CitroJim's AX, C3 Picasso, Cycling and Running Tales

[MattBLancs]

What I find more concerning about the electric handbrakes is that there will be plenty of motorists out there that think they are a great idea as they always found conventional handbrakes a little tricky to deal with

I agree, they are solving a problem that doesn't exist, (or at least incredibly limited folks who you could argue get real benefit from it) and as Paul says, introduces a load of complexity to maintenance tasks

[mickthemaverick]

Also you have to keep in mind the manufacturer's long term goal of fully autonomous cars, which will require all functions to be electrically controlled, so the handbrake is an early step along that path.
And by the way, I hate them too as I am 100% against anything that takes control away from the driver!! ( yes that includes cruise control)

[bobins]

As the old saying went - if you wanted to ensure the driver was driving safely and well, you should have a 6" nail sticking out of the steering wheel. I wonder if the inverse is true - if you cosset them and surround them with safety features, does their driving become worse ?

[Stickyfinger]

I liked my electrically controlled handbrake on my C5x7.... it added features and removed none.
i like Cruse Control... I even spent ages adding it (with Jim) to my V6.Activa, I am in TOTAL control of it with a tiny tap of my foot to cancel or a flick of a finger to re-engage.
I like ABS (thankfully we get very little snow here)
I like Traction Control (thankfully I do not off-road in my cars)
I like variable speed auto wipe screen wipers
I like one touch windows
I like adaptive Climate Controls

None of the above "takes control"....

Driver Assist. Lane Control etc, now they DO

[CitroJim]

I like...
I like

There's a lot of likes there Alasdair!!!

I'm now down at the seaside and yesterday was spent driving down here with a very quick visit to Alasdair on the way. The drive was flawless except for re-establishing why the A361 between Shepton Mallet and Glastonbury is the most-destroying road in Somerset, closely followed by the A39 into Bridgwater. They, between them, are a speed-limit lover's wet dream. There is no part of the roads that are not speed limited - mostly 40 with big stretches of 30 and all through the compete poo-hole that's Glastonbury its 20 and just to add to the pain, a long 20 through the village that's famous the word over - Pilton

Once through Bridgewater, the sun comes out, bird's start to sing and all's well with the world. The coast is in sight!

Yesterday was mainly spent in Minehead with friends planning how we are going to enjoy the West Somerset Railway Diesel gala later this week

As soon as I got to Blue Anchor, despite the slightly most atmospheric conditions, I went for a walk along the beach.

Magic I'm truly at home here. And just to add to that feeing, I'm staying in the same caravan as I always do

[daviemck2006]

On the subject of electric handbrakes and stop/start I hated the stop/start on my skoda with a passion. I now have a bypass wiring on it which disables it automatically when I start the engine. If stuck in a massive traffic jam, highly unlikely where I am, I can switch the engine off. Tha handbrake on the Skoda sets itself on when the car stops and off as soon as I move off. I don't mind it. However when I drive my van or nearly any other car I forget about it then wonder why it won't move! Especially in the boxer where the handbrake is on the wrong side between the seat and the door and is so low down it's a heck of a stretch!

[CitroJim]

In defiance of the forecast the weather yesterday was absolutely gorgeous

I made the most of it by spending lots of time on the beach and at the railways station

The little lumps on the sand are casts made by the lugworms living just below the surface. When the tide is in, this large expanse of sand is inundated and fish feast on these worms... Long in the past when we used to fish from this beach we'd go out at low tide and dig up a bucketful of lugworms to use as bait.

This is the other end of the beach at high tide.

The tidal range here is massive. At low tide the sea is almost out of sight in the distance. One of the highest ranges in the world I'm led to believe.

[CitroJim]

Another very good day yesterday down by the seaside

I took a very pleasant walk all along the beach (at low tide) to Minehead. During this walk I encountered just about every weather available. Four Seasons in one day.. Or, as someone dubbed it: 'Vivaldi Weather'

Minehead's quite scenic

I took a ride on this train back to Blue Anchor

I'll be riding many more trains today - it's the first day of the West Somerset Railway Diesel Gala...

[CitroJim]

I'm back home now and recovering. I remain very unwell...

The cause? A very traumatic journey home from holiday on Friday. 10 hours in all - due to three epic traffic jams and three closed roads.

I'm not going inti details. It's too painful.

On top of that, so much use to the clutch whilst queueing for hours injured my knee to the extent I could barely walk and it remains a problem even now.

I'm contemplating swapping the 'van for an automatic of some description...

[mickthemaverick]

Sorry to hear that Jiim but maybe a silver lining: get rid of adblue as well as the clutch, maybe a swap deal?

https://ebay.io/m/cuGKg8

[Huskyxantia]

Save the knee , Automatic is a must, plus if you do ditch the adblue that's one less thing to be concerned about.

[Huskyxantia]

Ive a bad knee same leg , ive done the following
Re adjusted my seat both height and moved it closer, waited a bit longer to move in traffic so im not moving as much , then ive not hovered with the foot over the pedal , sort of heal into the floor then used the foot like a pivot its a bit weird at first and not to good if the clutch pedal is a weird shape of to hard to press down.
Ive considered an auto but soon as I think that was my knee calms down .

[CitroJim]

Sorry to hear that Jiim but maybe a silver lining: get rid of adblue as well as the clutch, maybe a swap deal?

https://ebay.io/m/cuGKg8

That's an interesting one Mick, thanks for fining it Rightly or wrongly, the EGS gearbox puts me off a bit though...

waited a bit longer to move in traffic so im not moving as much

Was doing that as much as I could in the queues only to have those behind me bleeping their horns in frustration Just made it all the more stressful...

Just what turns people into complete merchant bankers when they drive a car?

[myglaren]

Don't seem to get it much around here but drivers do seem to be very impatient, increasingly so.
Especially where busses are involved, I despair for the bus drivers.

[MattBLancs]

Sorry to hear of the awful journey, Jim, gosh 10 hours! I'd have parked up and said "sod it, will try again tomorrow!" Though obviously depends who else is in the car.

waited a bit longer to move in traffic so im not moving as much

Was doing that as much as I could in the queues only to have those behind me bleeping their horns in frustration

People who get annoyed by the car in front leaving a longer gap in a stop start queue are insufferable cretins. Really annoys me!