TR Employee Temporarily "Stuck" in UK; Looking For Turbo/Trainer

Hello TR Forum Community!

My name is Cooper! I’m a TR employee working remotely here in England. I recently came over to make sure I could get into the country to be with my (at the time) fiancée before the borders closed on us. Our goal was to get married in April but some virus seemed to want to speed up that timeline… haha. We made a last-minute appointment at the town hall in Brighton and had ourselves one helluva shotgun wedding just before the full quarantine took effect.

At any rate, I’m now here in Brighton, my return flight has been canceled, and I’m not quite sure when I’ll head back. Hopefully at the end of April, but we’ll see. :crossed_fingers: I’m reaching out to all of you to see if anyone out there possibly has a bike (around a size 56-58 but really anything close to that can work) and/or trainer/turbo that I’d be able to borrow for the next month or so to help me from going stir crazy, and to better assist me in my workflow to test and push out new features to all of you fine athletes!

I have access to a car so I’d be able to swing by to pick either up! (preferably if you’re within about 50 miles of Brighton - enter internal monologue: ‘beggars can’t be choosers’ :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:) If you or anyone you know would be able to help me out, I’d be beyond appreciative! Thanks, everyone! Stay happy & healthy

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Try reaching out to the girls and boys of GCN.

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Firstly, congratulations to you both!

I’m not much of a help as I’m pretty much as far away from you as you can be without getting on a boat.

If you don’t find any offers on here try getting in touch with the local cycling clubs of Brighton as some kind soul will have what you’re looking for and be more than willing to help you out.

Remember also that the UK has just been put into a ‘lockdown’ where travel is supposed to be limited to essential trips only, so stay safe and take precautions if someone is able to help and meets you somewhere.

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Thank you! Crazy times…

Haha, well thanks for reaching out anyway! I’ll check out a few FB club pages now. Thanks for the lead. Hopefully I’ll strike gold somewhere. And I’ll do my best to keep all the risk on my end if someone is able to meet. :+1:

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GCN :heart_eyes: Zwift

Good luck @Cooper with the bike search and congratulations on the wedding!

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I would suggest the Facebook group ‘Road Cycling UK’ as a decent resource.
You could have my Decathlon own brand dumb trainer but I am 75 miles away, can’t help with a bike either.

That said we are on lockdown, appreciate you want to train but is it absolutely necessary?

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Hi

I have every sympathy, but your proposed journey is strictly prohibited in the UK, and it’s my duty to discourage you from doing such a thing.

No non-essential travel.

Stay at home

  • Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (where this absolutely cannot be done from home)
  • Stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people
  • Wash your hands as soon as you get home
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I would help you out with a bike (Caad12 or Allez Sprint both 56) but I am in Plymouth so to far away. I may how ever travel back to Germany via. Dover in the next week and could drop by then but that is not sure yet. Travel is just a bit hard at the moment^^
I’d drop you off the bike then and would pick it up upon my return to the UK

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I guess you could argue that it comes under the work category

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Congratulations to you and the wife! Stay safe and healthy.

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@JoeX It definitely falls under health reasons. Mental health is still health—I’d be in a dark place without training.

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You’re a legend! That would be amazing! If you do end up needing to travel and pass down this way, please let me know. You can shoot me an email at Cooper@trainerroad.com and we can swap contact info. No worries if not though. Only if you’re already going to be headed this way. :+1: Cheers!

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Hi Cooper,
If you get really stuck then I’ve got a 58cm CAAD12 frame with a PM on it, but no spare trainer. Unfortunately I’m in north london so more than 50 miles away but welcome to borrow until you head back. It’s my old (cracked) race bike so not road-worthy I’m afraid but been used on a dumb trainer until the lockdown at work.

Jonny

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Hi Joe!

I really do appreciate and respect your sentiment here. I plan -and will continue- to use all precautions when venturing out if/when I do. Whether that be for groceries, health reasons or work.

Given that one of the regulations set in place allows us to venture outdoors 1x/day for exercise/health purposes so long as groups are not formed, I feel that this would be well within that restriction especially given that I’d be isolated in a car and properly using anti-bac/sanitizer before and after any interaction.

As a few have mentioned too, this would help me with work, and be able to stay both physically and mentally fit/healthy while we wait; all while keeping me indoors for the remainder of the lockdown.

Respectfully,

Cooper

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Thank you! I appreciate it! :muscle: I’ll let you know if it comes down to that and take you up on the offer. We’ll see if something closer pops up first.

Loving the community here right now everyone! Just sayin, you all rock

Hi Cooper.

I’m the secretary of Brighton Triathlon Club. I could lend you one of my roadies but I reckon they’ll both be on the small side; my 3T is a medium (see Strada - 3T Bike but I do use the seatpost for a large!) and I have a 54cm Bokeh (see https://masoncycles.cc/products/bokeh-frameset).

Sadly I am using my Kickr and don’t have any spare trainers. I’m happy to post on my club’s private facebook group to ask for a more suitable bike and if anybody has a spare trainer.

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Thank you so much! At home, I’ve been using a 54cm with a large seat post as well which has been working just fine, so I’m sure that either of your bikes could work for me. :+1: The difficult part of this whole scenario would be finding a bike so this would be huge!

If you wouldn’t mind making a post regarding the trainer, that would be great! There have been a few forum users out there who have offered there trainers which has been incredible, but they’re a bit far away. I’ll wait to see if anything pops up in Brighton first before taking them up on their offers…

I’ll shoot you a DM now to coordinate :+1:

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Hi Cooper,

It’s for each of us to judge ourselves what is appropriate travel within the guidelines. I’m not setting myself up as the authority on these matters, in any way.

I notice Decathlon online are still delivering bikes, and they have extended the terms of their returns period such that you could return the bike after the stores reopen, at whatever dates that is. This could be an option if you give it little use.

If you do source some borrowed equipment, dropped off during another journey is a good idea as suggested by @Lassefk and doesn’t increase transmission risk :+1:. Although the equipment itself may hold the virus up to 9 days (on metal surfaces according to the BBC), so probably worth a wash too :slight_smile:

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Thank you, Joe :slight_smile:

Agreed! I’ll make sure to reduce the transmission risk during this endeavor as best I can and coordinate with any athlete who wishes to help in the most sensible way possible.

We’re definitely on the same page in that regard; I’ll be sure to use disinfectant wipes on all equipment before bringing it into our home as well and be sure to wipe it down when returning it. We’re all in this together, eh!?

Thanks again!

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Hey everyone! I just wanted to send out a big thank you to everyone who’s reached out and lent a helping hand. With everything going on right now, it’s really nice to see the community come together to help and to send good wishes. It makes me proud!

I’ve so far gotten my hands on a bike, so now I’m just on the search for a trainer! If anyone has any leads, I’m all ears :slight_smile:

Seriously, you’re all amazing! Thanks again. Keep safe, sane and healthy! :metal:

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