Archive | July, 2011

London cycle hire scheme expanding west

By on 31/07/2011 in Cycling in London

I’m a little late off the mark with this one as I’ve been away for a week. However, it is worth reporting on. Following the first year of successful operation and the completion of more than 6 million journeys on Boris Bikes, the announcement has arrived the scheme is to expand west. This will cover [...]

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Stylish pannier bags

By on 27/07/2011 in Cycling accessories

In the pub near Oxford Circus I spotted a cyclist pedalling past with some very trendy looking pannier bags. Whilst the Ortlieb bags are the long loved classics they are not particularly stylish. Here’s a quick roundup of panniers that break from the classic designs. Brooks Devon 22.5L | £224.99 – Available from Evans Cycles [...]

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Racing Mark Cavendish

By on 26/07/2011 in Features

Note: Sponsored by Oakley There’s a cool new viral marketing campaign making the rounds featuring Mark Cavendish promoting Oakley Sunglasses. You can join it here. It’s pretty cool / scary how it connects with your Facebook. Based on the choices you make in the video you have different outcomes. As someone who’s only just getting [...]

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5 things to know when a cycling friend visits London

By on 25/07/2011 in Cycling in London

A few full moons past I received a nice email from Susi, a cycling blogger in New York, who runs Velojoy. She wanted to meet up so I can dish the dirt on cycling in London. In the picture on the right you can see the obligatory stance you have to take when meeting a [...]

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Where to go mountain biking in London

By on 22/07/2011 in Routes

With the new Canzo by VooDoo bikes sat in my lounge, mud free and annoying my housemate I believe it’s time to take it out for some rides around London. So what mountain bike options are available for those of us who want to go mountain biking in London? Well, I don’t know if you [...]

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Putting together a flat pack bike

By on 21/07/2011 in Bicycle maintenance

I believe the official term for this is “assembling” but as I’m a common man I’m going with “putting together”. A lot of people these days are tempted to order bikes online. However, there is often a fear of what will happen when the bike arrives. How hard will it be to assemble? Will something [...]

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Planning a cycling tour along the Rhine

By on 20/07/2011 in Break out of London

Like all good stories, my story starts on Google search. Actually, no, it starts with friends. More specifically, Dan and Alex. The bicycle touring duo. They came back to fill my ears with stories of how amazing the Rhine is. As fate would have it, another friend asked me; would I like to go on [...]

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iPhone 4 bike mount

By on 19/07/2011 in Cycling accessories

When normal people spot the rain they think “oh no” when I spot it I think “iPhone bike mount testing time!” Yep I am cool sad. Let me introduce you to the latest mount I’ve been testing. The cleverly named: Tough Waterproof Case and Bicycle Handlebar Mount for Apple iPhone 4 Or as I call [...]

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New gym in Soho offers all in one solution for cyclists

By on 18/07/2011 in Cycling in London

There’s a new gym in Soho taking a refreshing approach to the fitness experience. I was invited to take a look around and have since not stopped singing its praises. Here’s a tour from the perspective of a typical cycle commuter. Leaving your bike safely around London is always a challenge. Therefore, it has always [...]

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Getting your shirt into work uncreased

By on 15/07/2011 in Cycling tips

A friend recently asked me a question I’d not considered: How do you get your shirts into work uncreased? I iron them, fold them, put them in my bag and cycle them in. Then I store a weeks worth of shirts in the office locker. I’ve found they don’t get that creased in the bag [...]

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Riding fixed for the first time

By on 13/07/2011 in Cycling in London

I recently bought myself a second hand fixed gear bike, from the LFGSS forums. My aim was to try out fixed gear riding around London. The steep learning curve Fixed gear bikes are different from the freewheel bikes most of us are used to. Put quite simply, if you stop pedalling on a normal freewheel [...]

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Bicycle storage conundrums

By on 12/07/2011 in Safe cycling in London

“Excuse me, you can’t leave your bike there” a woman climbing into her Toyota Prius stated.  A strange request I thought to myself, as bike racks tend to be a public space and there was three of them standing empty. “Oh sorry, I’ll only be 3 minutes”. I looked down on at the sorry remains [...]

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