Category: Bikes

More words. It’s not quite the same as being on a bike, but it’s a good thing regardless.

As if you need any help to get into the mood for the Tour, read a little about pain. I’ll be the first to admit Rapha’s offerings make me reach for my wallet before sighing at the all-too-obvious realisation that I’ll have to go a few weeks without eating if I ever want to afford anything from them. Reading their website will have to sate my appetite for now, as it has since I discovered it.

Cyclists and fans across the world are getting excited for the big one. I know my next three weeks are going to be filled with late night city rides followed by a few hours in front of SBS. Nothing inspires quite like watching someone else suffer through it all and come out victorious. Let’s hope it’s as clean as a mid-winter night with the stars open above and the city empty before your wheels.

I began to feel that myself plus the bicycle equaled myself plus the world, upon whose spinning wheel we must all earn to ride, or fall into the sluiceways of oblivion and despair. That which made me succeed with the bicycle was precisely what had gained me a measure of success in life — it was the hardihood of spirit that led me to begin, the persistence of will that held me to my task, and the patience that was willing to begin again when the last stroke had failed. And so I found high moral uses in the bicycle and can commend it as a teacher without pulpit or creed. She who succeeds in gaining the mastery of the bicycle will gain the mastery of life.

-Frances E. Willard, How I Learned To Ride The Bicycle (1895)

When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.

-H.G. Wells

Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving.

-Albert Einstein

Nothing quite like exploiting an instinctive pedestrian reaction…

Photo: Out the back door at BnC HQ

 I don’t mind a bit of rain, it makes for nice scenery and keeps things interesting. It’s also great when you can sit in front of the heater and listen to it on a tin roof. Pity it can make for a nasty bike ride.

When it comes to bikes (and all things in general), we’re pretty positive here at BnC. No elitism, no arrogance, just a pure, passionate love of anything with two wheels and pedals. If you’re riding it, we like it. That said, there’s nothing wrong at chuckling at a bit of light-hearted digging.

On a more positive note, the articles over at Old Skool Track have been putting a grin on my face and getting my feet itching for pedals. Lots of musings and writings on the joy of riding fixed, and a love of bikes in general. Go and have a look, it’ll inspire you, I promise.