I tried. I did two weeks of nights. It was stupid start times, but that is the shift they recruit for, so I was trying to show willing, and see if I could do it. I couldn’t. 23.30 start, 01.00, 00.01, then one day 21.30. That was the final straw. I’d only got to bed at 13.00. I was either working (11 to 12.5 hour shifts) or trying to sleep. It was miserable. Then they did that 21.30 thing and I’d had enough. I asked if I could move to day shift. They said I could, which was a relief because I was going to quit if they’d said no. Then the next shift the sleeping tablets (antihistamines) gave me a massive tachycardia attack. It was awful. It lasted about 40 minutes and I couldn’t stop it. That was when I was absolutely sure I’d made the right decision. If I couldn’t take sleeping pills I would have been on about 2 to 4 hours sleep a day. That is a recipe for falling asleep at the wheel and dying. I finished my last two shifts on nights, I’m supposed to be on days after my days off. Another good thing about it is Wendy has gone loony again, so she was suffering really badly with me leaving her alone all night. She seems to be a lot better while I’m here, so it’s worth it for that.
The job itself is a mixed bag. It’s physically extremely easy. And seems to be very laid back. But the driving to get to the stores, and to deliver to them, is next level tough. I’m not looking forward to seeing what the deliveries are like when the stores are busy. Yesterday, for instance, I had to deliver to a local (small shop) in Salford. The route plan said you had to reverse (a rigid truck) the whole length of a residential street, with cars parked on either side, around a corner, between cars, bins and concrete posts, to get to the drop. That was focusing. And that was at 05.00 on Sunday. I can’t even imagine what that would be like at a busy time.
I had a moment of stress this morning. I looked at the agency app to try to work out roughly what I’d be getting paid. I worked out my hours for the week and it came to 69 hours. That’s well over the 60 I’m allowed by the Working Time Directive. 60 in a week, 90 in any consecutive fortnight. So I was screwed for next week as well. I was mentally taking off breaks and Periods Of Availability (as they don’t count to WTD) but I was still over. Luckily I keep paper records for myself. I had a look, and one of the shifts was technically in the previous week for WTD purposes. That was a huge relief. I don’t need a bunch of infringements on my first weeks. Henceforth I’ll batter POA. It’s been so long since I’ve done consistent long hours (and nights throws everything off) that I got caught out.
I reckon that will be about £1,150 take home, so that will sort the bank out. Now I have to see how many shifts I can get on days. If it’s a regular 4 a week, of the same length, we’ll be fine in no time. If the work is there, I can always do more shifts. We’ll see. But no full time job. That’s the sad part. I can’t do that shift pattern.
Now I’m back on days I got out for a run this morning, my first in a fortnight. I changed the perished rubber on the Sportster clock and changed the handlebars. First impressions are that is definitely the way to go. The seating/ handlebar reach position works now. It said it was a straight swap but the cables seem untidily long now. I’ve not taken it for a test ride yet, (I ran out of energy) but even if it’s not sorted everything, it’s a big step in the right direction. I might take it for a spin to my work’s tomorrow. Now I’m on days I could ride it in occasionally.
Day after.
I took it for a spin. The bars make a massive improvement to the riding position. With the old bars you felt like you should be sat behind the seat to reach the bars comfortably. Now my arms are in a natural position my body isn’t leaning back, and I’m just about OK on the seat. To be honest, the seat has a bit of a lip at the back, if it was a flat pad, so you could sit right to the back of it, it would probably be spot on.
Here are the new bars.
As I said, the cables are too long now. Nothing is ever easy. I took it down the motorway to work and it felt a lot better, then straight back along the A roads. I’ve sussed out the nasty rattle (even by Harley standards) at certain revs. It’s the fuel tank. When I pressed down on it, it stopped. So next up is fitting a rubber mount. That should sort it. My new handlebar grips and mirrors have arrived today. I’m having an issue with the new bars. There is a groove dented into the back of them, as on the originals, but they seem to only allow me to mount the controls near the end of the bars. Certainly not far enough in for me to fit full size grips. Problems, problems. I’ll take the grips and controls off again tomorrow and measure the grooves on the new and old bars. That will tell me if it’s the bars or just me.
There is a bigger problem though. I
‘m just not sure about it.
Sure I love the sound as it’s thumping along on tickover, and as you accelerate, but it feels like work to ride it. It’s not comfy, it’s not fast, it’s not fun, it doesn’t handle, and it’s dire on the motorways. When I fire it up I love it, but as soon as I start riding it… Perhaps it’s just while I’m getting to properly trust that it’s not going to explode or die, and while I’m running it in. Maybe when I can throw the throttle wide open I’ll start to have fun with it. I’m struggling to find a place for it in my bike needs at the moment. Ho hum. Time will tell. I’ve still got tinkering to do before I think about getting rid.
I keep looking at (and listening to) the video Wendy took of my maiden voyage on it. It’s all great. Why am I not loving it?