chasing the tide

Living next to the beach is fantastic and I try and plan journeys to cross the sand but this is somewhat dependant on the state of the tides

Jersey has one of the worlds biggest tidal ranges with over 12m on some spring tides between low and high water. The beach I normally cross is divided by a small rocky headland that is only navigable below half tide

If I miss the tidal slot I need to take the road which although generally quicker is not as scenic. I am forever chasing across the beach last minute trying to get past the middle rocks



Tidal flow is not linear and the fastest part of the tide is mid-range where the rocks divide the beach. Tearing across the sand I frequently end up crossing shallow water between waves from one side to the other

Soft sinky sand and rock pool depressions make for a chancy race at times but Genny seems to cope with minor dousing in sea water

Dragging my wheels out of the soft sand through rising water is my worst nightmare

5000 Miles

Today I hit the 5000 miles mark on my wheels. This is in a little over 3 years so am clocking up the miles. Apart from an issue with the core Segway detailed HERE Genny has been fantastically reliable despite repeated use across the beach in sandy and saltwater conditions

I have fitted a new set of covers and tyres and a wheel that I buckled accidentally dropping Genny out the back of the car whilst loading. I have also recently fitted new couplings and elastomers that had been recommended to quieten down the gearboxes which are a little bit noisy. This made little difference to the noise so was unnecessary

I have also recently got hold of a secondhand Segway i2 with just 164 miles on the clock that I will use for spares as and when required. I made this investment as the current build Segway i2 SE is slightly different in design from the original i2 my wheels have been built to

I am hoping the next 5000 miles goes as well as the first