Well, it’s one of these:
Jeanette and Colin presented me with a pick-up stick or, in my case, a can grabber. Using this I won’t have to bend down so much during a can collection cycle ride. We had thought about using one of those devices dog owners pick up and throw a ball with but, it wouldn’t grab a can. This does!!
Colin’s ultimate idea is to pull a trailer fitted with a can storage bin so, using the grabber, we would be able to pick up and toss the cans into the bin without getting off the trike / bike. This concept still needs work.
I continue to find a lot of cans and bottles along the roadside and the resulting cash-back helps with the grocery bills. I believe I am seeing a drop off of the number of cans though but the number of take-away coffee cups and soft drink buckets doesn’t get any smaller. Shame these aren’t included in the recycling scheme. It’s those pesky liquid-proof linings.
Using the can grabber has widened my field of operation. I can now reach down into the roadside ditch. This is not necessarily a good thing as some cans in the ditch are filled with rainwater and ditch detritus. This tends to exit the can over my clothing. One can arrived home with a skink (small lizard) in it, the skink has been re-homed in our backyard.
Another new activity the grabber allows is can collection from over paddock wire fences. This is all good!!
Another NW Coastal Pathway Ride
The NW riding group organised a ride between Penguin and Turners Beach to try some of the new sections of Coastal Shared Path. While the group has ridden some of the new stretches before I certainly had not so I joined them.
We started by the beach at Penguin on the day that town was holding it’s 150th year birthday celebrations. The pathway through town was, therefore, quite busy. People of all ages, their dogs and their children had to be looked after (not run over) by our 15 strong group of riders. Taking it slow and ringing bells I think we managed to get through and not get yelled at.
Right in the centre, by the famous Penguin town’s “Giant Penguin”, was a marquee which was a picture of busyness. A couple of the group stopped to chat. Apparently a Central Coast Council NW Coastal Trail rep was there and was quite pleased to see a group of cyclists on the trail. After all that’s what it is being built for, so it was good to highlight it is being used. Maybe talking and showing will help procure funds to fix the missing bits.
At this point I will let you know there are no pictures from the ride – no camera except the phone with me.
The trail out of town cleared of people and we continued along on it until we arrived at a “trail-less” section. This is a 4-5 kilometre leg which is on a narrow, extremely windy road climbing the hills between Penguin and Ulverstone. The speed limit is 70kph but really there are no straight stretches which allow drivers to overtake cyclists – so we become an annoyance. There are a couple of “slow-lane” bays which we used to let people pass but as you set off again traffic starts to build up behind you immediately. To our left was the rail line passing through an extremely picturesque part of the coastline, it would be great as a rail trail. BUT trains still run through Penguin to the port at Burnie so we have no chance of even a trail alongside the rail track. Actually it’s worse than that as for stretches there wouldn’t be room for a cycle trail alongside the track. It’s all very tight for space as is the roadway and I have no idea how the NW Coastal Trail will fit safely through this section without major work to widen the road space.
Once out of the hills the trail has been continued into Ulverstone by extending and joining up the footpaths. This is OK but the continual changes in height of the pathway to accommodate house driveways gets a little bit irritating. Just keep thinking “at least I’m not fighting traffic on the road”.
We soon joined up with the older sections of the pathway in Ulverstone which I have cycled a number of times before. People were out in large numbers when we cycled through the parklands and kid’s playground. All people were avoided except for one lady we scared a bit. Sorry again. We then shot down the well used track between Ulverstone and Turners Beach, through Turners B and along to the shared path bridge over the Forth river, our turnaround point.
The weather had been a bit showery and when we turned the clouds looked ominous. Quite dark grey. Yes, it remained showery on the way back.
On the return ride we didn’t ride so much as a group. Everyone knew the way, some were in a hurry to get to the lunch table in Penguin, some were exploring new routes through Turners Beach and some just pottered along looking at everything. Well that was me.
All up another great ride on Tasmania’s NW Coast.
Bike Rack
Yes – I have one now!
I decided on a single bike e-bike rack I found in the E-Bike shop in Launceston. It fits the tow bar well. There was a two week wait for the small bike rack rego plate to arrive and then I was off to Penguin with bike on back.
E-City sits in the rack comfortably attached as per normal by a clamp from the central frame plus ties for the wheels. There is also a strap supplied (reminding me of “belt and braces”). I couldn’t make the strap fit and didn’t have a longer one so forgot about it.
Having got that all sorted I have decided to change cars! We are moving to a hatchback EV that may or may not officially be able to fit a tow bar for carrying an e-bike rack. Tow bars for the car are available but in Australia the car is not assessed to tow. It’s OK – I don’t want to tow anything; just carry a bike. How will I deal with this? – no idea at the moment but I have the rack and rego plate and have raised a query with BYD.
More on this as time goes on.
Not long now until Colin and I head to Somerset for a couple of days of riding the far stretches of the NW Coastal Trail to the west of Burnie.
’til next time …………………. (when hopefully there will actually be pictures).
Tony's Tasmanian Cycling Blog 
Hi Tony,
I’m so glad you could get in this group ride – it sounded like a good day, despite the weather. You didn’t really say much about the bike, so I take you and it are getting to know each other and it performed well.
I like that you have the can grabber and are always thinking technique and technical solutions for all issues.
It’s a shame that trail has that awful section of road to ride between bits. I guess with your big new stadium gettign approved that there won’t be money for anything else, so no new bike path bits!
I do know someone with a Kia EV that has a bike rack fitted and has had no issues technically or bureacratically, but they just have regular bikes, not e-bikes (though I think they are getting those even though they are in their early 40s because they ‘don’t like to ride up the hills’…. arrrgghhh!). Enjoy the Somerset rides soon. Though the weather down there looks not-so-great today, I hope you and Sue have been enjoying some nice spring days lately. – Emily
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Hi Emily.
Yes – the bike and I are going OK having come to terms with each other.
You are right, the Stadium will mop up any “spare” cash in the State. Our Council has the plans in place to turn a current 3 lane road into a two lane plus cycle path. It would connect Youngtown and the Launceston cycle lane system to the current path which runs out to the airport through Perth and some of the way to Longford. They only need some State and Federal cash. It’s a long wait. There are plans to open a fuel depot for trucks on the entry into Longford. Much argued against by the people of Longford it seems the groundwork on the site is now occurring. We were told it would need roadworks to provide filter lanes into / out of the narrow strip of land the depot will sit on. $3-4 Mill for the roadworks was the last estimate. I am thinking that the roadworks will another cash item which will be on hold while a stadium is built. We will have a road blocking fuel depot on the entry / exit to town. It’s already dodgy enough to cycle this bit that I avoid it now.
No word yet from BYD re bike rack but car delivery is a month or so away – time to get authorised.
The weather has been Spring-like but like a high powered super Spring. Too much strong winds and driving rain compressed into a short timeframe. Particularly the last couple of days. It may put a damper on Somerset.
Tony
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