30 November 2011

London bikes invasion

Via one of my friends, I have just learnt about this super cool video showing the activity of London (wrongly known here as 'Boris') bikes. What I like the most is that the bike usage peaks at 9 am and 5 pm, which proves that London people do not actually work that long hours...well, some do not!

London Hire Bikes animation from Sociable Physics on Vimeo.

29 November 2011

Cycling, travelling and coffee

We are back from our holiday, still getting used to our daily routines and hopefully soon fully functional on our bikes and blog!

I´ve recently come across the fantastic blog Bean on a Bike via Travelling Two. I suggest you have a look at his beautiful pictures and incredible trip, could not be more jealous right now! Coffee, bikes and travels. What a great combination!

A blog entry with our recent experiences of cycling (just for a couple of days though) in Thailand will follow soon. We liked it so much that we (or should I say "I") are looking into our next holiday in Southeast Asia, hopefully on two wheels to escape the crowds.

09 November 2011

See you in two weeks!

We're off to Thailand for two weeks so won't be posting anything until the end of November. Hopefully we'll have something to say about cycling or bikes in Thailand!

While we're gone, why not relive some of our favourite posts!

Dunwich Dynamo Highlights and Lowlights

Dunwich Dynamo 2011 Timeline

Our very first experience on recumbent bikes (and trikes!)



Suffolk and Norfolk Coast Mini-tour: Part 2 - Day 1 Ipswich to Mundesley






Cycling the London to Brighton Veteran Car Run

On Sunday, we had the opportunity to take a truly unique cycle ride. We've cycled to Brighton many times, but never before have we been accompanied by almost 500 cars built before 1905!

The London to Brighton Veteran Car Run is one of the largest and longest running events of its kind, and draws participants from all over the globe. It has apparently become a tradition for a small band of cyclists to join in on the ride, as we go roughly the same speed as these old cars!

Riding along with the veteran cars.
The route was great fun, and an opportunity to cycle along a route that would normally be too busy and fast-moving to be comfortable. Instead, we cycled alongside cars for the entire route, but never felt unsafe. Because these cars are generally open to the elements, we could interact with the drivers and passengers... so much better than modern cars which make people isolated from one another on the roads.

Old cars need gas too!

There were probably about 50 cyclists in all, but we were in a group of 10-15 going at a similar speed. Some of the cyclists brought out their most fabulous and wacky bikes as well!

Velomobile
Cycling with doggies.

We cycled the whole route with Kepa, a Spaniard who we met at the beginning of the ride, who was great company.

Alberto and Kepa in Brighton

It was such fun to see these incredible machines up close and in motion. It was even more fun to overtake them on the hills! When we got to Brighton, we saw many cars that we had cycled along with early in the  ride, arriving hours after us! I knew it was possible, but it was still nice to have proof that we cycled faster than them!







03 November 2011

Paris Roubaix looks tough

It is the classic of the classics. Most of it on cobblestones. And they ride it on skinny tyres!

I've got a few videos via Diario de un Biciorejón which I find tiring just to look at.




Since it is actually not too far from the UK (near Lille), we are planning on watching it live next year. We will ride to Dover and then ferry over to Calais, and onwards to Lille. Should be good fun. Any takers?!

01 November 2011

How to eat at Audax controls

I've seen this really funny video on the yacf forum. Some people reckon that it is somewhat similar to eating in an Audax control...not that we have much experience in them, but I can see why.