The second stop on the Welsh journey was for many the birthplace of the UK trail centre idea. Coed Y Brenin on the edge of Snowdonia was the first of the Forestry Commission centres to embrace mountain biking, and it now has routes to rival any in Wales, for all standards.
Our first choice was the old Red Bull trail, now renamed the Tarw Trail but still black-graded. It’s only a standard 20km long, but was brutal in places on hardtails, climbing and then dropping through rocky singletrack sections and never really allowing you to relax into a downhill by keeping you on your toes all the time. It works its way back and forth across the hill leaving you a little disorientated before it dives back to the valley bottom on paths made up of large slabs of rock that test your suspension to the full if you ride them fast.
After a recovery lunch we split up and I rode the short but very fun Temtiwr trail as a warm down. At only about 7km and red graded it was a chance to let the bike flow and enjoy the last of the centre without running out of energy for what was left in the week.
Coed Y Brenin might be the oldest of the trail centres, but that makes it no less fun and challenging than any other. It deserves its place in mountain biking history and I only wish we could have ridden more there.
A
Showing posts with label Summer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Summer. Show all posts
Thursday, 16 June 2011
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
FMFT Summer Trip Ride One - Snowdon
The first ride of the FMFT summer trip was Snowdon. This presented some difficulties, not least that there is a voluntary (but supported by signposts) ban on bikes on the mountain between 10am and 5pm during the summer. It would have to be an early start.
We overcome the early start but woke up to the sound of pretty persistent rain. This was not good and we were angry.
Luckily after a tense breakfast in the car the weather suddenly cleared and we decided to risk it. What followed was memorable. We climbed the Llanberis Path as the simplest route to the top. It’s a tough ride and in places definitively a carry or a push, but considering it’s a path up the highest mountain in England and Wales, it’s surprisingly ridable. An hour or so later we hit the cloud that was sitting firmly down on the top of the mountain and realised just how serious a ride this was. It might only be around trail-centre length at 20Km, but this is a far bigger ride than that. Going into the cloud we got wet and cold and hit by horizontal hail, but still pushed and rode on up the ridge in spite of often not being able to see each other if we got more than about 5 metres apart.
On top we stopped for the obligatory summit shots on the strangely manicured peak and took five minutes to moan together about the restaurant being closed, before heading back down. This time we were taking the Snowdon Ranger path which started in a flurry of flowing track, only tempered by ice forming on brake-levers and the nagging lack of visibility and awareness of the distance down. Soon this broke into technical rocky riding which would be challenging in the valley bottom, but was even more so at this height. Still we slid and eased down the track until it cleared into more flowing and firm ground and swooped lower into the sunshine with valley views opening up in front of us.
We tore past the ban sign a slightly illegal 15 minutes outside the allowed time but felt we had acted within the spirit, if not the exact letter of the agreement. From there it was a pushed climb before a triumphant fast rollercoaster jumping over drainage channels back to Llanberis to pack up the tents and move on. The summer trip was off to a slightly damp and epic, but excellent start and the next stop was Coed Y Brenin, arguably the birthplace of the UK trail centre.
A
We overcome the early start but woke up to the sound of pretty persistent rain. This was not good and we were angry.
Luckily after a tense breakfast in the car the weather suddenly cleared and we decided to risk it. What followed was memorable. We climbed the Llanberis Path as the simplest route to the top. It’s a tough ride and in places definitively a carry or a push, but considering it’s a path up the highest mountain in England and Wales, it’s surprisingly ridable. An hour or so later we hit the cloud that was sitting firmly down on the top of the mountain and realised just how serious a ride this was. It might only be around trail-centre length at 20Km, but this is a far bigger ride than that. Going into the cloud we got wet and cold and hit by horizontal hail, but still pushed and rode on up the ridge in spite of often not being able to see each other if we got more than about 5 metres apart.
On top we stopped for the obligatory summit shots on the strangely manicured peak and took five minutes to moan together about the restaurant being closed, before heading back down. This time we were taking the Snowdon Ranger path which started in a flurry of flowing track, only tempered by ice forming on brake-levers and the nagging lack of visibility and awareness of the distance down. Soon this broke into technical rocky riding which would be challenging in the valley bottom, but was even more so at this height. Still we slid and eased down the track until it cleared into more flowing and firm ground and swooped lower into the sunshine with valley views opening up in front of us.
We tore past the ban sign a slightly illegal 15 minutes outside the allowed time but felt we had acted within the spirit, if not the exact letter of the agreement. From there it was a pushed climb before a triumphant fast rollercoaster jumping over drainage channels back to Llanberis to pack up the tents and move on. The summer trip was off to a slightly damp and epic, but excellent start and the next stop was Coed Y Brenin, arguably the birthplace of the UK trail centre.
A
Thursday, 19 May 2011
Men and Women
Watching telly can be an educating experience. For example I learned only yesterday that the Amgen Tour of California counts as “real man’s telly” as far as the sponsors, Tetley Breweries are concerned. This must be annoying to all the women that like cycling, and who might want to watch the racing in the US as much as any bitter-drinking man in the pub.
Talking of women cycling, which is a fun thing to think about most of the time, the Independent have an article all about exactly that, with a focus on the glamour of it all. There’s not much new there, but any piece that brings up the image of pretty girls riding attractive bikes in summer dresses is good in my book.
Also, making a return this year, is the TfL Cycle Challenge. So sign up and get your organisation riding to work over the summer.
A
Talking of women cycling, which is a fun thing to think about most of the time, the Independent have an article all about exactly that, with a focus on the glamour of it all. There’s not much new there, but any piece that brings up the image of pretty girls riding attractive bikes in summer dresses is good in my book.
Also, making a return this year, is the TfL Cycle Challenge. So sign up and get your organisation riding to work over the summer.
A
Wednesday, 27 April 2011
Fun in the Sun
Bank holiday weekend part one was, as you undoubtedly know, hot and sunny and a perfect time to get out on a bike.
So I did.
It’s probably best to just give you the highlights rather then boring you with the full rides, so just imagine carving baked hard singletrack through bluebell woods, sweating up dazzling climbs, hitting a short chalk downhill which was a stepped white scar between lush green borders and the deep blue sly, and absolutely nailing it above a valley, riding the limits of a singletrack helter-skelter as the sun beat down.
And now remember tit’s only April and we might have months of this to look forward to. Back in work with colleagues moaning about having eaten too much, I’m feeling fitter than I did before the break.
While I was off doing all this the World Cup kicked off in South Africa and you can see the replay right here on Freecaster.
Also, for those of you making the bridge between the bank holidays (this is lining up to be the worst link ever) then spare a thought for people in San Francisco who are strongly against the introduction of a speed limit for cyclists on the Golden Gate Bridge.
A
So I did.
It’s probably best to just give you the highlights rather then boring you with the full rides, so just imagine carving baked hard singletrack through bluebell woods, sweating up dazzling climbs, hitting a short chalk downhill which was a stepped white scar between lush green borders and the deep blue sly, and absolutely nailing it above a valley, riding the limits of a singletrack helter-skelter as the sun beat down.
And now remember tit’s only April and we might have months of this to look forward to. Back in work with colleagues moaning about having eaten too much, I’m feeling fitter than I did before the break.
While I was off doing all this the World Cup kicked off in South Africa and you can see the replay right here on Freecaster.
Also, for those of you making the bridge between the bank holidays (this is lining up to be the worst link ever) then spare a thought for people in San Francisco who are strongly against the introduction of a speed limit for cyclists on the Golden Gate Bridge.
A
Friday, 8 April 2011
Kerb Woes
The life of a bike-blogger isn’t all fun and games, and due to needing an actual job in order to live and afford the many bike addictions that I have, things can sometimes get in the way of the smooth running of the publication.
This is all I can say to apologise for the lack of a Thursday posting this week.
Anyway, we can now bring you a howies shopfront with an advert which will appeal to all the pro-bike activists out there. So here you go.
Otherwise, while we’ve not been writing we have been riding, and enjoying the freedom that only a warm spring evening and a couple of bmxs can bring, in an effort to be 10 again. The sounds of summer riding are always good to hear again. The buzz of tyres on tarmac, the whump of a smooth landing from a kerb, the clatter of chains and petals, the crash and massive explosion as one of us blows up yet another inner tube with a misjudged heavy landing on the point of a kerb.
You see this is the problem – some of our trips out on the bmx are cut drastically short by a bit of a tendency to destroy inner tubes regularly on the vast range of pointy edged bits of street furniture we can find. Once we can stop this we might develop some smooth skills to rival your average 16 year old.
A
This is all I can say to apologise for the lack of a Thursday posting this week.
Anyway, we can now bring you a howies shopfront with an advert which will appeal to all the pro-bike activists out there. So here you go.
Otherwise, while we’ve not been writing we have been riding, and enjoying the freedom that only a warm spring evening and a couple of bmxs can bring, in an effort to be 10 again. The sounds of summer riding are always good to hear again. The buzz of tyres on tarmac, the whump of a smooth landing from a kerb, the clatter of chains and petals, the crash and massive explosion as one of us blows up yet another inner tube with a misjudged heavy landing on the point of a kerb.
You see this is the problem – some of our trips out on the bmx are cut drastically short by a bit of a tendency to destroy inner tubes regularly on the vast range of pointy edged bits of street furniture we can find. Once we can stop this we might develop some smooth skills to rival your average 16 year old.
A
Friday, 2 July 2010
Summer Dreams
We’ve nearly struggled to another weekend when the Lance Armstrong’s second “final Tour” will kick off in the traditionally French town of Rotterdam.
At the same time there is thrilling news from the 2012 Olympic site, where they have put the roof on the velodrome, which promises to offer a fabulous venue for the cycling in the games. It’s a unique and (although I’m no expert in architecture) exciting looking project.
What’s even more exciting is that a BMX and mountain bike area will be built after the games to provide an area to ride in London to finally replace the Eastway. It’s been long enough and will be even longer by the end of the Olympics, and in the meantime mountain bikers in London have had to rely on parks, cars and the patchy service of the trains to escape the city and get some dirt under-wheel.
In light of this FMFT may well make it to Lordship Rec this weekend for some dusty riding in the sun, and will continue to dream about the possibilities that a designated bike park in East London would bring to those evening playing-out sessions.
Enjoy the sun.
A
At the same time there is thrilling news from the 2012 Olympic site, where they have put the roof on the velodrome, which promises to offer a fabulous venue for the cycling in the games. It’s a unique and (although I’m no expert in architecture) exciting looking project.
What’s even more exciting is that a BMX and mountain bike area will be built after the games to provide an area to ride in London to finally replace the Eastway. It’s been long enough and will be even longer by the end of the Olympics, and in the meantime mountain bikers in London have had to rely on parks, cars and the patchy service of the trains to escape the city and get some dirt under-wheel.
In light of this FMFT may well make it to Lordship Rec this weekend for some dusty riding in the sun, and will continue to dream about the possibilities that a designated bike park in East London would bring to those evening playing-out sessions.
Enjoy the sun.
A
Tuesday, 29 June 2010
Naked Downhill Stars
One of the interesting things about doing this blog is that, to a certain extent at least, I can look at who has looked at what. What’s even more interesting at times is what people were actually looking for when they stumbled across it.
I was therefore somewhat surprised to see “Rachel Atherton Nude” come up as a keyword that someone out there had used to search in a popular search engine and had ended up here. Let’s face it we’re not really that sort of site, and we probably aren’t even the first place you’re likely to be sent if you were looking for information on Rachel Atherton. That is hopefully until now, when we’ll be picking up all the people looking for just that. So, welcome filth-seekers and maybe you’ll find something interesting for you here anyway.
Interestingly a search for those keywords brings up more about Rachel’s brother Gee posing naked for Cosmo than about her herself. That must have been almost as much of a disappointment, I imagine.
To be perfectly honest, riding naked is more than appealing just at the moment where the streets of London are warm to say the least and each ride makes you want to keep moving just for the cooling breeze. Every time you stop your face is deluged with a river of sweat. Mind you, I much much prefer this to struggling in the rain. If only I was on a dusty downhill stretch of challenging singletrack under blue skies, rather than trailing up and down Caledonian Road.
A
I was therefore somewhat surprised to see “Rachel Atherton Nude” come up as a keyword that someone out there had used to search in a popular search engine and had ended up here. Let’s face it we’re not really that sort of site, and we probably aren’t even the first place you’re likely to be sent if you were looking for information on Rachel Atherton. That is hopefully until now, when we’ll be picking up all the people looking for just that. So, welcome filth-seekers and maybe you’ll find something interesting for you here anyway.
Interestingly a search for those keywords brings up more about Rachel’s brother Gee posing naked for Cosmo than about her herself. That must have been almost as much of a disappointment, I imagine.
To be perfectly honest, riding naked is more than appealing just at the moment where the streets of London are warm to say the least and each ride makes you want to keep moving just for the cooling breeze. Every time you stop your face is deluged with a river of sweat. Mind you, I much much prefer this to struggling in the rain. If only I was on a dusty downhill stretch of challenging singletrack under blue skies, rather than trailing up and down Caledonian Road.
A
Friday, 25 June 2010
Playing Out Again
Remember when you were younger and riding a bike wasn’t all about getting to work or even hitting big cross-country rides, it was just about playing in the woods near your parents’ house? If that doesn’t ring a bell with you then I invite you to just join me in reminiscing about exploring the paths and woods near home and spending hours and hours just playing on a bike. Getting better and better and just enjoying the “dare you” about a steep drop or a little lip that could be a jump. I want you to come with me as I tear along the unofficial paths that snake through every bit of scrappy urban woodland and are bordered by the kind of litter that teenagers leave behind. My formative mountain bike years weren’t in the clean countryside, but negotiating tricky bits around burnt trees, discarded mopeds, condoms and beer cans.
There’s something to be said to going back to that time. Every town and city has its bits of woodland where dirty steams or railways make the borders and little paths lead to illicit spots for the underage drinker. These paths can be yours again for a bit of remembering why it was you loved bikes in the first place. FMFT has been back to the woods to play out again.
All it takes is a steep run into a gap between a leaning tree and an ivy-covered wall and then a sweeping left hand bend dropping to an off camber slide by the fence to a railway line and you have the recipe for a good few hours of fun. Dropping under a bridge and sharing our playground with a man drinking strong larger we ran over and again at the same section, getting better, more styled and more sideways each time, and pushing back up for another go and a discussion about what looked good and what was fastest each time. All the time we just shared one bike and went for the most fun lines, not the most efficient.
The fading light got us and a quick recce of other good spots left us loads more to go back for. This will be a FMFT summer theme. Just playing out.
A
There’s something to be said to going back to that time. Every town and city has its bits of woodland where dirty steams or railways make the borders and little paths lead to illicit spots for the underage drinker. These paths can be yours again for a bit of remembering why it was you loved bikes in the first place. FMFT has been back to the woods to play out again.
All it takes is a steep run into a gap between a leaning tree and an ivy-covered wall and then a sweeping left hand bend dropping to an off camber slide by the fence to a railway line and you have the recipe for a good few hours of fun. Dropping under a bridge and sharing our playground with a man drinking strong larger we ran over and again at the same section, getting better, more styled and more sideways each time, and pushing back up for another go and a discussion about what looked good and what was fastest each time. All the time we just shared one bike and went for the most fun lines, not the most efficient.
The fading light got us and a quick recce of other good spots left us loads more to go back for. This will be a FMFT summer theme. Just playing out.
Monday, 14 June 2010
FMFT at Glentress
FMFT’s first stop on the big trip north was the mountain bike mecca that is Grentress near Peebles in the Scottish Borders.
We decided that the best way to bring you an overview was to ride the 30km black route, so, in glorious sunshine we rolled out of the car park and onto the trails. This took us out on singletrack most of the way, past bits of the other routes and the freeride area and looping out and around in the Tweed Valley countryside. The riding was hard work, sharp climbs at times but with much of the climbing on fireroads to gain height that paid you back with technical and fast drops.
As with other trail centres the route is split into sections, each named to reflect the riding, and offering everything from rocky downhills to jumpy snakey woodland sections. The highlight for FMFT had to be the Redemption downhill, twisting and dropping on singletrack and rocks down a valley with a stream burbling in the bottom. Mind you, you pay for it with the Deliverance climb back out of the valley. In fact it was a climb that defeated one half of FMFT, and sent them back to the car on fireroads. Continuing on my own I was able to check out the rest of the black route, which merges with the technical red route to the finish, offering north-shore style wood structures, drops and obstacles to seriously challenge anyone especially after the black route’s exertions.
Purely and simply Glentress offers miles and miles of the best riding you’ll find anywhere. It even has showers in the car park so you can get cleaned up before a cake at the hub café. Brilliant.
What we learned at Glentress:
- Leaving a bag by the side of the trail you should make sure you zip it up in case someone kicks it into a ravine.
- If you lose an open bag into the valley everything is guaranteed to fall out, and the last thing you’ll be able to find in the trees will be your wallet containing all your cards and money.
- This can all make the middle section of a ride somewhat more stressful than it should be.
A
We decided that the best way to bring you an overview was to ride the 30km black route, so, in glorious sunshine we rolled out of the car park and onto the trails. This took us out on singletrack most of the way, past bits of the other routes and the freeride area and looping out and around in the Tweed Valley countryside. The riding was hard work, sharp climbs at times but with much of the climbing on fireroads to gain height that paid you back with technical and fast drops.
As with other trail centres the route is split into sections, each named to reflect the riding, and offering everything from rocky downhills to jumpy snakey woodland sections. The highlight for FMFT had to be the Redemption downhill, twisting and dropping on singletrack and rocks down a valley with a stream burbling in the bottom. Mind you, you pay for it with the Deliverance climb back out of the valley. In fact it was a climb that defeated one half of FMFT, and sent them back to the car on fireroads. Continuing on my own I was able to check out the rest of the black route, which merges with the technical red route to the finish, offering north-shore style wood structures, drops and obstacles to seriously challenge anyone especially after the black route’s exertions.
Purely and simply Glentress offers miles and miles of the best riding you’ll find anywhere. It even has showers in the car park so you can get cleaned up before a cake at the hub café. Brilliant.
- Leaving a bag by the side of the trail you should make sure you zip it up in case someone kicks it into a ravine.
- If you lose an open bag into the valley everything is guaranteed to fall out, and the last thing you’ll be able to find in the trees will be your wallet containing all your cards and money.
- This can all make the middle section of a ride somewhat more stressful than it should be.
A
Tuesday, 25 May 2010
An Important Experiment
Some things are just so important you end up putting them off and off. Perhaps it’s delaying the disappointment if it doesn’t work out. More likely it’s fear of having to deal with the consequences, either way. These things are the big moments in your life and the things that might make everything take a different course.
I finally confronted one of these issues last night. I tried fitting my bike rack to the back of my new car.
It might not seem like much, but without a bike rack a car loses half of its appeal to me. I’m not hugely into cars, but I am definitely into being able to load up a car with mountain biking gear and heading out to ride somewhere better than the scraped-together opportunities of North London. A car which I couldn’t carry a bike on would take away half of the point of having one.
I had therefore put off trying the rack on. In the mean-time I had been further worried by scare-stories of boots with not enough gap to fit the clips over (damn that quality German engineering), and fear for the new paintwork.
With my heart in my mouth I introduced the rack to the car, hoping they would get along. Luckily (although less dramatically for the sake of this story) they could be made to work together, albeit not perfectly, but well enough to satisfy me, without damaging the car and securely holding at least the one bike I tried on.
This is good news. It saves having to look for other bike-carrying options, and means that we are surging forward with preparations for the Great FMFT Summer Adventure.
A
I finally confronted one of these issues last night. I tried fitting my bike rack to the back of my new car.
It might not seem like much, but without a bike rack a car loses half of its appeal to me. I’m not hugely into cars, but I am definitely into being able to load up a car with mountain biking gear and heading out to ride somewhere better than the scraped-together opportunities of North London. A car which I couldn’t carry a bike on would take away half of the point of having one.
I had therefore put off trying the rack on. In the mean-time I had been further worried by scare-stories of boots with not enough gap to fit the clips over (damn that quality German engineering), and fear for the new paintwork.
With my heart in my mouth I introduced the rack to the car, hoping they would get along. Luckily (although less dramatically for the sake of this story) they could be made to work together, albeit not perfectly, but well enough to satisfy me, without damaging the car and securely holding at least the one bike I tried on.
This is good news. It saves having to look for other bike-carrying options, and means that we are surging forward with preparations for the Great FMFT Summer Adventure.
A
Monday, 24 May 2010
Amazing Things and Amazing Weather
Like any good Londoner in the sunshine this weekend FMF headed to anywhere with a hint of open space. Firstly the beach at Brighton, where we experienced the almost-like-Venice-Beach delights of the seafront, with its dedicated cyclepath allowing bikes to cruise alone next to the pebble beach with pedestrians. What was amazing was the extent to which people walking paid attention to the cyclepath, and kept it clear for cyclists, despite the crowds on the hottest day of the year so far. Having a Green Party MP must already be good for people on bikes in Brighton.
It may have actually been faster to have ridden to the coast instead of driving as we got caught in the massive amount of traffic heading out of London and rushing to the seaside. Bikes were definitely winning out here in all ways.
We continued to be mainstream by going to Hampstead Heath where, once again, bikes were far more in evidence than I’ve seen before. All it takes is a bit of sunshine and everyone’s turning to bikes to get around. If you ask me there’s not much that can beat a leisurely ride somewhere to sit in the sun with friends.
With people doing everything on bikes perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised to see a race apparently named after lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret, and featuring a “bike exhibitionist". If the weather stays hot we should probably expect more of that here as well. That amazed me (although I may have found it a real let down if I’d rushed to the event), but not as much as the thought of someone blind doing bike trials. Trials is hard enough when you can use all your senses, and far beyond most riders, myself very much included, so do be able to do it without being able to see is simply incredible.
A
It may have actually been faster to have ridden to the coast instead of driving as we got caught in the massive amount of traffic heading out of London and rushing to the seaside. Bikes were definitely winning out here in all ways.
We continued to be mainstream by going to Hampstead Heath where, once again, bikes were far more in evidence than I’ve seen before. All it takes is a bit of sunshine and everyone’s turning to bikes to get around. If you ask me there’s not much that can beat a leisurely ride somewhere to sit in the sun with friends.
With people doing everything on bikes perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised to see a race apparently named after lingerie brand Victoria’s Secret, and featuring a “bike exhibitionist". If the weather stays hot we should probably expect more of that here as well. That amazed me (although I may have found it a real let down if I’d rushed to the event), but not as much as the thought of someone blind doing bike trials. Trials is hard enough when you can use all your senses, and far beyond most riders, myself very much included, so do be able to do it without being able to see is simply incredible.
A
Tuesday, 11 May 2010
World Cup Bands and Apps
You may have noticed that Fort William will, once again be hosting a round of the Mountain Bike World Cup this summer. We can assure you there will be more on this here later, but the media warm-up is in full flow already.
If you’re Scottish and play music you can now enter the competition to be part of the “Downhill Rock’n’Roll” experience as one of the bands that will entertain the crowds at the event. Leith Records are running a battle of the bands and you have until tomorrow to get involved.
Alternatively, if you don’t fit the bill as a performer to thousands of extreme sports fans, and also can’t, for some reason, get out on a bike, but do have one of several Apple devices you can soon virtually race downhill as if you were a World Champion. Steve Peat Downhill Mountain Biking is due to be released to coincide with the event as an app for your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad (if you can get hold of one by then). Who says you need a bike and a mountain to enjoy mountain biking?
Ultimately the event promises to be spectacular and FMFT has big plans for early June.
A
If you’re Scottish and play music you can now enter the competition to be part of the “Downhill Rock’n’Roll” experience as one of the bands that will entertain the crowds at the event. Leith Records are running a battle of the bands and you have until tomorrow to get involved.
Alternatively, if you don’t fit the bill as a performer to thousands of extreme sports fans, and also can’t, for some reason, get out on a bike, but do have one of several Apple devices you can soon virtually race downhill as if you were a World Champion. Steve Peat Downhill Mountain Biking is due to be released to coincide with the event as an app for your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad (if you can get hold of one by then). Who says you need a bike and a mountain to enjoy mountain biking?
Ultimately the event promises to be spectacular and FMFT has big plans for early June.
A
Friday, 9 April 2010
Friday
It’s been an exciting week, and one with the promise of summer coming. Not only have I officially ridden all the way home without lights, but also it’s the first time this year I have ridden without long sleeves.
It doesn’t sound that exciting, but it feels like a turning point in the year, when cycling becomes a pleasure instead of a battle, and you start considering the bike for more journeys, when you otherwise might have considered the car, or just staying at home in the warm.
If you are heading out to social events on your bike you’ll need somewhere to lock it up securely. If I were you I’d aim for something less extravagant than this bike rack, which seems more than a little over the top. I’m all for basic, strong-looking racks which allow you to lock up the bike without pretending to be some sort of set from a children’s TV show.
It was in this spirit of approaching summer and possibilities that I was racing along and overtook this bicycle. I must have been racing to have overtaken such a power-assisted machine, as surely putting an engine on a bike shouldn’t make it slower?
However hard the website tries to make it look pretty I will say that they at least got the name right. It really does deserve the model name, Ugli-der. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more “Ugli” bike before.
A
It doesn’t sound that exciting, but it feels like a turning point in the year, when cycling becomes a pleasure instead of a battle, and you start considering the bike for more journeys, when you otherwise might have considered the car, or just staying at home in the warm.
If you are heading out to social events on your bike you’ll need somewhere to lock it up securely. If I were you I’d aim for something less extravagant than this bike rack, which seems more than a little over the top. I’m all for basic, strong-looking racks which allow you to lock up the bike without pretending to be some sort of set from a children’s TV show.
It was in this spirit of approaching summer and possibilities that I was racing along and overtook this bicycle. I must have been racing to have overtaken such a power-assisted machine, as surely putting an engine on a bike shouldn’t make it slower?
However hard the website tries to make it look pretty I will say that they at least got the name right. It really does deserve the model name, Ugli-der. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a more “Ugli” bike before.
A
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Finding Your Way
There’s finally just the merest hint of the end of winter in the air this week. There’s just a possibility of a ride home in the evening without lights, and short sleeves and sunglasses instead of layers and waterproofs. It’s starting to suggest days to look forward to being on the bike, instead of dreading the battle through the weather.
It’ll also mean less space in the bike racks and more people in the way on the way to work, but I’m deciding not to dwell on that. I’ll probably hardly notice what with all the roadworks that are currently filling the route and adding an extra two or three traffic lights to every trip.
With the better weather I’m sure there’ll be more people deciding to get out on the roads on their bikes and looking for safe ways to do it. The London Cycling Network will continue to provide a role in this that I don’t entirely understand. I appreciate that people need a way to feel safe while they get around, and advice on which roads are best to ride along, but the entire network seems to just make things more complicated. There’s even been a suggestion to extend the network with a “bike grid”. None of the routes and their elusive signs seem to do much more than a decent look at a map and a bit of thinking about the quieter routes that you could take to get somewhere would. The idea that you should stick to a specific route also seems quite limiting, and almost enforces an idea that cyclists shouldn’t have as much right to the roads as anyone else.
Sure, the TFL cycling route planner can be handy, but it shouldn’t take away from people using a bit of intelligence to find their own way somewhere, perhaps on a map. Having said that there is a trend towards allowing computer programmes to work out your every move in life, so perhaps we just need a general return to map-reading. Before the world of sat-nav and Google Maps people still seemed to find their way places, and had a better idea when they got there of where they actually were.
A
It’ll also mean less space in the bike racks and more people in the way on the way to work, but I’m deciding not to dwell on that. I’ll probably hardly notice what with all the roadworks that are currently filling the route and adding an extra two or three traffic lights to every trip.
With the better weather I’m sure there’ll be more people deciding to get out on the roads on their bikes and looking for safe ways to do it. The London Cycling Network will continue to provide a role in this that I don’t entirely understand. I appreciate that people need a way to feel safe while they get around, and advice on which roads are best to ride along, but the entire network seems to just make things more complicated. There’s even been a suggestion to extend the network with a “bike grid”. None of the routes and their elusive signs seem to do much more than a decent look at a map and a bit of thinking about the quieter routes that you could take to get somewhere would. The idea that you should stick to a specific route also seems quite limiting, and almost enforces an idea that cyclists shouldn’t have as much right to the roads as anyone else.
Sure, the TFL cycling route planner can be handy, but it shouldn’t take away from people using a bit of intelligence to find their own way somewhere, perhaps on a map. Having said that there is a trend towards allowing computer programmes to work out your every move in life, so perhaps we just need a general return to map-reading. Before the world of sat-nav and Google Maps people still seemed to find their way places, and had a better idea when they got there of where they actually were.
A
Tuesday, 9 February 2010
Bicyle Freeways
Although not known as a particularly cycling-focussed city it seems that Los Angeles has a plan to make biking around the city a little better. The idea is based on the freeway system and would aim to provide a fast and easy way to cover big distances before switching onto smaller local cycle routes and roads to reach the final destination, and, although only at a pressure-group stage, it seems to be gaining support. It sounds to me a lot like the original plan for the Cycle Superhighways for London, which could mean it ends up as a bit of an afterthought trying to link existing routes and still fighting for space with cars. I’ve driven on the freeways of LA and quite frankly it’s scary enough in a car, let alone considering being in close proximity to the 8 lanes of traffic on a bike. Hopefully a sensibly organised system, keeping bikes safe from cars, will be developed, following smooth and coherent long distance routes into the city.
At the same time in London a couple of very different and interestingly laterally thinking ideas are both attempting to boost the number of people cycling.
A proposal to charge for car-parking in Richmond Park is designed to encourage more people to ride to the park, as well as reducing congestion in the area around the park. On a nice summer day I can see it being very pleasant to ride to any of the London parks if they become a bit more bike friendly and spend an afternoon without the fumes from cars queuing for the carparks. The only question might be how to get the football, cricket set, picnic, boules, kites, and all the rest of the things you need after 10 minutes sitting in the sun has got boring, onto a bike. Actually, on that note, can summer possibly hurry up? The winter’s getting a bit dull now.
One thing that we’ve mentioned before was the apparent resistance from girls to cycling as a way to get around, or for fun. A designer has made an effort to change that by creating, with the help of some actual girls, a hoodie that is both attractive to them, and fits well for cycling. As a more casual alternative to some of the more grown up fashions that places like Cyclechic offer, maybe it could help to get more girls onto bikes from a younger age.
A
At the same time in London a couple of very different and interestingly laterally thinking ideas are both attempting to boost the number of people cycling.
A proposal to charge for car-parking in Richmond Park is designed to encourage more people to ride to the park, as well as reducing congestion in the area around the park. On a nice summer day I can see it being very pleasant to ride to any of the London parks if they become a bit more bike friendly and spend an afternoon without the fumes from cars queuing for the carparks. The only question might be how to get the football, cricket set, picnic, boules, kites, and all the rest of the things you need after 10 minutes sitting in the sun has got boring, onto a bike. Actually, on that note, can summer possibly hurry up? The winter’s getting a bit dull now.
One thing that we’ve mentioned before was the apparent resistance from girls to cycling as a way to get around, or for fun. A designer has made an effort to change that by creating, with the help of some actual girls, a hoodie that is both attractive to them, and fits well for cycling. As a more casual alternative to some of the more grown up fashions that places like Cyclechic offer, maybe it could help to get more girls onto bikes from a younger age.
A
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