Archive for the ‘FBC’ tag
Folding Bike Challenge: The summary
Brompton have undercover publicists everywhere
The Folding Bike Challenge is the best possible way to spend five days. I am pleased to have met a fantastic bunch of people and cannot praise enough the organisation that is Action Challenge. I am indebted to the fabulous guys at Folding Bike Hut – thanks for bike – you made it possible for me to carry on.
What did I learn? Read the rest of this entry »
Folding Bike Challenge: Rest day
The great thing about the Velib bikes is they are so cheap to hire, you can stop and have breakfast whenever you want, for as long as you want. And when you are tired from 250 miles of cycling you don’t notice the chair immediately in front of the camera.
Folding Bike Challenge: Day 4
And so to Paris. The final day was a ride of three halves. Cold and windy to start, followed by warm and hilly and then a relaxed descent into Paris with bells dinging and observers either waving or muttering ‘Ils sont malades’ under their breath.
Folding Bike Challenge: Day 3
Fromage!
Friday was intended to be an easy day. A late start with a photocall for the local press and then a relatively flat 50 mile ride to Chartres. It was not to be. Read the rest of this entry »
Folding Bike Challenge: Day 2
Aren't we supposed to be allies?
Day 2 dawned early. In fact it started below dawn. Brittany Ferries awoke us with Offenbach and the cool French morning found us cycling along a canal towpath to the theme park that is Pegasus Bridge. The scene of an act of heroism on D-Day, it now presents a rather tawdry face to the world. Still we were in Normandy and soon were cycling through glorious countryside with only the occasional car for company. Read the rest of this entry »
Folding Bike Challenge: Day 1
Andy and Daphne ready to go
Day one was to prove eventful. The slogan for the Folding Bike Challenge was ’400 kilometres, 4 days, 1 bike’ By the time I had covered the route from the London Eye to Portsmouth I was on bike number 3. Read the rest of this entry »
Folding Bike Challenge: 3 days to go
At the top of Hollow Meadows
Three days to go and a short (15 mile) ride to check everything is working OK and calm my nerves. Two small tweaks followed. Read the rest of this entry »
FBC Training Plan
An excellent long ride out to Ashbourne last weekend – some 90 miles door to door. This was my first ride with the local CTC District Association and an excellent ride it turned out to be. The Peak District can be a busy and unpleasant place to cycle in mid-summer on main roads, but this was a well thought out route through quiet roads.
The plan now looks like this:
1. A further ride out to Holm Moss next week (60+ miles)
2. A long flat ride in Lincolnshire on the Tikit (50+ miles) – largely to test comfort after long hours in the saddle
3. Phil and Friends on 2 August (100 miles)
4. As many miles to and from work as possible, including a couple of Tikit rides (round trip 34 miles)
FBC Preparation
44 miles on the Tikit this weekend. Julia and I put the Tikits on the train to Stevenage and spent the weekend visiting our parents and exploring rural Hertfordshire. Feeling good about the bikes, but I need to get a rack. Fortunately, Bike Friday have pointed out that a small spacer will enable me to fit the standard rack. The order’s in!
And the picture, well that’s an earlier visit to Knebworth. Waiting for Pink Floyd in 1975 to be precise – thanks for the reminder Ian!
FBC Training Ride 3
24 miles. Again the longest so far for our Tikits.
Why there is a phonebox full of coloured balls in Elsecar no one knows.
Woke up this morning feeling like I had been suspended from my heels all night – the backs of my calves and upper legs felt like they had wire running through them. The position on my Tikit appears to be very similar to my road bike, but I think the different shoes may make a difference to the effective saddle height.