Thin blue ride

There have been various calls over the last few months for cyclists to engage in some sort of formal training before taking to the road.
Notwithstanding the logistical challenge of making everyone who owns a bike doing some sort of test and enforcing it, it seems to me to be unnecessary.
Quite apart from anything else, most people I know who cycle, take a keen interest in their riding style.
The best thing I ever did for my cycling and car driving for that matter, was learn to ride a motorbike.
The thing with riding a motorbike is that if you crash, you're basically toast meaning you have to know what you're doing.  I'm by no means the best bike handler in the world but I'm much, much better than I used to be.
Simple things like checking blind spots - something which car only drivers seldom do - are given extra importance on a motorbike as they become 'your lifesaver'.
Many cyclists and motorcyclists like to think of themselves as students of the road and if I could recommend one book to read, it'd be the Police motorcyclist's riding guide: Roadcraft.

Warning: may include doughnuts

If you want to know how to read a bend, all about lane positioning and being safe at speed, this is a great place to start.
My copy is from the early 1980s and it basically explains defensive riding techniques before the term was invented.
You can pick copies up for a couple of quid and it'll make you a better rider.

NEC: not encouraging cyclists

I'm enduring the hospitality of the Birmingham NEC this week and find it to be a pretty inhospitable place for the two-wheeled visitor.
Among the posters for the bike show at the end of September, the provision for cycling and cyclists is non-existent.
The whole place is pretty soulless anyway, but it's a means to an end.
Sadly, cycling has been completely overlooked with not even a Sheffield stand in sight.
Poor show really...

Breeze: women-only cycling event in Manchester

A week next Sunday (23 September) the women only Breeze ride takes place including one in Greater Manchester at Phillips Park in Swinton.
The purpose of the Breeze series is encourage more women to take to two wheels.  It is an undeniable truism that more fellah's ride bikes than women do.
And this is a sad thing.

Pictures like this re-establish your belief in humanity

When I get a bit excited and carried away with bikes and their social / historical significance, I ponder on the simple invention of two circles and two triangles which has brought freedom and emancipation to millions of people all over the world for the last 150 years or so.
The bike should be embraced by all people in equal number: it does not distinguish between gender, race or age of its rider.  The bicycle does not discriminate.
So events like Breeze are a good thing in my book and I sincerely hope they lead to more and more women taking up cycling.

What's in the bag?

Among all the important questions facing the cycling commuter is the one about how you are going to transport your stuff to and from work.
Over the years I've tried various different options including every rack / pannier configuration you can imagine, ruck sacks of varying sizes and even a over-the-shoulder newspaper style bag which was disastrous.
I find panniers a pain, as your bike end up out of balance.
Finding something that works for you is a matter of trial and error but I'm happy to pass on a few tips which might make it a bit easier for you.

Busy day in the office

• Leave your lock where you lock your bike: it's probably the heaviest thing you'll carry so don't take it on a tour unnecessarily, it has no interest in sightseeing.
• Travel light: only carry what you really need. Pour moi: shirt, socks, trollies, keys, wallet, phone.
• Find space for a puncture kit, pump and some tyre levers.
• Be careful with food: Yoghurts and nectarines are both a disaster waiting to happen.
• Zip it: loads of bags have zips these days which are good for keeping your stuff inside.
• Keeping dry: if you don't have an outer cover for the bag, put your stuff in a plastic bag to keep all the rain out.
• Being seen: Many people opt for those day glow HUMP things. Me no like. Get something with reflective fabric if you want, but most importantly, have decent lights on your bike.
• Smaller is always better.  The bigger your bag, the more stuff you'll carry.

So there you go, hope it was of use!

Beautiful day in the Peaks

Lovely ride out today in the autumnal sunshine. Route was something like: Chorlton, Stockport, Marple, Hayfield, Chinley, Whaley Bridge, Kettleshulme, Windgather, Dead Man's Hill, Blaze Hill, Pott Shrigley, Poynton, Bramhall, Cheadle, Didsburyshire and back to Chorlton.
Plenty of people out on their bikes today too - always good to see.

Media react to Tour of Britain start

For all of the hype surrounding cycling this year, what's the media response to the tour of Britain starting today?
The best you can say for the BBC, the most visited news site in Europe, is that the news made it onto the sport homepage - just.
On this, admittedly single piece of evidence, cycling's stock has risen but by an imperceptibly small amount.

Used cycling top: £200

Allied with Team GB's superb successes at the Olympics and Paralympics, has been the uber-cool Stella McCartney kit that they've been wearing.
The limited availability of the cycling kit has led to a boom in the second hand market for the abstract Union flag design.

Available now on ebay

If you have a look on eBay for Team GB Olympic cycling kit, you'll find that jerseys are demanding hundreds of pounds and people appear to by paying it.
You'll also find, what some people refer to as 'cheap Chinese replicas' going for £30.
Apparently the 'originals' were manufactured in Italy rather than the far east but given that almost everything else is made in China, there's probably very little difference between the two products.
It all rather makes you wonder why the kit isn't still available.  Profits could go back into legacy or whatever.