5.87 Volts

5.87 volts.  As my high school technical teacher may have put it, "not enough power to pull the skin off a rice pudding."

5.87 volts is certainly not enough power to crank my motorbike. 

5.87 volts is not what you want to find when you are thirty minutes from the start of a service that is a twenty minute drive away.

Bugger.

Apologies phoned through to Lowry (North)

10 volts and the ignition lights will flicker into life.  That's enough to push start the bike.  This is the point that I pull out fuses for all unnecessary systems on the bike, in order to give it fighting chance to start.

11 volts and the starter may give a grudging turn, and it will be borderline of the bike will start. 

It's a relatively well maintained bike, and it's pretty reliable, so when it does let me down, it really picks its moments.  I think this damp weather has done it no favours.

I'm hoping that my next placement church will be a little closer.  My reasons for not opting for Lowry (north) was for precisely days like today.  Public transport to Lowry (North) would take me over two hours on a Sunday, each way.  With two ministers in the house, there is only one car, and Mrs Gerbil has first refusal on it.  From the summer, Mrs G will be on probation and will be at her church full time. 

Of my top five churches for placement, one was practically at the end of my street, and the next two were a 25 and a 30 minute cycle away.  I'm going to have to have serious thoughts about where I'm placed next.