Muffin shows off his weapon

[Manky Monkey]

Simon, ("Muffin" on the forum), owns the black Reliant trike we featured in the frame building chapters elsewhere on the site. We put together the rolling chassis for him then he took it from there. I'm glad to say he regularly clocks up the miles on it & rides it like it was intended to be ridden -fast & recklessly.
Si's into battle re-enacting. He belongs to a Napoelonic group & is a member of the 71st Highland Light Infantry. They regularly head off to Waterloo to fight the French in the name of good King George the third.
So we headed off to a quiet corner of Basingstoke this afternoon & grabbed a few snapshots of him in his finery, sporting his black powder musket. He has to hold a full gun licence for that thing & keep it under lock & key, so we were lucky we weren't swooped on by the Basingstoke armed response cops.
We chose a spot opposite Flap's house for the pics. He came ambling over for a natter. Flap's in the Terratorial Army. Funny listening to him & Si comparing notes on their firearms. "Mine fires 30 rounds in 7 seconds". "Erm, mine'll fire 2 a minute if I can ram the shot in quick enough". We can all sleep soundly in our beds knowing these guys are guarding us.   
Full write up & photos online soon.

[Manky Monkey]

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[Manky Monkey]

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[Manky Monkey]

Took a peek in Flap's garage while we were there. The Flapster's still lurking there. Since leaving the Post Office & getting a proper job as a lorry driver & also taking the Queens shilling to play soldiers at weekends with the Terratorials, Flap just hasn't had time to ride it once this year. What a waste.
Plans are afoot though for Lunatic to take it to his workshop, sort out the rear mudguards that Flap's never gotten round to fitting, re MOT it & borrow it for a while. It'll be good to see it out on the road again.

[The pointy helmet]

A proper job, you say!

I wonder if his new firm has laid him off yet?

Lovely shot of the trike in garage.....Just sceams "Ride me!" though.

CAN'T FIND THE TIME?      WHAAT!

[tazet]

As far as we know he's still working and he has the TA to back him up anyway. I'm sure he would have told us if anything had happened.

When you have a family and 2 jobs then it's not suprising he hasn't got much time.

[The pointy helmet]

What you say doesn't wash Tazet.

I have a family.
Work 9pm to 7.30am,
Finish WORK
then
Take my girl to school, look after my 3 year old boy in the day,
pick up little girl from school 3pm.
Missus comes home.
Kids go mad!
Lucky to get a 4 hours window, in which to try and sleep.
Sleep averages 1 - 3,  hours Mon - Sat.

It's a SHAME.
Not a damning of the Mighty Flap!

This was the machine that clicked the switch...I will get/make a Reliant trike.
...and my ex had an immaculate one fifteen years back.

[tazet]

1-3 hours sleep might suit you but it doesn't work with everyone.
I need a minimum 6-7 hours sleep or I just can't operate.
If I had the choice of family and sleep over riding a trike I know what I'd choose. Why do you think none of our projects are finnished. Life gets in the way and I'm not giving up my life.

[tony b]

well said taz.

[The pointy helmet]

It's not the case of it suiting me.

It ALL gets done.

Take the bull by the horns, and wrestle the f****r to the ground.

BUT POINT TAKEN TAZET.

Be careful to strike the right balance.

A number of my mates have had Harleys for years. The families, job commitments mount. The bike does not get ridden.

I've convinced a couple to "let it go"

YOU are spot on, o moderating one.

AS I said.

Great shame the great Flapmobile has ended arse out in a garage for so long.

Beautiful bit of kit.

Quote: If I had the choice of family and sleep over riding a trike I know what I'd choose.
You didn't answer. It's a salient point.
Quote: I'm not giving up my life.
Lifestyle? Is that what you mean?

It is exactly what the WHAAT! comment highlighted. You build a lovely machine, post it on the internet. It ends up hanging like a fish on a pole.
Yes LIFE gets in the way.
In 1993 I was going for a meeting with some of the top 81 Club members, to do some work for them.
I was in an accident that put my Harley into a bus shelter.
I stopped the bike with my face. My face, skeletal wise was shattered. 13 weeks later I was riding the bike again.
I'm afraid it was a big part of my Life, riding my Hog.
Like riding your horse.
This is a forum for building, learning about, loving being INTO trikes.
The core of this club is family or nigh on family.
It has verve and commitment.
It embraces a common ground.
I just found it disappointing that one of the core trikes has been garage bound.