The tandem: Pictures

At the top of Ditchling it was beautiful. Well worth the climb (almost)











Those of us who were already at the top took a well-earned rest waiting for the other riders.












The pink avengers on the sea front, proof that CC is always photogenic as no one should look that good after a ride of that magnitude.

Tandem

I didn't announce in advance in case we backed out but, on Friday, Cathy and I attempted a Friday Night Ride to the Coast on a tandem.

It was the Brighton run (the hilliest one) and neither of us had ever been on one before. I will blog about it at length but it'll take time to find the right words to describe what was a bizarre but amazing ride.

Keep your eyes on the skies.....

Women's cycle clothing, we're finally getting somewhere

I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of stylish clothing on show. There were some very cool-looking biker-style jackets by Swiss company ASSOS and a whole stand dedicated to commuting clothes.

The BSpoke range was featured and, I tell you what, Weenie likes.

My favourite item was a black trench-style jacket with hood. Lined with funky purple it looked like a lovely going out jacket. ... to the untrained eye at least. Any cyclist worth their salt will have notice: the pull down section that covers your arse but then poppers away when you're not cycling; the hidden pit zips and inside pockets; the reversible belt that's reflective, the completely waterproof but breathable fabric. Sigh.

If only it wasn't around £120 I'd be sold. But with standard high-vis jackets, including black fitted one with reflective strips, coming in at a maximum of £70, I just couldn't justify it.

Depressingly, this was a common feature on the clothing I looked at. Cyclodelic and new designer Ana Nichooler were both at the show and had some lovely stuff (check below for pix of Ana Nichooler stuff) but all of it was expensive. A lot of my lycra gear is hard-wearing and not too hideous in the pricing range so I'm happy to throw it over London's roads and take it out most days. I would love some designer stuff but I fear it would stay at the back of my wardrobe as I'd be too frightened to take it out.

Perhaps when women's cycling becomes normal and less rarified prices will drop, at least we're getting somewhere now. On the weekends I don't want to wear lycra padded shorts as I trip round markets and do light shopping. I take great comfort from the fact that women's cycle clothing is being looked at by designers.

Ana Nichoolson stuff, I like........

Silence please for Blue Bike, a tribute

CC's Blue Bike has passed to the dirt-track in the sky. A snap in his derailleur proved fatal and the decision was made not to attempt repair.

Blue Bike, or BB to his friends, may have looked like any old scruffy MTB but he was a good bike. Not for him were the annoying regular breakdowns that plague so many owners, he believed in reliability. He introduced CC into a new world of cycling and faithfully carried her to work across many mornings an in all weathers without complaint. BB was as comfortable powering up kerbs as he was nipping to High Street Ken for coffee, and this was typical of his devotion to his owner.

We salute you BB and our loss will be felt for some time.

Further DIY and a tandem

I think I may have to change Reg's brakes. Although he's fairly new I go quite quickly on him, for quite long distances and I stop at traffic lights. All of this equals lots of braking. The question is, do I attempt to change them myself?

Following my sterling efforts to replace my rear inner tube after a nasty puncture I feel emboldened and ready to attempt a brake change. I also resent that if I take Reg to anywhere but my trusty local bike shop I'll be charged the earth for the labour (about 10 minutes). I think I'm going to do it and I shall let you know how it goes.

In other news I've found someone who owns, not one, not two but THREE tandems! I'm intrigued. CC and I quite fancy a tandem ride and I may have to ask this gentleman if I can borrow one. When I mentioned it to my dad he said it was lots of fun. Surely, I replied, you haven't had a go on one?!

It turns out that dad and his best childhood friend frequently took tandem rides through the local countryside. His friend had a cousin who was blind and they'd take it in turns to go on the tandem with him while the other person was on a regular bike. Apparently the only issue was shouting 'Stop pedalling!' when braking as otherwise he would keep going when you were trying to stop, and shouting 'Lean left!' and 'Lean right!'. What a marvellous idea for helping those with sight problems have fun on bikes. It's now a paralympic sport with the blind athlete at the front and a sighted assistant telling them direction in the back seat. Perhaps dad and his mate were ahead of their time.

Fame, and the power of pink

Having originally set up this blog to combat the problem of having no Facebook at work and to keep friends and family abreast of my hugely exciting life I'm very flattered and excited that others are reading it. So hello to all of you.

Anyhoo, this morning I took the power ranger leggings out for the first time on a normal commute. Unfortunately their outing coincided with me losing my cashcard and having to go to the bank first thing. And the bank opened late. Cue me standing in a full length wet-look legs condom in black and high-vis yellow for what seemed like forever outside the bank on a busy high street. On the midnight ride I was one of many but this morning it was lonely out there.

Lycra is comfy and apart from this morning I don't mind wearing it when I'm going to work but I often yearn to look more of a lady when I'm out socially. Reg looks very racy and I love him but CC's Pashley Poppy is just so much more civilised and I believe a large part of that is its colour: Pink.

My lycra fits with my mean-looking black paint job on Reg, if he was pink maybe I'd feel better about wearing something less aggressive. I've worn a smocky top/dress with leggings to ride him around town before but it always looks like I'm borrowing my boyfriend's bike as he's just so masculine. I need Reg's speed and agility but not his manly look.

Why don't maufacturers think about this when building bikes. They always come in boring and bland colours unless they're single speeds and those just aen't practical when you do the distances I do.

Hmmmmmm, maybe instead of buying a new bike next year I could get him resprayed....... oh so tempting.

The midnight ride - part one

Ok, so I completed the Friday Night Ride to the Coast and, frankly, it was f***king amazing!

There'll probably be many posts about it as I learnt a huge amount about my cycling and cycling in a group etc but amazing sums it up.

I had to walk up most of the last hill and my chain came off on another one but I stayed in about the middle of the group for most of the ride and CC and I stayed together a lot of the time. I managed hills I never dreamed I could climb, cycled through six-foot visibility mist in the pitch black, ate some truly disgusting energy bars and, along with the rest of the group, caused quite a spectacle at Gatwick at 4am.

We were delayed as a fellow bike had serious tire problems and there were a few other incidents so we didn't actually get into Brighton until 8am but when we did it was wonderful. Because of the delays we missed the sunrise and by the time we hit the beacon it was fully daylight and scorching hot. We winged our way down into town in streaming sunlight and a full fry up went some way to helping us recover.

I was hugely impressed by the professionalism of the organisers. No one was left behind and it was incredibly easy to navigate the route even when we were spread out because of rolling wayfinders. I felt completely safe and supported and when the last person crested the beacon (broken chain poor girl) there were genuine cheers for her and within 20 minutes her chain was fixed and she was back on the road. The vast majority of the group were really friendly and even though we were new CC and I were made to feel like hardened lycra loonies.

I'll definitely be going again!

Pink bikes and torrential rain

Yesterday I met the Princess. She's a Pashley Poppy in blush pink and was bought recently by CC.

She's gorgeous and, when I had a go, was surprisingly comfy to ride. I love Reg and Roger but I have to admit that I was envious as CC and Princess wound their way up to High Street Ken. She got many an admiring look and CC said that she was mightily fussed over in the shop when she picked her up. Reg got leaned against a counter and I had to beg for assistance. Sigh.

Then after work I got completely soaked. It was a downpour of biblical proportions that lasted all the way from Hammersmith to Ealing. Thank God for waterproof panniers. I threw on my jacket and pedalled on but then the sun came out and was scorchingly hot meaning I had to pack up my wet jacket and brave the now slick streets that the suns rays had turned to a blinding gold colour. Not only that but then the wind started in my face.

I got to my parents' and had to change my socks but my shoes were so wet that it made bugger all difference. They're at home drying today.

I often wonder why the proportion of female cyclists is so low. I mean, it's just so damn glamorous.

Nature, the highs and lows

So, having agreed to cycle overnight to Brighton on 3 July (am so excited) Cyclechick and I wisely decided to meet up at Kew and do a circuit of Richmond Park as 'training'. The last time we planned the same outing we ended up watching the cricket on Kew Green from the pub and we both got sunburn and had lots of beer. Oops.

This time I was determined and, although CC tried desperately to keep us in the pub, we had one beer and were off. Now, I had been warned that Richmond Park was 'a bit hilly' but my God, the pain. It was an uphill struggle to get to the park and within a few hundred yards I'd hit nearly 50kph going down the first hill!

Then we went up, then down, then up. There can't have been more than 50 yards of flat terrain. On the worst hill I actually got off and walked for the steepest five yards and thought I was going to die. CC managed to stay on her bike to the top but confessed to feeling like her legs were going to fall off and that she nearly threw up. We weren't the only ones having trouble but I felt it was a bit mean of the guy in yellow to lap us quite so obviously.

On the plus side we whizzed past huge herds of deer, babies and those with antlers, I nearly crashed while squealing 'Look, it's a bunny!' as one hopped gaily around and, as you're relatively quiet on a bike, nothing runs away at your approach like they would with a car.

We then cycled back to Kew for pizza before heading home. CC is an hour from Kew and had to cycle in this morning so sensibly took the train part of the way but I'm only 40 minutes from there so cycled. It was around 10pm and nature was out in force. Moths the size of bats bounced off my helmet and the bugs of the night were begging to be swallowed. But by far the weirdest experience was hearing the low-level buzzing of what sounded like a bomber coming into land. I then had to swerve as something the size of a plum was suspended at face level in the air.

It was a stag beetle. Flying. Near my face. It was amazing, and f***ing enormous. Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww