Posts Tagged ‘ Bike to Work ’

1. Think about your route. This applies if you’re a complete novice, or a rider with tens of thousands of road miles on your pedals. I regularly ride into the centre of Newcastle, and part of the route is on a fast, three lane road with the national speed limit of 60mph. Yet just...
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I was at one of those breakfast networking meetings this morning, and got chatting to a woman who’s got some money to spend on the Bike To Work scheme. She lives about a five minute drive from work, and is looking for a bike that’s: Well within the Bike to Work price range. That probably...
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Not. What. You’d. Think. Bike to work - 14 miles each way in gusting cross-winds: Get changed into sensible clothes, and wonder up to my desk, where The Puppy slept last night: Wake myself up with a cup of coffee. Wake The Puppy up (just whisper the word w-a-l-k-i-e-s), and head off to visit clients. Arrive back at...
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The last three times I’ve ridden to work, something’s gone wrong: Fell off bike on black ice three weeks ago. Some beautiful road rash & bruising. Two weeks later I was healed enough to get back on that bike for the ~30 mile round trip. Four miles in, I realised that the roads were completely frozen...
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People on bikes Speed limit signs Otters Otters? Yep. That’s what I saw on the way into work today. Riding along the footpath next to the Spine Road over the river Blyth, I looked down into the water and thought there was a strange looking bit of log drifting past. Then I realised that this “log” had eyes, a...
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You know you’ve got a regular commuting route when you know every pothole along the way. You know them so well that even years after they’ve been repaired, you still subtly alter your course as you pass to kiss them gently on their lip with your tyres. Heck, you could probably do this with...
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Actually I’m not sure that I ever was, but today it took a new turn. First up a confession - I DIDN’T ride to work yesterday. I was woken up just before the alarm by sleet and hail battering our bedroom window. This had been forecast to stop in time for my trip in to...
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I think I’ve tracked down the culprit: Which contains . . . Clothes: Fleece Endura Humvee trousers. Look almost like regular trousers, but with far more pockets. Day-glo Nike Sphere base layer. It’s that time of year where it looks cold, then it’s not, and vice versa. Waterproofs: Altura over-shorts Maddison jacket Couple of plastic bags to protect the saddle &...
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Over at Eco-Velo, Alan is making the case for E-bikes as an introduction to the accessible benefits (and joys?) of two wheels over the illusory freedom of a four-wheeled metal cage: "In our view, e-bikes are all about accessibility , which is perfectly in line with our mission of getting people out of their cars...
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Socks? Yes - sporty towelling ones under a pair of close-knit synthetic ones. Gloves? Yes - track-mits for wrist comfort under a pair of skiing mittens. Jersey? Yes - an air-trapping base layer under a regular jersey. And a windstopper on top. Trousers? Yes - fleecy-lined leggings over cycling shorts. Underpants? No. Drat. Owing to that omission, I got...
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