VeLo City

Leader bike

2012-01-13T20:05:00.001Z

Newly built bike. One tantrum (that lasted a day). No injuries.
Happy days

Friday 13th

2012-01-13T08:00:00.000Z

Hi kids, as it is friday the 13th, wear a helmet...just in case... even if you think, just like I do, that cycling is not a risky thing - i mean it is very unlikely that you will fall off your bike...unless of course you are hit or squashed by a lorry or a car, where you'll be pretty fucked up anyway... (cars and lorries are the risk not the cycling)...but anyway as it is Friday 13th... wear your helmet. Helmets are sexy!

photo by Siobhan

"I wear a helmet so you can drive like an idiot. And because it looks smart."

BCClettes

Dublin City

2011-12-12T22:26:00.006Z

Cycle rides, with Monthly Cycles Dublin: from Smithfield to St Stephens Green to the quays and back to Smithfield for mulled wine, wooly jumpers, Christmas markets, Guinness and chats. New Dublin discovery: Rothar Cafe

it's oh so quiet

2011-12-12T22:00:00.001Z

I've been relatively quiet, engrossed in converting a geared Dawes Mirage to a slick fixie; and when the job was done fixie and I took a trip to Dublin City. Aer Lingus was good enough for a careful transport of the bike for 32 pounds. Bikes need to be booked in advance and once this was done everything ran smoothly.

bye bye gears: old bits taken off the frame

Ai Weiwei: Forever Bicycles

2011-11-05T19:30:00.001Z

This is Ai Weiwei's new installation made from one thousand bicycles! The installation is part of the "Ai Weiwei Absent" exhibition, at the Taipei Fine Art Museum which runs until the 29th January.

Locking Updated

2011-11-05T18:49:00.002Z

Gone are the days when we could secure our bikes with one D-lock and a cable around the wheels - especially if you are in the Dalston (east London) area. Dalston, in the past year, has become quite known about its bike thieves. Just to make sure you are getting the point:
DO NOT USE CABLES / CABLE LOCKS ! The evil bike thieves just cut them, even on busy roads.

So, the best way to lock your bike in Dalston would be to use a good D-lock around a bike rack, the frame and the back wheel; and a different lock around the bike rack, the frame and front wheel. (and if you have a third lock, then throw it in the picture too, just for luck). Dalston sucks.

...And never lock on a pole....


do not lock on poles! no! bad idea!

Chick Flick: Bicycle Film Festival

2011-10-09T09:52:00.001+01:00

Today at the Bicycle Film Festival, as part of the "By Women About Women" programme we will be watching five short bicycle films including the five minute USA short film Chick Flick. This short features a weekend in the life of female BMX rider Natalie Wade in texas.

Chick Flick - official trailer from Natalie Wade on Vimeo.

Perfect Sense

2011-10-09T09:21:00.001+01:00

I was watching one of those TV programmes about films the other night, and spotted a gorgeous fixie in the trailer for "Perfect Sense" starring Ewan McGregor. Apparently the fixie is from Tokyo Fixed Gear.
Here is the trailer with Ewan McGregor on the bike at 1:15 (look at that gorgeous smile)...

oh! look at that lovely bike in the background!

Fatal Accident

2011-10-04T18:27:00.000+01:00

Min Joo Lee, 24 year old fashion student, is the the 13th cyclist killed in London this year. Min Joo Lee was crushed under a HGV yesterday outside King's Cross station.

Too many cyclists are being killed each year by lorries on the streets of London.

Something has got to be done.

Please, take a moment to recognize HGV's blind spots. and never ever cycle next to the lorry. If you stop infront of a lorry at the traffic lights always leave a gap of at least 3 meters.

London's Calling 4

2011-09-26T09:27:00.003+01:00

Every year a bunch of bicycle messengers hang out in London causing more chaos than usual. This year, with a post-apocalyptic theme, London's Calling 4, brought ally cat races, a sprint competition (that resulted in a guy losing half of his face after it scraped the ground *ouch*, a skid competition, track stands, Rollapaluza Roller-races, and *drum roll* tall bike jousting! This year, the contestants were slightly wiser and refrained from setting fire to the jousting sticks!

Jousting Knight down


Track Stand

Premium Rush - Movie Trailer

2011-09-20T21:26:00.004+01:00

ugh! looks abit stupid, but, here it is

Mylo - Sunworshipper

2011-09-20T20:10:00.001+01:00

Well just to solve all my problems to get out of drugs,

I've, I've had enough of that,

I've had the college,

I'd had the earning the money,

And the material trip,

I just decided I was going to find a new way of life,

And so I took off on my bicycle,

Peddling up highway one,

And found myself one day in Eureka California

Bicycle Film Festival 2011, London

2011-08-24T21:39:00.000+01:00

Bicycle Film Festival London, October 5-9, 2011
All film screenings: Barbican Centre, Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS

http://www.bicyclefilmfestival.com/london

ARTCRANK at Look Mum No Hands Cafe

2011-08-19T20:33:00.020+01:00

ARTCRANK was our excuse to visit Look Mum No Hands bicycle cafe (49 Old Street
London EC1V 9HX).

"ARTCRANK is a show of bicycle-inspired poster artwork that introduces people to talented local artists and sends them home with affordable, original works of art. Since its 2007 debut in Minneapolis, ARTCRANK has expanded to eight bike-friendly cities in the US and UK, including Portland, San Francisco, Denver and London. ARTCRANK uses creativity to change how people look at and think about bicycles, and grow the cycling community."

We started with some beer (just because the drawing reminded us of Luda)

This lady passed by - i had to snap a photo

The good, the badass and the ugly - London Riots

2011-08-11T22:23:00.006+01:00

Mark Duggan, a Tottenham local, was shot a week ago in Ferry Lane as police officers attempted to make an arrest. At the moment, there is no evidence of Mark Duggan shooting at the police, and the post-mortem tests found that he died from a single bullet wound to the chest, shot by the police. There are mixed stories about who Mark Duggan was: some stories portrait him as a crack-dealer gangster and other stories as a father of four who wanted to stay out of trouble.

Following this, London had days and nights of riots. Riots, that looked different from the usual protests of marching and banners, and from the riots that our fellow Athenians have made us accustomed to.

The London riots mostly consisted of teens and younger adults breaking windows of shops and stealing what they found inside: Chain stores like JD sports, Currys, and PoundShop (!) were targeted. We also saw videos of teens mugging teens, and an "accusation" from the public that these riots were based on greed and not politics. And yes, in a sense, these London riots felt different: we did not see the politically minded activists targeting police stations as a protest against the police killing a man and authoritarianism; and the targets were not simply against the big capitalist chain shops. But one, thing we cannot deny is that these London riots are political in their own way; they show us the poverty, the gaps within our society, the result of endless prejudice, of not fitting in. These, will result in gangs, in looting, in riots of this kind - because it makes you feel in control, it makes you be part of something, it brings results, and it brings a sense of achievement and revenge against what excluded you in the first place. And this is political.

"There  is nothing more dangerous than to build a society with a large segment  of people in that society who feel that they have no stake in it; who  feel that that have nothing to lose. People who have stake in their  society, protect that society, but when they don't have it, they  unconsciously want to destroy it."— Martin Luther King Jr.

'When  you cut facilities, slash jobs, abuse power, discriminate, drive people  into deeper poverty and shoot people dead whilst refusing to provide  answers or justice, the people will rise up and express their anger and  frustration if you refuse to hear their cries. A riot is the language of  the unheard.'

Now the interesting thing, to me, was people's reactions to the riots. I have heard friends saying bring back the curfews and bring the army in. Now, this is just a dumbass idea:

WHY CURFEWS AND RUBBER BULLETS ARE A DUMBASS IDEA:

If a local council introduces a curfew, then the police has powers to break up groups of kids and take anyone under 16 back to their homes or a safe place. Curfews can be introduced in areas where the police and the council agree that gangs have been hanging around and starting trouble or threatening people. Local councils can authorise the police to do this using powers from the 2003 Anti-Social Behaviour Act. The powers can last up to six months. After that, councils have to re-apply.

What makes me disagree with curfews is the power they can have over me and other "innocent" people - who gives anyone the right to tell me not to go to a place at a specific time. We have experienced the police abusing the Stop and Search power, quite a few times, already! Anti-war demonstrators have been filmed and searched by the police numerous times, unfairly and with no obvious reason - these searches felt to simply be a statement of police power; The last thing I really want is to be controlled with a curfew; No sir! i want to cycle to see my friends any time i want; i want to sit in a park and talk rubbish with them. This is not a crime. And curfews simply criminalize our existence of being in certain places at a certain time.

As for bringing in the army, the rubber/plastic bullets... well... No, thanks. Fighting violence with violence is just like fucking for virginity.

Besides, armies and curfews just oppress people. They will not solve the real issue.

THE FEAR

The other reaction was people cancelling plans and being fearful: Just like curfews, the fear becomes a barrier to doing what we usually do, and i found that annoying. So, i made the decision to continue doing what i usually do. The police nor the rioters can control me. No, sir!

THE UGLINESS OF THE WHOLE STORY

The thing that really worried me and upset me was the suffering that the whole situation brought to our cycling community. I mean, i don't care that much about a stolen pair of trainers from JD sports - these big unethical chains can certainly afford it and have already spread alot of evilness (sweat shop products and all the rest, so go on and fight them!), but it does break my heart hearing that one of the nicest bicycle stores was also attacked. Micycle, a friendly bicycle shop and cafe in Islington lost most of their stock:

A youtube video of the Looting at Micycle:

News also traveled fast, that cyclists were targeted in London Fields. Apparently cyclists were pushed off their bikes and mugged. An Evans bicycle shop was also broken into in Chalk Farm.

Unfortunately, the cycling communities were not the only "innocent" ones to suffer. The burning of PIAS distribution centre brought damages to indie music and film labels.

So, just to finish off, dear Rioters, please choose your targets wisely. Smash the system, Shut the City down, Mindfully Rebel.

Let the religious get religion, let consumers get a clue



Let scientists get perspective, let activists get their due



Let industry get a conscience, let the earth inherit the meek



Let the divinity of nature speak

- Ani Difranco

and for the final thought:

"I  love the way that we call people who break into chainstores 'looters',  yet the rest of us law abiding citizens get to loot the entire planet  and are deemed peaceful. Instead of H&M, read rainforests. Instead  of JD Sports, read oceans. Instead of Tesco, read soil. If you want to  see a looter, look within, we're all looters. Just some are culturally  normalised" ~ Mark Boyle

Coffee Ride in the City

2011-07-23T21:00:00.001+01:00

Coffee, cakes, bikes, art,friends and cider.
That sums up our city ride on 23rd July 2011.

damn right!

2011-07-17T12:42:00.000+01:00

Support LCC: tell the Mayor ‘face to face’ that he must grant Londoners the freedom to cycle and walk by making our streets safer

2011-06-22T22:13:00.005+01:00

http://www.flickr.com/photos/londoncyclingcampaign/

The London Cycling Campaign is focusing some of its efforts in making Blackfriars Bridge safer for cyclists and paedestrians by making it a 20mph zone. They have launched a photo petition, asking cyclists to post a photo of them to support their 20mph petition.

So show your support by sending your photo to the LCC in a blank email (blackfriars-photo@lcc.org.uk), with your caption in the subject line.

"This is your big chance to tell the Mayor ‘face to face’ that he must grant Londoners the freedom to cycle and walk by making our streets safer

This freedom starts with keeping Blackfriars Bridge 20mph, and means the Mayor taking on the traffic-management bureaucrats who sacrifice our safety to keep more cars moving faster."

our velocity gang supports LCC 20mph

The Deadly Nightshades: Fabric Bike

2011-06-21T23:17:00.001+01:00

FABRIC BIKE Trailer from The Deadly Nightshades on Vimeo.

The Deadly Nightshades is a Canadian all-girl midnight bike gang who also encourage ethical and sustainable design; they created a bicycle out of unconventional materials and filmed this 3 month project - their film is likely to be shown at this year's bicycle film festival! Check them out at http://nightshadesbikecrew.blogspot.com/

Two Degrees: Cycle Sunday

2011-06-12T22:42:00.104+01:00

On the 12th June, my buddies Dal and Simon and I hopped on our bikes to join Artsadmin’s Two Degrees festival: a fusion of art and activism, performance and protest, focusing on climate change and cuts.

Two Degrees 2011 - Trailer from this is tomorrow on Vimeo.

The festival included artist-led bicycle events like bike bingo, a graffiti tour of East London, a game of Capture the Flag and a mass community Tour de Dalston. As we were late (and that was all my fault) we were not able to join all the events; nevertheless we managed to customize our bikes with some wheel covers and join the "Legs 11: A Rolling Observational Bingo"

The House of Hot Breath led our journey of discovery with the help of transistor radios and bingo dabbers while we were directed to the clues within the journey itself: while cycling passed the canal, a man fished out a gigantic wooden number 4; outside a shop a man wrote a number 5 with soap on the window; from a warehouse window a woman shook a carpet (or was it a sheet) with the number 69; Our ride through and around Dalston lasted about an hour, and although we were in continuous rain we had a great time. The ride ended at the The Arcola Theatre with a cup of hot chocolate!

Transistors and bingo cards mounted on the bikes

"The aim is to illustrate what we gain by traveling by bicycle and how it is not only a healthier,
greener alternative, but it also opens our eyes to our environment and how we take on information
and inspiration from our surroundings." The House of Hot Breath

Love

2011-06-10T14:04:00.005+01:00

Temper Trap, "Love Lost" (Dougal Wilson) from Carlos Pedrosa on Vimeo.

This is how it feels when i cycle in the rain, early morning hours after seeing my best of friends; that enormous intense feeling of... well i am not quite sure what it is...maybe excitement but at the same time calmness, happiness, pure love, gratitude, not wanting it to end, soulful kind of emotion. I guess it has a touch of freedom and catharsis - to just be, listen, fool around, ride, sweat, laugh, hug, accept.

friends, music and bicycles

Stencils

2011-06-09T21:59:00.000+01:00

Relaxing; wine, friends and bike stencils

On our bikes

2011-06-02T11:09:00.003+01:00

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A series of spontaneous rides and general hanging out:

1st June: Not much convincing was needed from my gorgeous bicycle friends, to take the day off and ride around London city; with stops determined by art, good coffee and...a break to dry their clothes off after running into the fountain at Southbank. 1st June 2011 was the best Wednesday of my life.

30th May: our ride home at 3am after a wonderful party in Pimlico. Good times.

28th May: a ride in Hackney: London Fields, South Millfields, Victoria Park; with a stop at the pop up bar for Japanese beer and お好み焼き (Okonomiyaki).

Ride to Greenwich

2011-06-02T11:05:00.003+01:00

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A little video documenting our trip to Greenwich and park football! good times! :)

SAVE the Herne Hill Velodrome (Burbage Road, London, SE24 9H)

2011-06-01T08:42:00.000+01:00

Herne Hill Velodrome, built in 1891 is one of the oldest cycling tracks in the world. It hosted the 1948 Olympics, became the home of Crystal Palace Football Club during the World War I and continued through to the present time with cycling events for all in the community.

Structurally it is a shallow concrete bowl measuring approximately 450m with the steepest banking 30°. Unfortunately though it has not been well maintained, and although still in use it has deteriorated over the years and an insurance inspection due in March 2011 could force closure within a year. To Save the Velodrome, a campaign has bees set up to generate funds and support.

Join the campaign to save this amazing historical venue and promote cycling:

Facebook group
Twitter
Website

Things you can do right now to support the campaign:

Buy the stylish Condor Special Edition Caps from Condor stores, London
Sign the pledge here
Pledge money / time

Removing (and destroying a freewheel)

2011-05-23T23:13:00.002+01:00

Often freewheels on cheap mass-manufactured bicycles do not have notches and so do not allow a freewheel removal tool to engage. It is still possible to get the freewheel off. Doing so will, however, will destroy the freewheel in the process.

You will need:

A hammer!

A screw driver

A big wrench / fixed gear lockring wrench

Cycletta..bike buddies...and breaking down gender stereotypes...

2011-05-21T00:04:00.009+01:00

A few days ago, my facebook inbox revealed an exciting invite from Cycletta: a unique series of women-only, mass participation events, created to inspire more women to take up cycling. As Cycletta is being launched by Olympic Gold medalist Victoria Pendleton, my enthusiasm was hard to hide, especially as the invite included the words "you and a friend can have a media place on a 40 km bike ride and to prepare for it you can have advice from the Olympic Gold medalist!" The people who know me, know how much respect i have for athletes and also how excited i can be at everything bicycle related! So, i replied at once saying i was up to the challenge!

Today there was the first blogger's conference with Victoria Pendleton, which i missed due to work in the day time and due to meeting friends in the evening; no regrets though, as the evening was filled with tons and tons of love and bike talk. Although, not an Olympic medalist, my buddy Luda made me giggle with her passionate description of how she feels when she rides a bike, in order to encourage our other friend, Sule, who has just started to ride:

"you have to let your bike become part of your body. it feels like you are free, like you are flying."

The night continued with more talking about this amazing feeling of riding, being one with the bike; an extension of your body. I laughed until my face hurt at the "Just feel it between your legs" comment and i loved how much my buddies love the amazingness of cycling.

To get back to Cycletta, (the bike rides for women launched by Victoria Pendleton), there is one thing that makes me uncomfortable and i must admit has disappointed me: the attempt to encourage women to cycle by feme-ing it up, with talk about make-up, lipsticks and hair dos and the “helmet hair remedy centres (these facilities may come at an additional charge)” that the Cycletta rides promise...we are girls too but right now we do not care about helmet hair - we are proud of our helmet hair, our chain-oil marks that the bike leaves on our legs at clumsy moments; because what we love is the feeling of freedom and the feeling of unity, urban cycling has given us. I really wish Victoria Pendleton did not feel the need that the way to promote cycling was to focus on the stereotype of "feminine" or the stereotype of "beauty" and tapped in the uniqueness of that cycling feeling instead.

I still have respect for women athletes, whether they feme it up(not so much respect when they become tools of sexism) but i find my friend's words on why she loves cycling much more inspiring. So, my dear readers, whoever you are, whether you are a tomboy or a lipstick feme, give cycling a go, and lets try to not create barriers between us with silly stereotypes or being part of sexist magazines. Just remember the cycling feeling of freedom and that strong sense of community that urban cycling has given us.

Happy cycling! (Luda, do not forget your bike lights. And Sule, just remember: think of the bike as part of you and enjoy the feeling of freedom. Nes, keep on the bike love and standing up for feminism - you 3 are my top cyclists, especially Sule)

And... LET'S GO ON A BIKE RIDE AND LEAVE GENDER STEREOTYPES ASIDE...

London Cycle Challenge is back: 18th June to 15th July

2011-05-18T23:03:00.003+01:00

Last year ten of us formed a team for the Cycle Challenge, a competition to see which team can cycle the most miles in a month. We reached the 3rd place, with 2926.38 points.

Our team, Velocity, was:
- Sandra who finished first with 423.51 points, followed by
- Io with 404.35 points
- KElliot with 369.96 points
- Sefeen with 360 points
- Mordecai with 348 points
- Maryanne who reached the Elite badge
- Mmetracyt who reached the Cycle Champion badge
- MizFitz also with Cycle Champion Badge
- Helen with Cycle Champion Badge
- Daritius who reached the Cycle Star Badge

This year, registration has already started at https://cyclechallenge.tfl.gov.uk/ and we are of course competing by logging our cycling miles between 18th June and 15th July ; any excuse for friendly rides, and general hanging out in a bike gang! Sandra is back on the bike and already has registered, same goes for KElliot, Mordecai, Helen and Daritius. Join us! The team is called VeloCity

Friends & bikes in Diva magazine

2011-05-18T21:19:00.002+01:00

Check out DIVA magazine (June 2011) "for a few foxy bike chicks" telling us why they love their bikes (and clothes)... photos were taken by the lovely fixie chick, Sandra Le.

Best Song to Cycle To! even better if you are cycling with a group of friends!

2011-05-18T19:42:00.000+01:00

Wallis Bird video clip! It features a bicycle and a speech bubble saying "life is great" and therefore i judge it appropriate for this group! Enjoy my fellow cyclists!

Tip! electrical tape as temporary rim tape

2011-05-10T23:01:00.003+01:00

If the inner part of the rim where the inner tube fits has spoke holes (like in the first photo), they must be covered by a rim tape (photo 2), usually rubber, cloth, or tough plastic, to protect the inner tube. Otherwise it may puncture. You probably already knew that; the tip is that if you don't have rim tape then a good solution is to use electrical tape (photo 3). Use around 3 layers and it should do you a good job.

applying electrical tape

Zero Longitude: 7th May 2011

2011-05-07T21:36:00.002+01:00

7th May: Our bike gang of 7 headed to Greenwich for a chilled out ride along the river and through my favorite foot tunnel :-) to laze in the park, browse the market and play football.

ugh!

2011-04-24T18:01:00.000+01:00

To cheer me up during my 4 hour flight home, i bought me a copy of Cycling Plus magazine, which came with an additional "Ride to Work" guide. The guide started with a "What Bike" section and under this, "Fixed" was mentioned. I smiled, but unfortunately the smile was soon wiped off. Firstly, the picture that accompanied the Fixed gear column, was of someone riding a bike that i am pretty sure is not fixed - with three cables coming from the handlebars, come on! i bet you one of those is for gears huh?

The article went on to explain that "a true fixie has no freewheel". Duh! well, if it has a freewheel then it is not a fixie. That's what defines it so why the need for the word "true" FFS! As you see i was getting more and more grumpy reading this. Then, the cherry on top, Create is mentioned as a budget fixie example at £299; which is a bit of a shame, cos for 50 pounds more they could have mentioned a much better quality fixie than Create.

Obviously, the fact that the only photo featuring a woman riding was of a roadster bike, made me put the magazine away. Why, oh why!

...

2011-04-05T22:19:00.004+01:00

Unfortunately another cyclist was killed from a lorry. The accident happened on 5th April 2011 at the junction of Camden Road and St Pancras Way, London. The cyclist was treated for her injuries at the bicycle accident scene but died there. The driver was arrested.

The Counter

2011-03-30T12:50:00.004+01:00

Three of my favorite things combined (bicycles, coffee and friends) have led to discovering one of the loveliest cafes in London. Slightly off the usual track, The Counter Cafe on Roach Road, Hackney Wick (E3 2PA) makes good coffee and damn good breakfast too - and it is bicycle friendly! Worth a visit!

The legendary veggie breakfast! Beautiful!

Cycle chats through Victoria Park, just a few minutes away from the cafe

Slightly lost, ending up on a big motorway

See Me Save Me: eliminating HGV's blind spots

2011-03-15T07:56:00.002Z

371 Members of the European Parliament have signed the declaration to make it mandatory for HGVs to be fitted with sensors, cameras and lane departure warning systems to eliminate blind spots.This means that the European Commission will now bring proposals responding to the Declaration.

The campaign was launched by the friends and family of Eilidh Cairns, 30, who was killed in a collision with a truck at Notting Hill gate in 2009.

Kate Cairns, Eilidh's sister, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, on 'See Me Save Me'.
16/02/11

Films at Look Mum No Hands

2011-03-14T23:56:00.002Z

Twenty three short films; fifiteen minute break; followed by another fifteen short films. This was tonight's event at Look Mum No Hands (bicycle cafe on Old Street, London), hosted by the Hackney Bicycle Film Society. The films featured alleycats, mountain biking, bike fashion, personal stories, fixies, communters...everything bicycle.

Juliet in Ireland from Charge Bikes on Vimeo.

Adore & Endure Each Other

2011-02-26T11:02:00.009Z

Village Underground, Great Eastern Street, London

A Love Letter To You: is Steve Powers' series of positive uplifting messages of love and community spirit within the city. His murals are found in Philadelphia, but we have been lucky enough to have a Love Letter from him here in London; "Adore and Endure Each Other" stands above Great Eastern Street; a street i do not particularly enjoy riding especially during peak traffic times: it's simply too narrow and too busy - no gaps to go through; every time i ride up and down that road, i look up, see the Love Letter; i breathe in and smile adoring and enduring my fellow commuters.

On 24th February i snapped a photo of "Adore & Endure Each Other" before continuing my morning trip to work; i followed my usual route to Old Street, only to be diverted as the road was blocked by police. Soon, i found out that another road accident had occurred: A female cyclist and a lorry. By 10:30 am the newspaper titles emerged:

"Cyclist critical after collision with lorry at Old Street roundabout"

Only a couple of weeks ago, Mark, from I Bike London, blogged that a male cyclist in his 20s died in Homerton Hospital, Hackney, on Friday 4th Feb after being struck by a left turning lorry on the Kingsland Road / Dalston Junction on Wednesday.

Both accidents are too near home. These are our streets that take us to work every day; that take us to our favourite club nights and to our dearest friends' homes. We sometimes walk them, drive them but mostly ride them. We do not own them but we have to keep them safe for all users.

The family and friends of Eilidh (a cyclist who was run over by a truck two years ago) are campaigning to get an EU declaration signed to get HGVs fitted with sensors and cameras to remove their blind spot. Please join the campaign here:

http://www.eilidhcairns.com/campaign/

and please, if you are a cyclist or a driver take a few minutes to look at this:

Lorry Blind Spots

... and promise me you will adore & endure each other...

Safe cycling

image taken from http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/14799.aspx

Bike Love

2011-02-23T20:30:00.002Z

love it.

When we are together.

Indoors. Safe. You wait for me.

And we ride in the early morning, home.

Resistance Gallery, London

Pie and Mash shop, London

At Home. With friends.

Life Cycles

2011-01-19T20:52:00.001Z

Life Cylces featured at the Banff Mountain Film Festival 2011; beautifully filmed

Bicycles and Trolleys: Photos from Dubai

2010-12-30T20:39:00.001Z

Holloway Road, London N7

2010-12-20T21:13:00.000Z

So this appeared today on Holloway Road.

Snow Rides

2010-12-02T19:44:00.006Z

Today, i had one of the most wonderful cycle rides: the views were amazing, the traffic was not that bad, and the drivers were amazingly polite and careful: it seems like the snow had some good impact!

Although, slightly reluctant to ride fixed in the snow, i prepared myself this morning to ride to work as i could not bare the crowded tube or yucky buses. And, it was the perfect choice; once in gloves and waterproofs the journey was great and here are my tips for riding in the snow:

TYRES
- if you have the option choose some thicker tyres with tread (don't be a mindless hipster)! Mountain bikes come in handy in these conditions!
- Let some air out of your tyres; they'll hold better with that better grip
RIDING STYLE
- resist turning by leaning sideways! turn corners by turning the handlebars but keep away from sudden handlebar steering. Use your hips to direct the turn
- make eye contact with drivers and let them know if you need space
- use hand signals
- ride slowly
- stop slowly and in a straight line
WHICH ROADS
- Avoid ice! Snow turning to slush is manageable - Ice is not!
- i chose main roads today as they were less icy
- don't ride on the edge of the roads as they tend to be more icy
SAFETY
- wear a helmet and hat underneath to keep you warm!
- use your lights
- check your brakes
- be aware of your mudguards as they may clog up snow! Might be better to ride with no mudguards; just use some waterproofs instead
CLOTHING
- thick gloves
- hat that covers your ears and still allows you to wear a helmet
- buff for your neck
- thin merino base layer, a hoody and a waterproof
- long socks, jeans and waterproof trousers
- warm shoes with a bit of a grip

Enjoy the ride!

Hackney’s Cycle Crime Unit

2010-11-05T09:31:00.003Z

The recently formed Hackney’s Cycle Crime Unit is made up of PC Maz Lovegrove and PC Nicola Irvine. The unit is dedicated in reuniting bicycles with their legal owners and preventing bike theft and vandalism in Hackney and also a working with local cycle shops to encourage them to register cycle frame numbers at the time of purchase.

The Unit is already a success. According to reports their proactive operations include recovering nine bicycles worth £6000.

if you need to contact Hackney’s Cycle Crime Unit the email address is:

hackneycyclecrimeunit@met.pnn.police.uk

A lovely local resident has commented that she is "cautiously optimistic...at the very least, we'll be looked after by Maz Lovegrove, whose fabulous name will console us in our bike-theft induced grief"

We are more than happy that at least now there are some dedicated people to help out with reuniting our lovely two-wheeled friends with their owners. Thanks PC Maz Lovegrove and PC Nicola Irvine.

Urban Shorts at the Bicycle Film Festival

2010-10-17T01:11:00.005+01:00

My buddy Claire, her friend and I, headed down to the Barbican to watch the Urban Shorts tonight. The audience was friendly and funny (joking between the films creating a lovely community atmosphere) - the girl at the stall even friendlier (thanks for the stickers and bracelet) and the films a combination of the lives of messengers, long rides pushing cyclists to their limits, bicycle tricks and lots of humor!We also had the chance to see the overly blink Swarovski bike (photos above).

Erik Elstran's Dragon Shredit (internet edition) from North of Ten on Vimeo.

	ERIK ELSTRAN’S DRAGON SHREDIT USA 2010 \| HD 4 min Dir. Erik Elstran This dragon rides a bike! This was one of my favorites! This boy rode a bike as if it was simply an extension of his body - and it was cleverly funny too.
	TOKYO TO OSAKA USA, JAPAN 2010 \| HD 13 MIN Dir. Nic Hill Twelve amateur American fixed gear cyclists and their 400-mile journey through the Japanese countryside. The Americans were accompanied by a local cyclist for the beginning of the trip - his story almost triggered a tear.
	TOKYO JITENSHA USA, JAPAN 2009 \| DIGITAL SLR 1 MIN Dir. Steven Day Bicycling through the city at the speed of light.
	BUILT USA 2010 \| HD 4 MIN Dir. Sara Kinney A conversation with the frame builder Lance Mercado of Squarebuilt. Building custom bicycles with precision.
	COURIER EFFECT GERMANY, FRANCE, SPAIN 2009 \| MINI DV 10MIN. Dir. Andrew Crighton Portraits of bicycle messenger family members from Barcelona to Paris to Berlin.
	GRIME PRESENTS USA 2010 \| HD 7 MIN Dir. Mike Schmitt & Ed Laforte Two of the most talented street riders today, Mike Schmitt and WONKA kill it like no others in the world. Boys!
	DAY LABOR USA 2010 \| HD 10 MIN Dir. Brendan O’Neill Kohl & Minka Farthing-Kohl A short film about bike messengers, day laborers and outsourcing gone wild. This was quite funny; and at the same time not
	MINI VELODROME DE BORDEAUX FRANCE 2010 \| HD 3MIN Dir. Fontas Niko A glimpse into a French velodrome through a tilt-shift lens yielding beautifully mesmerizing effects. I loved this. Very trippy and indeed mesmerizing.
	BUSHVELD BIKE MESSENGER SOUTH AFRICA 2009 \| HD 5 MIN Dir. Boyd Varty Nothing, not even elephants, giraffes, rhinos or wildebeasts can stop the Bushveld bike messenger from making his delivery. Another funny film
	WE'VE GOT IT ON TAPE UK 2010 DVCPRO HD 5min. Dir. Brendan McNamee Brendan is recorded playing "solo polo" with microphones all over his body, bike and mallet. A soundscape of bike polo in action.
	LUCAS BRUNELLE LINE OF SIGHT USA 2010 \| HD/16MM 30MIN Dir. Benny Zenga & Lucas Brunelle Lucas Brunelle travels the globe documenting alleycat races and every year he presents a new film at the BFF. This year for our tenth anniversary Lucas teams up with Benny Zenga to produce a film that takes it to another level. Lucas is the undisputed master of documenting alleycats. From the vantage point of his custom helmet-cam his footage serves as insight into the best urban riders in the world in their natural element. Now Benny Zenga turns the camera back on Lucas Brunelle to bring a new dimension to this rare talent and ‘international man of mystery.’

A Visual Ride - Bicycle Photography at Look Mum No Hands

2010-10-16T09:15:00.001+01:00

Photomonth is a celebration of photography including over 200 exhibitions and events in East London.

I went to Look Mum No Hands, to check out Diego Marando's photography under the title A Visual Ride. The photographs, some taken at Critical Mass in London, some at the backstreets of Copenhagen and the bridges of Amsterdam, gave out the sense of freedom, playfulness and independence. (i know you maybe thinking put a bike in a photo and give me good coffee and i will be happy, which may be true, but a trip to Look Mum No Hands for the Visual Ride is worth it!) Joyful photos, great cafe, amazing coffee and plenty of bicycle goodness.

A Visual Ride exhibition is at Look Mum No Hands on 15 Oct - 31 Oct 2010

Look Mum No Hands 49 Old Street London , EC1V 9HX
Opening Hours
Mon-Fri 7.30am-10pm
Sat 9am-10pm
Sun 10am-10pm

Dick And Fanny Club Night (London)

2010-10-10T03:30:00.004+01:00

9th October 2010: My first time at Dick and Fanny, the quarterly club night here in London City! And what an amazing club night: friendly people, great music and also... bicycle safety conscious! The crowd was welcomed by two beautiful people accessorized with a bicycle helmet, lights and a lock too! (Occasionally reminding us while queuing to get in: "tonight it's all about safety" and of course partying; And i did have my helmet too, as riding IS the easiest way to get around London.

I arrived at around midnight, (after a drink and wiggle at The Book Club for my buddy's Claire's birthday). I was greeted by a queue (which i became part of for about forty minutes )-So people get there early- I then switched queues to the guest list queue (hooray!) and was soon inside with a Tiger beer in hand. The music was excellent and certainly danceable with a good selection of Hi NRG, a mix of classic house and techno! The venue could have been bigger: The Star of Bethnal Green was packed, but surprisingly still remained pleasant!

Excellent night and my only advice to you is go early to avoid disappointment..and kids, wear your helmet and use your lights at night!

details on Dick And Fanny:
Blog
Twitter

Abus Granit Mini Futura

2010-09-23T21:14:00.002+01:00

I am so excited with this bike lock, that obviously i had to blog about it and share this find with you!

I bought the Abus Granit Mini Futura as a 2nd lock for my bike. It is extra extra light (less than 900 grams) which is great. Its maximum Abus Level System is 11 (that's the company’s own security rating system, which does not mean much to me); Sold Secure Rating: Silver, which is not that bad for a second lock right? The other thing i like about this lock is its length: just 15 cm long.

The downside is that it is a little narrow; with 67mm width it is hard to secure the frame and wheel to a bike rack. (would have been perfect if it was slightly wider).

£54.99 from Evans

£49.99 from Bike Plus

SkyRide

2010-09-05T23:57:00.004+01:00

This year's London Skyride consisted of a 15km car-free route from Tower of London to Buckingham Palace via the City of London and St Paul’s Cathedral; passed Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament!

I joined the ride quite late in the afternoon; i admit i was not really in the mood for it, but to keep me motivated i arranged to meet a friend at St James's Park. At 3:30pm (just an hour before its official end, the flow was good without too many stops or slowing down)

My highlights were:

- signing up to the London Cycling Campaign: the reason why i signed up, was because you get third party insurance covered with your membership. And i was also offered a choice of a freebie: a t-shirt or book. I went for the book.

- escaping the bib-wearing crowd and having coffee by the lake with my friend

- riding in empty roads at 5:37pm as the SkyRide had already finished but the roads were not open to cars yet! It took me just 20 minutes to get home and i truly enjoyed the sights!

riding at 5:37: After the SkyRide and before the cars took over: bliss!

the LCC free book with the membership

the main stage in the distance

unfortunately i did not meet Rebecca Romero

The Great Helmet Debate

2010-09-05T13:18:00.002+01:00

After a friend was hospitalized when a car hit her while on her bike, i started re-considering my views on helmet wearing. I still have not reached a conclusion but lately you may see me wearing my helmet just so i do not tempt fate, rather than truly believing it can save me from accident damages.

Cycling, as i say to people telling me off when i do not wear a helmet, is not an extreme sport. When i ride my bike to work, or to the shops I should not require an armor of protection: my speed is not that high, i know the traffic code and i do not do bike tricks so a helmet is a little bit of an extreme measure. I also feel that if i wear a helmet it is like i tell the world "i know i am doing something dangerous and i am responsible for this" - whereas, who puts me in danger is not cycling, but the careless angry drivers. My safety is their responsibility and not mine - and what would truly protect me is a culture that welcomes cyclists on roads where both drivers and cyclists politely share the streets rather than compete and fight with each other. Until now, i have not been wearing a helmet; the way i do not wear a bullet proof vest when i walk in east London; the way i do not wear an armor when i walk on Oxford Street on a shopping day.

However, the reality is that agressive careless drivers exists; especially in the madness of London. And if there aren't any angry drivers, there are always blindspots and genuine accidents. And brain injuries really scare me. And simply on those grounds i have started wearing my helmet (even though i know that a helmet is not going to save me - i just don't want to tempt fate!); this, unfortunately has reduced my cycling - and this is not because i am too vain or worry about my hair -but because it has lost its free attitude; everytime i wear my helmet it's like saying to myself i am about to do something that will put my body at risk. And i hate this feeling. I hate it because cycling is NOT a dangerous thing but suddenly society has made it look like a dangerous thing. Society has imposed the view that if you dare to ride in London you are crazy and the responsibility is all on the cyclist. Whereas what really should be said is cycling is great and London should accommodate this and make it safe for its riders by cultivating a culture that respects cycling and car drivers look out for cyclists.

7pm Project Helmet Debate from vermontcreekbed on Vimeo.

Pimp your Ride!

2010-08-25T10:34:00.009+01:00

デコチャリ Dekochari-Japan

Ah the 70s! Flared trousers, platform shoes, the disco craze and in Japan the Dekochari デコチャリ

The dekochari (i.e. bike decoration to resemble giant trucks) was inspired by another craze: the Dekotora (Truck Decoration). Think of Mr T in a truck form, and you'll get the idea: an over the top decorated giant truck - very bling bling! . When this craze happened the kids transferred it to their bicycles resulting in giant over the top decorated bicycles to resemble those trucks! Plywood, lights, and hi-fi systems! all packed on a bicycle!

A dekochari gang!

A dekotora

Dekochari in the Year 2020 from Charlie Hope on Vimeo.

Scraper Bikes - Oakland
Nowadays, we still see some bike pimping. Check out the Original Scraper Bikes

Scrapertown from California is a place. on Vimeo.

Queens, NY

...and ofcourse the mother of all pimped up bikes is found in Queens, New York! Check it out!

Janet Bike Girl

2010-08-24T20:32:00.003+01:00

This is Janet Bike Girl, who makes awesome bicycle stencils. You can see the stencils on her flickr

Positive vibes to road users!

2010-08-22T19:54:00.005+01:00

The past few months we have seen some great changes in London city: smooth cycle lanes, the London cycle hire, bike cafes and shops popping up and a stream of famous people promoting cycling. Even my friends and acquaintances have been convinced to start riding; bicycles have even featured as birthday present surprises and statements of love. All these people have joined the cycling mania - but it has left me feeling a little bit uneasy as i often catch myself worrying about them! Are they going to be fine riding in the thick traffic of central London's narrow streets? Are the crazy taxi drivers going to treat them gently? Are they going to remember to wear their helmet, carry their lock and switch on their lights at night? I know, they are adults and my worry is unreasonable and slightly resembling my parents' paranoid and over the top attitudes to life! But, sometimes i cannot help worrying; because i feel it is not just cycling lanes that we need and docks to hire bikes from to be safe. I feel the whole London culture of drivers Vs cyclists needs to stop to truly accommodate cyclists in the city. Drivers need to learn to give cyclists enough space and treat them respectfully: they are after all in a much more vulnerable position than drivers. I am not saying cyclists are always "right" - i have seen cyclists doing some very stupid things...but i have not seen aggression by cyclists; whereas with drivers i have seen both stupidity and aggression and this is a very bad combination to have on the streets!

Last Sunday, good old Facebook delivered some of the news i always feared. A friend, hit by a car ended up hospitalized for almost a week: a broken skull, colar bone and shoulder. And all these happened while riding on a cycle lane - a car tried to overtake and hit her from behind. The good news is that she is recovering well and no further damage seems to have occurred. Thank God!

So, if you are a car driver please be careful out there. Give cyclists space - they are much more vulnerable than you and yes drive slowly! Be patient!

Sending healing vibes and love to S.

xx

[stencil by Janet Bike Girl]

bike + shoelace = ground

2010-08-11T09:32:00.005+01:00

The difference between riding fixed and free wheel is that with freewheel you can coast and when your shoelace gets wrappped around the inside of the pedal you can back pedal to unwrap it! With fixed gear you can't and i know this by experience!

On Monday night, at around 10:30 pm I had my first comical fall on my fixed bike; my right shoe lace wrapped around the pedal; each turn made the lace tighter and tighter - and only when the pain increased was when i realized what was happening; of course i could not back pedal or coast to stop it wrapping; so there was only one solution - to stop cycling. Ofcourse simply stopping was not the end of the adventure as my foot was still on the pedal, and a side ways gentle fall was the only option! So there i am on Holloway Road, on the ground with my foot still on the pedal - it took me around 5 minutes to take the shoelace off the shoe to free my foot, and another 3 minutes to unwrap it. A few people passed by, who pretended i was invisible - i guess being Holloway Road that was a good thing - at least i did not get mugged! But, i was slightly disappointed that no one offered help or checked if i was OK. And i felt a little bad asking the youth, if they carried a knife (to use to cut the shoe lace!) - i mean i did not want to insult them by assuming they were knife carriers!

Anyway, in case you are wondering, i managed not to break my ankle, not even a scratch. My workmates have enjoyed the story and giggled to it, so all in all a happy ending and a lesson to learn:

Kids, tuck your shoe laces in your shoe before you ride your bikes!

London Cycle Challenge: presenting the 3rd prize!

2010-08-05T19:12:00.004+01:00

This is what we got when our team came 3rd in the London Cycle Challenge. As it is a pain to divide by 10 (!) we thought a picnic would be a good idea - but is it really picnic material? tea bags, pineapple, cookies and bananas! and since its arrival the weather has gone rainy! boo! I love the handwritten note though! the personal touch is awesome!
(photos by team leader Helen!)
At the moment, Helen has the prize - she will hopefully arrange a get-together. Part of the prize is in Alan's belly. Alan is Helen's flatmate.

Join The Cycling Revolution! (but which one?)

2010-08-02T18:09:00.008+01:00

The first time i joined Critical Mass was probably back in 2003 in Manchester, UK. I remember its exciting times when 150 cyclists joined and its quiet times when the attendance was 3 people (a ginger boy who fancied my ex, his silent best friend who became an extrovert once on the internet) and I; usually those critical mass rides were under the Mancunian clouds. Despite the uneasiness, of such situations I always felt critical mass was an important part of the cycling revolution. An autonomous group that "celebrates" and "promotes" the bike and acknowledges the need for change; the car culture and some drivers' "ownership" of the roads was and still is something i dislike. But I also felt that to truly incorporate the bicycle in cities, the "mainstream" had to embrace it, and i have been unsure whether critical mass could always reach the mainstream.

On Friday 30th July 2010, the same evening as the July London Critical Mass, cyclist (and London Mayor) Boris launched the Cycle Hire scheme, which i think will make cycling a more mainstream activity: we have suit-wearing mayor and chic celebrities, and hire bike docks taking over the city! The great thing about London's Cycle Hire is that it hasn't been done half-heartedly: 400 docking stations and 6,000 cycles is impressive.

...but something leaves a bitter taste! Boris's self-branded "cycling revolution" comes with a Barclays branding, and as you can see in the photo below people have already responded to the Barclays branding (click photo)

Barclays has also managed to paint the city in Barclays blue as the Cycle Highways are also sponsored by Barclays. Blogger London Cyclist highlights the Barclays take over: "The £25 million Barclays paid will give them branding on the bicycles, maintenance support vehicles and on the uniforms of maintenance staff. As well as on all marketing and communications."

So, maybe this is not the Cycling Revolution we were expecting...rather another corporate win despite their unethical record...

"Barclays is listed as the company most heavily embroiled in weapons manufacture and trading" John Hilary (War On Want's executive director)

(Thank you Mordecai for the photo above)

BIKES - Crashing Into Love by Raoul Paulet

2010-07-15T23:07:00.002+01:00

BIKES - Crashing into love from Raoul Paulet on Vimeo.

Fix Me Up!

2010-07-14T23:15:00.004+01:00

So i decided to put a 17t track (fixed) cog on my bike.

Cog sizes are measured by how many teeth they have: obviously the bigger it is the more teeth. And the bigger it is the easier it is to ride (but the quicker you have to pedal to gain speed, like when you are on a easy gear on a geared bike).

I have a 42t chain ring which means in combination with a 17t cog the gear inches are just below 70; in other words , a relatively easier gear than my singlespeed set up of 42-16t, less knee pains and hopefully more chances of controlling the beast with my weak legs! Here is a handy fixed gear cycling calculator in case you want to calculate your fixie / single speed set up...

...and below my cheesy video installing the fixie cog!

PARTS NEEDED:

- 17t cog (i chose the Halo one)
- a lockring to secure a track cog on a track hub.
- fixed hub (already on my wheel)

TOOLS NEEDED:

- Combined Chain Whip and Lockring Tool (bought from VeloSolo) to tighten the cog and lockring
- wrench (to take off the wheel)

London Cycle Challenge

2010-07-14T00:06:00.000+01:00

We are pleased to announce that our team has finished 3rd in the London Cycle Challenge with 2926.38 points.

Our team, Velocity, was
- Sandra who finished first with 423.51 points, followed by
- Io with 404.35 points
- KElliot with 369.96 points
- Sefeen with 360 points
- Mordecai with 348 points
- Maryanne who reached the Elite badge
- Mmetracyt who reached the Cycle Champion badge
- MizFitz also with Cycle Champion Badge
- Helen with Cycle Champion Badge
- Daritius who reached the Cycle Star Badge

Critical Mass 25th June 2010, London

2010-06-27T21:21:00.023+01:00

People and their bicycles gathered at Southbank for critical mass; lovely warm afternoon, the occassional cheer and whistle adding to the anticipation of a friendly ride.

The ride headed north over Waterloo bridge, through The strand, and passed by Parliament square to wave to the people at the Democracy Village: the atmosphere was positive and buzzing as the cyclists cheered the campers on who are still there after 2 months; the campers returned the cheers and the critical mass headed to visit Buckingham palace waving to the Queen.

During critical mass, some aggressive taxi drivers screamed and rammed at cyclists going by, despite critical mass being simply some people on bicycles...

Things went stressful, when police vans surrounded the mass just by Herbal Hill; seconds before they arrived, a police van dropped a policeman who started running through the cyclists- when the police man ran out of stamina, he stopped and within seconds the 30 vans appeared. No one was hurt during that.

I had a brief conversation with one of the policemen:
Me: What happened? what's all this about?
PM (policeman): When one of our men is in danger we come out.
Me: who's in danger what happened?
PM: well, if one of us is hurt we come out.
Me: one of you got hurt? how?
PM: [no reply]
Me: well i hope your friend is OK
PM: thanks have a good weekend
Me: Have a good weekend too
At this time a young man added: What happened is, a cyclist got hit by a taxi driver but of course the police is letting the taxi driver off and is after the cyclist.

The police stayed surrounding the mass for some time, and the road was blocked. They then asked the cyclists to start riding again and the mass ended up at The Foundry which is being squatted after the council closed it to make way for a brand new “art hotel”.

REPORTS ON JUNE'S CRITICAL MASS:
"One arrest with loads of cops and several drivers trying to physically intimidate corkers by nosing into them with horns blazing. "

"drivers deliberately ramming cyclists. I saw one woman cyclist knocked to the ground by a taxi. but the police don't seem at all interested in such things."

More pics here .

HTC SMITHFIELD NOCTURNE 2010

2010-06-19T23:30:00.012+01:00

i spent my afternoon at the Smithfield Nocturne today, which was brilliant, despite the surprisingly cold weather! It would have been amazing, if there was sunshine, to put the Ice Cream race into context and keep the beer going!

At 19:10 I had the yummy pleasure to watch the Laverstoke Park Ice Cream Race, which really made me giggle!This was a "race with a difference"- the kind of difference that i would always welcome: pros Chris Newton and Ed Clancy and celebrities Jody Scheckter (F1 World Champion) and Ben Saunders raced on Mercedes modified bikes with a special ice cream container on the front, full of ice cream distributed to everyone:

19:30 - Rapha Elite Women's Criterium (30 minutes plus 5 laps) - this was an exciting race with the winner taking first place just on the last sprint! she was awesome, managed to keep on her competitor's tail, until the last few metres when she over took!

Results:

1	Hannah	Barnes	Motorpoint - Marshalls Pasta
2	Corrine	Hall	Team Corridori
3	Nicola	Juniper	PCA CICLOS UNO

20:10 - Tokyo Fixed Gear Longest Skid Competition: the most entertaining thing was the commentator saying: "a skid competition. gee never seen such thing before, what am i meant to say..."
The winning skid was 94 metres from Jonny Fitz! and it was really amazing!!

Skidding!

On the hispster-side of the event, there was also a track stand competition.

20:30 - HTC Folding Bike Race - Final (5 laps): the giggles are back, but also pretty amazed by the speed of some people on the folding bikes!

Results (Folding Bike Race):

1	Keith	Henderson	Dahon
2	David	Rees	Brompton
3	Antonius	Wubben	Brompton

...and of course Rollapaluza:

the car bicycle racks by Anthony Lau from Cycle Hoop

Bicycle Film Festival 2010 Trailer

2010-06-09T18:47:00.003+01:00

London Cycle Challenge: Update

2010-06-08T22:32:00.007+01:00

With 4 new recruits, today, 8th June, our team has climbed to the top! Thanks team: Helen, Daritius,Mordecai, KElliott, Sandra, Sefeen, Maryanne, MizFitz and mmetracyt. Now we have to keep on pedaling and logging the miles for 3.5 weeks to have a chance to stay to the top - i wonder if Boris will open a support phone line for all the Cycle Challenge addicts, when cycle challenge finishes!

Camden Green Fair

2010-06-06T22:28:00.003+01:00

Today we cycled to Camden Green Fair to catch the pleasant revolution bicycle music tour: a bunch of musicians traveling on bicycles, powering their amps and instruments using pedal power!

Amongst the Pleasant Revolutionaries, we had the chance to look at the bikes from the new Cycle Hire

which includes 6,000 bikes that people can hire from around 400 docking stations throughout London. The Cycle Hire's launch is on 30th July 2010. As this is a self-service public sharing scheme, it is 24 hour. An annual access costs £45 and after that you pay £1 for up to 1 hour of hiring a bike (the first 30 minutes are free); You have to be very careful though as the charges change:
1 hr = £1
1 1/2 hrs = £4
2 hrs = £6
2 1/2 hrs = £10
The increase in the charge, should encourage people to return the bike to the docking stations during stops. If you use the bike just for a city cycle trip then you should probably spent £1 each time you use the bike, or even £0 if it is within the 30 minutes.
There are some other charges: a non-return will cost you £300; a late return £150 and a damage charge up to £300.

We also came across the safe cycling / HGV awareness where cyclists had the opportunity to jump in a lorry to experience the spots where bicycles cannot be seen by the driver.

The Camden Green Fair also included a bicycle trial, stalls by Velorution, Green Oil, food stalls and the usual community organizations the pop up at such fairs.

London Cycle Challenge

2010-06-06T21:20:00.010+01:00

"The Cycle Challenge is a competition to see which team can cycle the most miles in a month. Teams that come top win great prizes." that was enough to motivate us to get a few bicycle people together and form a little team named Velocity! The team, at this moment of writing the blog, is at the 14th place and consists of 5 girls: Helen, who either rides her orange (which she claims is actually red) geared Carlton Reynolds 531 or her non-branded single speed bike kindly put together by my creative little hands; Daritius, who rides a singlespeed Charge Plug; Sandra, who is soon having a photo exhibition: 'EXPOSITIONS' and rides a maroon lugged fixie - from what i could spot while speedily passing by; Sandra's friend, Mordecai, and myself usually found to ride my Charge Plug Racer, which has changed over the months from drop downs to mini-risers, flat pedals, new wheel, blah blah that's another blog entry, and occasionally also riding my fixed gear Puch Super-Sprint (but admittedly not that super-sprint!)

The London Cycle Challenge Lead Board is quite addictive and has indeed motivated me even more to cycle...here are some photos from our ride to Greenwich to clock some miles!

hot hot days!

2010-05-27T22:25:00.003+01:00

22nd and 23rd May were two exceptionally sunny, exceptionally fun days...As the sun rays appeared, friends and their bikes surfaced, for 2 days of awesomeness!

Cycle ride to the park for a picnic and some sunbathing

Followed by a ride to east London

...and a ride to south London after some ice cream scoops!

cable street cycling lane: Poster Vs Reality

2010-05-27T17:24:00.002+01:00

"There's never been a better time to cycle"

with this awesome weather this is very true, but..the irony(!) the cycling lane right next to the poster is full of obstacles. This is Cable Street, which a few weeks ago had a lovely raised cycling lane (lovely with the exception of the pedestrians walking in it), but now is being re-done possibly to swap the green colour to blue.. i really hope all this is not just to swap colours to match the "Highways" and that we will actually get some improvements :-)

There are quite a few of these obstacles, which makes cycling a little tricky, especially as the road is a one way road, with car drivers attempting to kill you if you dare to cycle the "wrong" way.

Today Cable Street sucks!

Locking!

2010-05-25T23:32:00.004+01:00

A few people have asked about locking advice so...

I always use 2 locks and 2 wires:

1) A D-lock/U lock that locks the bike frame and one wheel on a bike rack/railings; If the D lock cannot reach then I use the D-Lock on the frame and bike rack/railings, and a wire is used for the front wheel.

2) A good 2nd lock that secures the frame and the other wheel on the bike rack.

3) Another wire that secures my saddle.

I never lock my bike on poles:

because the bike can be lifted through...

In short:

Lock the bike to something that is very strong and very securely anchored

Ensure that the bike & lock cannot be lifted over the top of what you're locking it to.

Use a wire for the saddle; and take off your lights!

Always use 2 locks (made of different material/different locks as this may put off thieves) and make sure both locks are attaching the bike frame to the rack/railings.

Fill up the shackle of a D-lock so a jack cannot be inserted into it. (have a small but strong D-lock.)

See the SoldSecure rating site for some locks that earned Gold, Silver or Bronze certification in SoldSecure's tests. Also see ART for their ratings; four stars is best.

Do not use cable locks as a primary lock; use them as a secondary lock.

Potholes

2010-05-20T22:30:00.001+01:00

The winter's gone, but the pot holes stayed, and on this warm evening i have come across the best pot hole ideas (from Urban Repair Squad URS and Pothole Gardens), which i am transferring to you.

Next time you fall in a pot hole and you feel that pain on your hands and your handle bars twist, don't swear; think of the graffiti to paint to warn your fellow cyclists!

If you are the earthy type, look at Pete Dungey's amazing pothole gardens !

If things go too bad with pot hole falls and you do damage yourself then don't take it lightly. If you are a member of CTC their legal advisers can help you; i know of one man who ended up with a broken finger, but managed to get a cheque from the council, through CTC's support...

DIY: How to Cut Handlebars

2010-05-16T20:20:00.006+01:00

So here is the simplest way to cut your handlebars shorter; all you need is a G Clamp and pipe cutters (with the cutters you need to have a blade that cuts metal not just plastic). I must say it is really easy to cut handlebars and pretty tidy too. No muscle strength needed and took me just 5 minutes! (and the practice drum pad featuring in the 3rd photo is optional, although it did help to clamp the bar without sliding!)

To put the grips on you will need some hairspray: it helps them slide on the bars and once that happens, it sticks them nicely. The other thing to do is to make a little hole on one of grips so no air is trapped in the hollow bit of the bars (if there is no hole then the air pressure makes the grips move which is a hassle when you ride)

DIY: Chop & Flop

2010-05-03T20:12:00.006+01:00

Drop handlebars are a bit of a nightmare for me when it comes to riding in central London; and the old single piece quill stem is a barrier when it comes to putting bullhorns, simply because they don't fit through as you can't open them fully. So the way to do it cheaply is to cut off the drop downs and simply flip them over! So here are the photos of the drop downs turned into bullhorns, and leaving the same brake levers (to cut costs!)

Your local bike shop could cut the bars for a couple of pounds or a fiver if it's a fancy shop!

Bicycle stickers

2010-04-30T21:37:00.019+01:00

These guys are worth a mention: they have fun bike stickers, patches and buttons, they send orders quickly with that personal touch of a handwritten message, together with a few extra stickers for free!

http://worldsbestbikestickers.com/

election time

2010-04-15T11:19:00.004+01:00

STAND UP AND BE COUNTED

After I had two friends of mine kindly lecturing me about how i should register to vote, you know all that "women fought for our right to vote" and even the good old "you are meant to be greek: you guys "invented" democracy", i decided to finally register so that i can vote.

I logged on the website, with my friend's words as a mantra "women fought for our right to vote"; the more i read, though, the less passion i had for my vote to be counted. First i found out that the election register has two versions: what they call the full register, and the "edited" register. You can opt out of the "edited" one: I wonder how many people actually know that they can opt out. The edited register is just a list of people's details which are sold to marketing companies. Strike 1: our right to vote is now another profit making business. I know this is how economies survive, but i do have this very strong core belief that sometimes we need to separate people's core rights and profit, money making. Strike 2: OK, so i can opt out from the edited register, but to be honest my trust in this system has been pretty much damaged; it's about principles. Strike 3: the full register, although it gives you the power to vote, it is also used for other purposes; not that i have something to hide: but it's that "principles" thing in the way again.

The more i hear about elections the more angry i become. I am firstly disappointed hearing people saying "i am gonna vote labour so that the conservatives don't get in" it breaks my heart. We spend so many years marching the streets against the war. How can we now hold the pen and vote again for labour? how can we approve of the killings? I really do not understand how we can march, get arrested, shout, and then hold a pen and vote for them, again? Them, who took our fingerprints, our photos, and details under the anti-terrorist section, when all we did was to say "hey i don't think you should go abroad and shoot people". How can we hold that pen and give our vote to them?

People tell me, this is so that the tories don't get in. Well, if the tories don't get in, and labour does will you sleep at night? will you feel good that you did the right thing? stood up for what you believed in? And also, why if you vote for the smaller parties you think it is a wasted vote? If your beliefs are expressed voting for the smaller parties then bloody vote for the the smaller parties. This is how you can be heard: by voting for what you believe in. Only then, you become stronger.

In my quest to be the greek who honors democracy i started reading the manifestos, trying to fish out the things that interest me the most. I came across the whole bicycle thing and was really amused by:

the UKIP party! Amused in the way of watching a really bad horror film. UKIP talks of forcing cyclists to dismount, making them get off at roundabouts, even banning them from road use, and enforcing bicycle parking charges. Wow, i wonder is these people ever rode a bike when they were kids! remember, that feeling of freedom with the wind gently touching your face; that feeling of riding aimessly, smiling, riding...well, seems if UKIP is in power this will all be history! How weird that the bicycle seems to demand such extreme control measures; i don't know whether to laugh or cry.

LIB DEMS talk about safer cycle lanes and routes. Although they seem to lack the passion on our beloved bicycle, at least they are not treating it as the devil and are heading the right direction.

TORIES talk about giving priorities to the issues of cycling. aahhhmmm, that's it really, there isn't any more info. But Boris Johnson is a keen cyclist AND he follows me on twitter (better Boris than the BNP following me!) i like this personal touch of keeping it real (but that's not really enough for a vote! is it?) oh David cycles too.

LABOUR well the labour brought in the Cycle to Work Scheme right?. Which meant many of my friends have got a bike now, hooray! But now we got the bikes, we really need to see a more proactive policy on cycling. I mean don't just give us a discount to swimming with hungry sharks. (this is how sometimes cycling feels in london!)

GREENS

http://policy.greenparty.org.uk/mfss/mfsstr.html#Walk

The greens seem to really get it right when it comes to cycling. They mention junction priority over motorized traffic, well maintained and regularly reviewed lanes and roads, and basically see the bicycle as an important legitimate vehicle. Alleluia! It seems they have at least googled Copenhagen, and Amsterdam and have seen how big cities can truly incorporate the bicycle safely. It's really worth reading their cycling policies.

COMMONS

Since we are talking about politics, i guess this is a good place to mention that Tamsin (from the To The Commons) is running for local MP. This is the girl who was involved in the Suffragette climate rush and seems to have sound views on environmentalism, cycling and all good things. Slogans like "this is what democracy looks like" and actions like Critical Mass, Guerrilla Gardening, echo anarchist values: by that i mean values of non-hierarchy, equality and community. What slightly confuses me is that democracy does depend on hierarchy: an approved leader; and the beauty of guerilla gardening, critical mass and the likes are all about horizontal power. They are all about how we can do things without a leader; my brain is confused... but still better to have the Commons representing us, right? Better to have someone who keeps getting in trouble for doing activist things. :-) So if you are in north london, Tamsin Omond will be standing as a parliamentary candidate for Hampstead. What fun to vote for such "trouble maker". The Commons are also organising a ride this saturday: Pump Your Ride, Saturday 17th April 2010. Meet at 3.30pm by Whitestone Pond, top of Hampstead if you fancy it..

Well, enough political rants. Time for a bicycle ride.

Critical Mass London: "Someone please tell me why there are 1000s of people on push bikes riding around london?!" (twitter)

2010-03-26T22:33:00.013Z

"commemorating the cyclists killed by HGVs"

"celebrating the bicycle"

"it's our party"

"cos it's Friday"

The reasons why more than 600 people joined critical mass on 26th March 2010 differed and the atmosphere reflected this fluctuating from a big party celebration (3rd birthday of the London Fixed Gear and Single Speed forum) to thoughtful silence. I usually join critical mass to have a ride with friendly people, make the bicycle more "visible", and simply to enjoy the city. Last night though, the main reason that took me to critical mass was to to pay respect to the 3 cyclists, Professor David Vilaseca-Perez, Muhammad “Haris” Ahmed, and Shivon Watson , who were killed (February / March) by HGVs.

Lorries seem to be a primary source of cyclists' deaths in London as statistics show that 69% of London's cyclist deaths last year were indeed caused by lorries. In 2008 this figure was 88% and with figures so high it makes me wonder why London still has in place the London Lorry Control Scheme (LLCS) which forces lorries to enter the city during the peak commuting hours. If the scheme was truly put in place to protect the people from noise pollution then it makes no sense why it is not reviewed since it looks like it has contributed to a lorry rush that has caused the lives of commuters on bicycles. See the blogs by * Moving Target Zine * ibikelondon * the Bike Show podcast *

Last night's critical mass of 600+ people, was with no police escort, and ran smoothly. The majority of pedestrians and drivers looked cheerfully at the sight of the cyclists; some joined in with a dance and a wave to the sounds of the sound system and the ones who were told about the deaths of the cyclists by HGVs expessed their "approval" to the ride and similar views on how ridiculously dangerous cycling in London is.

The critical mass had the occasional aggressive driver, including a lorry driver (the irony!) who decided to overtake 600+ cyclists by speeding in the counter flow lane...His behavior can only be described as murderous. And before you readers say it is understandable that the driver got annoyed, i must point out that the mass was actually flowing in good speed. And this is when attitudes must change into respect for people; respect for people who choose to ride the humble bicycle.

Links

Bike Ride for 3 London Cyclists killed by HGVs
Critical Mass London

Cyclist Deaths in London and HGV: Call for Action

2010-03-22T15:07:00.020Z

Cyclists killed by HGV this year

Professor David Vilaseca-Perez, 46 from South Bank (February 2010)

Muhammad “Haris” Ahmed, 21, a 4th year Medical student (March 2010)

Shivon Watson , 28 years old, a designer and musician from Bow (March 2010)
Another woman dies on 14th April 2010

In 2009, 69% of cyclists' deaths were caused by HGVs/lorries, yet we see no action from our cyclist Mayor to look at the London Lorry Control Scheme and re-assess, or increase the budget on road safety.

London Lorry Control Scheme (LLCS)

The LLCS restricts the movement of HGVs in London at night and weekends. It aims to limit noise pollution in residential areas and restrictions apply between:

21:00 to 07:00, Monday to Saturday
13:00 Saturdays to 07:00 Monday

which means that HGV are forced to go through the city during peak hours;

There have been huge efforts from cycling communities around raising cyclists' safety awareness: never EVER ride on the inside or outside of a lorry if there is a chance it may make a turn; a lorry to turn left will most possibly bear right to be able to then make a left. Keep clear from them, and if you are waiting in front of them at the lights, leave some distance so they can see you: make eye contact to make sure the driver has also seen you. I sometimes raise my hand to signal i am there - most drivers signal back and smile, then i know they have seen me. There are cycling courses for adults to raise road safety awareness. There are ghost bikes all over the city to remind us of the cyclists' deaths.

But these are still not enough: It does not just take a cyclist to be aware of the dangers - it takes educating the drivers, removing this ridiculous cyclist Vs driver war (see my previous blog entry) and reconsidering the London Lorry Control Scheme.

TAKE ACTION: JOIN THE CRITICAL MASS

Friday the 26th March from 6.00PM.

The London Mass meets at 6.00pm on the last Friday of every month on the South Bank under Waterloo Bridge, by the National Film Theatre.

This video below was on the news a couple of days ago - the guy driving the HGV had no idea he was dragging the car in front... just like when the HGVs driving in London have no idea they are driving over cyclists.(photo above taken from the Real Cycling blog)

Who the hell is Kornheiser?

2010-03-21T22:37:00.004Z

So while the London cyclist community is mourning the death of 3 cyclists by HGV since christmas some guy, Tony Kornheiser loses the plot on his radio show and starts saying how cyclists should be "run down" and how he has "a large powerful car compared to your stupid little bicycle"... then he continues his macho rant by saying roads are for cars, and how he does not drive his car on a pavement because he knows pavements are not for cars, and cyclists should know that roads are not for cyclists! He goes on and on and you can hear the aggression in his voice, and while i am listening to him i feel more scared that people like him exist.

I became aware of this show through Lance Armstrong's tweet "Listening to Tony Kornheiser's comments/rant on ESPN radio re: cyclists. Disgusting, ignorant, foolish. What a complete f-ing idiot." and decided to listen to that show. I found it very hard listening to him with comments like "get out of my way"...and i found it even harder that the other people on the show did not point out to him the obvious: cyclists are simply people who ride a bike. Why have all this hater for people who decide to exercise and commute on an environmentally friendly machine?

Following this on the 19th March, Lance Armstrong was on that same radio show receiving an apology from Kornheiser and giving his point of view....Funnily enough Kornheiser was playing a different record, giving the impression he really cared about cyclists and trying to analyze why less kids cycle to school..and again the answer is simple; it's because crazy, aggressive drivers like Kornheiser exist; drivers who will react to cyclists as if they have a personal vendetta; drivers who think they own the roads because they have a big car(!)

And this is where the problem is: humans think they own what is meant to be public. they feel they have more rights to access it; the arrogance of "this is my space" the arrogance of "get out of MY way" the assumption that THEY own something because they pay tax, as if others don't pay the same tax.

I don't want to make this into a car driver Vs cyclist issue. I am both. But if you are a Kornheiser type of driver i have one thing to tell you "do us a favor and stick your car up your arse"

Questionnaire - cycling and risk attitudes

2010-03-19T18:11:00.003Z

Sadly, people are seriously injured, or die, whilst cycling on the roads.
This questionnaire is designed to assess your attitude to risk and your personal behaviour whilst cycling.

Pimping it up!

2010-03-13T22:33:00.017Z

So, it's Saturday evening and i feel tired, the kind of tiredness that's not good. The one thing that helps in such situations is getting lost in bicycle stuff: riding, trying unsuccessfully to trackstand and reading the blogs of the cycle-maniacs on the net. I came across this "Let's get Visible" clip from ACC, Momentum Magazine and B:C:Clettes, ages ago but somehow i started singing it today while wandering the streets on my fixie (aka Ollie) and this led me to wanting to decorate my helmet with high-viz stickers which then led to making some high viz spokes cards from that (extra) SkyRide vest i got from the ride last summer!!

So there, bicycle safety doesn't need to be boring, thanks to the A4 high viz sticker sheet and that extra vest from the skyride everything now is night friendly!

the photos of my pimped up helmet and bag!

and that bonus spoke card!

sadness and anger

2010-03-12T18:48:00.004Z

Take Mark's advice:

"no matter how much of a rush you are in keep the hell away from large vehicles, and never, ever, travel down their inside - even if it is to get to Advanced Stop Line bike at the front of traffic lights."
Mark "I bike London"

9th March: Mayor of London launched Cycle Safety Action Plan .

9th March: Medical student cyclist killed in collision with tipper truck

10th March: Cyclist dies in lorry collision in Victoria Park Road

Cycle East: London Gypsy Orchestra and that saxophone gangster...

2010-03-07T22:16:00.002Z

Cycle East took place on Sunday 7th March 2010 and consisted of three concerts in different locations – The London Gypsy Orchestra at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, Sweet Billy Pilgrim at the Toynbee Studios, and Soweto Kinch at Rich Mix. The idea was to use bicycles to hop from one venue to the other, and with each band playing at 2pm, 4pm and 6pm cyclists could choose any order they liked to watch the bands.

I ended up watching the London Gypsy Orchestra twice- the second time was much more entertaining as friends and their groovy dance moves joined me- handmade choc also featured in a friend's bag and that carried bonus points to the day! Anyway the London Gypsy Orchestra was excellent and is worth listening to so go ahead and google them.

For the 6pm show we chose Soweto Kinch's gig who i can only describe as a wannabe gangsta who plays jazz and does some rhyming MC-ing. His saxophone playing was much enjoyed and his freestyle MC-ing was fun but I was slightly unable to really enjoy the show as he came across as rude (or more commonly "up his own @rse!" .. i mean if you accidentally kick my friend's bag (twice!) whether you are a wannabe gangster or not, you must apologize. So there, Soweto!

Churros at the nearby restaurant made me forget the rude boy and his saxophone and the day pleasantly ended with another fixie ride back home.

East London Commonwealth Games: Bike Polo

2010-03-06T13:47:00.004Z

Bike Polo was one of the main features at the East London Festival, and after enjoying the European Bike polo tournament last summer, we thought it was an opportunity to watch the amazing poloists again. The location of the tournament was great as it was hosted in the Spitalfield market which meant combining most of my favorite activities: coffee drinking, bicycles, and wandering around spitalfields/brick lane.

The day started with a short 10 minute fixie ride to Brick Lane Coffee where we lazily sat on the comfy sofa soaking up the sunshine while sipping banana frappe. At around 1:30ish, we headed down to watch a few polo matches with a mission to find one of the forum guys who was willing to trade his BLB saddle for my specialized one. The mission seemed slightly impossible when one of the fixed gear forum girls described my boy as a youngish polo guy with a beard; she smiled with that smile full of knowledge "yeah, i know most of these polo guys are bearded" My kind helper, passed my mission message to a friend of hers and slowly i created a descriptive image of the boy - and to my surprise i was able to find him and the successful trade of saddles brought my lo-pro project one step forward! success!

Back to the polo game, we saw La Schmoove, Malice, 14Co, and Zombie along with some hard shots that made the ball bounce and go off court and the ref having to run around the stalls to find it.

An unplanned highlight was our recruit into Carrom (a tabletop game) and the discovery of my unknown talent of flicking!see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrom

The Carrom scores will remain secret but here are the
Bike Polo results:

Quarter Finals

14 Co 3 - 1 Zombie
Malice 4 - 3 La Schmoove
Three Beards 5 - 4 ELKS
Cosmic 5 - 1 Rotten Apples
Semi Finals
Malice 3 - 1 14 Co

Cosmic 4 - 1 Three Beards
Finals

Cosmic 3 - 2 Malice

raindrop smiles

2010-02-25T22:37:00.002Z

So the quickest way to go around London is on a bicycle. We sort of figured this out. But on some days, when the rain drops fall hard and the wind is blowing the only thing i feel like doing is getting under the purple duvet to ignore the outside world. Today was one of those days, but being the responsible adult i am, this was not an option. The morning was booked with back to back work appointments scattered around the borough and the only way to make it though them all was on my bike. i reluctantly unlocked the bike and got on with the day.

My ride back home, was perfectly timed with the rain. Sweat washed away by the thick raindrops, and topped up with street grime; eyes blinking to get rid of the trapped drops in my eyelashes; head occasionally tipped back to look up at the sky. Sometimes rain gives me this cathartic feeling, and makes me smile no matter how tired my legs are from cycling. Sometimes i get random thoughts while i ride. Today's random thought was "what does Ani difranco listen to on her ipod." While this thought was in my head and my legs were cycling fast i felt someone, something watching me. I turned to the right to see a handsome boy cycling right next to me, head turned looking at me. I smiled, he politely nodded and smiled back, over taking me. I started cycling fast, taking his nod as a race invite/challenge. He whizzed through the traffic, i kept on the right lane until we both reached the red traffic light where we stopped. he turned smiling, i smiled back saying "you are too fast." He looked as if he was getting slightly shy, hesitated in turning left as he spotted me going straight down and soon separated both having big grins after our child like fun, on this random rainy night...

...and that's why i like cycling in London...

Getting personal on Valentine's day: Valentine Special cycle adventure

2010-02-14T20:29:00.004Z

The more i get to know east london, the more convinced i get that one day i will indeed love London and call it my city. Our Valentine's day bike ride started at probably the smallest cafe, called taste of bitter love, which was chosen especially because of its name. I am well over those plastic hearts and giant cards - at this wise age of 31 love tastes bitter some times, so this coffee place had to be the starting point of the Valentine Special bike ride, although i admit i was equally tempted to go for Nude Espresso! Anyway, Taste of Bitter Love, serves lovely coffee, has a range a pastries, and makes tasty breakfast baguettes (and they don't seem to take things weirdly if you call them on the phone to ask if a friend is there!)

After loading on breakfast and coffee, we set off towards Greenwich, via Limehouse. On such loved-up day, i decided to ride my 1952 Raleigh, so i look more like Amelie to fit in with that romantic look. The sound of my loose bike mudguards echoed all around the streets of east london. it is a gorgeous bike but gee it is soooooo noisy: clip clap clack....

Once we reached Limehouse, i decided to change bikes so i did not take over all auditory stimulation of the world. From there we reached Isle of Dogs in no time! A pleasant ride next to the Thames, passed the crazy traffic lights sculpture, and bingo the Greenwich footpath tunnel; i was very excited to see that it was open and busy. we jumped off our bikes and got the lift down into the 1902 tunnel with its 200 000 white tiles.

the walk through the tunnel brought us right next to Cutty Sark which is still hidden behind that big blue wall. The day was then spent wandering in the market place, eating and drinking! (damn we forgot to go to the observatory!) At around 5:30 we headed back, ensuring we collected every single rain drop on our clothes.

Critical Mass January 2010

2010-01-30T18:04:00.007Z

Finishing work late, meant to catch the fellow cyclists we had to race it down to Waterloo bridge from Muswell Hill in record time. The air was crisp and cold - the kind of cold you wish there was some kind of woolly nose hat. The ride to the Critical Mass meeting point was very pleasant. I was slightly worried, though due to the combination of massive traffic once we reached euston road plus my cycling companion wearing no helmet.

We reached Southbank at 6:40 ish, and were glad to see that critical mass was still there, with bike lights flashing, a sound system and Dave the poet on his amazingly decorated bike machine. We joined the mass, waved at Jason's familiar smiley face and scanned the area to see if any more Velocity /velo lovers were around. At around 7 the mass headed off for the monthly ride in London city.

It was quite soon that the group got divided due to some aggressive drivers, but the splinter soon rejoined near Westminster. That's when the bigger group went round the intersection a few times to give the chance to the "splinter" to rejoin. Once this happened, there was a joyful horn blowing, a cheer and soon after the joyful bike-lifts! hooray for bicycles! these critical mass cyclists always manage to put a smile on my face!

A big big thank you to the cyclists corking*. They seemed polite and the ride felt so secure - the cars did not really have to wait for ages and the guys corking really ensured a smooth and safe flow for us. There was one thing, though that really disappointed me and this was the taxi drivers. One in particular driving the opposite direction - he speeded up, slightly getting in the other lane where critical mass was heading; he stuck his head out of the window shouting out "you bunch of losers!". Of course he did not stop to further develop his point, but drove like a maniac contra-flow. Now, why he thinks we are a bunch of losers i am not sure - we were cycling, getting our bodies fit, enjoying the city at night, helped each other because we had a common love of cycling. To add to my disappointment a row of taxis overtook us and to be honest i had a moment thinking "is this a set up of taxi Vs bikes" as on the quiet road by the park the only vehicles you could see were bicycles and taxis: one side bikes, the other taxis. The drivers though just shouted some abuse, did some threatening mindless driving and then raced away.

Today, i saw a message from a fellow critical mass cyclist giving the number plate of an aggressive driver (http://www.criticalmasslondon.org.uk/text/report29-01-2010.html) and i really hope this attitude from taxi drivers ends!

*Corking - Corking is a tactic used to prevent traffic from entering the path of the cyclists.

Fight or Flight: When Velo Loves the City, But the City Does Not Love the Velo

2010-01-15T21:23:00.003Z

So to set the scene, picture this: Cold night, a 31 year old cyclist, thin-ish, not very tall (bike frame size xsmall), female. Helmet (that was a new year's resolution), ontop of a woolly cycling cap. Headphones in (note:volume responsibly selected!) listening to Ms Lisa Hannigan singing so her mind relaxes after a full day's work (falling in potholes and almost getting clipped by a crazy taxi driver)! There is a nice stretch to pick up speed (New Road, right next to Shoreditch Park, yes London, UK). It is 7:30pm.

so yes, this is where the story begins, I am there picking up speed, when *shazam* this snow ball flies right infront of me within an inch from my icy nose. it forces me to pedal right to avoid being hit and i manage to slow my wild with energy bike. I look left and i see a bunch of teenagers holding a second snow ball. That's when i have quite a few thoughts in my head - if this was a less busy-with-traffic road, if i was not pedalling fast, if they did not throw the snow ball that hard, i would have probably laughed it off and even joined them! But the reality, i was tired, i had a zillion "almost got killed" moments and their goddamn snow ball almost got me pedalling right through a bus!

So, i start shouting (with my newly developed east-end accent, after practicing the famous "Get out of my pub" line) "oi, are you trying to kill me?" The kids, are standing there around 40 metres away, staring. I gesture "come over here" and i start walking towards them while at the same time i think "gawd i hope i don't end up being robbed". I feel my body becoming taller and taller - i am full of adrenaline after a 40 minute city ride. The kids start walking the opposite direction, showing that they are in no mood for a fight but i am determined to have a chat with them. But they start running. I stay there for a bit watching them disappear into the night... Part of me thinking "oh well, this suits me well" part of me thinking, "we have enough to deal with on the roads"...

My daily commute of 7 miles to work (and 7 miles back plus more miles when i am being the NHS superhero), on the bike can result to an average of 6 near misses or incidents! this is just ridiculous but London can be a very non-bicycle friendly city! Taxi drivers, paedestrians not looking when they cross, paedestrians in cycling lanes, bus drivers not looking, cars doing rapid turns, lorries, potholes, ice, car doors and now chavsters armed with snow balls! This is enough! Today London, i hate you, and reminisce of Paris and Amsterdam. Why can't you be a little bit like them?

Tomorrow, i may love you again.... A ride to the Tate?

Cycling like a girl.

2009-12-19T19:27:00.002Z

I hardly ever feel more like a minority as a woman than when I'm cycling. It is fantastic that the number of cyclists in London has increased an incredible amount over the last few years, but it is a sad and worrying trend that the vast majority of the cyclists in London are men. I refuse to believe that this is because women are afraid of 'helmet hair' or that they're worried that they won't be able to wear heels on their bike. I think this discrepancy has far more to do with the fact that women are conditioned from infancy to take up as little space as possible and to believe that they have little to no physical potential.

The statistics show that women are more at risk on the road than men. Of the 7 cyclists killed by HGVs in London this year, 6 of them have been women. Most fatalities involving bikes and HGVs happen when a lorry turns left and a cyclist is caught on the inside and gets crushed. It seems that male cyclists are safer because they are more likely to cycle faster and escape from the inside of the lorry, or to go round the outside of the lorry, into the traffic. Because of this, women cyclists have been encouraged to make themselves as visible as possible, ensuring that they are at the front of the traffic at red lights and as far forward as is safe. I believe there is a real feminist issue here about women being less willing to take up space due to a lack of confidence.

We've probably all allowed ourselves to be squashed up against a window on a bus or train because we felt bad for taking up too much room or just couldn't face the confrontation. Women are taught from an early age to be kind and to think of others before ourselves. We're also taught that we're not good at physical activities, that we should leave that to the boys. Studies show that parents vastly underestimate female babies' physical abilities and it's still the case that many schools still don't teach girls more boisterous sports like Rugby. The message from birth is that being strong and fast is not valued in women because it is not 'feminine'. In fact, girls and women that achieve highly in sport are often 'accused' of being gay. Consequently, many women are left doubting their physical abilities. Usually this only results in being a bit squashed on the bus, but now it may have led to the deaths of six women.

This insecurity is visible not only in statistics but also in the bikes that men and women choose to ride. My compulsion to check out other cyclist's bike is now chronic and I have put it to good use. My unofficial, mental survey reveals that despite the current trend/craze for fixed-gear bikes, few women are choosing to ride them. Instead, women seem to be opting for slow, stately 'Amersterdam' bikes. It's understandable in some ways, the fixed-gear scene is notoriously 'macho', but I fear that another reason is that women feel that they just won't be strong enough to ride them or that they are worried about how fast they are.

I'm by no means a Sporty Susan, but since I started to cycle a year ago, my fitness has improved, I've saved money and I'm completely independent. Cheesy though it may be, for me my bike is a type of freedom. I'm still not fully confident though. Despite sometimes cycling twenty miles a day and taking to my fixed-gear like a duck to water, I know that I could so easily become a statistic any and every time I hesitate or doubt myself. It pains me to see men constantly flash by women (including me) on their bikes. I don't know how we can change this though without women's liberation. Until the sexist culture around sports and physical activities is changed, many women will suffer from a potentially dangerous lack of confidence in their physical ability.

P.S. I recommend Iris Young's essay, 'Throwing Like a Girl' if you found this remotely interesting. It's fascinating.

(From my blog, Swimsuit Issue)

christmas lights the way...

2009-12-19T11:09:00.017Z

it started cold.

so cold that the meeting point at trafalgar square soon led the way to stop 1, the coffee shop. through the window, we noticed the snow starting to fall - time to begin the ride!
after a combination of cycling, walking bikes over crossings and moving past a melting polar bear, we began the ride itself, heading down the mall to buckingham palace. the snow was fresh under our wheels as we waved to the queen.

from there, we cycled through the snow and under the arches of marble (marble arch) to the edges of the hyde park, winter wonderland. rather than head through the chaos, we pedaled around, over the quiet path that surrounds the glow of lights.

with stops here and there for photos, we got to see the lovely shining lights of bond street and regent street, turning into carnaby street for a walk under the massive, inflatable 60s style decorations. arriving at 10ish meant that it was a quiet walk through carnaby street, with only decorations, lights and shadows for company. lovely.

with snow on our faces, we continued on. a short ride past more lights, through piccadilly to leicester square and we had reached our end. rest time. ready for a warm bagel.....
from here, we could watch the other crazy folk heading through the snow.

it started cold but it finished warm.

(thank you to the snow for being so well-timed in its arrival.)

Climate Emergency Bike Ride

2009-12-15T21:07:00.005Z

On the day of the climate demonstrations 250 cyclists started the action early and took the streets on a loud and colourful bike ride to demand emergency action on climate change from the government.

5.12.09

so, as most of the times, we left the house pretty late - yes, my fault faffing around! we cycled via old street, down clerkenwell and then to the meeting point Lincoln's Inn park. When we arrived we could see the tail of the ride but unfortunately we could not join as my front tyre had a puncture and i was cycling on a flat! of course i had no spare tube, and no spanner - but my eye caught a cyclist on the corner of the park. I thought to try and see if he had any tools or if he could help me out. Amazingly he fixed my puncture and all was good and ready to finally join the ride. It also came out that the lovely guy, Dave, was from ibike and knew Nes and the mancunia!He even had a Spokes sticker on his bike! oh small world! and the small world became even smaller when Jason (who knows both Nes and Dave) came and introduced himself to me as "im the guy who sent you the mixedtape!" Anyway, i must say Jason seemed to be an awesome cyclist! he seemed totally comfortable on the bike, riding with his legs crossed in lotus position(!) and giving me hugs all while riding! RESPEK!

Anyway, i am digressing! The Climate Emergency Bike Ride seemed massive and its purpose was to protest against the big people who are fucking up the world, and support the protests in Copenhagen, and urge the government to make major emissions cuts at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen... and of course promote the bicycle!
There were at least 250 cyclists, 4 sound systems, a band and lots of great friendly atmosphere! The tourists and locals were very smiley and warm towards the cyclists and it felt good! there was also some poetry performance by another Dave who also features at Critical Mass! He was awesome!

film

2009-12-01T20:02:00.001Z

FILM!

‘London to Paris’ documents 10 riders from all over the world making the track bike journey from London to Paris to meet Lance Armstrong as the Tour De France 2009 comes to a close. With beautiful cinematography from David Procter.

LONDON PREMIERE
TUESDAY 1st DECEMBER 2009
Dray Walk, The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London E1 6QL
(NEXT DOOR TO STOLEN SPACE GALLERY)
DOORS 7PM FILM STARTS 8PM

!!!!WRAP UP WARM!!!!

november critical mass

2009-11-27T22:51:00.003Z

So this was our first London critical mass and it was awesome! corking worked out well, everyone was smiley and we got to enjoy the city with no car traffic... of course there was the usual shitty taxi driver, but the good attitude of the cyclist kept us out of trouble! hooray!

a ride to Signs of Revolt

2009-11-14T23:37:00.004Z

Today we cycled to Lock 7 (a bike shop, workshop and cafe) along Regent's canal. The weather was a little stormy but it added to the fun rather than making it uncomfortable. We kept to tradition by getting lost and riding around in circles in Victoria Park where i found a bike wheel and decided to strap it on my bag, thinking it could be the part needed for getting the old Raleigh back on the road. (note: coffee at Lock 7 is pretty good). Helen also got her pedals changed while we were sipping coffee which was a bonus!

When the coffee was finished and the pedals were back on, we headed towards Spitalfields in time to watch the 5pm film on activism:
http://signsofrevolt.net/?page_id=41

	ERIK ELSTRAN’S DRAGON SHREDIT USA 2010 \| HD 4 min Dir. Erik Elstran This dragon rides a bike! This was one of my favorites! This boy rode a bike as if it was simply an extension of his body - and it was cleverly funny too.
	TOKYO TO OSAKA USA, JAPAN 2010 \| HD 13 MIN Dir. Nic Hill Twelve amateur American fixed gear cyclists and their 400-mile journey through the Japanese countryside. The Americans were accompanied by a local cyclist for the beginning of the trip - his story almost triggered a tear.
	TOKYO JITENSHA USA, JAPAN 2009 \| DIGITAL SLR 1 MIN Dir. Steven Day Bicycling through the city at the speed of light.
	BUILT USA 2010 \| HD 4 MIN Dir. Sara Kinney A conversation with the frame builder Lance Mercado of Squarebuilt. Building custom bicycles with precision.
	COURIER EFFECT GERMANY, FRANCE, SPAIN 2009 \| MINI DV 10MIN. Dir. Andrew Crighton Portraits of bicycle messenger family members from Barcelona to Paris to Berlin.
	GRIME PRESENTS USA 2010 \| HD 7 MIN Dir. Mike Schmitt & Ed Laforte Two of the most talented street riders today, Mike Schmitt and WONKA kill it like no others in the world. Boys!
	DAY LABOR USA 2010 \| HD 10 MIN Dir. Brendan O’Neill Kohl & Minka Farthing-Kohl A short film about bike messengers, day laborers and outsourcing gone wild. This was quite funny; and at the same time not
	MINI VELODROME DE BORDEAUX FRANCE 2010 \| HD 3MIN Dir. Fontas Niko A glimpse into a French velodrome through a tilt-shift lens yielding beautifully mesmerizing effects. I loved this. Very trippy and indeed mesmerizing.
	BUSHVELD BIKE MESSENGER SOUTH AFRICA 2009 \| HD 5 MIN Dir. Boyd Varty Nothing, not even elephants, giraffes, rhinos or wildebeasts can stop the Bushveld bike messenger from making his delivery. Another funny film
	WE'VE GOT IT ON TAPE UK 2010 DVCPRO HD 5min. Dir. Brendan McNamee Brendan is recorded playing "solo polo" with microphones all over his body, bike and mallet. A soundscape of bike polo in action.
	LUCAS BRUNELLE LINE OF SIGHT USA 2010 \| HD/16MM 30MIN Dir. Benny Zenga & Lucas Brunelle Lucas Brunelle travels the globe documenting alleycat races and every year he presents a new film at the BFF. This year for our tenth anniversary Lucas teams up with Benny Zenga to produce a film that takes it to another level. Lucas is the undisputed master of documenting alleycats. From the vantage point of his custom helmet-cam his footage serves as insight into the best urban riders in the world in their natural element. Now Benny Zenga turns the camera back on Lucas Brunelle to bring a new dimension to this rare talent and ‘international man of mystery.’

VeLo City

Leader bike

Friday 13th

Dublin City

it's oh so quiet

Ai Weiwei: Forever Bicycles

Locking Updated

Chick Flick: Bicycle Film Festival

Perfect Sense

Fatal Accident

London's Calling 4

Premium Rush - Movie Trailer

Mylo - Sunworshipper

Bicycle Film Festival 2011, London

ARTCRANK at Look Mum No Hands Cafe

The good, the badass and the ugly - London Riots

Coffee Ride in the City

damn right!

Support LCC: tell the Mayor ‘face to face’ that he must grant Londoners the freedom to cycle and walk by making our streets safer

The Deadly Nightshades: Fabric Bike

Two Degrees: Cycle Sunday

Love

Stencils

On our bikes

Ride to Greenwich

SAVE the Herne Hill Velodrome (Burbage Road, London, SE24 9H)

Removing (and destroying a freewheel)

Cycletta..bike buddies...and breaking down gender stereotypes...

London Cycle Challenge is back: 18th June to 15th July

Friends & bikes in Diva magazine

Best Song to Cycle To! even better if you are cycling with a group of friends!

Tip! electrical tape as temporary rim tape

Zero Longitude: 7th May 2011

ugh!

...

The Counter

See Me Save Me: eliminating HGV's blind spots

Kate Cairns, Eilidh's sister, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, on 'See Me Save Me'. 16/02/11

Films at Look Mum No Hands

Adore & Endure Each Other

http://www.eilidhcairns.com/campaign/

Bike Love

Life Cycles

Bicycles and Trolleys: Photos from Dubai

Holloway Road, London N7

Snow Rides

Hackney’s Cycle Crime Unit

Urban Shorts at the Bicycle Film Festival

A Visual Ride - Bicycle Photography at Look Mum No Hands

Dick And Fanny Club Night (London)

Abus Granit Mini Futura

SkyRide

The Great Helmet Debate

Pimp your Ride!

Janet Bike Girl

Positive vibes to road users!

bike + shoelace = ground

London Cycle Challenge: presenting the 3rd prize!

Join The Cycling Revolution! (but which one?)

BIKES - Crashing Into Love by Raoul Paulet

Fix Me Up!

London Cycle Challenge

Critical Mass 25th June 2010, London

HTC SMITHFIELD NOCTURNE 2010

Bicycle Film Festival 2010 Trailer

London Cycle Challenge: Update

Camden Green Fair

London Cycle Challenge

hot hot days!

cable street cycling lane: Poster Vs Reality

Locking!

Potholes

DIY: How to Cut Handlebars

DIY: Chop & Flop

Bicycle stickers

election time

Critical Mass London: "Someone please tell me why there are 1000s of people on push bikes riding around london?!" (twitter)

Cyclist Deaths in London and HGV: Call for Action

Who the hell is Kornheiser?

Questionnaire - cycling and risk attitudes

Kate Cairns, Eilidh's sister, at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, on 'See Me Save Me'.
16/02/11