Wednesday 30 July 2008

NYPD cop nuts cyclist at Critical Mass!

Check this video out:



Nice to know the police are on the side of cyclists! Nightmare.

Sunday 13 July 2008

Mega Avalanche went off!


It looked like Mega Avalanche was going to be a huge washout after a week of rad build-up. Storms, thunder and lightening lashed Alpe D'Huez, France on Friday night meaning the race didn't start on the glacier this year.

But it was still a fab event with Rene Wildhaber on Scott winning it for the boys and Ophelie David taking the girl's title.
Check out this link for a results run down and this link for some crazy video action from last year. Honestly. Screw. Freakin'. Loose.

Still a tiny amount of bike riders

When I commuted to work via public transport (I know! What was that all about eh?) I used to get up an hour earlier just to miss the rush hour.

One of the great things about riding was that it therefore gave me an extra hour in bed.

But not anymore. Now that it's summer, it seems everyone has taken to two wheels whether or not they know how to ride them. The result is a combination of numpties, riders who use their 5 mile cycle to work as an excuse to don lycra and pretend they are fit (dude, really, change gear, you'll go much faster than spinning your legs around that fast) and everyone else fighting with the glass debris for gutter space.

I find that I'm now getting up earlier and leaving work later just to miss the cycle rush hour. So it's quite surprising to hear that a poll by the AA of 18, 500 members found that only 3% cycled daily. OK, AA means they are motorists but 3%?! That's tiny! And only 6% cycled once a week. Come on! There's two days in a weekend!

Even more worrying, considering GB ladies are going to rock the cycling in Beijing and mountain bike chicks like Rachel Atherton and Tracey Mosely kick ass, is the statistic that THREE TIMES as many men than women ride daily. While 21% of guys surveyed rode at least once a month, for women the number was 12%

That's pathetic girls! What are you so afraid of?!

The Times wades in

Good article in The Times about cycling in the city following the news that a cyclist who killed a pedestrian received only a £2,000 fine, which gave everyone the chance to say how awful bike users are.

This piece is quite balanced and publicises the pretty dire statistic that 136 cyclists died on Britain's roads last year.

Tuesday 1 July 2008

Accommodation in Norway

Off on a bike holiday in Norway shortly - have found the website Novasol for accommodation spectacularly rad.

Twisted ankles and bikes

I got very intimate with St Katherine's Dock today. Lovely part of London is St Katherines. Very peaceful, lots of little bridges and big yachts.

I've recently taken to cycling a Pashley Princess as I have a broken wrist and twisted ankle and it's the only one of my bikes which doesn't seem to put much pressure on either injury. Plus it makes me feel like some 1940's throwback and cars avoid me accordingly.

Unfortunately the Pashley combined with St Katherine's sent me into a postwar romantic day dream today and I failed to notice the gaps between the boards on one of the dock's bridges.

I believe the last time I catapulted over the handlebars of a bike was roughly 22 years ago and it would appear I still have yet to perfect 'the frontflip.'

Water was warm though.

Tuesday 24 June 2008

Fixie alert

If you, like the rest of the London bike community who at the very least eschew high-vis jackets, are into fixies check out this website

The pink chain is mine.

Saturday 14 June 2008

Naked people on bikes in London


Bikes in London - normal

Naked people in London - pretty normal

Naked people on bikes in London - not very normal and vaguely disturbing.

The shenanigans were in aid of World Naked Bike Ride to promote body freedom and ween people off car culture.
The rides have been taking place all over the world and this was the fifth year it had taken place in London.
Around 1,200 riders set off from Hyde Park on a six mile tour of the city and luckily the weather held. It seemed as though most of the people watching were more interested in finally seeing what a man's penis looked like while resting on a saddle (aaaaaah, so that's how it lowers their sperm count) rather than the issues the cyclists were attempting to promote but anytime London traffic is stopped for a bike is good enough for me.

The AA/ RAC service for bikes - is this good?!

As far as I can tell, bicycles are pretty simple machines. Treated logically, they tend to make sense and as such can be fixed relatively easily. The grease on your jeans is another matter obviously.

So when I heard Cycle Training UK offered Cycle Cover insurance which includes cycle rescue cover I was ever so slightly caught between a rock and a hard place.

Good - if you get stuck 50 miles from the nearest town with no tools or brain cells they can come out and fix your bike. But not you.

Bad - the cover is aimed at women which is a tad disturbing as it seems females are still harbouring some strange 'grease-fear'. The only way a bike will ever afford you freedom is if you learn how to fix it yourself. The more you depend on others, the more you'll get ripped off.

So, here is the link for the cycle cover and here is one for a bicycle maintenance course. You decide.

And just in case you want some qualifications - click here

Tuesday 10 June 2008

Smithfield shakes off Fabric....


On Saturday we headed to Smithfields, in the City of London, and we weren't going to the world's most claustrophobic club Fabric.

We were heading towards the Smithfield Nocturne which, despite most of it taking place during the day, is a nighttime bike race now in its second year.
As well as elite riders (freaky - men with no leg hair. Still can't come to terms with it) there was a 'fastest commuter in London' folding bike race which was quality. Although because it took place on a proper roped off track without any kamikaze bus drivers probably can't be a conclusive crowning of said commuter.
Anyway, it seemed to be a gathering of fixed gears which are everywhere at the moment. We got some good photos.

And we got psyched to see such a funky bike atmosphere in town. Folding bikes and fixed gears side by side. Who'd have thought it?