Newsletter - Cycling News | January
Sent: Mon, Jan 7th 2008, 08:51
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Welcome to the January edition of the electronic newsletter from Life Cycle UK, the cycle promotion charity. In this issue...
Bike the flab!
Healthy snacking
Make your workplace cycle-friendly
Park that bike
Ride the green wave
Doctor bike
Meet the team!
Chelsea supporters
More equals safe
New Year Resolution #1 Bike the flab!
It’s easy to over-eat at Christmas time. Most of us put away a lot more food than we intended and by January the old waistband is groaning and the bathroom scales have gone into hiding. So, for 2008, get back in shape by eating a little less and using your bike a little more.
Cycling can be a very effective way of burning off the calories. Even a typical commute of 20 minutes each way will make a difference. According to the NHS on-line calorie calculator those 40 minutes in the saddle will help you lose the equivalent of a takeaway cheeseburger and fries, or a portion of beef lasagne. Crank it up to an hour a day and you're burning off a roast beef dinner or a spaghetti carbonara.
Access the calorie calculator (and get a fascinating insight into what the UK’s health professionals think we all eat!) by clicking here.
New Year Resolution #2 Healthy Snacking
Yes, pedal off the pounds, but don’t overdo it. You need to eat something. We’ve not featured recipes in our newsletter before, but this one for organic energy bars caught our eye. The bars are a blend of fruit and nuts held together in a tasty, chewy package that will survive several hours of bouncing about in the bottom of your pannier. We’ve tested this recipe out – and it works!
Ingredients
80g butter
80g honey
40g pear and apricot or prune spread
80g dark brown sugar
120g jumbo oats
30g walnut pieces
30g sultanas
30g organic dried apricots
30g pumpkin seeds
30g sunflower seeds
30g linseeds
Method
1. Preheat your oven to 190°C. Now line a 20cm baking tin with greaseproof paper and thinly grease the inside of it.
2. In a large saucepan melt the butter, honey, fruit spread and sugar together on a medium heat, stirring until dissolved. Now bring it to the boil and cook for two minutes so that the sugar caramelises, making it a sticky sauce.
3. Add the oats and mix well then add all of the other fruits, nuts and seeds. Give this a good mix before pouring into the cake tin, patting down with the back of a metal spoon. Then place in the middle of the oven.
4. Cook for 15-20 minutes until set. If it starts to burn cover with foil. Once ready just turn it out and leave to cool on a rack, then slice into wedges to suit your appetite.
This is a sweet snack thanks to the honey and fruit paste, but most of the sugars are slower burning fruit sugars so you shouldn't get a big sugar rush from these bars. Oats contain lots of soluble fibre that helps to regulate sugar release so this balances well with the sweetness.
Thanks to the delicious Chris Ford www.bikeradar.com
New Year Resolution #2 Make your workplace cycle-friendly
Make 2008 the year your workplace becomes truly welcoming and convenient for those who travel by bike. We can help you! Life Cycle offers a range of services for employers. These include:
- A cycle audit. We’ll visit your premises and assess your cycle facilities. We’ll also ask a lot of questions about how your organisation encourages cycling and makes it attractive. You’ll get a detailed report afterwards packed with ideas for improving your facilities, offering incentives and actively promoting cycle travel.
- A cycling information stall. Our cycling advisors will run a stall providing free cycle maps and other literature. They will also be able to help with route planning and to answer questions about matters such as cycle security, lighting, carrying luggage and basic maintenance.
- A Life Cycle roadshow. An interactive presentation and discussion aimed at people who are tempted to give cycling a try but who have concerns about matters such as traffic, finding the best route, having luggage to carry, coping with mechanical problems, etc. We’ll offer simple, practical solutions to all of these issues.
We also provide Doctor Bike surgeries and cycle training for commuters.
Find out who in your organisation is responsible for Travel Planning or commuting issues – and forward them this e-mail.
Park that Bike
The bicycle stand, rather like the bike itself, appears to be irresistible to engineers. Every so often someone comes up with a new type or a subtle variation. Last year it was the CyclePod, the brainchild two young entrepreneurs James Steward and Natalie Connell. Fans of Channel 4's Tricky Business reality TV series watched them launch their fledgling enterprise. In May 2006 Steward and Connell scooped the Shell Livewire Young Entrepreneur of the Year award, an accolade that gave them more media exposure, access to capital – and the first of many orders for their trumpet-shaped cycle racks. To learn more click here.
Here at Life Cycle UK we’re ever so slightly sceptical about CyclePods. They’re pricey and it can be hard work getting a bike up-ended, especially if its loaded with panniers. No such problems though with the ingenious Bikeeper – an new invention from the cycle-friendly Netherlands. Click here to have a look.
Click the “techniek” option and there’s a little movie playing at the bottom of the screen. Marvel at the simplicity of the Bikeeper’s design, the clever way it holds the bicycle upright. Gasp as the lovely Dutch lady effortlessly parks her bike, even with two small children aboard. Note too how the device offers up a retaining arm through which you simply thread your D-lock, securing bike’s frame and front wheel in seconds. Looks good. Wonder when they’ll appear the UK?
In the meantime, there's always the classic Sheffield stand. Simple, sturdy and – if you’re an organisation in Bristol, B&NES, South Gloucestershire, North Somerset or Gloucestershire – free of charge. Check out our amazing Take a Stand offer by clicking here.
Ride the green wave
Odense in Denmark has unveiled a special series of "running lights" along one of the city’s busiest cycle lanes. Little green lights set into bollards at the side of the road detect a cyclist’s approach and switch on, one after the other, signalling the rider to either speed up or slow down. Maintain the correct speed, follow the “green wave” and you will reach the traffic lights at intersections when they too are on their green phase. So no more waiting at red lights. See it in action by clicking here.
This isn’t the first innovative idea to come from Scandinavia. Many of us recall the famous bicycle lift from Trondheim in Norway. The lift helps cyclists up one of the city’s steep hills. It comprises a moving belt set into the kerb: plant a foot on it and you get pulled along. For a while there was talk of a similar device being installed along Bristol’s Park Street... For an uplifting video clip click here.
Doctor Bike
We have three Doctor Bike surgeries to give away absolutely free of charge. Our mechanics will check people’s bikes over, carry out minor repairs and adjustments and give out lots of impartial maintenance advice.
Life Cycle normally makes a charge for the service, but thanks to the support of Bristol City Council, we can run three surgeries for free. If you're involved with a community group or if you’re organising an event that’s likely to attract a good number of cyclists and you’d like Doctor Bike to come along, simply make your case in an e-mail. Your cycle surgery must take place before 31st March. There’s more information about Doctor Bike here.
Meet the Team!
Life Cycle UK’s mission is to help more people take up cycling and we do this through a range of practical services such as cycle training, teaching bike maintenance, providing maps and information, and installing cycle parking. We also run various special projects such as tandem rides for blind and visually impaired people and the Youth Project. Every month we introduce you to one of our lovely team members…
Name: Derek Saddington
Role: Doctor Bike and Bike Maintenance Workshop Teacher
Tell us a little about yourself and what you do:
My full time job is Lead Science Technician at John Cabot School in Bristol. I've done lots of jobs; electronics engineering, mechanical engineering, computer programming, teaching and then some. On the cycling front I've built frames, working for the late-great Swallow cycles in Essex and now I run Bike Maintenance Workshops (BMWs) and Doctor Bike surgeries for Life Cycle.
Best thing about your job:
I love the BMWs. It's great getting people fired up about all aspects of cycling and I think my enthusiasm can be contagious - people think their coming to learn how to fix their bikes but really it's a not-so-subtle attempt at making them realise that they can be uniquely in control of their mode of transport in a way that they won't have experienced if they've driven, walked or bussed everywhere. Although I've worked with bikes for more than 30 years I always find I learn something new from the clients and other Life Cycle mechanics each time I do a BMW. Being Dr Bike is also a great opportunity to impress the owner of a problem bike and spot the trouble in double quick time!
Do you do much cycling?
Not as much as I would like to but I'm determined to get out more this year.
What bike(s) do you own?
I'm currently riding a very old (but, of course, well maintained) Saracen mountain bike, this also serves as tug for my son's trailer. The garage is full of old and not so old bikes waiting to be renovated and repaired, there's an original Specialized Stump Jumper in there somewhere! Biggest regret was selling my custom built Swallow tandem about 15 years ago.
Favourite cycle journey?
Probably a two week holiday around the Loire in France. The most impressive, a five day, 400 plus miles round trip from Southend-On-Sea in Essex to York. The Wettest was most definitely a two week camping/tandem tour of the Rhein in Germany. I have the only pictures of the expedition having just acquired a waterproof camera before we went!
Derek's top cycling tips:
Buy the best quality bikes and equipment you can. Get impartial advice from someone before making any major bike-related purchase. Avoid 'two bikes for 50 quid' offers on the Internet. Watch out for the railway lines on the waterfront in Bristol.
Chelsea supporters
If you have an account with the Chelsea Building Society you’ll receive mailing shortly encouraging you to vote in their Annual General Meeting. As an incentive, the Chelsea Charitable Foundation will make a donation to a nominated charity, and one of the charitable projects on the list is Life Cycle UK’s Two’s Company project which runs tandem rides for people who are blind or partially sighted.
The Foundation will make a donation of 10p for every vote paper received – or 20p if you vote on-line. So if you happen to be a member of The Chelsea please use your vote this year – and opt for Two’s Company!.
More = Safe
Cycling is at a 10-year high, while casualties are at a 10-year low. So says the Government’s Transport Statistics for Great Britain: 2007 Edition.
In 2006 (that’s the most recent year for which the Government has data) the nation collectively rode 2.6 billion kilometres. Cycling is also becoming safer, with casualties down from 600 to 374 per 100,000 km cycled. The more cycling there is, the safer it becomes.
Here’s to even more, even safer, even more enjoyable miles in 2008! Happy New Year to you, from Life Cycle UK.
- Sent
- Mon, Jan 7th 2008, 08:51