Newsletter - Cycling News | September

Sent: Wed, Aug 29th 2007, 08:12

Message

In this bumper edition...

  • Free healthcare for bikes
  • Bike Guru - more free stuff!
  • Boris in Beastly Bike Blag
  • Bite-Size Bike Maintenance
  • Parisian bike scheme takes off
  • Half-term cycle training
  • Cycling hols
  • Forest fun
  • Bike hotel

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Free healthcare for bikes  

Life Cycle is running several free Doctor Bike surgeries across Bristol during the coming months.  If your bike is a bit rickety bring it along for a check up and a spot of minor surgery. We'll fix things like punctures, dodgy brakes, broken cables or misaligned gears, and give out bags of useful advice.

  • On Thursday 30th  August we're at Doncaster Park in Southmead, Bristol as part of a family fun day. 12.00 to 2.30.
  • On Saturday 8th September our mechanics will be outside the old post office in Fishponds, Bristol.  We're supporting an event called “Give it a Go” aimed at persuading people to use their cars less and the greener alternatives a little more. 11.00 to 1.30 
  • On Saturday 22nd September we're sending two bike mechanics to Stapleton Road, Easton, Bristol to run a cycle surgery as our contribution to the Streets Alive! celebrations. There will be art installations, music, dance, food and entertainment of all kinds. It's one big street party! 12.00 to 2.30
  • On Saturday 29th September we'll be at Knowle West Food Festival, Filwood Community Centre (off Barnstaple Road) Filwood Broadway, Bristol.  Two Life Cycle mechanics will be fixing bikes and scoffing all the best food! 12.00 to 2.30

Some of these surgeries are funded by Bristol City Council - and we are immensely grateful for their support!

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Bike Guru - more free stuff!

Throughout the autumn and winter months Life Cycle is running a brand new project called Bike Guru. Our Gurus will appear at different spots around Bristol offering cyclists free bicycle health-checks and giving out free bike lights and natty high-visibility waistcoats so you can be seen by other road users. We'll also answer your cycling-related questions and give advice about cycling safely after dark.

There's no charge.  All you have to do is to answer a few quick questions and let us have an email address so that we can contact you later to find out whether our advice and our freebies have been useful.

The dates and locations of the Bike Guru appearances are listed on the "courses and events" pages of the Life Cycle website   Bike Guru is a partnership project run by Life Cycle UK and Bristol City Council with funding from the Department for Transport.

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Boris in Beastly Bike Blag

Ardent cyclist, and candidate for Mayor of London, Boris Johnson MP recently had his bike stolen.  He lamented: “It was swifter than eagles, it was stronger than lions. It was a silver-grey Marin Sausalito with featherlight wishbone struts and, with tyres pumped and a following wind, it was a two-wheeled Desert Orchid, capable of surging from Highbury to the House of Commons in less than 20 minutes.”  And now it's gone.

Our deepest sympathies.  Anyone who’s had a bike pinched will remember the heart stopping moment when you return to the spot where you left it, the brief flash of incredulity that it’s disappeared, then the anger, followed by the misery of a walk home and all the kafuffle of reporting the theft, making an insurance claim or scraping up the cash for a replacement bike.

Cycle theft is not 100 per cent preventable, but you can make life difficult for the thief.  Buy a decent D-lock (one that carries the Sold Secure endorsement), lock your bike somewhere prominent, ideally to a proper Sheffield-type bike stand. Organisations can get these free of charge from Life Cycle, by the way. There's more info here

And remember that all bikes have a unique individual frame number. This is the bicycle equivalent of a fingerprint. Make a note of it (it’s usually on the underside of the frame), take a couple of photos of the bike and register it online at www.immobilise.com  The police check any stolen bikes they recover against this database and try to return them to the rightful owner.

Read more about Boris’s ordeal here 

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Bite-Size Bike Maintenance

From September Life Cycle is serving up Bite-Size Bike Maintenance courses. These take place on Wednesday evenings in central Bristol. Each course is a two-and-a-half hour helping of maintenance advice and practice.  You work on your own bike and all tools and spare parts are provided. There's never been an easier, more user-friendly way of learning the rudiments of bike fixing!  Here's the menu...

Basic bike care course
Explains what the various parts of a bike are called and which bit does what. How to clean a bike properly. How to check it over in a systematic way and how to spot the early signs of wear and tear. How to lubricate it and keep everything running smoothly.

Puncture prevention and repair course
How to avoid puncture. Ways of getting yourself and your bike home if you're not able to fix a flat tyre. How to use a bicycle pump. How to remove a wheel, take out the inner tube and repair the pesky puncture.

Brakes course
Simple ways of adjusting your brakes for maximum stopping power. Replacing a broken cable. Adjusting the brake levers. Fitting and adjusting new brake pads.

Gears course
How derailleur gears work. Simple adjustments that will keep them changing smoothly and accurately. Looking after your chain. Replacing a gear cable.

Wheels course
How to keep your wheels turning. Includes tensioning spokes, truing a buckled wheel and adjusting your wheel bearings. 

Brompton course
Special course for the owners of a Brompton folding bikes. You'll learn numerous tips and tricks, and useful skills such as wheel removal and gear adjustment. Upgrades and add-ons.

Places cost £30. To read more about the courses click here.   To find out when the courses are running click here. 
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Parisian bike scheme takes off

The “Velib” free bike scheme launched in Paris last month has been a rip-roaring success with thousands of Parisians and visitors choosing to leave their cars at home to pedal instead. By mid-August more than 1.6 million rentals had been recorded, an average of around 60,000 every day.  The programme is set to double in size by the end of the year to include around 20,000 bikes and 1,450 pick up points, one every 300 metres. Bike hire is free for the first half-hour, longer trips incur
a mall charge.

"This is about revolutionising urban culture.  For a long time cars were associated with freedom of movement and flexibility. What we want to show people is that in many ways bicycles fulfil this role much more today"  said Pierre Aidenbaum, the mayor of Paris's fashionable Third District at the formal opening of a Velib hire station. 

Now it looks likely that London will follow suit.  Mayor Ken Livingstone has asked Transport for London to investigate the feasibility of setting up a scheme in the capital. TfL will look closely at the Paris scheme and also at other similar initiatives in other European cities.  "It clearly works and is highly popular" said Ken.

Read more about the Velib scheme by clicking here.


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Half-term cycle training

Throughout the summer Life Cycle ran a series of cycle skills training courses for 8 to 11 year olds.  As ever, these were extremely popular - despite the wet weather. We have a couple more courses planned for the autumn half term.  On 23rd, 24th and 25th October there's a course at Bristol Grammar School in Clifton.  And there will also be a course in Keynsham too (but the date is still to be confirmed). Keep an eye on the "courses and events" pages of our website for further details. 

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Cycling hols

Concerns over climate change, health and fitness and the glamour of the Tour de France are fuelling a huge increase in cycling holidays, according to research by market analysts Mintel. Britons spent some £120-million on 450,000 cycling holidays last year, with some operators experiencing increases of up to 30% on 2005 figures.  Mintel estimates that a further 2.25 million holidays taken by Britons last year included some kind of cycling adventure, such a day's bike hire.

Richard Cope, senior travel consultant at Mintel, said: "Britain is becoming a nation of cycling enthusiasts." Cycling had been given a new lease of life by environmental issues, an increased interest in health and fitness, and this year's Tour de France. Their research shows that while 16% of adults have been on a cycling holiday, a further 12% would like to, suggesting that six million Britons are on track to become first-time cycling holidaymakers.

[Thanks Guardian.co.uk]

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Forest fun

Did you know that there's 1,600 miles of waymarked trail open to mountain bikers and leisure cyclists in Britain' forests?  The routes have been created by the Forestry Commission, and during the autumn months, as the trees begin to change their colours, there's nothing nicer than a woodland ride.

Bristolians are especially well placed to explore our sylvan heritage.  We have the gorgeous New Forest just 60 miles away (you and your bike can get there by train to Beaulieu Road, Ashurst or Brockenhurst railway stations) while the wonderful Forest of Dean is a mere 30 miles up the road (or train to Lydney). If you don't own a bike you can still go cycling there!  Both forests support flourishing cycle hire businesses who can fix you up with a beefy mountain bike, an easy-to-use hybrid or something a little more unusual.  A tandem perhaps, or a tricycle...  Kids' bikes, trailers and tag-alongs are also available.

Life Cycle can send you maps of both forests so you can begin to plan your rides.  Click here to see them.

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Bike hotel

Guests at Bristol's Holland House Hotel in Redcliffe are being encouraged to get around by bike. The new four-star hotel has bought a fleet of 12 bikes in both adults' and children’s sizes.  This sort of thing is commonplace in continental hotels but rare in Britain, so here at Life Cycle we applaud their initiative and their vision!  Apparently the bikes are proving popular, with guests using them to reach the city centre or for rides around Bristol's harbourside.

Needless to say the idea came from a Dutchman: Edward Kreft, the hotel's general manager...  Nice one Ed!

 


 
Sent
Wed, Aug 29th 2007, 08:12