was taken up to the warehouse, where all the bikes that are being sorted live.  As luck would have it, when I went in,I spotted a 20" wheel with a disc hub.  It's not a great brand of wheel, but it runs true and the bearings are sound.  As for the head tube, I was hoping they would have a damaged frame that I could have taken an angle grinder to.  No such luck.  The only frame they had that could be considered an appropriate write off had an oversized head tube (1.5"?).  It looked like the former owner had cross threaded the bottom bracket shell and mangled the threads.  It was a shame, as it was an exceptionally light frame that was once a very good bike.

there were a couple of othr things  was after, but it was goingto be unlikely I would have found a headset and a bottom bracket.  These will either stay with the bikes to be recycled, or be in such a poor condition that they are not worth recycling.

I did see a trigger shifter for my Nexus hub,but it looked like it had been harvested for parts, so I decided against it. 

So for the bars, stems, pedals and wheel, I paid £15.  I woud have been a lot more on Ebay.  And I got a new bottom bracket from another bike shop for £20.  I was happy buying new, as I know this gets a lot of abuse.

I also visited Laid Back Bikes in Edinburgh to discuss chain and seat options.  While I'm planning on building the genuine XR2 seat, there was some nice upholstery on display that cuold be modified to fit my bike.  If comfort becomes an issue, then I may consider a change.  As for chain, I'm probably better just buying standard chain lengths and joining them with powerlinks.

On the construction front, I've started cutting templates for the chainstays. 

Groundhugger Spotted in the Wild

Newly released spy footage shows a Groundhugger XR2 in it's natural environment.


Thanks to David Wolfe for the video and for the construction tips.  That's him piloting his own XR2 in the video.  His construction diary is here.

In other news, with the assistance of Mrs G, I removed the internals of my Nexus 8 hub, gave them  a spit and a polish and put them back together.  The dropouts on my mountain bike were long enough for me to be able to get the hub in and tested, albeit without a functioning back brake.  The hub appears to work fine, gear selection is painless, and there's no drag from the back end.  I'm now confident in using this in my final bike.

I'm keeping an eye on Ebay for some of the other components I'll require.  I'm also planning a trip to my local bike recycler to have a rummage through their parts bin

Drivetrain

I won a Shimano Nexus 8 speed hub on Ebay the other day.  This was a bit of a gamble, as the seller said that the hub was stuck in gear.  Well I was bidding against someone, so if the thing was unfixable, I could always get most of my money back.

Using the very useful site SheldonBrown.com I found instructions for stripping the hub, which is something you just don't want to do.  These things are complicated.  I was also fortunate that the seller included parts from a damaged hub so I could see some of the affected components.

So it turned out that the gear selector cable connects to a cog.  The cog connects to two prongs that stick out the side of the hub.  Except the prongs were not sticking out the sude, instead they were flush with the ball race.

What appears to have happened is the non drive side bearings have been tightened up too much, probably through the cup and cone being too tight.  This has the effect of opening up the bearing on the drive side and drawing the gear selector pins inside the body.  So I released the non drive side nuts a couple of turns, and gave the drive side a very gentle tap with a hammer.  A little bit of persuasion later and the hub appears to select gears, but I'm not going to know for sure until I test it in a bike frame. 

While the combination of hub gear and drum brake makes for a heavy back end, I've now got a set of gears with no overlap, and I don't need to worry about derailleurs.  Also the rear swingarm will only require pretty standard dropouts.

Early Stages

This week I went to my local printers so I could get paper copies of the plans drawn up.  The plans CD contains 14 plans of 34x22in, plus one full size plan of the main frame assembly.  This is the point that the bike went from being something that exists only on the computer to something that I'm actually attempting to build.  I had one copy of each of the plans printed, plus three copies of the main frame plan.  Some of the plans I may not use, as this version is unlikely to have electrical assistance.  Still, it's good to have options, and I'm thinking of using the battery rack as the basis for a luggage rack.  And the mid frame battery box, which is a clever design in its own right, may become a toolbox.

The instructions advise you to create a pair of templates for the foam core from the larger plan, using a sheet of 3mm hardboard.  My local B&Q has an offcuts bin beside their wood cutting section, and they had a lump of MDF that appeared to have been partially printed as a bit of laminate flooring.  This cost a princely £1.50 so I wasn't complaining.

With the assistance of Mrs G, two of the plans were cut up and stuck to the MDF.  Now I need to cut them out.  There's no rush, as I've not got foam to cut out yet, or any of the multitude of parts I require.

So it's a start, if only a small one.  This isn't going to be a rush job.

Looks like it's going to fit

Plans arrived.

The plans CD arrived from Robert Q Riley at the weekend, but I've not really had much of a chance to have a look as yet.  What I have seen is a pretty comprehensive set of plans, 3d models and files for the sheet metal parts. 

The manual includes details of how to make the bike solar powered, using a motor under the seat and a set of solar panels that mount either behind the seat, or on a custom disc on the back wheel, transferring the power out using a custom connector.  It's a neat design, but I'm not going to bother with the solar version, because if last summer was anything to go by, I wouldn't have got a lot of charging time. 

I've got plenty of other things to be getting along with at the moment, so progress isn't going to be that quick.

I do have my first component.  I've got a BB30 bottom bracket adaptor with a standard BSA thread that will probably be on the front of the bike.  I'm considering a Sturmey Archer or Sachs 3x7 hub on the rear, with a long cage derailleur to take up the tension in the chain line.  I'll probably fit an idler gear under the seat, in the place of the motor drive to maintain the appropriate chain clearance under the seat.

Other parts will follow from Ebay or my local bike recyclers.

Design considerations

While I'm waiting for the plans to arrive, which are somewhere between the US and UK at the moment, I'm pondering the technical part of the design.

To give myself a benchmark to work from, I'm using my Revolution Pathfinder from Edinburgh Bicycle for reference.  The gearing on that is good for hill climbs, while also allowing me up to 30mph while pedaling like a maniac, downhill with a following wind. 

I am keeping an eye out for a used mountain bike that can be harvested for parts.

The front forks will be purchased rather than made.  I'm not in a position to do that much machining of parts, and besides, why reinvent the wheel...  or fork...

As for the back end, I'm considering a carbon swingarm, rather than the aluminium on the design.

The bike needs mudguards.  This is Scotland.  Dry paths are the exception.

I'd also like somewhere to keep my lunch, so some form of luggage rack to take two standard panniers would be nice.

And I'd also like to make it fit onto a standard Thule bike carrier.  This may mean having the luggage rack detachable for transit, and having the suspension pivot so the rear wheel folds underneath.

And lights are a must.  

The blog re-awakens

I'm bringing this blog back to life.  The original motorbike posts will remain, however I'm now going to use this to record my thoughts on cycling, and in particular, my attempt to construct my own recumbent bicycle.

If all you have ever seen in the traditional diamond framed bicycle, then what I'm attempting is going to look a little odd.  Rather than your feet below you, the pedals are in front.

Recumbent trike. Source: Wikipedia.

For the moment however, I am waiting for the plans to arrive.  While I wait I'm having a think about the equipment that is going to be attached to the bike, including gears, brakes and suspension.  I'm relatively sure what colour it's going to be though...

Mrs  Gerbil and I took a couple of recumbent trikes, similar to the one pictured (minus windscreen) for a run the other week.  It's amazing fun cycling along with your backside inches from the ground.  I'm planning something two wheeled.

Have a look here for the bike I am attempting to replicate.

Or go have a look at Wikipedia to find out exactly why you are riding a diamond shaped bike.

New blog

While you are welcome to browse the information on this blog, I've not got a 1300 any more, so there won't be much in the way of updates. My current blog project can be found at...

kirkcafe.blogspot.com

Hope to see you there.

Trick or Treat? It’s begging. Just go away.

(or how to fail with the compliments of the season.)

A previous year, early in the evening of the 29th October and there is a knock at the door. I open, expecting the usual suspects of chuggers, double glazing, Mormons etc but instead I am met with a youth, not much shorter than myself, wearing a cheap “Scream” mask.

“Trick or Treat” he exclaims, holding out his hand expectantly.

I reply “No thanks” and gently close the door, for fear of crushing various body parts in the doorway. I wasn’t in the mood to educate the youth in his epic fail, but I should have let him know a few things…

First of all, it’s the 29th October. It’s not sweets or money you need, but a diary. Did you not notice the lack of similarly attired individuals in the area? I appreciate that this is a large housing estate, but it’s not a mail shot you are doing. If you really want to make a bit of money, speak to one of the takeaway proprietors and you could deliver a menu or two at the same time.

Second, aren’t you a bit old for this? The time to stop “Trick or Treating” is when you have grown tall enough to reach doorbells unassisted. You can resume when you are old enough to drink. Until then, please grow up.

And that mask, really… When I was younger than yourself, we used to spend weeks making our costumes, getting it all together, so if you’re not prepared to put as much effort into your costume as I would, then please darken my door. Oh, I’m sorry, it’s not a cheap “Scream” mask, as you actually spent a bit more and got the one that has fake blood pouring down the front. Tasteful. I see now that you have tried to speculate to accumulate.

Now that I’m on my rant, “Trick or Treat?” This is Scotland, it’s called Guising. If you want to use an American tradition to make some money, then go get a job in McDonalds. You will be less disappointed working there than when I refuse to contribute to your continuing economic development. I believe you will also get an occasional free burger.

Shall I even mention the tumshie lamp that you are clearly not carrying. Get a big one and you can go home to haggis, neaps and tatties knowing that you have contributed the core of your lamp to the evening meal.

And in looking at you, do I even know you? I know all the wee folk round here, and you don’t seem familiar. Casting the net a bit wide, aren’t we?

Were you trying to scare me? If you want a scare in return, I’ll answer the door with a chainsaw. I have done this before, and the caller went running. In my letter of apology I did suggest to the TV Licensing man that it was probably a bad night to make house calls.

And when we went out guising, we told a joke or two, sang a song or generally entertained. Yes, I am finding this entertaining, but for all the wrong reasons. So we’re getting to the crux of my argument. If you are going to knock at my door and expect a donation from me with no possibility of return, then you are not guising, you are begging. Now go away and stop bothering me.”

SLAM

International Rescue

This blog has been reopened to provide a plug for the International Rescue Corps. They are a Scottish based charity that provides assistance in disaster affected areas. They are desperate to get out to Haiti to help out, but they are a bit short of cash at present. Can you please visit their website and see if you can spare some pennies.

I can't sit by and see an organisation called International Rescue fail.

Please visit www.intrescue.org for more information.

Thanks and good night

This is going to be my last post on this blog. Since the collision in February I've not had anything much to say about the Honda Pan European as I've not benefited from owning one. Today I bought a used Honda Goldwing so I can't really justify keeping a blog about the Pan European going.

I enjoyed the Pan European, but I promised myself that when I traded up it would be to get a 'Wing. I took a new, airbag and sat nav equipped model out for a test run a few months ago, enjoyed it, but couldn't justify the cost of a new bike. Besides, I like someone else paying the depreciation. I bought a nice used model, low mileage and with minimal aftermarket "features" added.

Post collision I feel I have recovered very well and I'm grateful to all the NHS people who have stuck the two sick Gerbils back together. As I mentioned before, don't knock the NHS - they do a great job.

Finally, if you are looking for more information about the Honda Pan European, please visit www.st-owners.com where you will find a great community discussing both flavours of this great bike. There are plenty of articles there to help you get the most out of your bike.

Thanks for reading.

Ride safe.

So long, and thanks for all the fish.

Don't knock the NHS

Over the past few days, the press in the USA have been suggesting the NHS is a sub standard service. I'd like to jump to the defence of an organisation that has served me well.

Now that I've had my last appointments, I think I'm finished with hospitals for a while, and I'm genuinely glad to see the back of them. I'm a big wimp, so the sight of people in white coats makes my blood pressure shoot up, although the standard of care I've received recently has been exemplary.

The good old NHS gets a lot of stick, but if we take a step back and see what we are blessed with, it really is outstanding. Mrs Gerbil and I were scooped off the road by a couple of paramedics who were at the scene of our accident within minutes. We've had multiple x-rays, scans and a quite complicated bit of surgery each. We didn't want for anything throughout our time in hospital, and the wards were clean, and staffed with genuinely caring people.

After surgery, we had good follow-up care including physiotherapy, more x-rays and more appointments with our surgeons to make sure everything was working fine. I've not had to pay for any of this, and I've not been left waiting for treatment. We were given a lucky bag full of some serious painkillers, which made the misery all the more bearable! In a couple of years, nobody will pay for prescriptions in Scotland either - I think they are free in Wales at the moment.

Folk might knock the NHS, and like any large organisation it will have its faults, but given the level of care I've had recently, I'm not going to defend it to the death. Preferably not my death!

Bottom line is, it's our NHS and its only us here in the UK that can discuss its minor faults. To those US "journalists" that know sod all about the UK, please get your facts in order. A bit of social healthcare never harmed anyone.

More Blood, More Sweat and Another Cup of Tea

I am very pleased to be able to Link to Tom Reynolds' latest book, "More Blood, More Sweat and Another Cup of Tea" which was released into the wild this week. This is the second book from the bloke behind Random Acts of Reality. Unlike the book reviewers on TV, I'll not pretend to have read this book yet, however the original "Blood, Sweat and Tea" was an outstanding read, and should be required reading for any thieving polititian who cuts NHS funding while at the same time is fiddling their expenses. I'll be reading it this weekend, so please don't give away the ending!

Please buy the book here...

or...

assuming I get the embedding thing right, you can read the actual book below. I'm not ripping off a hard working author here, as it's published under a Creative Commons licence and Tom wants this published in as many places as possible. I'm only too happy to help. Enjoy.

The end of the blog?

How can I call the blog "Pan European" when I've taken these two for a run? The DN-01 is an odd beast, but onceyou get out of the habbit of attempting to use the clutch, and you realise that there's no engine braking, it's a decent enough bike. It's built around someone a bit smaller than myself, so the ergonomics were not quite there. It is probably going to end up with a huge following, and an owners club that argues about whether the black or the purple model is the fastest.

And as for the 'Wing... Well you don't realise that you are driving around on a half ton of bike. I'm tempted...

Please click here to vote for John at Lifeboat Scrapbook.
Given how much I hate boats, I've got a lot of respect for people who go willingly into the face of a storm.

I don't get anything for you clicking. You could win some museli.
John could win an attractive eggcup...

Collision update

First of all, I've decided that I will never refer to my recent impact as an accident. This collision was caused by negligence on the part of the idiot driver. I'm not bitter. I've mostly got over the murderous rage that came over me a few days after the collision

The following is fudged together with some of the forum entries I've put up over the past few days
*********************************************************************************
Leaving a 30 limit and driving towards Gerbil Towers. I had right of way. Approaching a T junction where the minor road joins the main road I noticed a small car approaching. Visibility was good, Gerbil sense twitched and I was sure she wasn't going to look in my direction. I was doing 45-50 as I eased the throttle off, just to be safe. Surely she will look.

She didn't. ABS brakes got a lot of the speed off, but we hit, I'm guessing 20-30 mph at impact. Two flying Gerbils landed on the tarmac with a thud.

I heard Mrs Gerbil - she was still sucking air, and had stood up. My shoulder hurt. lots. I did the "power on self test" procedure. Brain - present. Legs - present. Arms - present, left not happy though. Male equipment - Oooowww. In circumstances like these I only move for the men in green. Ambulance people checked me out, removed helmet (gouged) and helped me to stand. Mrs Gerbil has similar issues. Big yellow taxi ride to hospital and we get checked over.

Mrs Gerbil. Busted collarbone, busted ribs, bruised hip. Alive thank God.

Spot. Busted collarbone,which I'm living with. What really hurts is the fact that the combined weight of the Gerbils landed on the fuel tank, using you know where as padding. I have grazed and bruised bits, things are very swollen, so I'm walking like a cowboy. you got to laugh.

Pan. Well the last I saw of it, the forks had bust the radiator. I don't think there's a panel intact as it went for a spin.

Other driver. Well enough to hear some bad words, although I feel sorry for her in a way, as she has seen a biker laid out, hardly moving. I think she has had a hell of a fright. Would have been nice if she'd looked though.

But I want to get back on the horse.
**********************************************************************************

Well that was posted on www.st-owners.com a few hours after the collision, and thanks to all on that board for their good wishes.

We were taken to Casualty where we were X-rayed, poked and prodded, and the broken clavicle was confirmed. Furthermore, I had three different doctors examining my male bits which were badly scraped and bruised

Sleep wasn't easy over the next few days. Mrs Gerbil was in a lot more pain than myself, due to her busted ribs and a bruise that was spectacular over her hip. I wasn't in continual pain, but movement was sore, breathing awkward, and due to the damage down below, walking, sitting and going to the toilet hurt. We could feel the displaced bone, and our shoulders changed shape as the muscles contracted.

On the Monday we visited the fracture clinic and we were advised that we both required an operation to plate our clavicles if we were ever to regain full function of our shoulder. The thought of surgery terrifies me - it's a totally irrational fear, but I hate hospitals, doctors and medical staff. I must state that all the people we have encountered so far, starting with Ali and Mike in their ambulance, the staff in casualty and throughout the Queen Margaret Hospital have been really nice. Genuine caring people. Surgery was booked for the Wednesday.

We revisited the scene of the collision, which is apparently good for recovery. Bits of the Pan's headlight and bodywork littered the roadside. We paced out the distance from the point of impact to the point that we landed. I flew 8-10 metres, Mrs Gerbil a more impressive 12-15 metres. She knew exactly where she landed as she landed in line with the gate of one of the roadside cottages. This brought into sharp focus the fact that we were, in an odd sort of way, pretty lucky.

Surgery was cancelled as soon as we arrived on the Wednesday. If there's someone worse off than yourself then they get the theatre, you get bumped. Our injuries were painful, but we could manage them with drugs. Someone else could be in real need of surgery. We were booked in again for the following Wednesday.

As the week went on, any numbness in the shoulder disappeared, to be replaced with more regular pain. Mrs Gerbil and I couldn't sleep in the same bed as contact with another person was hard to bear. In fact it was nearly a month after the collision before I could give Mrs Gerbil a hug. Throughout this experience, that has been amongst the worst bits.

Monday 2nd March and we visited our doctor. He was so concerned with my bits that I was admitted to hospital that evening. I was poked and prodded and the surgeon advised me that, while he had seen a lot worse, I would need an ultrasound scan. Fortunately I didn't have to stay in the hospital overnight, as long as I returned first thing next morning.

Tuesday was spent waiting for an ultrasound scan. Once this was done I was relieved to hear that I wasn't going to need surgery, but there was a reasonable amount of clotting which should go down over time. If not, or if the swelling returned then it would require surgery to sort the damage.

Then Wednesday came. It was afternoon before I was taken to theatre, and I was genuinely terrified. Hardly surprising then that my blood pressure was a bit on the high side. Fear of the unknown. I really didn't want to go through with the operation, but I knew that if I ever wanted to get back on the bike, or do half the things that I enjoy, then I had to go through with it.

Watch this video...
Think Bike Not for those who scare easily. (worth noting that I have not seen this as I don't own a TV)

I was on the trolley, in the waiting area before you get taken through to get knocked out and I'm lying there, watching on TV some heavily tanned bloke valuing antiques, when commercial break starts and the motorbike film comes on! I'm laughing about it now, but at the time I said a bad word, (the same bad word last heard as I ejected from my Pan) causing one of the theatre nurses to come over and check all was OK. I apologised for my expletive, and explained what had just happened. She was really nice, also a biker, and admitted that she wasn't too keen on that particular film either. I wish I'd been plugged into a BP monitor at that time, as I'd have blown it up! Those theatre nurses really helped calm me down. Shortly after this I was drugged up to the eyeballs and couldn't care either way.

I woke up about three hours later in my own private room off the main ward. Mrs Gerbil, who was supposed to be next in the theatre was bumped (again) to be first on the list for the Thursday morning. I was still floating on another planet, I don't think I had morphine, as it wasn't on my chart, but I was given a large dose of paracetamol, and another drug to prevent nausea. This was stuck into my thigh, and it is supposed to be one of the more painful injection sites, but I didn't even notice it going in. Mrs Gerbil had the same injection the next day, and she REALLY felt it go in.

Mrs Gerbil finally got bolted together on the Thursday morning. We spent all of Thursday in hospital before getting out on Friday, accompanied by some serious pain drugs, and some frozen peas to reduce the swelling. I never thought Captain Birdseye could be so comforting.

So we have spent the last two weeks doing not an awful lot. Thanks go to our friends for keeping us in pizza, DVD's, books, genuine home cooked Italian food (from a genuine Italian!) and for keeping on top of the washing.

Our surgeons saw us this week and had a look at the follow-up x-rays. We have a plate and eight screw each. I broke my clavicle in the middle, with two fragments, Mrs Gerbil managed to dislocate hers as well as break it. The best bit of meeting the surgeon is that for short periods we could remove the slings that we had been wearing since surgery. This meant that showering was possible. That was bliss.

We are getting better, but the pain has been regular, especially in the morning. Sleeping is getting easier, but there has been times when I need to get up in the night, pop some pills and wait for them to take effect. I don't like taking pills at the best of time, but there have been times when I've been at my wits end.

As regards our kit, well we were both wearing Shoei full face helmets, Raid II for her, XR1000 for me. I attacked my last Shoei lid with a pick-axe when it was retired. Not a bit of damage. We didn't come down on our heads this time, but there's still some scrapes around the left side of both lids.

Belstaff trousers and Spada jacket for me. Belstaff top and bottom for her. Full Knox armour throughout. Our shoulder elbow and hips took the impact. Very minor scuffs to the kit, and Mrs Gerbil had a 4" split to her inseam. Kept the Gerbil fur where it's meant to be. This kit saved our hide.

Given the bruising, we would have probably had multiple fractures to our shoulders, ribs and hips. With massive skin loss. Your kit doesn't stop all the damage, but it sure limits the misery. I wouldn't ride without a lid, but I would have bust my skull without it.

So what part of "all the gear, all the time" is hard to understand.