From XC60 to Porsche Macan or BMW X3?

[Arianne]

^^ hmm, okay. I agree. "Some of the drama".

Which is okay because we will have the AWD RR Velar. An SLC isn't your weapon of choice when dealing with snow and ice. But, if you get caught out, the winter tyres will suffice.

Happy Wednesday night folks.

Arianne

[simonjedrake]

Originally Posted by MikeIOW

ALL of the drama? Hmmm....not so sure......much of the drama, I'd agree....

Part of the challenge for RWD is the weight distribution (for cars with engine up front!) - certainly winter tyres help immensely, perhaps more so (on roads at least!) than 4WD/AWD...
I recall a landlord many years ago who had a kit car, based on a RWD chassis, but with engine in the front. He had to park down on the flat, or carry a bag of cement in the boot to get enough weight over the rear when it was snowy/icy!

..........or the other way around.........
When I lived in Leicester back in the 70's I drove a hotted up 998cc Hillman Imp with its rear engine and RWD and absolutely nothing in the front. So with my extra wide low profile wheels, I used to carry a bag of concrete in the bonnet to have any chance of making it round corners in the winter icy months.......but I was a young foolish long haired student in those days!
In fact quite the opposite to a true Volvo driver now in his retirement.

[Arianne]

Is this a first for the Volvo forum?

Have you ever left the car in the hotel car park and consciously decided that you will have a day without the automobile? We don't do it regularly but, when we do, it's very therapeutic.

We're in The Lake District for a weekend break. The car is parked in the hotel car park and it hasn't moved since we arrived yesterday afternoon.

Today we walked into Keswick, caught the launch to Hawes End on Derwent Water and hiked, scrambled and climbed up Cats Bells for a five hour excursion (the people who wrote the itinary for the 'walk' describe it as technically easy - who are they kidding? Mrs A is on a mission to hunt them down and give them a piece of her mind. At one point I thought she was hyperventilating but she later assured me that this was her trying to consciously manage her breathing rhythm to cope with her anxiety).


Tonight we will stroll into Keswick again for dinner. The only reason we opened up the car was to get our walking boots out from the boot bag in the boot and lock our iPads in there while we were away from the hotel room.

I find it good to have a day and not use road transport whatsoever. It reminds me of the week we had cruising along the Oxford Canal on a narrow boat - after two days of hitting my arms, head and knees on everything in the boat, it finally won me over and I had unconsciously adjusted to a slower, easier tempo in tune with the boat and canal life. At the end of the week, 30mph feels very fast when you get back in the car.

Our cars are wonderful but perhaps we should walk past them sometimes?

Somewhat abstract, I know. But that's our thought for the day!

Arianne

[simonjedrake]

Well, another tale of a day without a Car.

In my retirement I have started using my Moutain Bike on a more regular basis in the Shropshire & Welsh mountains near me which normally involves driving to a remote pub with the bikes loaded on a tow bar mounted Thule Cycle carrier, then parking up & heading off on a long circular ride with the aim of working up a thirst to "repay" the use of the pub car park..... if you get my drift........

So having exhausted all manageable circular routes around pubs serving good beer, I had to make a decision this week of do I either a). start exploring further afield and different beers, or b). somehow find a means to go further from the same 'good beer' pub car parks.
With the deciding factor being the quality of good beer, the decision was b). helped by the purchase today of a new Trek Powerfly 2018 electric Mountain Bike. This bike has totally transformed my cycling experiences allowing me to no longer have to degradingly push up 1 in 4 gradient hills going up the side of the LongMynd hills locally to me. I can now easily just cycle up these hills and in the process at least double my route before a pit stop for beer is needed.

I wonder what the MTB routes are like upto Cats Bells....?

[Arianne]

Just back, I can highly recommend Pillars Restaurant in Keswick High Street if anyone is ever seeking a nice evening meal. Italian theme, the hanging Kebabs are fabulous and the chilli sauce potent.

Electric Mountain Bikes? I like the sound of that! Price range for accessing this most modern of innovation? I am genuinely interested.

MTB and Catsbells are incompatible. I know MTB can be extreme but this one ain't gonna happen! When you're faced with a rock wall it's enough to be thinking about yourself, your wife and the back packs. There's no way I could have a bike too!

We have some excellent MTB trails near us - Glentress near Peebles and Innerleithen too. They even have a mini cable car at Innerleithen that carries the bikes up, I think. I've done Glentress. One hell of a slog on the ascent but what a white knuckle adventure coming down. Great.

Right now, I use by MTB to ride to the station on The Borders Railway in the mornings. Beautiful railway BTW folks, scenic and worth the trip if you are ever staying in Edinburgh. 55mins and a visit to Abbotsford House is highly recommended. Leave your Volvo behind for the day!

Have a nice Sunday.

Arianne

[isleaiw]

I think time without the car is great. When I first relocated south I could walk to the station for the commute to Euston - so car would be parked up Sunday eve and probably not move again till Friday night. It did feel good and I did enjoy driving it more s a result - although 130 miles on m1 in Friday night / Sunday eve traffic couldn't really be called driving!

Week on a narrow boat sounds fun - although a 5 star hotel sounds so much better!

[Arianne]

Originally Posted by isleaiw

I think time without the car is great. When I first relocated south I could walk to the station for the commute to Euston - so car would be parked up Sunday eve and probably not move again till Friday night. It did feel good and I did enjoy driving it more s a result - although 130 miles on m1 in Friday night / Sunday eve traffic couldn't really be called driving!

Week on a narrow boat sounds fun - although a 5 star hotel sounds so much better!

You're right about the fact that it's more enjoyable to drive when you've had a few days break. Since 2016 I commute on the railway when not working from home. I used to have to drive from the Borders into Edinburgh before then. I now enjoy driving our cars so much more.

Regards,

Arianne

[Rocinante]

If we're talking about not using your car... every Monday morning I park my V60 up near the airport, then get the bus, plane, train, bus & boat to the Isle of Wight, whereupon I pick up my transport for the week. A second hand ladies citybike, I picked up for the princely sum of £60. Good condition, it's a Giant with 24 gears, and even has a basket, a £300ish, bike new, so pretty good deal I think. I cycle the 30 minutes to work, and then use the bike the rest of the week for commuting and a little sightseeing, before doing the reverse on a Friday.

The start stop never works on my car as it is always charging the battery, unless I'm at home for a week.

[Arianne]

Originally Posted by raymondcoia

If we're talking about not using your car... every Monday morning I park my V60 up near the airport, then get the bus, plane, train, bus & boat to the Isle of Wight, whereupon I pick up my transport for the week. A second hand ladies citybike, I picked up for the princely sum of £60. Good condition, it's a Giant with 24 gears, and even has a basket, a £300ish, bike new, so pretty good deal I think. I cycle the 30 minutes to work, and then use the bike the rest of the week for commuting and a little sightseeing, before doing the reverse on a Friday.

The start stop never works on my car as it is always charging the battery, unless I'm at home for a week.

Your life sounds good! And your approach to life sounds even better. I like your style.

Have a nice Sunday.

Arianne

[norco]

Electric bikes are coming of age. I got passed by a guy on an electric racer flying up Alpe d'Huez last week. I could do with one in Tuscany right now as it's hitting 38 and too hot to pedal. The new ones have motors 1kg lighter than last year. You can apparently hack the Bosch software to get a top speed of 60km/hr! The local bike shop (KMB in Keswick) were telling me people getting them are not losing fitness as they tend to go out on longer rides with ebikes. The hut outside Booths in Keswick hires electric fat bikes which look like a good day out. You can cycle over the saddle below catbells (very technical) or on the permissive path that contours below overlooking the lake. The cafe at the Lingholm Kitchen garden on the lake is recommended- drive via portinscale past Nichol End or get the ferry over to their jetty.

On a car note, not seen a single new XC60 so far in Europe. Did see a Masarati SUV but bit of mixed styling.