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Flight deck on a Pan? 20 March 2012

A carrier for a blood box

In my ongoing quest for excuses for a jolly good ride, I've signed up with the Bloodrunners, a charitable bunch of riders who deliver blood and stuff for hospitals at nights and weekends.
(The rider gets an excuse for a blast through the night with the bonus of an official-looking dayglo jacket and the smug feeling of doing a public service, and the NHS saves a taxi fare; everbody's a winner!
Leila was less impressed, though. I showed her the jacket and the 'Emergency Blood' emblazoned in white on a red square across the back. She thought it was some kind of advanced first aid kit: "Is that where you keep your blood in case you have an accident?")
One small antibody in the serum was the size of the boxes the blood is packed in. At 450 x 400 x 350 mm, my first thoughts involved wheels and tow hitches. Weighing in at 13.5 kg, it would overload the carrier on the back of my bike, so I put my thinking cap on and repaired to the workshop.
What was needed was something that would transfer some of the load to the pillion seat. After a little cogitation and a day spent fiddling around, I rolled out this extended carrier.

Applying a bit of silver paint can make the most heath robinson of contraptions look quite magnificent.

For a test, I strapped on a toolbox. This is a bit narrower than the blood box, but the dimensions are generally in the right ball park. And according the the bathroom scales, it weighs in a few kilos heavier than a fully laden blood box.
First step was a gentle weave around the local streets, gradually increasing the number of potholes I aimed at. Then I got Mrs S to get into her sporty little Corsa and follow me for a belt down the Wessex Way to cover the full range of speed limits, then back through heavy town traffic and yet more potholes.
All went well. Handling was not perceptibly affected. All nuts and bolts remained tight. Nothing moved. No straps flapped in the breeze.

That green bit? That was Mrs S's garden kneeler. She hasn't missed it yet.

Just one possible issue to watch out for: painted silver like that, it does have something of a military - or at least paramilitary - look to it.
I'll have to watch out for people mistaking its purpose if I ever go round to Portsmouth or as far as Lybia.

It might put a smile on a diminutive rebel's face...

...but this is totally unrealistic; we don't have Harriers any more.

In my ongoing quest for excuses for a jolly good ride, I've signed up with the Bloodrunners, a charitable bunch of riders who deliver blood and stuff for hospitals at nights and weekends. (The rider gets an excuse for a blast through the night with the bonus of an official-looking dayglo jacket and the smug feeling of doing a public service, and the NHS saves a taxi fare; everbody's a winner! Leila was less impressed, though. I showed her the jacket and the 'Emergency Blood' emblazoned in white on a red square across the back. She thought it was some kind of advanced first aid kit: "Is that where you keep your blood in case you have an accident?") One small antibody in the serum was the size of the boxes the blood is packed in. At 450 x 400 x 350 mm, my first thoughts involved wheels and tow hitches. Weighing in at 13.5 kg, it would overload the carrier on the back of my bike, so I put my thinking cap on and repaired to the workshop. What was needed was something that would transfer some of the load to the pillion seat. After a little cogitation and a day spent fiddling around, I rolled out this extended carrier.		Applying a bit of silver paint can make the most heath robinson of contraptions look quite magnificent.
For a test, I strapped on a toolbox. This is a bit narrower than the blood box, but the dimensions are generally in the right ball park. And according the the bathroom scales, it weighs in a few kilos heavier than a fully laden blood box. First step was a gentle weave around the local streets, gradually increasing the number of potholes I aimed at. Then I got Mrs S to get into her sporty little Corsa and follow me for a belt down the Wessex Way to cover the full range of speed limits, then back through heavy town traffic and yet more potholes. All went well. Handling was not perceptibly affected. All nuts and bolts remained tight. Nothing moved. No straps flapped in the breeze.		That green bit? That was Mrs S's garden kneeler. She hasn't missed it yet.
Just one possible issue to watch out for: painted silver like that, it does have something of a military - or at least paramilitary - look to it. I'll have to watch out for people mistaking its purpose if I ever go round to Portsmouth or as far as Lybia.		It might put a smile on a diminutive rebel's face... ...but this is totally unrealistic; we don't have Harriers any more.