keert.bsky.socialI survived the Bristol disaster relief trial yesterday on an acoustic cargo bike, including the medical task (bandage), the mechanical task (puncture), brought 2x14kg sandbags, radio equipment and 25l of water collected from the river after some offroading.
#cargobike #disasterrelieftrials
I navigated ~30miles over 5 checkpoints spread over Bristol from a paper map (no electricity, mobile or GPS) and was not fast but not last.
I did fail to keep the medical samples (3 bread sticks simulating test tubes) in one piece.
...oh, and at the finish, i carried it all over a 1 m barrier
Things I learned along the way:
I dont want to have to deal with a disaster in a real life situation, but cargo bikes are a real solution.
Route finding with paper maps and signposts is something I've not done for a while, and i am rusty at it
Way finding signs for bike routes are patchy, even in Bristol (me and another rider ended up riding off the map after getting lost)
Bristol is flipping hilly, especially when the map you have doesn't show you elevation to routefind around the hills
I needed more of my own water on board
People are great, kind and lovely, and random members of the public are interested in weird bikes and willing to help when you need it. Bike people in particular seem to be self-selecting as generous and lovely.
I probably need to buy another acoustic cargo bike just in case of an emergency
Huge thanks to Pedal Collective, Velocious Couriers, Really Useful Bikes and their partners/sponsors that made this happen, and everyone that showed up on the day to run the checkpoints and participate
www.pedalcollective.co.uk/disaster-rel...
Disaster Relief Trials | Pedal...
Disaster Relief Trials | Pedal...
