Guest post by Chris Bean

They call it London-on-Sea, so it definitely fits on this blog. Right? Good. Biking in Brighton is, well, not that different from biking in London – there are potholes, buses, taxis and gormless pedestrians to keep you amused. The whole experience is however, distinctly provincial compared to riding around London, and it does have some lovely highs – riding along the coast with the sea to one side and gorgeous Hove buildings on t’other has a certain glorious buzz to it.

What’s it like down here for bikers, then? Pretty good! The weather’s surprisingly dry (this Kiwi can’t believe how little it rains down here – NZ’s green for a reason!) and bus drivers are trained to look out for us – let them out of a bus stop and you’ll get a thumbs-up. Taxis will pull impossible U-turns, just like anywhere, but they’re mostly modern vehicles, so at least they won’t gas you.

We’ve got a few segregated bike lanes, including one the Tory council tried to remove, and the country’s only Green MP! Yes indeed! Caroline Lucas hails from here, and she’s really keen on cycling. It’s a University town – students, being cheap, are keen riders.

Beware the biker that goes to the town centre: pedestrians in the Lanes are oblivious to all forms of traffic. I’ve had people carrying children step in front of me without a care in the world. How’s this different from normal pedestrians, you ask? Well, they do it to cars and buses too – walkers rule the Lanes, and that’s how it should be. I generally get off and walk if it’s busy. If you can’t beat’em, join’em.

If you fancy getting out of town, that’s easy too – there’s the Devil’s Dyke look-out, 40 minutes or so from Brighton Station up a gradual incline. From there, you can admire the view and explore the South Downs. Or you can tootle along the sea-front in either direction – east is best though, it’s more picturesque and there’s a cycle lane for miles.

As for bike shops, there’s Sydney Street bikes in the Centre, and the ‘golden tip’ is G-whizz cycles, open on Thursday, Friday, Saturday – he operates out of a garage and he’s a committed bike nut!

Finally, if you get stuck around Kemptown on a Friday or Saturday, the DIY guys at Cranks will be happy to help you out.

Cycling is basically the only way to get around Brighton and Hove – bring your bike next time you come down and get away from the centre’s crowds! Any of you Brightonians out there got some good tips or stories?

Image via raysto Flickr

In the busy city of London, it’s reassuring to discover peaceful retreats such as Hampstead Heath. It is an area with a distinct village feel to it. Which is all the more contrasting when you consider how near to central London you are. I was kicking myself that I didn’t include this very special ride in the first edition of the London Cycle Routes eBook. There’s so much to experience here. You’ll discover a secluded pergola, the swimming ponds of Hampstead Heath and sweeping views over London.

Riding the route

The London Overground provides bicycle friendly access to Hampstead. The ride starts just outside the station, in an area filled with small shops and excellent pubs. However, it’s best to leave any eating to the end of the ride as there’s a couple of big hills to tackle first.

After a short uphill section you reach Back Lane. Near here there are plenty of small boutiques specialising in everything from clothing to antiques. Continuing uphill you pass Hampstead Village and take a turn along back roads.

At the top of the hill you reach a small man-made pond. You really feel like you are at the top of London.

The next part of the ride takes you to the undiscovered Hampstead Pergola. You’ll find it by sneaking down Inverforth Close and keeping to the left. The garden is open until 6pm and the chances are you’ll be one of only a couple of visitors.

The Pergola started life as an private Edwardian venue for garden parties and evening strolls. It was acquired by the then London County Council in 1960 and has been open to the public since 1963.

Pickup your bike again and head downhill for a short exploration of the gorgeous houses in this expensive part of London. Pedalling back up, you reach Hampstead Lane and eventually join the cycle path.

Turning left you enter Hampstead Heath. The Heath incorporates hilly meadows, large open grassy spaces and woodland to create one of the most beautiful spots for cycling or walking in London. Cycling is permitted on a couple of designated routes through the park which are shared with walkers. The official speed limit is 8mph so make sure you keep your fingers on the brakes. After all, there’s no point speeding through such an extraordinarily beautiful area.

Follow the cycle route through the park and to the Highgate ponds. If you’ve packed your swimming costume then the men’s ponds are open for swimming on the right side of the route and the women’s are slightly further North. There’s also a mixed pond on the other side of Heath but this is only open in the summer.

Continuing, you exit the park briefly only to re-enter at Parliament Hill fields. If the sun is shining then this part of the route will undoubtedly be busy. There are some excellent activities in this area for kids which include the paddling pool.

You then pedal back to the station and take an optional detour uphill to Parliament Hill. This is one of the highest spots in London and provides splendid views.

How to follow this ride

This ride is part of the London Cycle Routes eBook. The eBook shows you around the best of London through 35 amazing rides. To download the Hampstead Heath sample ride follow the below link:

http://www.londoncyclist.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/hampstead-heath-cycle-route.pdf

See also:

• Swinley forest cycle route

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 and most of the time I’m wearing a suit jacket anyway.

However, my answer is a bit boring and I feel someone might have a better solution. E.g. Wrapping shirts around a book? Special bag for carrying shirts? Never taking shirts home and instead using a Drycleaner?

Fill me with shirt related wisdom in the comments!

I find London to be an infinitely interesting city and I still stumble across things such as The Giant Plug. The Man With A Moving Camera blog has many such interesting sights and I’m quite a fan of the fact an SLR camera isn’t being used to take the pictures. I’ve picked out a few of my favourites below:

Einstein riding his bike

A track standing Boris Biker

Please wait here until you are useful

Painted cars

Hippie van recovered from the canal

Graffiti

Checkout Man With A Moving Camera

“But what would mamma say if I risk life and death to cycle in San Francisco – Andreas you are crazy, I won’t do this!”

I reassured my Italian friend, who unfortunately doesn’t use the word Mamma or have a strong Italian accent.

“It will be perfectly safe and we won’t be cycling with traffic – trust me!”

The second part was a little white lie. Part of our route was to involve cycling on the road. However, as I was about to discover, in San Francisco drivers give you more than enough room.

On our second day in San Francisco I took a quick glance at my Lonely Planet and plotted our route. I then located a nearby bike rental from Avenue Cyclery, rented a couple of Trek bikes for around $40, grabbed a quick holiday snap and off we went!

Fortunately, my friend Rob, who hadn’t cycled in over 10 years, took to cycling like a duck to water. Truly a skill you never forget. On the first section of the route we were pedalling through Golden Gate Park on the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Despite being a fast and downhill ride through Golden Gate Park it took longer than expected proving my complete inability to estimate distances! What I realise now is that Golden Gate Park is actually 20% larger than Central Park at over 3 miles long. Of course, pedalling quickly through the park isn’t something you’ll want to do. It truly is a gorgeous green expanse that you can see why it was the scene of much of the hippie revolution during the Summer of Love.

At the end of the ride we reached the Pacific Ocean.

This is another beautiful spot to pose for a picture. However, we needed to return the bikes by six and was unsure of how long it would take to ride so we got moving. This time uphill towards Golden Gate Bridge.

To get there we followed the coast as much as we could and took routes using the El Camino del Mar trail. At points we had to dismount the bikes and carry them up stairs but we were rewarded with picturesque teasing views of Golden Gate Bridge along the way. 

Needless to say the coast line here is incredible. Whilst I saw the Grand Canyon and, to be honest, wasn’t overly enthused, I can easily say the coast on this side of San Francisco as well as along route 1 was something I couldn’t stop taking pictures of.

After we made our way through Lincoln Park we continued to pedal upwards, much to the dissatisfaction of my travelling buddy. This part of San Francisco must be one of the richest if the house fronts are anything to go by and the views the area provides. Pedalling here was a real pleasure.

Finally, we reached Golden Gate Bridge. Here, we had our first and fortunately only brush with the law during our trip. We tried to pedal on the side meant for pedestrians only and were promptly stopped by a police officer. She explained we were on the wrong side and using our heaviest of English accents we apologised and walked back to get to the left side of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Remember, our American cousins enjoy driving on the right side of the road so you’ll probably want to do the same when cycling.

The Golden Gate Bridge is an awe inspiring steel structure. Pedalling across it required a little cautiousness, as cyclists could often appear at high speeds. Just remember, if they shout “left” it means they are overtaking you on your left.

Reaching the other side you can then coast down a steep hill to head towards Sausalito. We took it in turns to overtake each other providing a Tour De France style commentary.

After a short ride we stopped off for food somewhere with a view of Angel Island and Alcatraz. Of course, the portions were huge and we were quickly getting used to reaching half way through a meal and being completely full.

If you’ve rented your bike from other vendors then there is the option of taking the ferry to return. However, our bike rental was on the other side of San Francisco so the ferry didn’t suit us. This is a personal preference as to which ride you want to try but I preferred choosing a route that starts off at Golden Gate Park.

After a short call to check in with the family. “Hey mom I’m in San Francisco! Yes, the weather is nice” and a long call by my Italian friend to his family (Italians love their families) we set off on the slow pedal back.

Unfortunately, this involved following largely the same ride we took before but we cut across 25th Avenue to get back a little faster. We didn’t really mind as the route was so beautiful.

We returned our bikes and I congratulated my mate on his pedalling skills, teased him at being scared of riding in traffic and grabbed a bus back to our hotel. This was easily one of my highlights of the 2 week trip.

If you’d like to do the same trip

• Tons of bike rental places in San Francisco but we used Avenue Cyclery
• I’ve posted up a rough map of our route below
• For flight comparison my secret weapon is momondo.com which always beats the price of Expedia etc
• We found the Best Western Hotels offer good value for money
• Temperatures in San Francisco vary wildly so pack a warm top

View Golden Gate Park over Golden Gate Bridge by Bike in a larger map

May I take this opportunity to also say thank you to the people who emailed me with local tips and advice on San Francisco and the west coast in general. It is hugely appreciated and you made a big difference to my trip!

If you don’t fancy travelling 5500 miles for this bike ride then why not try one of my 30 London bike rides in London.

See also:

• 30 London bike rides to try this weekend
• 10 lessons learnt from cycle commuting for a year
• East London bike ride
• Bicycle rental in London

I’ve helped a few of my friends start cycling in the past 12 months and I’ve been able to witness the sort of questions they’ve had. Sometimes it’s not so easy to follow up with the promise to yourself to start cycling to work so hopefully this guide will help out.

As always I hugely appreciate any Facebook “likes” which you can do with one click at the end of this post..

Buying a bike

Starting budget

How much do you have to spend? £500+ will get you a fairly good bike plus accessories. If you don’t have such a budget then you can start with something a little cheaper or buy second hand. Make sure you look further down this page for some money saving tips.

Good starter bikes around the £500 mark:

• Start cycling with a hybrid bike: I highly recommend the Marin range of bikes as they use good quality components that minimise time wasted on maintenance. I’ve always found them very speedy too! Cycle Surgery tend to stock them.
• Start cycling with a single speed: Charge do a well-regarded range of single speed bikes. If your route involves hills then be prepared for a steep boost to your fitness levels.
• Start cycling with a folding bike: The Brompton M3L for around £629 is a fantastic folding bikes that will give you many years of good service. It’s definitely on the higher end of a budget but putting that extra bit of cash in is worth it for such a reliable and fast folding bike.

What kind of cycling will you be doing?

The next question to ask yourself is what will I use the bike for? Here’s some quick benefits of each bike type:

• Hybrid – My bike of choice. A hybrid bike is a “best of both world’s” cross between a mountain bike and a road bike. It’s speedy but it can also take on potholes and win. I’ve done some pretty extreme mountain biking and road biking with my Hybrid and it has faired well with both. It also typically features all the bolts needed for adding attachments such as panniers.
• Dutch – These stylish bikes are designed for city use and are a good choice for when you start cycling. The bicycle chain is often enclosed in a case to prevent getting your trousers or skirt stuck. They sometimes have a step over frame to allow for quick hoping on and off the bike without swinging your leg round like you are practising a kung fu kick. They are also often hub geared lowering the maintenance cost. The frames tend to be a little on the heavy side making them difficult to haul up and down stairs and a little slower to ride.
• Road – Featuring a thin frame, narrow wheels and drop handlebars. They are built for speed and for longer rides thanks to their dynamic and comfortable design. They are good for racing and can be used for commuting. Although the thin wheels can be a disadvantage if you ever need to do any off-road riding and encounter potholes.
• Single speed/fixed –a similar design to road bikes with a distinguishing feature of only having one speed. They are favoured for their minimalist design and low maintenance. The single gear can pose some problems if cycling up a lot of hills.
• Mountain – if you start cycling with a mountain bike, like many people do, you may be put off by the slow speeds. A mountain bike has thick wheels and a sturdy frame. Fantastic for off-road terrain but not that great for riding on roads. Touring – similar to road bikes but with slightly thicker wheels and space to fit multiple pannier racks. These are built for very long rides lasting weeks or months where you need to carry your supplies with you.
• Folding – whilst wrongly occasionally scoffed at by other commuters folding bikes have some major advantages. Without compromising too much on speed they can fit anywhere. It’s perfect if your commute involves sections in trains and if you are tight on space at home or have a fear of leaving your bike outside. With a little bit of practise a folding bike can be unfolded in a matter of seconds.
• Electric – Whilst often more expensive electric bikes are a great way to start cycling especially if you are put off by the amount of pedalling required.

What frame size?

When thinking about how to start cycling you’ll inevitably want to think about what size bike you’ll need. This is where a test ride comes in useful to see how the bike feels. Evans Cycles have a good page on bike sizing.

At a basic level your bike should be setup so that when your leg is fully stretched out the knee is only very slightly bent.

A note on buying online

You should check when buying online how much work you’ll have to do to assemble the bike when it arrives.

Saving money when you first start cycling

When thinking about how to start cycling you should definitely consider a few of these money saving tips. The first is taking advantage of the cycle to work scheme. Check if your company supports the scheme and if they don’t bug them until they do!

The second is to remember that companies, such as Evans Cycles, will price match. Therefore check bicycle prices online and in other stores and they’ll match it.

The third is to look for the bike in last years model. Often this will save £100+.

Finally, don’t forget to do a bit of negotiating. Most bike shops can’t drop the price of a bike by much but they can throw in a few of the accessories.

How to start cycling on busy roads

One of the main fears people have when they start cycling is how they’ll cope in busy traffic. The single best thing you can do to combat this fear is to undertake cycle training.

Now, the words cycle training may bring up images in your mind of the sort of big group training you had at school. That’s far from the truth. Cycle training is a one on one course that is often subsidised by local councils. You learn how to take the correct position on the road to prevent cars from closely overtaking you. You also hugely boost your confidence by learning techniques such as creating eye contact between you and the driver.

To get started speak to your local cycling campaign or local council about sessions available.

See also: 7 mistakes you are making with your cycling and how to correct them

What cycling gear do I need to start cycling

You only need the basics to get started. A good bike lock (Kryptonite New York 3000) and a secondary lock are fairly essential. If you are cycling in the dark then a pair of bike lights is a necessary purchase.

As your cycling progresses a cycling jacket and various gear to help you with the maintenance can come in handy.

See also: Cycling gear

How to start cycling to work for the first time

It’s a good idea to do a test run of the ride into work. That will help you estimate how long it will take and prevent you getting horribly lost. A great website I recommend is Cycle Streets. They have a tool which will plot your route using cycling friendly roads.

How to safety check your bike

A quick check involves: tyres are fully inflated (shouldn’t be able to press them in), brakes should stop the bike quickly and there’s no loose parts or unfastened quick release levers.

One important thing I nearly missed..

Bicycle insurance – a boring thing to consider when you are getting excited about how to start cycling but non the less a good idea if you are buying an expensive bike that will be left unattended often.

See also: Bicycle insurance

Any questions about getting started with cycling?
Ask in the comments below

When I first started living here I mixed things up and chose between the different rides. However, as it became clear the fastest route was the first one down the A-road I’ve been using it almost exclusively.

It would be the same thing if I was commuting to Canary Wharf. From where I live you could actually do 70% of the ride traffic-free. You’d simply hop on the canal at the nearest opportunity and follow it all the way down to the Limehouse Basin.

The question is: What do you prefer? The most direct and often busiest route or the quietest route? Or do you balance the two?

I’m going to hazard a guess here and say most people opt for the most direct route that tends to be the fastest.

Your answers on a postcard please… (i.e. in the comments below)

See also:

• London cycle routes eBook
• Helmet cameras for safety or pleasure
• Which pedals do you recommend for commuting?

Electric bikes are out in force

A number of manufacturers are keen to jump on-board the electric bike market. One that is generally targeted at non-cyclists rather than people who are quite happy getting the pedal powered exercise.

Of particular interest was Spencer Ivy who have two bikes on display: Spencer and Ivy. A male and a female version. The electric bikes have an impressive 50 mile battery range and look stunning. Both bikes are designed to be very functional with classic features such as a bike rack, chain cage and low maintenance components. All common place in similar Dutch style bikes. As I trotted over I noticed there was particular interest from the guys at Future Publishing who run a load of popular cycling mags.

As IVY said himself the bikes will appeal to commuters, busy moms and over 50’s. If you fall into any of those categories swing by on the far left of the cycle show to check them out.

Enter competitions, try free samples and watch people do stunning things on their bikes

This is generally the idea of the show. I was told in particular some of the energy bars really did give you a rather extreme boost. Try them out!

Recording your bike commute or downhill action

One particular cycle show stand that caught my eye is this Muvi range of cameras. Priced generally at an affordable -ish £75+ these mini cameras can easily clip onto your shirt or be mounted to your handlebars. They’ll definitely be of interest to people recording their commute for security purposes of which a couple have emailed me recently.

I Bike London, Cyclodelik and fashionable cycling clothes

Towards the back of the show to the left there is plenty of excellent cycling clothing on show. The stuff by I Bike London and Spokeshirts make a good and sometimes humorous purchase. Of course while you’re there don’t forget to checkout the Cyclodelik range by Amy.

Topeak with a good new commuter range

A popular brand with commuters is Topeak and they’ve got their new 2011 range on the way to bike shops. To get a bit of a preview head to their stand.

Tracking your cycling

Of course Garmin were present to display their latest Garmin 800 which was receiving a thorough amount of interest. However, these newbies to the cycle tracking game caught my eye. O_synce do an impressively easy to configure set of bike computers. You simply plug the computer into your USB and can upload all your data. The company is also teamed up with a training partner who can provide you a training plan based on your workouts.

If you’re heading there over the next few days I’d love to hear what caught your eye…

Lately London Cycle Cafes have been getting a lot of exposure. Whether that be the Evening Standard, Time Magazine, Timeout, Bike Hugger or the Financial Times. Therefore, I thought now may be a good time to actually take a better look at some of them.

Look Mum No Hands Cycle Cafe

Where? 49 Old Street, EC1V 9HX www.lookmumnohands.com

Quickly becoming London’s most popular meeting point for cyclists this great cafe provides a workshop where you can work on your bike yourself or hand it over to a mechanic, delicious meals and a great place to relax with a coffee. Closes at 10pm.

MiCycle

Where? 47 Barnsbury Street, N1 1TP www.micycle.org.uk

MiCycle is a very recent addition to London and it provides far more than a bike shop. It is also a place to borrow tools to work on your bike, grab a coffee and take part in cycling classes.

CycleLab Juice Bar

Where? 18A Pitfield Street, N1 6EY www.cyclelab.co.uk

London Cycle Chic recently highly recommended the service she had on her bike at CycleLab. The juice bar is a great addition.

Ralpha Cycle Club

Where? 146 Clerkenwell Road, EC1 5DG www.rapha.cc/london

Only open until the 31st of July the Ralpha Cycle Club provides a gallery, shop and cafe.

Lock 7 Cycle Cafe

Where? 129 Pritchards Road, E2 9AP

Perhaps London’s oldest “cycle cafe” Lock 7 provides everything you would expect from a cycle cafe. It is a great place to get your bike tuned up, find a second hand bike and rent a bike or a tandem.

FullCity Cycle Cafe

Where? 72 Leather Lane, E1

Petite cycle cafe and workshop down Leather Lane. Serves up £1 cups of Monmouth coffee!

See also:

• Foodnetwork.co.uk takes a thorough look at London cycle cafes
• 10 London Cycling Events you shouldn’t miss
• Hackney bicycle film society
• Why I love my local bike shop

https://cyclechallenge.tfl.gov.uk/team.php?team=346

Whenever you cycle in the month of June you log the miles onto the TfL cycle challenge website. This goes into a great big pool of miles for Team London Cyclist and we compete against others to have the most miles. There are various prizes up for grabs and according to Road.cc as a participant you also qualify for a free-two hour cycling training session. To claim this you need to call 020 7231 6005 or email bookings@cycletraining.co.uk and mention ‘London Cycle Challenge’.

I’ll be in charge of keeping the team motivated (you can call me Mr. Motivator) and if our team does well we can be as happy as the generic cyclists in this poster: