It is four years since my stroke. My mobility has been affected.
I have been able to obtain a vehicle adapted for my disability and also have a small scooter which opens up my access to the world quite considerably.
We gave our EV (electric vehicle) a trial spin yesterday. We haven’t been out in it for quite a few months.
It was a nice sunny day and I’m looking forward to more days out as the weather improves.
We have had new smart meters installed and wanted to run the car batteries down a bit so I could try a practise charging session to look at how it performs.
We did a round trip of just over a hundred miles. It’s early morning and next day now. The car has now ended its charging cycle. Total cost around £1.80.
While we were out we also visited a couple of supermarkets to pick up some shopping before returning home.
Early this morning I checked the weather. Rain imminent. So decided to disconnect the charging cable before the downpour began.
Just getting out and tottering about with my walking stick is an achievement.
Disconnecting, rolling up the heavy cable and getting it indoors is major gymnastics for me.
It is all completed successfully and no doubt the exertion and contortions it entailed was good exercise.
Not only that.
There is that warm buzz that comes when something is successfully completed,
Well that’s all there is to report for now.
I think everyone is anticipating better weather, longer days and things getting a bit warmer.
@Bobbi good to see you setting out on your adventures again. Sounds like a great success all round. Now the weather is improving & the days are getting longer it’s a great opportunity for all.of us to start venturing out again.
I am smiling at your gymnastics session. Will you be joinjng the olympic team soon? I can only imagine what effort that took but successfully achieved.
Glad to hear you had a good time @Bobbi, agree on the charging cables things are like battle ropes in the gym.You should be more than happy you won that battle and no doubt needed the porridge to build you back after that.
Hope you and the EV have many great days out going forwards.
My car and the cable are not under cover.
I had to disconnect the cable at some point, probably an hour or two later in the day.
Disconnecting it takes quite a few minutes due to my limited dexterity.
I have to do the whole thing including holding my stick with the one hand that has to do everything as the other has limited usability.
Similar with legs and feet as I am right side weakened.
Doing it after or during rainfall would involve getting soaked and having to coil up and bring in about 3 metres of heavy wet cable.
Essentially standing around in the rain doing a job I find a bit tricky is something I am inclined to avoid when possible.
In fact I managed to complete my task before the rain started.
When I was younger, in my forties and fifties and before stroke and heart attacks, I would spend hours in winter over my head in water in the middle of winter scuba diving in lakes, flooded quarries and in the sea in this country. All for fun and pleasure.
That was many years ago and today I’m, in contrast, partial to being warm and dry.
Nowadays most activity is challenging for me but I do enjoy making the effort.
This post was made by one finger left handed typing as I sit in my wheelchair in front of my laptop.
Now it is time to retire after what I consider to be a day well spent.
I sorted out my car after a trip out.
I made porage.
I introduced a new member to our Whatsapp group.
I partially solved a problem my wife had with her computer.
I wrote up this description of some of my activities today.
and now it really is time to sign off.
keep on keepin’ on
I met a mad-man the other day bashing his head against a wall. I asked him, “Why are you hitting your head on that wall?” He replied,“Because it’s so nice when I stop.”
Thank you Bobbi - I appreciate you taking time to explain and especially as you do so using just the one finger of your left hand (I am thinking this is not your natural hand which makes it even more impressive )
Well done for remaining so active and for all the selfless things you do.
Perhaps not amazing, really.
I have my moments, both good and bad.
I was bought up to try to give everything my best shot.
That brings some wins but in a life full of ups and downs there are disappointments too.
Your questioning acted as a prompt in an about face sort of way.
Getting a response for my activity is stimulus for more.
Not a bad thing as far as I am concerned.
I think your charging routine may build some core strength. Do you have one of those charging sockets attached to your property? I think they are free, well they used to be. They would be waterproof surely? My moped is electric. Battery technology is getting better and better by the hour, so it’s a good investment.
@Bobbi - The reason I asked is as per Rupert’s comment above.
I don’t see any reason why you would need to bring the charging cables in from a technological point of view. It doesn’t make sense to me to have EVs and then you can’t charge them due to weather conditions (solar charging excluded).
Then I thought maybe the cables have high copper content and maybe thieves might want to steal them and so I had to ask to understand why you are having to plug on cables and remove them to charge your EV. One of the local residents here has an EV and I often find myself walking across their charging cable when they charge their EV. Their cable crosses the pavement as they park in the street and sometimes if someone else parks outside their home they can’t even charge their vehicle as the cable wouldn’t reach
the charger isn’t free but was included in the price of the car so ‘free’ in one sense. They are supplied and fitted at about £1000.
They are waterproof but the cable is detachable and stored in the house when not in use.
A new cable costs about £500 so one tends to guard them vigilantly.
The whole business is costly despite the government talk when all this started up.
There are a variety of chargers, which have to be installed by a qualified person. In my area it is illegal to run a charging cable off your property so having a cable running onto the street is not allowed.
My charger is fixed to an exterior wall of the house. The cable is a separate component. One end fixes to the charger box and the other plugs into the car.
Let’s just hope this doesn’t go down the same route as when die sel cars were introduced.
It’s all very well promoting EVs, but has the impact on the environment been truly considered when it comes to disposing dead batteries? Perhaps my ignorance on the subject might be showing.
That makes me wonder if my neighbour is doing this illegally?
I did wonder if it isn’t a health and safety issue e.g. tripping hazard, but then just forgot about it.
Batteries can be recycled, making the process more sustainable than mining raw materials. If people must have vehicles, then it makes sense to produce and run them as efficiently as possible. It is still, I believe, legal to ride a horse and cart on UK roads. I did look into this but decided on an electric moped as horses are expensive to keep.
However, the argument for sustainability, ultimately, rests on how the electricity is produced and is yet not totally sustainable but recent technologies are shifting that paradigm.
And yet all cars contain plastic made from fossil fuels, not sure the type of plastic in cars is sustainable. Gone are the days of the wooden dashboard and leather seats.
One benefit of electric for the greater community is for the pedestrians and wildlife not having to breathe in carbon dioxide. Especially for joggers, thinking they are keeping fit by jogging along pavements, and yet sucking in with every breath toxic carbon dioxide.
I thought about getting an electric car but I live in a cottage opening out onto the high street so cable would go across the pavement so this was the first thing I thought about, tripping folk up, how do people in flats manage? Those charging stands seem few and far between too (I once drove works electric car to Stranraer, plugged it in all day, came back it hadn’t charged…stuck!!!)
I can only imagine what effort that took but successfully achieved.
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