In 2013 I hope to get a couple more people involved with London Cyclist on the writing front. Our first new writer is Jack and below is his introduction. Please be gentle – it can be a great pleasure and at times a little scary to open your writing up to thousands of readers. I hope you’ll give Jack a warm intro in the comments!

Having grown up outside in rural Hertfordshire, I spent my youth freewheeling down country lanes, attempting wheelies and – don’t tell my Mum this – occasionally swinging from one side of the road to the other. The roads were empty and, I was quickly coming to realise cycling is an absolute pleasure.

Moving to London stirred a few concerns that I’m sure many share. Country lanes are different to city roads. Admittedly, it took me a good year or two before picking up a bike. However, with the help of my employer’s cycle to work scheme, I’ve gone from being terrified by the thought of London cycling, to being a twice-a-day Lycra-wearer.

I now find myself at the point where I resent travelling by train. I struggle to resist a slight smirk when colleagues tell me about their nightmare journey to the office. But, to the untrained eye, cycling can be expensive – there are hundreds of gadgets which some cycling shops will try and scare you into buying. Some are worth the money, some are not.

So here I am: my name’s Jack, I’m 27 and I commute from Greenwich to Liverpool Street by bike, and try to explore the city on bike too when I can. I hope I’ll be a useful addition to the London Cyclist team – giving hints and tips on how to successfully navigate London’s roads, reviewing accessories and gadgets and telling you which ones you may actually find really useful. Look forward to getting started!

The post London Cyclist, say hello to Jack appeared first on London Cyclist Blog.

What can an RAF pilot teach us about safe cycling

My favourite “Today I learned” of 2012 came when I received an email from John Sullivan of the Royal Air Force. The article showed why drivers can so easily miss a cyclist, as they are scanning the road for oncoming traffic. It also gave some incredibly useful tips, such as the importance of using a bike light, even during the daytime.

Read what can an RAF pilot teach us about safe cycling

Best bike lights for cycle commuters

From a cheap pair of Raleigh lights to an ultra bright Magicshine bike light. It’s all covered in our roundup of the best bike lights for commuters.

Read best bike lights for cycle commuters

Want to cycle safely? Stop focusing on high vis

Have you ever heard this advice? “To cycle safely, wear high vis.” Whilst its not a bad starting point, there’s far more cyclists can do to stay safe. It also ignores the most common reason for cyclist deaths in London. In the post we prove why safe cycling is far more than just high vis gear.

Read want to cycle safely? Stop focusing on high vis

7 things you should give up to be a happy cyclist

It seemed everyone agreed with this little article that provided a manifesto for happier cycling.

Read about the 7 things you should give up to be a happy cyclist

Winter cycling jackets guide

Our roundup of the best winter cycling jackets was a real hit with London Cyclist readers this year. It must have been a cold one!

Read the winter cycling jackets article

Why do Boris Bikes hardly ever get punctures?

Despite covering hundreds of miles a day, cycle hire bikes hardly ever get punctures. Find out why!

Read why do Boris Bikes hardly ever get punctures

If there is a war on Britain’s roads, the car just claimed another victory

Following the BBC documentary titled “The War on Britain’s Roads” I added an article discussing why if there ever was a war, the car would be winning by a long margin. The article dived in to the documentary and explained why everything from transport expenditure, to road planning favours the car and ignores the bike.

Read about the War on Britain’s roads

Miraculous story of how one London cyclist recovered his stolen bike

London Cyclist reader Marc sent me this story about how he recovered his stolen Charge bike, by looking it up on Gumtree and confronting the thief. It highlights the scary realities of the difficulties of recovering a stolen bike and what you should do if you find yourself in a similar situation.

Read how one London Cyclist recovered his stolen bike

Knog Blinder 4V

The Knog Blinder 4V must have struck a cord, as it is one of our most read reviews of 2012.

Read about the Knog Blinder 4V

Google Maps VS. Cycle Streets – The best route planner

In 2012 Google Maps added directions for cyclists. In this post we test out the quality of Google Maps vs Cycle Streets to find the best route planner for cyclists.

Read about the best route planner for cyclists

The post Best of London Cyclist in 2012 appeared first on London Cyclist Blog.

Today is my 25th birthday! The 24th to the 25th is a big one – it’s like transitioning from plastic pedals to metal ones. One day perhaps I’ll even use clipless. Fortunately, my family is on hand to provide me with artwork for my birthday blog post, with the above brilliant card! It’s funny because they don’t actually have any brakes – when they want to stop the old boy at the end grinds his shoe against the back wheel, much like a modern day BMX or fixie rider. A big thank you to my sisters!

I’ve always thought a birthday is a great time to get a little reflectional. I personally believe that a blog should be about interesting and useful content for the audience, and not about the author behind it. However, I’d like to make a small exception today and share a little about myself.

If you are looking for useful cycling tips, then feel free to click away now!

When I came back from my trip to Cuba and central America, I had one project on my mind. To write the London Cyclist Handbook. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem to have hit the right notes with the audience of London Cyclist and we didn’t sell as many digital copies as I predicted. Partly to blame I believe, is that this is the kind of book it would be nice to hold in your hands and read as you cycle. Well, if it works for the Mayor of Toronto:

(The Mayor of Toronto reading a copy of the London Cyclist Handbook in his Escalade)

When something doesn’t go according to plan, you have to take a step back and re-evaluate. In this case I’ve come to two conclusions: 1. I should release the Handbook as a printed book and 2. I should focus on what readers really want to know about – which is how to easily look after your bike yourself. That’s why my next big project will address exactly that. I’ll be asking for your feedback on it shortly.

A project that has gone beautifully to plan, is our update to the Bike Doctor iPhone and Android app. One of my goals was to dramatically up the number of repairs that are available in the app. Since we launched the new app, we’ve had nothing but glowing reviews. We’ve even been featured in the Australian iPhone app store and become the most downloaded Sports app getting around 500 downloads in a day! Good’day mate!

It was a real pleasure been able to offer this app for free to my audience and it was a shame I couldn’t do the same for those of you on Android phones. Google doesn’t allow you to transition a paid app to a free app.

Needless to say, I have big plans for the Bike Doctor app and those of you who have downloaded (Free on the iPhone until the end of August) will be seeing them soon.

Away from the blog, there’s been some lows to come to terms with. My grandma recently passed away due to Alzheimer’s and this was shortly after followed by my uncle losing his battle with cancer. I’m sure many readers have their own stories of such losses and I feel they give you a real kick up the backside, to push yourself to do the things you want. Another one of my big passions is travel and I plan on pursuing that with a long trip at the start of next year.

Anyway, I’m already getting bored of talking about myself and would rather get back to cycling! I’ll end this post with a toast:

“To getting more bums on saddles, to pursuing your passions today, not tomorrow and to many more bicycle themed birthday cards!”

The post It’s my birthday! Cue the mandatory cycling cards! appeared first on London Cyclist Blog.

This is important for anyone who has the first version of our iPhone app Bike Doctor on their iPhone. We are moving it over to new account, so you need to get the new copy! For a limited time only, you’ll be able to move to the new version for free and then we’ll have to bump up the price!

To download it, search the App Store for Bike Doctor 2 or follow this link: http://goo.gl/KhTKF

Why the change?

A long time ago, I approached app developer Ron Forrester with an idea for a great app for cyclists. I wanted to create an app that would provide easy, step-by-step, easy to follow instructions for looking after your bike yourself. The result was Bike Doctor and it had a fairly spectacular reception in the app store, getting featured by Apple on numerous occasions.

Zoom ahead a year and a half and Ron has decided that this isn’t something he wants to work on any more as he has too many large commitments elsewhere. (Totally understandable as he’s a pretty hot shot developer!)

We sat down together (via email – he’s in the US!) and we decided the best way forward was to launch a new version under my app store account. Unfortunately, Apple don’t provide a mechanism for moving users across. Therefore, we’d have to launch the new version for free and get as many people as we humanly possible can to move over so they are not left frustrated.

The good news is..

Over the past year and a half we’ve added a few new repairs to Bike Doctor, but nowhere near to what I’d wanted. I felt that users have trusted us to download the app and then we’ve not repaid their trust by adding lots of extra content.

That’s all about to change.

Now that the app is under my account name, I plan on having 40 repairs in the app by my birthday on the 16th of August.

I also really want the app to move forward dramatically in design.

If you get the new version, then we’ll be issuing frequent updates over the course of the next 3-6 weeks.

But doesn’t that mean those who haven’t paid get the app for free?

Yep – but that’s not really what’s important – the important thing is for old users to move over to the new version before we have to bump up the price.

Should you keep the fact that Bike Doctor 2 is currently free a secret or should you tell your friends to grab a copy while they can? I’d probably opt for the latter!

What about us Android users?

No need for Android users to panic – everything stay’s the same there! Though, we will be catching up with updates to that version too and hitting our 40 repairs target.

What can I do to help?

That’s very nice of you! Please grab the new copy and leave a review in the app store.

Any questions?

Please leave a comment below and I’ll answer.

In other news…

I don’t tend to follow a lot of new product announcements, but Specialized have recently been ranting and raving about their 2013 range by revealing it to journalists over in Utah. For anyone looking for a Specialized road bike, now would be a good time to hit up some bargains – as the 2011 and 2012 range will no doubt come down in price.

In the Specialized mountain bikes range they are adding new carbon fibre forks that will be on the Specialized Stumpjumper Expert Carbon Evo R model. Carbon fibre forks have a big future on mountain bikes, thanks to their shock absorption. It’s interesting to see an increasing number of bike models using them.

The Specialized helmets will also be seeing some major overhauls in 2013. The Tactic helmet in particular, is said to be a big step up in comfort.

If you want to follow all the latest then it’s been reported on Bike Radar and Bike Rumor. Obviously, if there’s any products of particular interest to us London commuters then I’ll be getting on the reviews!

The post New version of Bike Doctor: Important update for any existing iPhone users! appeared first on London Cyclist Blog.

The handbook has six distinct sections:

1. Getting started: This contains everything I wish someone had told me, when I first started cycling in London. From finding the right bike for you, to staying safe and planning a great route.
2. Love London: From great bike shops, to charming cycle cafes and unmissable cycling events – London cyclists are truly spoilt. This section is a guide to it all.
3. Gear Guide: Helping to guide you through the dazzling array of cycling gear that is available to cyclists. Includes a section on the best upgrades for your bike.
4. The Urban Cyclist: From getting oil off your clothes, to the steps to take if your bike is stolen. This is quite a diverse section but will appeal to anyone who’s been cycling for a while.
5. The Lazy Cyclists Guide to Bicycle Maintenance: This is the maintenance guide most of us need!
6. Go Big or Go Home: This humorously named section is about what comes after you’ve fallen in love with cycling. It’s about how you can take things up to the next level. From sportives to touring – it’s all covered here.

All I need now is a strappy line that explains in a sentence what the handbook is about. If you think you can help – then please leave a comment below! All suggestions are welcome.

If I use your suggestion, you’ll be the first one to receive a copy!

P.S. I seriously appreciate your help – the strapline is something I’ve really been struggling with and the talented illustrator Jack is rightly pestering me to get it over to him so we can finish the cover.

Update: I’ve been absolutely blown away by the suggestions this morning – there’s some very creative minds out there for this early on a Monday! Thank you everyone – can’t reply to all the suggestions right now as I’m jumping on the train to get back to London but keep them coming!

The post I need a strapline for the London Cyclist Handbook – Can you help? appeared first on London Cyclist Blog.

Enviroco is an eco-friendly company which specialises in hazardous waste management. We’ve teamed up with Enviroco to offer three lucky readers the chance to win an I Bike London t-shirt of their choice.

All you have to do to enter is leave a comment with your favourite spot to cycle to in London (Or in your local area). Please note this is open to UK & EU residents only. Sorry rest of world!

By entering you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions of the competition. Competition closes on the 22nd of June.

I’ll start us off..

My favourite place to cycle to in London is the National Theatre on Southbank as it’s a great place to grab a coffee and open up the laptop to get on with some work without distractions (such as writing the London Cyclist Handbook!).

Competition now closed!

The post Three IBikeLondon t-shirts to giveaway courtesy of Enviroco (closed) appeared first on London Cyclist Blog.

While the Queen celebrates her Diamond Jubilee, we’ve got our own two big reasons to celebrate on London Cyclist Blog.

The first is that we have just surpassed 10,000 followers on Twitter. That’s almost double what we had this time last year and it makes London Cyclist one of the most popular cycling Twitter accounts on the internet.

As if to confirm our popularity, I also heard today that we won the Crank Awards Favourite Lifestyle Cycling Blog. Not only that but apparently:

“London Cyclist Blog received more votes than any other blog in any of the six categories.”

That tells me one thing: If you heard about it via our newsletter or Twitter you took the time out of your day to vote for London Cyclist. For that I’m really grateful.

Before we pop open the champagne, here’s the big announcement.

London Cyclist Blog initially opened its doors a couple of weeks before Christmas in 2007. The purpose was to help a group of cyclists that I felt were ignored by the big cycling publications. That’s the casual, everyday cyclist like myself. Those who want to get started with cycling, learn a little about bike maintenance without getting too technical and find out how they can make their daily commute even more of a pleasure.

It seemed I was not alone in looking for this information and the site has grown pretty rapidly since then, as we’ve been joined by thousands of fellow cyclists.

Today, I’m announcing that I’ll soon be launching the London Cyclist Handbook. It’s exactly what I wished I had available to me back when I first started cycling in London.

The Handbook will cover the basics such as finding the perfect bike, keeping it out of the hands of thieves and staying safe. We then move on to lots of London specific advice including the best bike shops, events, cafes and enjoyable routes through the capital that will have you avoiding the busy roads in favour of quiet backstreets. Then there’s a section that helps you choose the best cycling gear and teaches you how to look after your bike. Finally, for the more advanced cyclists, we talk about how you can take things to the next level through cycling clubs and long distance rides.

We’ve got a ton more in there such as interviews with some really interesting people but I really don’t want to give everything away yet.

The Handbook won’t just be a copy and paste of the blog posts. It has been completely written from the ground up based on experiences and the thousands of comments the blog has received.

This is one of those ideas I’ve had for a long time but kept putting off, so I’m actually feeling quite relieved that I can finally announce it to everyone and at the same time nervous to hear what everyone will think. Plus, now I’ve made a public commitment so there’s no going back!

Initially we’ll be launching as an eBook and on the Kindle and iPad. However, it will be possible to read this on pretty much any device. I’ve not yet finalised any details on price and so forth so there’s still much to think about and I’ve still got to keep up my excuses to good friends who put up with my “I’m really sorry, I can’t come to that” during projects like this one.

Over the coming days and weeks I’ll be revealing more but I really hope that this will be an incredibly useful resource for any cyclists in London and indeed beyond that.

P.S. The London Cyclist Handbook will be illustrated by the very talented Jack Noel who’s style I really feel fits well with what I’m trying to do with London Cyclist and the Handbook.

The post Celebrating 10,000 followers with a big announcement! appeared first on London Cyclist Blog.

There’s a new documentary currently being researched for Channel 4 on street crime. Part of the focus of the program will be on the rising problem of bicycle theft.

Ideally, the program is looking to interview and follow someone who has just had their bike stolen and is working through the different methods of trying to find it. (I.e. exactly this post: Miraculous story of how one Londoner recovered his stolen bike.)

However, the event needs to be current. So if you are unlucky enough to have your bike stolen in the next few weeks (what a horrible thought!) then keep in mind John Owens from RDF Television, the company producing the show. You can get in touch with him here: john.owens@rdftelevision.com

The show will also be looking at different methods the public can protect their bikes with GPS trackers and so forth. The producer also seemed interested especially in the police response as it seems to be a crime that receives little to no attention.

I’m pretty excited to see it on TV so keep John’s contact details in mind.

The post New channel 4 documentary is looking for someone who’s just had their bike stolen appeared first on London Cyclist Blog.

As a regular reviewer of cycling kit, I know it doesn’t always come cheap – so I’m willing to bet that the chance to win a £500 worth of Wiggle vouchers will spark your interest.

I have joined forces with eHarmony, the specialists in London Dating, to offer this great prize. With summer coming, cycling is a perfect way to spend some quality outdoor time with your favourite people, and eHarmony are all about making and growing great connections. Their approach to online dating means they understand what makes you unique and who you’ll click with – go to www.eharmony.co.uk to find out more.

So whether you’re a planning a bike-based city date, looking for a new machine or teaching your kids how to love bikes like you do, £500 will definitely come in handy. If you need inspiration, check out my helmet camera roundup here, my cycling jacket guide here and my advice on bike locks here.

There are lots of entry methods to choose from and each one gives you another chance to win! So if you complete all 5 then we will put your name in the hat 5 times.

Leave an individual comment below for each entry method that you do.

Clarification: If you choose to enter using for example a Tweet then copy and paste your tweet in to a comment below (With a link to the tweet). If you like the page then say “I’ve liked the London Cyclist page on Facebook” in a separate comment. Etc.

Tweet this message “The guys at @eHarmonyUK and @LondonCyclist are giving away £500 of @wigglebikeshop vouchers! http://goo.gl/YRT1a”

Follow @eHarmonyUK on twitter

Like eHarmony UK on Facebook

Circle eHarmony UK on Google+

Follow @LondonCyclist on Twitter

Terms & Conditions

• The winner is randomly selected by the Random website.
• This giveaway is only open to residents of all countries that Wiggle delivers to.
• Entrants must be 18 years or older.
• All entries will be verified.

If the winner hasn’t replied within 2 weeks to the organiser’s email to receive his prize, a new winner will be randomly drawn.

The post £500 of Wiggle vouchers up for grabs – closed appeared first on London Cyclist Blog.

Merry Christmas to everyone who reads London Cyclist! I hope you’ve stuffed yourself with food and had a great day with family and friends.

It’s a strange little English tradition that on Boxing Day we like to head out for a walk. Of course, this is London Cyclist, so walking is out the question! Instead, how about going on an awesome bike ride with your family or friends?

I’d like to send you seven awesome routes in and around London for free. To receive them, all you need to do is enter your first name and email in the box below:

I’ll then send you a link to download the routes. You’ll also receive the London Cyclist Newsletter once a week. If you’d like to stop receiving it, you can do so at any time and your email is never shared with anyone.

Important Note: If you are already subscribed to the newsletter you should see a copy of the 7 routes in your inbox already!

The routes that are included are:

Tower Bridge to Greenwich Park: If a friend visits me in London and is up for a little cycling I love to take them on this route. It follows a quiet route to Canary Wharf and then crosses under the Thames using the Greenwich Foot Tunnel. A remarkable sight in itself. On the other side there’s time to explore Greenwich Park before riding back for a nice meal with a view of Tower Bridge.

Quirky London: A great ride that takes you all around the centre of London. A good one for those who want to step away from the typical cliché tourist spots!

Wandle trail: A ride for all ages following the river Wandle from Croydon to the Thames. On the way you visit numerous parks, attractions and welcoming pubs. The ride is well sign posted and the vast majority is traffic free.

Boris Bike Tour De Hyde Park: A ride for those who wish to try out the Boris cycle hire bikes and ride around the centre of London on a gentle, traffic free route. Great for families with young children!

Discovering Hampstead Heath: Another personal favourite of mine that visits tranquil spots around Hampstead Heath. You’ll discover a secluded pergola, the swimming ponds of Hampstead Heath and sweeping views over London.

Thames Path to Richmond: Take a trip to Europe’s largest urban park with excellent views along the way of the Thames.

Surrey Hills Road Loop: A 25 mile ride that proves why Surrey is so popular with road cyclists. The route passes three magnificent pubs and gives you sweeping views over this beautiful part of the UK.

To get a copy of the routes simply let me know to which email you’d like the routes sent to:

The post Christmas gift to London Cyclists appeared first on London Cyclist Blog.