News Feed

Note: This is a small section taken from my Guide to Cycling in London. I wanted to post it up here as a bit of a preview of what people can expect from the guide. If you haven’t yet grabbed a copy you can see this post for details.

In my first London apartment we had 3 bikes in the hallway. It looked cluttered, made it hard to move around the flat and caused plenty of scratches to our bikes. What I’ve since realised is that this age old problem has been addressed by a number of manufacturers. Therefore, it’s not something you have to put up with. Various bicycle storage solutions are available and luckily most cost less than £20.

Also sometimes called Bike Lifts. This solution makes use of the ceiling for bicycle storage. You simply hoist the bike up and it is stored off the ground. It’s a good solution to the problem and costs around £20.

Storing a bike upright saves floor space and looks less messy. It also means the bikes are not leaning against each other which can cause dents and other damage. There are various hooks specifically for bikes. Alternatively you can improvise and make your own but be sure to cover it with padding so as not to cause any damage.

If you have a shed or a garage then this provides something sturdy you can lock your bike to. It should be attached to a solid wall or floor.

Checkout some bike anchors

Whilst a little overpriced at nearly £60 the Cycloc is a handy and clean looking invention allowing you to store your bicycle on the wall. It is designed so you can quickly slide the back in and out of the stand.

Take a look at some of the different designs

If you have a garden then you might want to consider a bicycle shelter such as this one. This allows for security and some protection from the elements.

Soon I also want follow up with some quirky bicycle storage solutions as well as talk about how you can DIY your own bike storage.

See also:

• Guide to cycling in London
• Review of the ultimate guide to bicycle maintenance
• How to find a good pair of cycling shorts
• Q&A Where to store a bike?

Friday is the big day of the cycle hire scheme launch. If you have a key that is and if you’ve activated that key. Apparently 10,000 keys such as the one below (Thanks Adam) have been sent out.

Along with the key you also get various maps and information about staying safe. Wokingham Cyclist has posted about this if you are interested.

If you are part of the cool gang with one of these keys you need to “activate it”. This can be done through the London Cycle Hire website or by calling the helpline.

The process of using the key is as follows:

• Check that the docking point has no lights illuminated
• Before taking a cycle from a docking point, check that it is roadworthy (tyres, brakes, saddle, lights, bell)
• Insert your key into the docking point key slot
• The amber light will illuminate while your account is being verified
• As soon as the light turns green, undock your cycle by placing one hand on each of the handle bars and firmly pulling it out of the docking point.
• Remove your key from the key slot before you set off
• When re-docking your cycle, return it to any empty docking point which has no lights illuminated by pushing it firmly into place
• Wait until the light turns green to ensure you have successfully docked your cycle and completed your journey

Or as this TfL woman kindly demonstrated earlier today:

As you can see it’s so easy even a drunk person wanting to get home at night could do it. Though they would probably miss the key entry point a few times and then fall over the minute they ride off. Oh, and also they probably would have left the key in their other trousers and cursed the gods for not been able to just use the Oyster card.

By the way, the annoying clicking sound in the video isn’t the noise the docking station makes to let you know you’re about to hire a bike. In fact a cool sound the docking station could make the minute you put the key in is to have the recorded voice of a woman magically start playing so you can listen to how great Barclays are. I might suggest that to TfL.

I’ll leave you with this nice picture of the Mayors Transport Advisor Kulveen Ranger looking smug:

And looking less smug as a HGV is about to run him over:

Despite the dry humour and sarcasm that plagues this post I am in fact very excited about the Friday launch and will be there covering it for London Cyclist. It will be great to see all the docking stations around London filled with bikes ready for Londoners to hire and I look forward to using it. My housemate for one is very excited to have his key and will no doubt be one the first people to hop on these beautiful blue bikes.

See also:

• Will you be registering for the cycle hire scheme?
• Test riding the cycle hire bike
• Announcing the Barclays Cycle Hire
• Get your free guide to cycling in London

Today I’m releasing a second eBook to subscribers called “Guide to Cycling in London”. Most of the content from it is applicable to cycling in any city. It is a 37 page eBook filled with great cycling advice catered for everyday cyclists.

Here is quick overview of what you get:

• How to find the perfect cycling route through London
• 3 must-try London Cycle Routes including an impressive 25 mile Grand Tour of the Grand Union and a quirky 5 mile gentle ride around the unusual sights of central London.
• How to undertake and enjoy your first long distance bike ride
• The three tricks you won’t learn at cycle training
• How to never have your bike stolen
• How to meet fellow cyclists and go on group rides
• Turning your cycle commute into a workout
• London’s coolest bike shops and cafes
• Guide to buying a second hand bike
• All the best gear that makes a difference
• Storing a bike in a “cosy” London flat
• How you can make London a better place for cycling

Plus more but I don’t want to list everything and would prefer you just download it and have a look through for yourself!

Of course if you are a subscriber you also get another free eBook that guides you through the basics of Bicycle Maintenance. I’ve lost count of downloads of that guide but it is well in the region of 5,000 to 6,000 downloads. I’m very pleased it has done so well and is helping so many people look after their bikes. I hope this guide will be equally well received.

To get these two free amazing guides all you have to do is join the 1,211 cyclists who receive the London Cyclist newsletter. You’ll get plenty of great cycling tips and a weekly roundup of the posts on London Cyclist. Also you can unsubscribe whenever you want in just 2 clicks by following the links at the bottom of the email.

If you enjoy the guides then all I ask in return is I would really appreciate you spreading the messages to others by pointing them to this blog post using your blog, Twitter, Stumble Upon, Facebook or good old e-mail. Thank you very much for helping!

Note: I’m expecting high demand for the eBook so I apologise if the download crashes / becomes unavailable. Currently I’m hosting the file on Dropbox and will move it around if that becomes an issue.

Last Saturday was the Dunwich Dynamo. A 200km ride through the night from London Fields to a beach near Dunwich.

I’m not one for preparation but this time I stocked up on the advice. From previous blog posts such in the Guardian Bike Blog and forums such as LFGSS. I took with me lots of food, drink, batteries, spare inner tubes and a bright bike light. I also invested in a bottle cage to be able to refuel without stopping. I had the route plotted in my iPhone and turned down the brightness and the 3G off so that it would last throughout the 10 hour ride.

Although, I did manage to undo much of the preparation by going out for drinks the night before. Oh well..

Arriving at London Fields around 9 for the start of the Dunwich Dynamo I picked up the turn by turn directions and looked for my ride buddy.

We quickly got going and settled into a fast pace. The atmosphere was great and it was incredible to see so many cyclists together, red lights flicking and groups forming. We wanted to quickly get out of London to start enjoying the country lanes. Soon after Epping Forest our wish was granted and we were enjoying the ride. There is something quite magical about riding at night in a big group.

The first stop was at Moreton. Here quite a few people were already on the beers and it was a good chance to catch up with some fellow riders. As it was still early in the night lots of pubs were still open so there was plenty of great places to stop. We didn’t stick around long as we were keen to get going.

Again we rode at a high speed doing lots of overtaking looking for a group of riders going at a similar speed. So far it was the over enthusiasm for the ride that was causing this huge boost in energy and I was sure there would be a serious drop in speed later on.

The quiet country lanes were the perfect condition for cycling and I was glad of my Ixon IQ bike light shining the way ahead. If you are looking for a good light for the ride that isn’t too expensive then I can highly recommend it. In a couple of the quaint villages some of the people that lived there had come out to cheer everyone along. This was good fun and it was good to see people supporting the ride.

At one point we came across someone that had taken a bad fall. He looked rather worse for wear but as there was a lot of people already stopped to help we kept going. It reminded me of the dangers and to stay focused.

The next stop was at the Village Hall. Here I managed to catch up with the guys from Going Going Bike and also SuspectPackage who was easy to spot donning the Hello Joe t-shirt. Various sandwiches were being sold and also it was a good place to fill up the water bottles as from here on there would be far less pubs and petrol stations open.

At around 90-100 miles in we took a short break to grab some food. Daylight was on the way and as we sat eating some sandwiches various people cycled past and turned back around. We realised we had missed a turn. Most of the way the directions were very easy to follow.

The last 20 miles were tough. Tiredness was setting in and time seemed to be standing still as did the mileage count. I left my riding buddy to do some solo cycling. Eventually I came across the sign for Dunwich. There was a big relief and the last 5 or so miles were a bit of daze. After just over 9 hours of cycling I arrived at Dunwich, wheeled my bike onto the beach and sat down to take in the ride.

About 15 minutes later I was joined by the other guys I was riding the Dunwich Dynamo with and we set about getting some breakfast. We joined up with Silka from TfL who had also finished the ride and recounted our experiences. I wanted to catch up with various people such as Karl and Sparkes but was feeling that bit too tired.

It was great to sit on the beach and think about the whole thing. Easily my favourite experience was about 25-50 miles in, riding at high speeds and enjoying the dark setting. The Dunwich Dynamo is a great ride that I would highly recommend.

See also:

• 10 London Cycling Events you can’t miss
• Hackney Bicycle Film Society
• London Cycling Cafes
• Definitive guide to bike lights

Registration for the cycle hire scheme was today launched and if you want to be one of the first to use the scheme you need to register. Registration for the year costs £45 which is generally considered the best value for money. Otherwise you can also choose weekly and daily plans.

This can be completed via: http://www.tfl.gov.uk/roadusers/cycling/14808.aspx

Upon entering your name, date of birth, relationship status, what you had yesterday for breakfast you’ll be sent a key that you then need to activate.

They key itself costs £3 and the obvious criticism is why couldn’t this have been integrated with that other famous key we have to London. The Oyster card.

Generally, the £45 plus £3 key is the only thing you’ll end up paying for. This is because most people will be aiming to stay within the half hour free limit. Thus it does make this one of the cheapest forms of transport around London (and most eco-friendly).

Some crazy rumours had been flying around that there would be volunteers redistributing bikes during the day. I don’t know who started that rumour but it is of course false.

In fact yesterday on my cycle home I saw the little vans that will be re-distributing bikes around the docking station. I was going too fast to take a picture and they were stuck in the traffic jam so you’ll have to imagine what they looked like!

So, will you be registering for the cycle hire scheme? and Why? Can you see yourself using it? Are you happy to pay the £45? Any problems registering? Opinions please..

Cycle hire scheme coverage:

• Test riding the cycle hire bike
• Announcing the Barclays Cycle Hire
• Delays to the Barclays Cycle Hire Scheme
• London Cycle Hire locations revealed

Last week when I asked about the best cycling accessory people had bought in the past 12 months I knew exactly which one I had in my mind. My Topeak Joe Blow Sport which was recently sent to me by the nice people at Extra UK.

When I first pulled it out of the box I wondered where on earth am I going to keep this big thing. I marvelled at its beauty. Finally I owned something that wouldn’t look too out of place in a bike workshop. I no longer had to travel to my nearest bike shop and timidly ask if I can use their pump.

The big problem with the small hand pumps that we’ve all had since the days riding around with stabilisers is that they struggle to get a tyre up to the required pressure. The result is more rolling resistance which is inefficient. Meaning more hard pedalling and frustration at the bike holding you back. Not having the bike at the correct PSI also meant more punctures.

Those days are long gone. With the pressure gauge at the bottom of the Topeak Joe Blow Sport its easy to know exactly what you are pumping the tyre up to. A few up and down movements and the tyre has gone from completely empty to full. The best part of it is you can imagine yourself blowing up a building each time you raise and drop the bar.

The fun doesn’t end there. This pump can fit both Presta and Schrader valves. Simply flick the switch in the direction labelled P or S. This means all bike types are covered. You also get the various attachments needed for pumping up footballs and so forth.

The Topeak Joe Blow Sport has absolutely everything I could ask for from a floor pump and it is definitely one of those cycling accessories I’d recommend getting sooner rather than later. There is a reason its the pump you often see on the floor in all the bike shops. Unfortunately the size of the Joe Blow Sport does mean it’s a little hard to find a new home for it.

Good things about the Topeak Joe Blow Sport:

• Finally reach the correct pressure on your bike tyres meaning less effort and punctures
• Takes about 1/10th of the time to pump up a tyre
• Solid, good quality design and at a good price
• Feel like you are a demolitions expert about to blow up a building each time you pump your bike

Bad things about the Topeak Joe Blow Sport:

• Don’t expect to be able to fit it into your panniers

The best price I’ve found is at Chain Reaction Cycles for £28.99 delivered. Evans sell it for £32.99 and Amazon for £29.49 but you have to pay an extra £2.50 for shipping.

You may also be interested in:

• Can you get a good cycling jacket for £50?
• Take a look at the top cycling accessories London’s cyclists chose
• London Cyclist releases a bike maintenance iPhone app
• Heavy, folding and expensive. The Abus Bordo bike lock