It’s easy to understand why a bike lock is never considered an exciting purchase. You've just splashed out on a super amazing new £1,000 carbon dream machine, and now you’re being told you need to spend a further £100 to keep it safe? Not a great ...
Archives for January 2014
The 18 scariest videos of motorists attacking and abusing cyclists
The vast majority of motorists in London drive quite sensibly. Unfortunately, since a regular bike commuter interacts with many thousands of cars a year, it only takes a very small percentage of idiots to make unpleasant encounters an occasional, but ...
Winter Glove Round-Up
A good pair of gloves will make all the difference to your ride – cold, numb hands can be not only painful, but can really limit your responsiveness on the handlebars, shifters and brakes. The key things to look for in a winter glove are: Weather ...
BikeParka review
With a baby on the way, it recently came to my realisation that the spare room is no longer going to be ‘spare’ – and as such can no longer be deemed a room for me to keep my bike and all paraphernalia. While there are a range of fancy indoor ...
14 new things Camden’s transport boss told me when I interviewed him about cycling
Today I interviewed Phil Jones, Camden Borough Council's cabinet member for transport. Here's what he told me about cycling in one of central London's key boroughs: Royal College Street has seen a 40% to 50% increase in cycle traffic since its ...
Five ways to make London’s public transport more bike-friendly
The best way to get around with a bike is usually to ride it. But when you have your bike with you but can’t, or don’t want to cycle, London’s public transport will probably let you down. Here are six ways we can improve the experience of using ...
Things I wish I’d known when I got my first bike
I got my first road bike aged 21 – I forget if it came with an instruction manual – but if it did I certainly didn't read it. In fact, I raced it in a triathlon a few weeks after and took it to the Pyrenees not many months into our life together. ...
New bike lights by Knog: Knog Blinder Arc 1.7 and 5.5 review
Christmas may have come and gone but the nights continue to be long and dark and, as cyclists, that means that a good set of lights is essential. While in London we really only need lights ‘to be seen’ rather than to see where we are going, for those ...
A weekend cycling on the Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a cyclists dream destination. Miles of dramatic coastline to explore, rolling hills to trundle over and plenty of pubs on route to quench that thirst for beer. But the Isle of Wight is often well off the radar of the London ...
What I learned talking to Westminster’s transport boss about cycling
I recently interviewed Westminster Council’s City Commissioner for Transport, Martin Low, as part of a feature for The House magazine. Due to space constraints I didn’t get to use everything he said in our wide-ranging chat; here are some ...
Goodordering handlebar bag review
Guest post by Jude from Cycling with Heels. Let’s face it – most bags designed for use on a bike are not particularly attractive. The demands of practicality and function mean that aesthetics are usually the poor relation. For those of us who ...
3 more crazy laws we should introduce for cyclists
There are still people in the world who maintain that it is legal to shoot a Welshman with a crossbow and arrow in Chester after sunset – technically this piece of legislation is in the book of statute and you could do it. However, common sense ...
Cycling events to see in London in 2014
If you plan to make any New Years Resolutions, you've probably done it by now. However, as well as the exciting things you could do by bike in 2014, but there are some amazing events taking place in the UK that you could be a part of. Here are ...
London’s 12 most terrifying junctions for cycling
The capital's cycling provision keeps cycling campaigners in business; a list of junctions that weren't designed for cycling would include 99% of the junctions in London. But what are the worst of the worst? The real places that cyclists dread to go? ...
What I’ve learned from hitting the tarmac
I love to ride my bike. I have done so for years – it’s a great way of getting around and I like to ride for sport, too. Despite the fact I love the feeling of whooshing along tarmac, with recent crashes grabbing the headlines, it’s hard not to let ...
Good things about the recent cataclysmic weather
It’s been raining a lot recently. Something the news loves to report on. If you haven’t had a few days off the bike thanks to floods and high winds, I personally think you’re a lucky rider. Could there possibly be anything good about all this ...
The perfect app for the New Year: Active Goals
Ahhh, the new year. A time of drinking, a time to reflect, a time to promise yourself to "sort out your life!". Some of my goals for next year: Hire an extra freelance writer for London Cyclist, go to Antarctica and "be more fit". The last one ...