Very wise.
Jump starting a modern car carries its own risks, it's easy to fry the ECU engine management computer - new ones are usually hundreds.
The handbooks of my last two cars, a Ford and a Vauxhall, had instructions on how to do it.
Of course, that only protects the Ford and the Vauxhall, not the other vehicle.
as it happens this was an old ford, the type that believe it or not hasn't got everything from engine timing down to door locks and interior lights controlled by a computer
if it had an ECU it was purely for engine timing i reckon and no where near as easy to fry as a modern vehicle. had it been a £80,000 range rover i wouldn't have touched it, firstly because it would take half an hour to figure out how to open the bonnet electronically and then no doubt the battery would be hidden and disguised with a plastic cover etc!
for me it will be a 40 odd year old land rover, the sort you can rebuild blind folded. and engine timing is on the crank shaft and fuel mixtures are via a carburetor
A few winters ago I was on a pavement half way up* on a long steep country road adjusting my Ergon grips. A bloke came out a farm track in a 4x 4 pick up truck and offered to throw the bike in the back and take me home.
I declined the kind offer. But the fact that an average sized man offered a lift to a 6ft 2in stranger with a balaclava on a quiet rural road on a cold winters evening was humbling.
* tip - If you ever need to adjust your bike on a winter's ride do it half up a long hill. You're warm from the section you've climbed and will get warm again quicker from the section remaining.
when i drive i would offer a lift to a 6'2" bloke in a balaclava, especially if stranded with a broken bike, or i would offer to help fix it. the other instance i would offer a lift to such a person is if they were in a camo coat carrying a rifle with rabbits sticking out their pockets and they looked cold, wet and miserable; i have been there and it's not fun!
Adapted a Sam Browne for carrying one, handle uppermost.
sam brown, what's that in this sense? i only know of sam brown as a make of bale (as in hay and straw bale) equipment
I have given away at least 6 tubes in the past 12 months and always ask if someone needs help. I have also been given help by other riders but some of the early morning commuters tend to be less friendly but then at 5.30am it is understandable
i don't see why 05:30 is an excuse to be miserable or un-friendly, at that time and often earlier on farms we have to be happy and friendly. other wise we don't last long!
out in the freezing cold, wet and mud and muck in the dark at that time and still having a smile on your face as you herd the cows out the way is a skill
Cheers Ed
