I went for a ride on my Sydney ebike this morning for the first time in a while. Apparently, complicated things you only do intermittently are a bit hard. Unlike a simple treadly kept on the back porch, my ebike in Sydney requires multiple things to be done and in the same place at the same time:
- Battery charged.
- Phone charged.
- Smart watch charged.
- AirPods charged.
- Garage door opener fresh battery.
- Portable air compressor charged (there are no powerpoints in the garage).
- Battery installed in bike (it’s removed for charging because see above).
- Tires pumped up.
- Keys for cable padlock (it’s a shared garage, bike is shackled to the floor so it doesn’t get stolen).
Unfortunately, I haven’t ridden this particular bike for several weeks, so I have forgotten how to do everything. I knew the battery was charged after the last ride. It wasn’t in the cupboard where I used to keep it, so I thought “hey ho, I must have put it back in the bike”.
I have actually put my shoes on and about to head downstairs when my right AirPod does the low battery thing. Back on the charger.
Go to get the padlock key from the drawer. There are three sets of keys for the three Master padlocks I have, all unlabelled. Collect all three.
Go downstairs. Pull the bike cover off. AirTag promptly falls off. I’ll fix that later. Discover battery is not installed.
Try all three sets of keys. None fit the padlock. Catastrophise about having to call a locksmith to release my bike. Go back upstairs, turn out the useful drawer, and conclude that I had all the keys and was just doing it wrong.
Go downstairs, finally find the right set of keys, and unlock the padlock. Strangely, there is still no battery. Go back upstairs.
Search several cupboards until I find where I hid the battery (this thing is 18″ long and weighs 5 kg). Go downstairs.
Install the battery, pump up the tires, check that the battery is fully charged (it is).
Where is the garage door opener? Go back upstairs. Get the garage door opener, which miraculously was in its usual place. Attempt to go downstairs. Stopped at the lift when my AirPods cut out. Go back to retrieve my phone.
Go downstairs. Manage to leave building without further complication. Successfully complete first half of bike ride (Potts Point to Centennial Park via Bourke Street, twice around and then on to Bondi Junction). I swear the worst dangers to cyclists in Sydney aren’t cars (though they’re pretty nightmarish), it’s food delivery riders and people who rent Lime bikes.
Arrive at Bondi Junction and lock up the bike. Shopping takes place without incident, apart from almost leaving said AirTag on a shop counter when it fell out of my backpack.
Return to bike. Decorative pin falls off backpack. Drop it in backpack as a ‘later’ problem. Backpack strap fails. As I have repaired this strap twice already, this is not a surprise, and I need to find a more permanent solution. However, this has become a ‘now’ problem. Manage to tie knot in strap that gets me home.
Did I learn anything from this?
- Have a pre-ride (day before) and a post-ride checklist that reminds me of everything I need to do.
- Label my infrequently-used keys and hang them on a key rack (tags and rack already purchased).
- Fix things properly the first time.
- Find a more permanent attachment solution for the AirTag (noting that duct tape lasted at least six months).
Apparently there was some sort of nationalistic thing going on today?