Happy birthday to...

Well, can you believe it? Cycling has kept me in enough material to keep this blog going for a year. There's been thrills, a few spills, no pills, a few punctures and lots of great stories. 
Looking back it's been interesting to watch the status of  cycling in the UK ebb and flow. We've had amazing success at the Olympics, two Tour de France winners and many promises of government cash.
But with that, cycling's popularity has bred a strong reaction from the unwilling.
There's been sabotage, road rage and sadly accidents.
So where do I think cycling will end up in the next 12 months? Well, we should finally see some investment in Manchester into the riding infrastructure and hopefully more people will take to two wheels as a result. 
In the pro sport, we of course have the Yorkshire stages of le tour to look forward to next year. Pat 'Pat' Mcquaid might get the elbow from of of his UCI positions and replaced by Brian Cookson. Finally, the sport might be able to move on from the doping which nearly destroyed the sport.
I'd also expect the demands for a women's tour to keep getting louder too - quite right too. 
Commercially, the sport will continue to thrive and we should continue to support our local bike shops rather than solely relying on on-line outlets - you'll miss them when they're gone, you mark my words.

Any excuse...

Anyway, I'm planning on bringing in a few little innovations to this blog in the next year: some interviews and guest blogs - maybe even a video or two! If you have any suggestions or want to bang out a couple of hundred words on your view of the world on two wheels, then do drop me a note.
Until then, ride safe.

Manchester bike shops v online

If, like me you've ever bought anything from an online retailer, your email inbox will have lit up recently with a blizzard of messages encouraging you kit yourself out for the Autumn / Winter season.
I much prefer going to local independent shops for cycling bits but being in work, getting dragged to visit the in-laws and watching shite football teams which never win anything, tends to limit my opportunities to pay a visit to my favourite shops.
So, more often than not, I find myself shopping online for stuff - clicks and mortar as retail sector wonks annoyingly call it.
There are some pretty good ones out there too: Parker International, Tweeks cycles, Wiggle, Chain Reaction and many others.
These are good operators but the world would be a much more uninteresting place without bike shops.  So, I'm resolving myself to re-double my efforts to support independent retailers and spend my money locally.
Obviously, Ken Foster's will be the natural place to start and I'll try a squeeze in a trip to Harry Hall soon - spread the love and all that.
There are loads of other shops about too - I might do a review of them all actually - as a secret shopper or something.
Ride safe, shop local

The Amber Nectar, in Chorlton