Things Mr Maladicta and I have learned this weekend:
1. NEVER EVER EVER buy a bike from Argos ("with the laminated book of dreams despair..."). Especially if you have no means of taking it home and have to get it delivered, which doesn't show up on the necessary day, meaning we wasted an entire day yesterday waiting in for the delivery van as he needs the bike for work. Which showed up just after sexytime* this morning.

Then, you'll spend two hours putting the thing together:

- of which half an hour will be spent loosening the brake cables so you can fit the handlebars into the slot
- of which 45 minutes will be spent attaching the front wheel
- and of which half an hour will be spent detaching the mudguards and tweaking the nuts and bolts, only to find that the handlebars still turn around when the slightest pressure is applied.

- Then, when Mr Maladicta loses his temper with it and it falls over, the brake will snap off the handlebars and you'll have to send the fucking thing back to Argos anyway, meaning as he's at work on Wednesday I'll be doing all my b3ta-ing from here. No big deal for me, but fucking annoying for him to have to return it.

* minus high heels

2. If your prospective landlord never, ever gets back to you when he says he will and demands photo ID, proof of income, proof of homeownership and wage slips for you, your guarantor and their dog, plus is charging you the same price for a penthouse flat as you'd pay for a decent sized house in the same town, then whinges when you say it seems like a lot for what it is, don't go through with the deal.

3. I'm practically unemployable in spite of having a degree, simply because I've never had a job.

Sexytime, nice food and each other's company aside, it has not been fun.
( Maladicta, Sun 29 Jun 2008, 16:18, 6 replies)

.
"I'm practically unemployable in spite of having a degree, simply because I've never had a job."

I'm part way through my degree and realised the other day that when I finish, due to my rather sparse working history and having two kids
that no employer's going to touch me with a barge pole, and I'll be £12k in debt :(
(Madam Cholet, Sun 29 Jun 2008, 16:57, closed)

I think the advice should be
Never buy a bike shaped object from a shop that has no knowledge of what a bike is and should be capable of.

Unfortunately a bike that is going to get you from A to B without either breaking or being very unpleasant to ride is going to set you back around about £200. If you're paying significantly less than that then the components are going to be cheap and the frame is going to be heavy. It's a case of getting what you pay for.

Can he get the cycle to work scheme at his job? If so it's a really good idea as you save about 40% of the total price of the bike and you pay it off in instalments.

Or failing that, try Halfords, they are not great, but are better than Argos.

Also, the whole job experience thing sucks, try registering with a load of agencies to at least get some experience while you try and get the job you actually want.
(Bazongaloid, Sun 29 Jun 2008, 20:03, closed)

^^
I got a Raleigh bike that had never been used (husband's weak attempt to get his wife to join him on his cycle rides) for £60 on eBay.


I love eBay.
( Madam Marlboro wonders if you've found her yet, Sun 29 Jun 2008, 22:20, closed)

@ t obermory
Try not to think about it for now; is there anyway you can get a job around uni or go on a sandwich course of some kind? It might give you a fighting chance.
( Maladicta, Mon 30 Jun 2008, 1:11, closed)

@ al
Mr Maladicta is of the poor persuasion at the moment, and previously we couldn't find a bike for less than £500 in Canterbury, so at the time £90 seemed like a total steal, however it's backfired horribly and now he has no bike. His job did provide him with one, but it was a rusty, creaky death trap that "injured my nadgers more times than I can count" and eventually got nicked when he wasn't looking.

I'm not sure about cycle schemes, I'll ask him :)
( Maladicta, Mon 30 Jun 2008, 1:13, closed)

@ MM
For some reason he won't get it off ebay, in case it's not in serviceable condition, and he doesn't intend to keep this job, so he wants to wait till he gets something else, then get an off road bike so he can go dirt biking, apparently...
( Maladicta, Mon 30 Jun 2008, 1:16, closed)