A family of bikes...

Most of the bikes we pick up have a tale to tell or bear the marks of an experience or some adventure... I think children's bikes must bear more marks than most. The other day I was lucky enough to meet with a family of six who had asked me to recycle some of their bikes. Looking at them I was struck immediately by how clearly the bikes reflected the growth of their children, from first wheels (and the removal of stabilisers) to the independance of the big wheeled mountain bikes...brilliant

I thought this was great, I can still remember attempting my cycling proficiency- wobbling around the cones in the school playground...come to think of it I can't remember whether I passed or not!

How does he do that?.. Danny MacAskill

When I was alot younger my friends and I would gather on our bikes in the little park at the back of our houses. We'd construct ramps out of old bricks and bits of board that we'd found lying around and spend the afternoon taking turns to race off the end...hoping that we wouldn't be the one to fall off and embed six tons of gravel in our knees (which, with a sinkfull of dettol, our mums would have to carefully pick out later). Jumping off the top of that ramp felt like a real achievement, particularly on my mates grifter, which had 3 gears and weighed as much as a car. It's summers spent in the park falling off my bike that make me appreciate how amazing guys like Danny MacAskill are, someone showed me this video the other day and its blown me away- have a look and see what you think

Coventry Cyclist August update

There's very few good guides to what is going on locally. The best that I know of is the Coventry Cyclist put together by George Riches. It offers a monthly summary of everything cycling going on in and around Coventry. George has agreed to let me share a few bits on the Blog, but if you'd like your own full copy send him an email to: 

George.Riches@CoventryCyclist.org.uk

Coventry Cyclist- August 2012

WANTED! Volunteers for a 20's Plenty campaign for Coventry

 

Are you interested in contributing time to a campaign on 20mph speed limits without road humps? The 20's Plenty for Us campaign is the UK leader and is free to join. They have 146 Campaign groups across the country and support anyone who wants 20mph limits for their community.

20's plenty where people live  , Facebook group

Click on the links above for more information or ring/ email Anna Semlyen with any questions. anna.s@20splentyforus.org.uk 07572 120439

Job in Bike Shop

 

Trek Bikes are opening a shop in North Coventry (Gallagher Business Park).

Details

 

Sky Rides

 

"Sky Ride City" Traffic-free rides (closed roads, no traffic) at Birmingham & Leicester (other cities also). Birmingham Sunday 19th August, Leicester Sunday 26th August 2012. Website

It's a pity that we don't have one in Coventry!

Connect2Kenilworth Cycle/Pedestrian path

 

• Progress on the path between Warwick University and the Kenilworth Greenway 25/26 July 2012
• Route newsletter

Coventy Sport Survey

 

Bradley Wiggins wins the Tour de France and Gold at the Olympics. Will this bring a change in attitudes to cycling in Britain? Or are sports things you pay money to do in buildings?

See the council's Sports and Leisure Survey 2012 Why not a cycle path along the Sowe Valley? So that everyone can get a bit of cycling in and the sporty types can access the lanes of Warwickshire without braving heavy traffic.

Please complete the questionnaire no later than Friday 24 August 2012.

Happy Cycling!

George Riches,

Boris Bikes

A recent trip to London finally gave me the chance to have a sit on one of the Boris bikes. The bike hire scheme in London seems to have been amazingly successful- everywhere you go in London now there's someone nipping past on one...I wasn't brave enough to take a trip out -I was a little too easily distracted by the bright lights and big city to be safe. I understand the scheme is open to visitors in much the same way as Oyster cards for the underground are- so if you're feeling brave you can find out more about hiring a bike here

Having had a good sit on one now i'm not sure i'd want to spend a long time cycling one, they weigh a fair bit...somewhere around 23kg which (although great for toning flabby legs) is two and a half times the weight of the bike I ride most days- despite this, one was recently ridden the 450 miles from Newcastle back to London. There's some great blogs out there dedicated to a growing community of Boris bikers- you can join in here

London is a fantastic city for cycling and cyclists, it seems that everywhere you look there's an old moulton, a vintage tourer or a fab fixie resting casually against a railing...I'm popping back in a week or two so will try and get a few more pictures of the best.