Cycle Magazine Jun-Jul 2014

T h e

m a g a z i n e

o f

c t c

the

national

cycling

charit y

J U N E /J U LY 2 014 £3 o r f r e e to c tc m e m b e r s This issue a ree t gr and départ be ach bik ing women’s

PLUS

road

WOMEN’S ROAD BIKES BEACH BIKING ROAD JUSTICE BROMPTONS UP THE ALPS

bik es bromp tons up the alp s single-person tent s british cycle quest

ctc.org.uk J U N E /J U LY 2 0 14

Yo r k s h i r e ’ s b e st riding Ride the Tour route & watch the race

Bikes Events 2015 Ad.indd 1

16/12/2014 14:52

C yc l e j u n e /j u ly 2 0 14

Clockwise from far left: Chris Juden, Dave Barter, Bruce Mathieson

Contents 34

68

From the Editor Short sleeves, long rides, and the only sport I'll watch all year on the telly: the Tour de France. You don't have to be a sporting cyclist to appreciate it any more than you need to run around a stadium to appreciate the Olympics. You can follow each stage fanatically or just sit back and watch the peloton sweep through spectacular cycling countryside – spectacular cycling countryside like Yorkshire.

I dare say that there were a few raised eyebrows in the rest of Europe, and even the rest of Britain, when the Grand Départ was awarded to Yorkshire. Here (I write as resident) cyclists were excited and pleased, of course, but somewhat less surprised.

Of course the Tour de France was coming to Yorkshire.

Why wouldn't it?

If that sounds chauvinistic, consider that Lonely Planet last year put Yorkshire in the top three places in the world to visit in 2014. It's well worth coming to, especially with a bike.

Those panoramic helicopter shots of cyclists winding through the Dales and the Peak District may well prompt cyclists across Britain and the world to make just such a visit. The Tour de France isn't just a race.

It's a window into the cycling possibilities that a place offers, a source of inspiration for your own more sedate tour of France… or of Yorkshire.

Ah, summer.

Dan Joyce Editor

42

membership

Every issue

this issue

5

4

Ne w s CTC's analysis of the cycling news

12 C a mp a i g n s c o mme n t

Space for Cycling gathers momentum 14 E v e n t s n e w s

Recent and upcoming cycling events 18 S h o p w i n d o w

New products that are worth a look 20 Ge a r u p

Components, kit and accessories on test 27 Lette r s

Your feedback on Cycle and cycling 30 M y b i k e

Michael Horsman's e-bike 32 C T C & M e Departing CTC Chief Executive Gordon Seabright 64 Q & A

Your technical, health and legal questions answered 86 C T C mem b e r b e n e f i t s

Special offers for CTC members 89 T r a v e l l e r s ' T a l e s

CTC members' ride reports 91 C T C C y c l i n g H o l i d a y s

Let us take you there

Get five years’ CTC membership for the price of four. Details on p86

R i de w i t h a v i e w New! This issue: the French Alps

34 A r eet g r a n d dep a r t Riding the opening stage of Le Tour in Yorkshire 42 C o a s t i n g a l o n g Riding on the beach: why, how, and what's allowed 48 B r o mpt o n s u p t h e A l p s

‘You forgot your shopping!'

52 C r i me r i g h t i n g Update on CTC's Road Justice campaign 56 H i dde n B r i t a i n The draw of the BCQ 60 We m a k e Sp a ce for Cycling Local campaigners profiled 68 P et i te r o a d b i k e s Women's bikes from Giant and Tifosi

18

78 M o n t a g u e B o s t o n

A folding bike with 700C wheels 80 w o r x d a 2 6

Junior road bike tested 82 L i g h t w e i g h t te n t s

Single-person tent options

Shimano's drop-bar hydraulicbrake brifters arrive

CTC, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, GU2 9JX E: cycling@ctc.org.uk W: ctc.org.uk T: 0844 736 8450 or 01483 238300 (national office) 0844 736 8451 or 01483 238301 (membership dept) Cycle promotes the work of CTC. Cycle’s circulation is approx. 51,000. CTC is one of the UK’s largest cycling membership organisations, with 67,000 members and affiliates CTC Patron: Her Majesty the QueenPresident: Jon Snow CTC Council Chair: David Cox Chief Executive: Gordon Seabright.

Cyclists’ Touring Club (CTC) a Company Limited by Guarantee, registered in England No 25185, registered as a charity in England and Wales Charity No 1147607 and in Scotland No SC042541. Registered office: Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, GU2 9JX. Cycle Magazine: Editor: Dan Joyce e: editor@ctc.org.uk Designers: Mary Harris, Simon Goddard Advertising: Anna Vassallo tel: 020 7079 9365 e: annav@jppublishing.co.uk Creative Director: James Houston Publisher: James Pembroke. Cycle is published six times per year on behalf of CTC by James Pembroke Publishing, 90 Walcot Street, Bath, BA1 5BG. Tel: 01225 337777.

Cycle is copyright CTC, James Pembroke Publishing and individual contributors. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission from CTC and James Pembroke Publishing is forbidden. Views expressed in the magazine are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the policies of CTC. Advertising bookings are subject to availability, the terms and conditions of James Pembroke Publishing, and final approval by CTC. Printed by: Precision Colour Printing, Haldane, Halesfield 1, Telford, TF7 4QQ. Tel: 01952 585585 Cover: cyclists riding Buttertubs Pass in the Yorkshire Dales, by Steve Fleming

CTC. O R G . U K cyc l e 0 3

Ride with a view French Alps

Col d’Izoard The sharp variations in gradient of this ‘hors’ category col have produced some of the most dramatic stages of the Tour de France, notably between Louison Bobet and Fausto Coppi from 1949-54. We are on the first steep hairpins above Brunissard (Helen riding the Trek mentioned on p68). The real drama waits far above this valley, where pines yield to the scree and spires of the Casse Déserte. Here the road dips, losing 20m of altitude, then kicks up again at 14% for the 2,361m summit. Chris Juden For more travel ideas and inspiration go to our specialist website:

www.cyclingholidays.org

ride with a view

CTC. O R G . U K cyc l e 5

stay in touch

what’s happening in the cycling world

n ews

This month CTC's new Chief Executive, a Government review of driving offences, an appeal for CTC Councillors, and more

c yc l e c l i p s : CTC’s free weekly email newsletter – email your membership number to membership@ctc.org.uk CYCLE c a m pa i g n n e w s :

CTC’s monthly campaigns bulletin. Sign up at ctc.org.uk/subscribe-tocycle-campaign-news

Paul Tuohy was CEO of Mentor, a drug and alcohol prevention charity

Executive decision CTC Council have appointed a new Chief Executive to replace Gordon Seabright. Club cyclist Paul Tuohy starts mid-July

Paul Tuohy takes over as CTC Chief Executive Officer on 14 July. Previously, he was CEO of Mentor, a charity working in schools on drug and alcohol prevention. Paul has been employed in the charity sector since 1984 and has led charities as a CEO since 2004, largely as a change-management specialist, focusing on building brands, fundraising and income generation. He's also been an adviser to governments.

Even though CTC is 135 years old, the organisation has been a registered charity for just two years. Paul believes the challenge is to build on CTC's heritage and history to promote cycling to the masses. CTC Council expect Paul to bring a fresh perspective

on CTC’s development, as it continues to grow in terms of national recognition and membership numbers.

‘We already have over 65,000 members,' said Paul. 'I want to get to 100,000 and will be asking our current members to help me.

We’re all in this together!'

Paul has been a passionate cyclist since his youth. Having grown up on the notorious Doddington Estate in Battersea, he says that early involvement with St Christopher’s Catholic Cycling Club, particularly the mentoring and friendship from the mainly older clubmen and women, gave him huge aspiration and motivation for doing something positive with his life.

These days he enjoys weekend

rides with his wife Wendy, as well as commuting, club runs with Catford CC, audaxes and Sunday racing.

‘Cycling has not just been a part of my life, it’s changed my life,' Paul said. ‘To ride to work now as the CEO of the national cycling charity is a tremendous responsibility and dream come true.'

He added that he was happy that CTC championed the regular cyclist: the ordinary person who wants to enjoy riding his or her bike for work or pleasure.

Gordon Seabright stepped down as Chief Executive at the end of May, becoming Director of the Eden Project. In the interim period, before Paul Tuohy joins CTC, Carol McKinley is acting Chief Executive.

CTC. O R G . U K cyc l e 7

News

From the Chair of CTC

Right: iStockphoto.com

Dav i d C ox

CTC welcomes a Government pledge to review all driving offences and sentences

Driving offences i n s p ot l i g h t The Government will conduct a full review of driving offences and penalties over the next few months, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said in May. Just days later, CTC’s Road Justice campaign was praised in Parliament as MPs began debating plans to increase the maximum sentence for drivers who cause a fatality while disqualified from driving, unlicensed or uninsured, from two to ten years. A separate offence of causing serious injury whilst disqualified is also proposed, with a maximum sentence of four years. The Government aims to bring in these changes in early 2015.

CTC Road Justice

The Mawddach Trail in Wales, a cycling and walking route

Campaign Coordinator Rhia Weston said: ‘We strongly welcome the Government’s commitment to a full review of all driving offences and penalties. CTC has long called for tougher sentences for those who flout driving bans, so we are pleased that custodial sentences for those who cause death and serious injury whilst disqualified will be increased.'

The Road Justice campaign is also pushing for much greater use of driving bans for those who commit driving offences, and wider use of non-custodial options.

To this end, the Road Justice campaign is hosting a debate on the sentencing of driving

offences on 13 June, hosted

by CTC President Jon Snow.

See the feature on page 52 for more details about how you can get involved.

The Government's announcement follows a 7,000-signature petition instigated by the family of Ross and Clare Simons.

They were killed while riding their tandem in January by a driver who was disqualified at the time, having had 11 previous convictions for driving whilst disqualified and four for dangerous driving.

He received a sentence of 10 years and 6 months.

For more on Road Justice, see roadjustice.org.uk – and the feature on p52.

Welsh policy on track CTC has secured a place on the new Active Travel Board in Wales, thanks to CTC Councillor for Wales Gwenda Owen and CTC Head of Development Ian Richardson. The board oversees Wales's groundbreaking Active Travel Plan, which comes into force this year, making it a requirement for local authorities to map, plan, and improve their walking and cycling infrastructure.

There is now a public consultation on the draft Active Travel Action Plan, which CTC members in Wales can comment on. Visit bit.ly/1iKLHoT before 4 August to have your say.

CTC has been working closely with Sustrans Cymru and Welsh Cycling to create a strong, coherent voice for cycling in Wales.

8 cycle J UNE /J ULY 2014

on sunday night I unfolded the Brompton for the last time at Bournville’s purple Cadbury World station and pedalled the last mile home. The 2014 CTC AGM was over, but even after the long journey back I was still buzzing from the weekend.

Glasgow was very welcoming. We began with a seminar run by Parliamentary Outreach. Gary Hart took us through the processes of policy making and outlined how we could influence our elected representatives.

At the AGM, Gordon Seabright presented the Annual Report of Council for his last time. We had resolutions on subscriptions and on the implications of devolution for CTC. The Annual Dinner and Awards followed that evening, with a welcome from the City of Glasgow by Baillie Thomas and an excellent talk by Alison Johnstone, MSP for Lothian.

Alison wanted to become ‘minister for joining the dots', linking the health, transport, and sustainability advantages of increased levels of cycling.

The awards were handed out, and Stevenage & North Herts CTC and Chester & North Wales CTC again took home the bulk of the prizes.

The Sunday rides led by Glasgow CTC featured trips to Loch Lomond, a whizz around the Commonwealth Games road circuit, a cultural ride to transport and art museums, and a ride to the amazing Whitelee Windfarm.

Right: by Seb Rogers

News

Cycle contributor Steve Worland died unexpectedly in March

St e v e W o r l a n d RIP Veteran cycling journalist and Cycle contributor Steve Worland died of heart attack on 29 March, while running in Ashton Court woods, Bristol. He was 58.

Best known as a mountain bike tester, Steve was an all-round cyclist, who also enjoyed expeditions and cycling around town; he was a long-standing CTC member.

He began in journalism testing bikes for Mountain Biking UK in the early 1990s and went on to edit What Mountain Bike magazine, before being made technical director of Future Publishing's mountain bike titles in 2005. His other writing included The Haynes Mountain Bike Book. After he was made redundant

by Future in 2011, he resumed his freelance career.

‘It was easy to forget for those of us who bumped into him at bike shows that he was approaching 60,' said Dan Joyce, who first met Steve while working for MBUK in 1995. ‘He was just as interested in cycling when I last met him as when I first met him 20 years ago. That openminded fascination made him always interesting to talk to – and interesting to read. I wish more cyclists, especially journalists, shared his clear-eyed curiosity and non-partisan opinions. They made him an engaging, prescient commentator on the cycling world.'

Steve leaves behind his partner Jo, daughter Holly, a wide circle of friends in the cycling industry, and countless cyclists who were inspired or guided by two-and-a-half decades of his opinions.

On 7 June, Bristol Bikefest will have a mountain bike race in his memory: the ‘Steve Worland ride singletrack hard and drink a swig of cider per lap memorial cup 2014'.

Details at bike-fest.com

NEWS I N B R I E F CERTIFICATE OF MERIT Mike Halstead of West Yorkshire CTC has been awarded CTC's Certificate of Merit. Mike has been a member since 1969 and he joined the committees of West Yorkshire and the Huddersfield and District section within two years, serving on them almost continuously ever since. He's been chairman, vice chair, and awards secretary. He has ridden many club standard rides, and later marshalled them, supplying hot drinks to riders at control points.

This year might be his last as a committee member, so his award is timely.

DONATIONS welcome Last month, CTC Suffolk donated £1,000 to the Cyclists’ Defence Fund and another £1,000 the Road Justice campaign. The donation to the Road Justice campaign will help build local campaigner capacity to influence the justice system at a local level. Meanwhile, members from Cheltenham CTC visited the headquarters of the Midlands Air Ambulance at Strensham to hand over a cheque for £500.

Twice in the last two years, a member of Cheltenham CTC has received rapid treatment from the air ambulance.

EXPRESS VICTORY The winner of the European Bike Express competition from the February/March issue of Cycle was Mr B Zaba from Denbighshire.

EUROPEAN CYCLING FEDERATION AGM The European Cycling Federation (ECF) met in Dublin on 26 April for its AGM, with delegates from as far afield as Russia and Ukraine. Richard Bates and Barry Flood attended for CTC Council.

S t e e r C T C t o s u cc e ss

ECF President Manfred Neun outlined ECF's Cycling Manifesto, calling for 10% of the transport budget to be spent on

elections are ahead for CTC Council,

the body elected by you, the members, to take CTC forward and ensure that what we do benefits cycling. Chair of Council David Cox said: ‘Do you have what it takes to guide CTC into a new chapter of growth and development? We particularly need people with expertise in finance, fund raising, law and research.'

Councillors are elected for a three-year period to represent the members in their region, and nominations are now being sought for members to represent Eastern, London, West Midlands and Yorkshire & Humber from 1 January 2015. We also have a vacancy in the North East.

Nomination forms are available on the CTC website and from National Office.

10 cyc le J UNE /J ULY 2014

They must be returned by 15 August 2014.

To find out what's involved, visit the CTC website, or talk to an existing councillor or the Chief Executive at National Office. You could even come along to a Council meeting to see how Council works in practice. Telephone Sue Cherry on 01483 238302 to arrange that.

The nomination forms include the full requirements for standing. You need signatures from other members to support your application, but need not know them personally and Council can help you contact other members.

Council wants to ensure it is representative of all CTC members, and that it has a diverse balance of skills, so the likelihood is that you would be just right!

cycling-related infrastructure and HGV safety. Secretary General Bernard Ensink reported that the ECF Vision 2020 was for 15% of European trips to be made by bike. ECF’s Development Director Kevin Mayne (formerly CTC’s Chief Executive) spoke about his role with the leadership programme, and obtaining financial support from the cycle industry. More information at ecf.com

stop press Former Chair of CTC David Robinson sadly died of heart failure, after a short illness, just as this issue of Cycle was going to press. He was 67. A former teacher, he was a Labour councillor for Cheshire West and Chester.

His obituary will appear next issue.

NEWS | CAMPAIGNS comment

Wat c h t h i s S pa c e The Space for Cycling campaign launched by CTC and local campaign groups has hit the ground running C T C C a m p a i g n s & P o l i c y D i r e ct o r R o g e r G e f f e n r e p o r t s

Thousands of people have already emailed councillors throughout the UK urging them to create Space for Cycling. The campaign, which we previewed last issue, aims to normalise cycling, making it a safe, convenient and enjoyable option for people of any age or ability, for any local journey.

The national initiative builds on the Londonfocused Space for Cycling campaign, initiated by the London Cycling Campaign (LCC) in the run-up to the local elections in May. CTC has worked with LCC and other campaign groups to ensure the national campaign is effective in all parts of the UK. Spreading the word CTC President Jon Snow presented a two-minute video to launch the campaign.

This was shown to 250 delegates from local authorities, consultancies and other professionals involved in cycling at the CycleCity Expo conference in Leeds in May. CTC has also published a short illustrated decision-makers’ guide to Space for Cycling,

offering a clear view of what’s required.

Solutions include: protected space on or across main road corridors and junctions; various ways to reduce traffic volumes and speeds in town centres, on urban streets and rural lanes; and high-quality traffic-free routes.

Finding the funding The guide also suggests how councillors can find the funding, including ways to maximise the opportunities from new developments and their planned road maintenance programmes. New York’s Department of Transport introduced some great cycle facilities very cost-effectively by implementing them while carrying out planned resurfacing works. Plymouth City Council is copying their example in the UK. Regrettably, cycling minister Robert Goodwill MP gave a disappointing keynote speech at the CycleCity Expo conference, offering no new funding. After the parliamentary Get Britain Cycling report last year had called for sustained funding for

Photo: Jim Killock under a Share Alike licence

Big Rides calling for more Space for Cycling took place ahead of local elections

cycling of at least £10 per person annually, Prime Minister David Cameron had said he wished to launch ‘a cycling revolution’. His statement came with an announcement of funding for eight cycling cities and four national parks, amounting to £10 per person annually for just a tenth of Britain’s population for two years only. But since then, the Government has announced a mere £30,000 of earmarked funding for cycling – to develop CTC’s Fill that Hole pothole-reporting website and smartphone apps.

We await the rest of the Government’s ‘cycling revolution’. But by identifying cyclefriendly councillors, we hope the Space for Cycling campaign will help us find allies who can press their respective political parties to make properly-funded commitments to cycle-friendly planning and design in general election manifestos.

G r a ss r o o ts c a m p a i g n i n g The campaign also aims to strengthen local cycle campaign groups and help new ones form; see p60 for inspiration. To get in touch with your local campaign group, or for help forming one, email righttoride@ctc.org.uk.

By the time you read this, Big Rides calling for Space for Cycling will have taken place in London, Sheffield, Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham and Newcastle, on the final Saturday before the local elections.

The inaugural Space for Cycling campaigners’ conference, which was held the day after the CycleCity Expo in Leeds in May, will be followed by another in Birmingham on 14 June – see ctc.org.uk/local-cyclecampaigning. Further events are planned.

Tak e par t Ask your local councillors to support Space for Cycling, and see Jon Snow’s video, at space4cycling.org.uk. For more on the campaign, see ctc.org.uk/space4cycling.

Cycle Campaign News

Get monthly bulletins from CTC’s Campaigns Department delivered free to your email inbox: sign up to Cycle Campaign News at ctc.org.uk/ subscribe-to-cycle-campaign-news. It keeps you up-to-date with the latest news, events, publications, policy developments, and points you to in-depth articles written by experts.

12 cyc le J UNE /J ULY 2014

Facebook

Tell us what you think on the CTC Facebook pages: facebook.com/CTCCyclists

Tweet us

Read the latest updates and get in touch on Twitter@CTC_Cyclists

N e w s | e v e n ts

Make it an eventful year CTC is looking for volunteers to help out with several rides and festivals this summer.

If you’re prepared to marshal, fix participants’ bikes, or help with enquiries, you’ll be rewarded with things like event entry, a goody bag, free food and drink – and, of course, the thanks of everyone taking part. Here’s a run down of some of the upcoming events you can get involved with. Visit ctc.org.uk/support-ctc/volunteer to put your name down to help for any of them – or use the event-specific links below.

L’ E r o i c a B r i t a n n i a

Orbita l Cycling Fes t i v a l

When: 20-22 June Where: Derbyshire Two weeks before the Tour de France comes to the UK, a three-day cycling festival takes place in Bakewell in the Peak District. The high point comes on 22 June, when there will be three rides – of 30, 55 and 100 miles – for riders of ‘heroic’ bicycles. That means road racing bikes built before 1987, either with down tube gear levers or pre-1980 bar-end shifters. It’s based on the original L’Eroica, which takes place on the gravel roads of Tuscany in Italy.

Route marshals and festival support volunteers are required.

Full training will be given, and all volunteers will receive free entry to the L’Eroica festival, camping accommodation, food and drink, a goody bag, an entry into a draw to win a guaranteed entry to next year’s event.

For more details, or to volunteer, see ctc.org. uk/eroicabritannia

W h e n : 2 6 -2 7 J u ly W h e r e : G o o dw o o d M o t o r C ir cui t, C h i c h e s t e r Orbital is a diverse summer cycling festival, with stands for bicycle and clothing manufacturers, and the chance to take part in events ranging from rides into the West Sussex countryside to the Brompton World Championships. Volunteers will have the chance to explore the festival, and will be provided with free bike or car parking, camping accommodation, refreshments, and a goody bag. All volunteers will be entered into a draw to win a guaranteed entry to the 2015 Orbital Cycling Festival.

If you would rather take part in the celebrations, CTC, as charity partner for the event, has negotiated a specially discounted entry fee for selected events for people who choose to fundraise for CTC. For more details, go online to ctc.org.uk/orbitalfestival

Prudential RideLondon

N S P CC T o u r of England W h e n : 7- 8 J u n e & 19 -2 0 J U ly Where: South east England & Yorkshire Qualified bike mechanics are needed to service participants’ bikes in the NSPCC Tour of England, a series of multi-stage sportives. The first two events in the series are the NSPCC Tour of the South East (7-8 June), and the NSPCC Tour of Yorkshire (1920 July). If you want to ride either of these events, visit the NSPCC Tour of England website: tourofengland.co.uk.

To volunteer as a mechanic for CTC, visit ctc.org.uk/nspcctour

membership Get five years’ CTC membership for the price of four. Details on p86

14 cyc le j une /j uly 2014

Want to volunteer for CTC? Scan this with your phone or tablet

W h e n : 9 -10 A u g u s t Where: London & Surrey Prudential RideLondon is the largest mass-participation cycling festival in the UK, with over 75,000 cyclists taking part across four separate events. Marshals and Dr Bike volunteers are thus in high demand.

Anyone can be a CTC RideLondon marshal, and you can choose from a list of iconic locations along the 100-mile route. You’ll receive training, food and drink, T-shirt, cap, and a goody bag. All volunteers will also be entered into a draw to win a guaranteed entry to the 2015 Prudential RideLondon SurreyLondon 100. For more details about the RideLondon events, see ctc.org.uk/ridelondon

N e w s | e v e n ts

NEWS IN BRIEF Velodenz (Flickr Creative Commons)

CTC Birthday Rides There’s still time to sign up for the CTC Birthday Rides in York from 13-19 August: bookings close 27 June – or sooner if maximum numbers are reached. You’ll stay at Askham Bryan College, just outside York and within cycling range of the Yorkshire Wolds and the North York Moors. There will be four rides each day, plus evening entertainment.

For details, visit birthdayrides.org, email

Welsh Festival of Cycling

C TC V o l u n t e e r s of the Year Glynis Francis was named CTC Volunteer of the Year for 2013 at the CTC National Dinner on 10 May at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow. She was unable to collect the Moss Medallion in person from Alison Johnstone MSP. Glynis, who was also the regional winner for the North West, was nominated for getting women cycling. She is a world champion track cyclist, a grandma, and an inspiration to hundreds of Manchester women. Her ground-breaking cycling network for women, Team Glow, attracted a steady stream of women – some of whom had not cycled for decades – and turned them into accomplished cyclists.

Colin Waters (pictured above) was runnner-up as Volunteer of the Year and regional winner for the South East. He was nominated for leading rides in Hampshire, and for his input into the successful Fleet bike path.

Graham Farrington (South West) was third.

He is the driving force behind Taunton Bike Club, which is for 8-16 year-olds. The other regional winners were Bill Telfer (Scotland) and Jackie Cooper (East of England).

Stevenage and North Herts CTC were again named CTC Voluntary Group of the Year for their hugely successful rides programme.

The Gordon Selway Memorial Award for the CTC Campaigning Achievement of the Year was awarded, in absentia, to Sue Coles (South East), who in 2013 campaigned to keep a cycle path through junction 9 of the M3. Elizabeth Reather of Yorkshire & the Humber was the runner-up.

For details, visit ctc.org.uk/volunteeroftheyear

16 cyc le j une /j uly 2014

Late July sees the Welsh Festival of Cycling return to Llandovery in mid Wales.

It takes place from 24-29 July, with four full days of cycling. It’s based at Llandovery Rugby Club, where pitches for tents, caravans and motorhomes will be available from 4pm on Thursday 24 July.

All participants will receive a list of rides on arrival at the festival site.

This will cover four rides per day, from short family rides to more arduous 70-mile rides into the surrounding hills, including audax rides and Tourist Competition events. Those wishing to explore off-road are also catered for.

The routes are primarily on lanes with very little traffic. They’re scenic too: both the Brecon Beacons and Cambrian mountains are within easy cycling distance of Llandovery.

Registration costs £15 per adult and £2 per child under 16 or student under 21. Five nights’ camping costs £30 for a tent pitch and £35 for a caravan or motorhome, plus £16/£20 for each adult beyond the first. Registered children camp free with an accompanying adult.

For details or to book, visit ctc.org.uk/event/ welsh-festival-of-cyclingin-llandovery or contact Emrys Jones: tel 01952 257522, demrys2jones@ hotmail.co.uk

birthdayrides2014@btopenworld.com, or phone Peter Mathison on 07733 700529.

Tour de France workshops CTC has teamed up with Welcome to Yorkshire and Cycle Yorkshire to help ensure the Tour de France legacy is substantive. CTC is running Roadside and Advanced Maintenance courses in Yorkshire, with funding support from the Skills Enhancement Fund. If you are running a small business or are employed in the region – for example, you offer cycle touring rides, holidays, after-school clubs or you’re a B&B provider for cyclists – you could benefit from a 75% cost reduction on these cycle maintenance courses. See bit. ly/1nOn7sv for more information.

Xcalibre withdrawn Xcalibre, the seven-stage mountain bike event due to take place in Wales and the West Country from 16-23 August, has been postponed. It’s due to take place now in summer 2015. See xcalibremtb.co.uk

CTC Grampian is 25 42 CTC members gathered in March to mark the 25th anniversary of the inaugural meeting of the Grampian District Association of the Cyclists’ Touring Club – now CTC Grampian. Albert Brydon spoke about the early days of the club, with informal rides prior to 1989 organised by Richard Nicholl, the founder members present at the meeting, and the subsequent growth of the club and its activities, from a membership of 156 in 1989 to 450 at present. This was followed by a presentation to Irene Melrose for her special contribution to the club, in particular in recognition of her organisation of that inaugural meeting and subsequent involvement as secretary and ride leader. ctcgrampian.org.uk

gower cycling festival The Gower Cycling Festival runs from 9-16 August, offering 22 rides for all. Two are also Swansea and West Wales Member Group rides. See gowercyclingfestival.org

shop window

product news Editor Dan Joyce summarises a selection of new cycling products and developments that are in the shops or coming soon 1 2

3

1. XTR GOES to 11 Shimano’s top-end mountain group has gone the way of Sram and Spinal Tap to 11. It too features a wide-ratio cassette (11-40), but one that works with singles, doubles or triples. shimano.com

2. DROP-BAR HYDRAULICS Last year Shimano launched hydraulic disc brakes for Di2. This year they’ve squeezed a reservoir into 11-speed mechanical brifters (STRS685). I’d love this in 9-speed… shimano.com

3. ADVENTURE BIKES The bike industry seems to be rediscovering (and renaming) touring bikes. Specialized’s AWOL (£1000) has a road triple so is overgeared, but it’s a positive development. specialized.com

4

4. SRAM SINGLE AGAIN CX1 is 1x11 for drops: a ring with 38 to 46 narrow-wide teeth, plus a clutch mech. I see it trickling down to CX-style commuters. Derailleur and ring are 10-speed compatible. sram.com

5. MAP YOUR WORLD

5 6

7

Chris Juden reviewed Splashmaps in the AugSep 13 issue and liked them. I do too. You can now have a 1:25k fabric map centred wherever you like in the British Isles. splashmaps.net

6. 29+ tyres are big now Parse it – I’m right. They’re becoming marginally more popular: Singular Cycles are launching the Rooster, which uses the 29x3in tyre size pioneered by Surly’s Krampus (pictured). I’d buy one before a 650B bike or a 559-wheel fat bike… surlybikes.com & singularcycles.com

7. ALDI BIKE STUFF Sharpen your elbows: Aldi have another of their ‘special buys’ days for cycling gear on 29 June. £9.99 for a windproof jacket! aldi.co.uk

not long until show time! The Cycle Show at Birmingham’s NEC is on from 26-28 September – see cycleshow.co.uk 18 cyc le j une /j uly 2014

KIT REVIEWS

submit a review

GEAR UP

If you want to submit a review, write or email the editor – details on page 3 – for advice. Each one printed wins a Green Oil Eco Rider Deluxe set worth £34.99.

For more about Green Oil’s environmentally friendly bike products, visit green-oil.net

Components, kit, accessories, and more.

This issue we review saddlebags, hooks, sprockets, and books

re view of the month

Spokes: Poetry on Two Wheels £7.00 otleywordfeast.org.uk Pros + E xceptionally waterproof

Carradice

+ Good size for

CarraDry SQR Bag & Saddlebag £75 & £50 carradice.co.uk

I’ve got several Carradice bags made from cotton-duck, which I’ve found satisfactorily waterproof. The CarraDry range uses a PVC ‘welded seam’ fabric, which no doubt is even more waterproof, if not as aesthetically pleasing. CarraDry saddlebags come in two versions: a standard design that will attach to bag loops on the saddle; and a seatpost-fixing bag that uses

2 0 cyc le J UNE /J ULY 2014

commuting or short tours

cons - Saddlebag needs a Bagman or SQR to support it better

Carradice’s SQR system. Both bags are slightly narrower than traditional transverse saddlebags.

The CarraDry Saddlebag swung wildly when attached only to saddlebag loops; you’ll want Carradice’s Bagman support system (£30-£45 extra) or an SQR support (£30). The SQR Bag, which as you’d expect includes the SQR support, is much more rigid. It does require a large amount of exposed seatpost and clearance to be able to get the bag on and off with ease.

The SQR Bag also comes with a waterproof external pocket on each side, while the Saddlebag has just one small pocket on the lid. With roll-top closure, quick release fittings, and carry-handles, these bags tick the boxes for modern cycle luggage. But I’m not convinced: I’ll be sticking with my cotton-duck saddlebags for their look and feel. If you tend to ride in torrential downpours, these might suit your commute or lightweight weekend tour.

Reviewed by Chris Peck

This volume was compiled to celebrate the 2014 Yorkshire Grand Départ. There is great variety, with poems about growing up with bikes, riding for pleasure and sport, and of course, Le Tour de France! Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy imagines her bike is a horse; James Nash races to beat the twilight; Suzanne McArdle cleverly references helmets and hi-vis; and Brenda Cromwell playfully mixes French with Yorkshire dialect urging us to ride our bikes and see Le Tour: ‘Sithee lads, je pense that nous/Should get oursens out on la rue/And ride nos bicyclettes à town’. Ian McMillan says in his introduction that poetry and cycling go well together, and this little book easily fits in a saddlebag!

Reviewed by Seamus Kelly

RE V I E W S | g e a r u p

Pros + Gives single ring

Yellow Jersey

MTBs a bailout gear

Gironimo!

by Tim Moore

+ Much cheaper than buying 11-speed

cons - Guarantees

an

unevenly-stepped shift somewhere

£14.99

vintage-books.co.uk

Hope

40T-Rex

hopetech.com

£60

Meant for bikes with a single chainring, Hope’s 40-tooth Ratio EXpander is one of several big sprockets now available to boost the range of 10-speed mountain bike cassettes. You remove a sprocket and spacer from an 11-36 cassette and fit this behind it, giving an 11-40T range. That’s almost as wide as Sram’s XX1, which is expensive and can’t be retro-fitted piecemeal.

There are two 40T-Rex options: SH, for Shimano XT (CS-M771) and XTR (CS-M980); and SR, for Sram X5 (PG-1030), X7 (PG-1050) and X9 (PG-1070). Given correct speed, spacing and tooth profiles, you might use other cassettes, but you’d likely have to drill out rivets to discard a suitable sprocket.

That’s usually the 17T. As well as the 40T aluminium sprocket, Hope provide a longer B-screw. Screwing this in stops the derailleur’s guide pulley from fouling the

huge sprocket. (Note: the rear derailleur needs a capacity of at least 29T.) I fitted the 40T-Rex to my 29er, already set up with a single 30-tooth chainring (see Feb/Mar 14, p20). Bottom gear is now 22in rather than 24in. That looks a small step, but including decimals it’s a downshift of around 10%. That’s enough to stop my legs aching on the steepest hills. The trade off, with the 17T missing, is a big jump from 15 to 19. This bothered me a lot less than I expected.

Performance has been excellent. On muddy rides where clubmates have cursed front derailleurs, this has kept on working. It’s light and it’s simple. I like it.

Weight: 70g (50g net, deducting 17T).

Reviewed by Dan Joyce

Subtitled ‘Riding the very terrible 1914 Tour of Italy’, this is French Revolutions author Tim Moore’s engaging account of his recreation of said grand tour, which only eight riders finished. He follows the journey, and story, of the unexpected 1914 winner, Alfonso Calzolari… and does so on a renovated 100-year-old bike, with a singlespeed gear, wooden rims, and brake blocks carved from wine corks.

Gironimo! is partly a story of adversity, despair, and tenacity – and partly a funny, and often sweary, travelogue. I was hooked from the start.

Reviewed by Seamus Kelly

Westfalia

BC60 Cycle Carrier £418.80

westfalia-loadcarrier.co.uk Westfalia is a large manufacturer of towbars, so it’s not that surprising that its own bike carrier sits on a tow ball. You don’t need any extra attachments, and it’s happy on swan-neck or flanged tow balls. Uniquely for a towbar carrier, the Westfalia folds into a very compact package. We’re used to the main support hoop folding flat, but here the wheel supports fold in and even the rear light units hinge back to make a flat, square shape that’s barely wider than the numberplate. It’ll easily go in a car boot once you’ve unloaded it. It’s best to mount it to the ball folded and then unfold it in situ. The rack clamps to the tow ball with a single lever, although it comes out sideways and will be easier to use if you’re right-handed. Bikes are secured with plastic straps at the wheel supports and adjustable arms and clamps that cope fine with strangely-shaped frames and oversized tubes. The bikes can hinge down to give access to the boot. At 17.5kg unladen (it’ll take up to 60kg of bikes) it’s heavy for a two-bike rack, but it’s robust. Reviewed by Mike Davis

2 2 cyc le J UNE /J ULY 2014

Pros + Folds very compactly for storage

+ S turdy. Can carry 60kg of bikes

cons - Expensive.

Shop

around for a good price

RE V I E W S | g e a r u p

Pros + Folds flat when not in use

+ Hollow hinge

provides a locking point

cons - Less stylish-looking hooks are cheaper

Cycloc

Endo & Loop

Octopus Publishing Group

£39.99 & £14.99 cycloc.com & upgradebikes.co.uk Any cheap wall hook will hang your bike vertically, but Cycloc’s colourful, plastic Endo looks nicer indoors in a house or flat, and it folds down against the wall when not in use. This foldability also means that the hook will come out a small distance to hold a skinny tyred-road bike or further for a fat-tyred mountain bike. The hook is hollow to enable you to slide a lock through it to lock the wheel.

There’s a separate panel that can be screwed or stuck to the wall underneath to prevent scuffs from the rear tyre. It’s possible

but harder to hang the bike front wheel down, especially if the bike is heavy. Maximum recommended load if you’re hanging the bike (either way up) is 18kg. For heavier bikes, or easier handling, you could set it up so the rear wheel rests on the floor.

The Loop is a small, wallmounted box that you can use to stash lights, tools, and/or hang a helmet or lock. I found it useful if a little small. Like the Endo, it’s available in black, white, blue, green, red, yellow, and pink.

Reviewed by Roland Seber

MKS

Leather Half Clips £19.99 zyro.co.uk

Toe clips or clipless pedals are great for keeping your feet in secure contact with the pedals, but can be frustrating in stop-start urban commuter traffic.

The MKS leather half clip is the perfect solution.

Your feet are kept secure. Any sudden stops are easily accommodated, as you can move your legs outwards rapidly with no hindrance. Picking up the pedals is easy, with little likelihood of squashing the clip or flipping to the wrong side. They’re deep enough to accommodate ordinary footwear, and the leather sleeves help protect your shoes should you ride to work in non-cycling gear.

I’ve been using half clips a year now and wouldn’t go back to the full-cage toe-clip assembly.

Reviewed by CTC member Neil Belson

2 4 cyc le J UNE /J ULY 2014

The Bike Deconstructed

by Richard Hallett £20 octopusbooks.co.uk This forensic dissection of the road bike combines technical commentary with coffee-table accessibility. Industry stalwart Richard Hallett has been writing about cycles for 25 years in magazines such as Cycling Weekly and Cycle Sport, and it shows. He takes you through a thorough analysis of each part of the road bike: frame, wheels, gears, brakes, contact points, etc. Referencing history, common sense, engineering and manufacturing evolution, the book covers everything you’d expect: Shimano, Campagnolo, Sram, carbon fibre, disc brakes, tyre performance, electronic gearing and more. While I count myself a bike geek and thoroughly enjoyed it, you could get plenty out of it wherever you sit on the technical spectrum, thanks to exploded diagram views, clean design, and non-threatening language.

Reviewed by Matt Mallinder

Pros + Very easy to get

your feet in and out

+ Leather sleeves prevent scuffed shoes

cons - Suit commuting and touring, not racing

your opinions • YOUR CYCLING • YOUR IDEAS

letters

get in touch Cycle Letters, CTC, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford GU2 9JX

W r i t e to u s :

This month Cycle magazine for partiallysighted members, café comments, cycling on beaches, campsite bike security, and more

Members who are blind or partially sighted can request the talking edition of Cycle to be sent to them free of charge. It is also available to anyone who has difficulty reading the magazine, whether because of a physical problem or something like dyslexia. For more than 25 years, this service has been run by David and Wynn Slater, to whom a great debt of gratitude is owed. As the time has come for them to pass on the baton, I am the new contact.

Please write, phone or email me, giving your name, address, phone number and membership number (plus email address if you have one). I'm at: 39 Picton Square, Holmes Chapel, Cheshire, CW4 7NN, tel: 01477 544 027 (leave a message), email: cycle@rowlandsoftware.com.

We are also looking for a small number of volunteers to read a few items from the magazine. It doesn’t have to be every time, and all you will need is a computer and reasonable quality microphone or headset. Full instructions will be given.

— Andrew Rowland

le t ter of the month

CAFÉ SOCIE T Y Cafés and tea-rooms are such an integral part of a CTC ride that it was great to see them finally given some coverage in the April/May issue. Brighton & Hove CTC include traditional tea rooms, garden centre cafés and even an airport café amongst our regular stops, where we meet, chat and have those all important catch-ups.

As well as our village and countryside favourites, we now have our very own cyclingthemed café in the heart of the city, recently reviewed in my blog (cafedharma.wordpress. com). Velo is quickly becoming a popular choice for local cyclists in Brighton when following the café's mantra of ‘eat drink ride'.

It's a meeting point too for the start of some Brighton & Hove CTC rides.

— Anne Doyle The Golden Age of tea-rooms must have been the early ’50s, before the world and his wife launched into car ownership.

Club runs split into two or three pelotons, to give the motorist a chance to overtake. In summer, a typical run from Doncaster to Bridlington and back, all of 125 miles, also included a bracing

Join in online:

forum.ctc.org.ok

swim and a marathon game of footie on the sands before the long haul back to Donny.

The highlight of the run was the stop (outward and return) at the Holme on Spalding Moor tea-rooms. These were immortalised, in song, to the tune of ‘Home on the Range', as follows…

Holme, on Spalding Moor!

Where the tea-urns are working all day, The tea that you sup, is thruppence a cup And the buns are like pieces of clay!

— JG Nunns

COAS TING ALONG I see that the June/July issue of Cycle will cover cycling on beaches. The 5-mile beach between Brean Down and Burnham on Sea in Somerset is brilliant! Because of the very high tidal range, the area you can ride on is a hundred or more metres wide. The sand is always packed hard and very easy to ride on with a normal touring bike.

Last time I was there, without the bike, the whole surface was glimmering with a film of water in the sun – amazing. The wind can work for or against you; the one time I rode it with a group of

CTC. O R G . U K cyc l e 2 7

Clockwise from top: Jason Patient, Ben Searle, iStockphoto.com

TA L K I N G C YC L E

Email us:

cycleletters@ctc.org.uk

LETTERS friends we hardly had to pedal.

Most of this section is shown as NCN33 on maps, but be aware that you cannot cross the River Axe south of Westonsuper-Mare (by Diamond Farm Campsite) despite what the OS map suggests. The sluice, which has a path across it, is gated off. North Somerset Council is seeking to open it up but there are some issues to resolve.

— Ben Searle

HAPPY CAMPING Here is my cunning idea for locking up a bike in the middle of an open campsite, where there may be nothing handy to lock it to. Buy two corkscrew-style eyed ‘dog tethers' from a pet shop and screw them into the ground next to each other. Then put your D-lock through both tether rings and your lain-down bike frame.

Neither tether can be unscrewed when locked to the other. It's not secure against some determined digging, but it's pretty good.

Other bikes can be locked to the frame of the first. There's more information on my website. See bit.ly/1mUyUIU — Charlie Wartnaby

CONTINENTAL DIVIDE I recently cycled from Cologne to London. The cycle paths in north-west Germany, southern Belgium and the Netherlands were incredible: smooth, straight, and traffic free.

The wake-up call on getting off the ferry in Dover was shocking.

We attempted to follow NCN route 1 but found it hard due to: 1) Ambiguous signage.

2) The route took us down pot-holed roads and gravel tracks.

3) The little red squares with

the number 1 in were hard to spot.

4) The paths changed direction so often.

5) Several signs told cyclists to dismount – on a national cycle route!

It really needs to be sorted out with clearer signs. I used the OsmAnd smartphone application (osmand.net) to guide me along the cycle routes. It was invaluable.

— Ralph Clark

Dorothy Clift: 1933-2014 Dorothy started her cycling in her teenage years, and this continued until the time of her illness, at the age of 80. A native of Chester, she started out with the Cestrian Section and then joined the Chester and North Wales DA. She enjoyed many touring adventures on her bike, at home and abroad, usually camping with her family including Janet and Stephen. She and her husband Bob were joint editors of the DA magazine for 12 years; for the last eight years she has been the co-organiser of the annual Cheshire Cycleway Ride. Her enthusiasm for cycling and her keen interest in the environment will be missed. — Arthur Miller

Don Black: 1951-2014

A SMALLER TOURER I was very interested in your article on Spa Cycles Steel Touring bicycle. This bicycle is of no use to me as it only goes down to 51cm, and as I am only 1.5 metres tall that is too large.

Two years ago I bought a Dawes Galaxy as this went down to a size I could manage. I used to ride a handbuilt bicycle but as this had 600 wheels and I could not get spare parts for it, I had to abandon it.

Part of the problem is that they seem to have standardised on 700C wheels and are trying to allow for this by using a sloping crossbar. I wonder if any other riders (who are very small or very tall) have experienced similar problems.

— David Rafferty It is possible to squeeze 700C wheels into small frame with drop bars – see our review of petite road bikes on p68 – but it requires care to avoid toe overlap and poor handling. The other option for small tourers is to use ‘mountain bike' (ISO 559) 26-inch wheels. Parts are readily available, as are bikes – from Oxford Bike Works, Surly, and Thorn, amongst others.

Letters are edited for space (if above 150 words), clarity and, if necessary, legality.

Please note that if you have specific complaint or query about CTC policy, you should address it to your CTC Councillor or relevant national office staff member. Letters and emails for the August-September issue must arrive by 30 June. Write to us at: Cycle Letters, CTC, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford GU2 9JX

2 8 cyc le J UNE /J ULY 2014

Obituaries

Don was born in Nottingham but spent most of his working life in Tameside. He was a legendary, though extremely modest, figure in the world of audax riding.

His achievements, which he rarely mentioned, included several completions of both Paris-Brest-Paris and LondonEdinburgh-London. He also put plenty back in as the organiser of many scenic (hilly) rides in the north-west.

Unmistakable on his bike, Don always rode dressed as if popping to the shops. Away from riding, he loved hill-walking, jazz and his allotment. He died in hospital, surrounded by his family. He is survived by his mother Rhona and will be sorely missed by his wife Mary, their children, Martin and Ruth and grandchildren, Rachel and Matthew. His funeral was standing-room only and a peloton of some 40 cyclists followed him on his last ride. — Peter Bond Send obituaries to the editor (details on p3). They are edited to fit the space available and are seldom longer than 100 words each.

Join the conversation Get immediate feedback from other CTC members on the CTC forum: forum.ctc.org. uk. Here's an abridged extract from one popular thread before Cycle went to press (see bit.ly/1gnfTfC) HOW LONG DO INNERTUBES LAST? Horizon: Innertubes last more or less forever. And they can be repaired. So why are millions sold each year? What is to stop you from using a tube for 25 years, and how many repairs can a tube take? mjr: I'd discard them when a puncture is: under or near a previous patch; very near the valve base; a slow puncture; or bigger than a patch.

it is likely to perish if kept in the wrong environment. Apart from that, my tubes usually last until they get a puncture. Then they get binned. Life is too short.

forum for the postage cost?

Mick F: Narrow tubes like I use are a devil to repair. Only the smallest patches will fit, so unless the hole is tiny the tube gets binned. Punctures happen so rarely, tubes last for years.

Brucey: Skinny tubes are more awkward and stress the patch more too. Then there's the issue of consequences should the repair fail. Having said that, I do most of my riding on patched tubes, but I've found out the hard way what works well and what doesn't.

Environmentally, chucking repairable tubes is pretty bad.

Bicycler: Maybe the people throwing The Mechanic: Since them out could wait an innertube is made until they have a few and offer them up out of some kind of to someone on the rubber-like material,

Facebook

Tell us what you think on the CTC Facebook pages: facebook.com/CTCCyclists

mig: After they puncture once, I find other uses for them – chainstay protectors, mudflaps, etc.

Tweet us

Read the latest updates and get in touch on Twitter@CTC_Cyclists

MY BIKE

Michael Horsman’s e-bike Lacking the energy for long tours due to age and disability, CTC member Michael Horsman had some extra power bolted to his bike

C

ycling had become increasingly hard. I’m in my mid-60s and suffer from Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia, a nerve degeneration condition that is reducing my control of, and power in, my legs. I can’t run and I walk with difficulty, but I can still cycle. Over the last decade, I have cycled thousands of miles in Britain and abroad. The long touring rides that I love were getting much tougher, however.

My wife made it clear that if I wanted to continue as a touring cyclist, I had to get an electrically-assisted bike. I didn’t want to invest in a new, unfamiliar and possibly heavy e-bike, so decided to get my own bike adapted. A firm called Saddlesoar fitted a motorised front wheel and a lithium-ion battery-pack on the rack. The rest of the system was simple: wiring and a throttle.

I experimented with the new e-bike and found that, so long as I used the motor as a

Rather than buy a new e-bike, Michael adapted the one he had

supplement to pedalling when extra power was needed – climbing hills, for example – the battery would last about 40 miles. I was contemplating daily rides twice that long so bought a second battery.

I got the modified bike in mid-July, ready for an Italian tour at the end of August.

I cycled 864 miles in 14 days with Bike Adventures, riding from Pisa in Tuscany to Catania in Sicily. The trip went well, despite 40-degree temperatures, lunatic Italian drivers, and some badly surfaced – and sometimes unsurfaced – roads.

Along with 40 others, I made it all the way to Catania. As we rode for up to 80 miles

“As we rode for up to 80 miles a day, I took two batteries, carrying the spare in a pannier”

Tech spec: Michael Horsman’s e-bike Bike name/model: Handbuilt by Velo Ecosse of Edinburgh. Modified by Saddlesoar.

Frame & fork: Aluminium frame. I changed the original carbon fork for a steel one, as I was apprehensive of the effect of motor vibration on carbon fibre. Wheels: Standard road bike rear wheel. Front wheel with motor supplied by Saddlesoar. Transmission: Although it’s a road bike, this uses mountain bike derailleurs, chainset and cassette to give me a wider range to help with my disability. Brakes: Standard sidepull brakes, which seem adequate since the motor won’t take me above 15mph. Steering & seating: Standard Accessories: Pannier to carry spare battery! Contact: Saddlesoar 01903 816173, enquiries.onyourelectricbike@gmail.com

a day, I took both batteries, the spare in a pannier. I changed to the second battery when the first ran out. This meant that if both batteries went flat, I had to cycle the last few miles with a deadweight of about 12lb. That was hard work, but it happened on only four days out of the fortnight and accounted for about 30 miles in total. Every night, after the day’s riding, the batteries were charged up in my room.

The electrics were amazingly robust. In addition to the general problems of the bad roads, the temperature, and the crazy drivers, I had two crashes. The first time, I hit pothole; the second, I was knocked over by a nutcase on a scooter. The electrics didn’t falter. Nor were they fazed by steep hills.

This performance was particularly good given the relatively low weight of the batteries. The plastic housing holding the batteries was a lot less robust. It cracked first and then tore off the rack altogether. I made do by strapping it back on with tape and luggage straps.

Saddlesoar have since sent me a new plastic casing and I’m happily buzzing around England again. I still use tape and straps for extra security now. But apart from that and some corroded electrical connections, which have had to be replaced, the e-bike is going well. I can now hope to extend my cycling life for years to come, which not long ago looked very unlikely.

share your story: If you’ve got an interesting bike that’s been chosen or customised to suit you, get in touch. Email editor@ctc.org.uk 3 0 cyc le J UNE /J ULY 2014

CTC & M E

Gordon Seabright CTC’s Chief Executive left us at the end of May. Dan Joyce spoke to him about his two years in the job

B

y the time you read this, CTC’s Gordon Seabright will have left CTC to take up his new job as Director of the Eden Project, the environmental visitor attraction in Cornwall.

He’s not leaving his association with cycling behind, however.

‘I wrote it into my contract there that I’d have a company bike,’ he says. ‘Brompton are building a bike for me in Eden colours, with the Eden logo on it, so I can turn up at meetings in a suitable fashion. I’ve asked for a 6-speed because south Cornwall is extremely lumpy.’

Discovering the usefulness of a bike for business use and other utility trips is something that Gordon says he has CTC to thank for. ‘When I joined CTC, the vast majority of my cycling was for pleasure – along the country roads of Wiltshire, where I live, or off-road on the Malborough Downs or Salisbury Plain. I still do a bit of that, but now a much larger proportion of my cycling is whizzing around London and other cities.’

Cycling, as we know, is quick, enjoyable, and good for you. If you’re en route to a meeting with, say, Transport for London or a government department, there’s another benefit: ‘Collecting mental evidence about what they need to do to improve facilities and make cycling feel a damn sight safer!’

The dialogues that CTC now has with politicians, and the united front that CTC presents alongside other cycling organisations when talking to politicians, is something that Gordon says he’s happy to have developed during his time as Chief Executive. ‘Governments across the UK know that if they want to talk to cycling, they can’t pick us apart: they need to talk to CTC, our friends at Sustrans, British Cycling, LCC, and a number of other organisations.

There might be nuanced differences in what we’re demanding, but essentially our positions are aligned.’

These demands aren’t falling on deaf ears. Politicians are listening, particularly in the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, though Gordon acknowledges that some are quicker to talk the talk than walk the walk. ‘Politicians of all stripes are quick to make declarations in favour of cycling and rather slower to come up with concrete measures and funding to deliver on them. They operate on short time frames, and cycling delivers on things like obesity, congestion, pollution, and climate

“Governments across the UK know that if they want to talk to cyclists, then they can’t pick us apart: they need to talk to CTC”

change over the long term.’

In the media, meanwhile, CTC is increasingly quoted and represented.

Why? ‘We’ve become more obviously a campaigning organisation,’ says Gordon.

‘Things like Road Justice, Space for Cycling, and increasingly now off-road cycling access. An interesting thing for me is that the only funding announced personally by Robert Goodwill MP in his entire time as the minister covering cycling has been the money given to CTC to develop Fill That Hole.’

At a time of economic austerity, public money is tight. CTC’s charity status does make additional funding streams an option.

And it’s not all doom and gloom. The scope to grow cycling, Gordon points out, is huge.

‘The real opportunity for cycling – and I think CTC has been a big part of this and still has a big part to play – is making sure that cyclists look like the country that we live in. We need to make sure everyone can enjoy cycling, whatever their gender, race, background, or disability.’

Moving to the Eden Project will no doubt present its own challenges and rewards.

But what will Gordon miss most about CTC? ‘I’ll miss the passion of the teams I worked with – people who have chosen to spend their working life, or their spare time, trying to make the world a better place for cyclists.

It was a joy for me working with the likes of the late Tom McClelland.’

A company Brompton is something Gordon will enjoy in his new job too

share your story: If you know – or are – someone with a CTC-related story to tell, email editor@ctc.org.uk 3 2 cyc le J UNE /J ULY 2014

Where: The Yorkshire Dales Start & finish: Leeds & Harrogate Distance: 118 miles photos: Alamy, Welcome to Yorkshire, Chris Bailey

tour d e yorkshir e | GREAT R I DE S

Gre at r ide s

a reet grand depart Seven years after the Tour de France last visited Britain, the 2014 edition kicks off in Yorkshire. Dave Barter decided to preview stage one in person

S

tage one of this year’s Tour de France snakes from Leeds to Harrogate via the Yorkshire Dales.

On the run-in to the finish, the race will pass the birthplace of CTC: the St George Hotel on Ripon Road, where in 1878 Stanley Cotterell formed what was then the Bicycle Touring Club. If ex-CTC President Phil Liggett doesn’t mention that in his race commentary, there could be trouble!

CTC backed Yorkshire’s bid for the 2014 Grand Départ from the start. Mark Cavendish and Bradley Wiggins added weight to it, and the Dales landscape needed only race director Christian Prudhomme flying above it in a helicopter to set out its stall.

Stage two is a long, hilly run from York down to Sheffield, taking in the iconic climb of Holme Moss, while stage three is a shorter flat one from Cambridge to London, providing a showcase for the sprinters.

We can expect hundreds of thousands of spectators cheering from the roadside in the first week of July. What will the route itself be like? How hard are those hills that the professionals will make look so easy? I decided to find out.

On windy moors… baht ’at A Sunday morning in late March: a lone traffic warden paid me little attention as I pushed off from Leeds Town Hall, following main roads out of town towards Harewood.

The road climbed. My heavy, road-tyred cyclo-cross bike immediately felt like a mistake. One that, not having a team car, I’d

have to live with. Town centre traffic lights provided an additional frustration. As a lawabiding cyclist, I was compelled to stop on red; the peloton will simply breeze through.

After fighting my way out of Leeds, the first real scenery appeared at Harewood with expansive views over Wharfedale.

The ancient Harewood Castle remained stubbornly out of view as the route cut west towards Otley. The castle appears in a striking watercolour painted by Joseph Turner in 1798, but since then the surrounding trees have grown up unchecked.

The peloton will enjoy the next 25 miles as they speed upon flat wide main roads through Otley and on towards Ilkley. They have the benefit of each other to shelter from the wind, and the roads will be theirs, uncluttered with car drivers on Sunday morning jaunts. I found little to love in this section. A strong headwind reminded me of the vulnerability of the lone cyclist, and speeding traffic proved more than just an annoyance. A far better cycling experience could be had by following the canal path of NCN 66 to Bingley and then using minor roads to skirt Hawksworth Moor. Obviously you’d never get a peloton down a towpath – not without half the field taking an early bath.

I consoled myself in the hope that I’d spot one of Otley’s five morris dancing teams.

But no bells, garlanded hats or clacking sticks were to be seen on this bleak Sunday morning. Ilkley signalled the end of the flatness but not the soulless main road.

(Opposite) Yorkshire’s hills aren’t high but riders may be surprised at the gradients on some of them (Above) Log your own attempt on the stage before or after the pros to understand just how fit they are

CTC. O R G . U K cyc l e 3 5

tour d e yorkshir e | GREAT R I DE S (Left) Yorkshire cyclist Malcolm Elliot making the region’s undulations look easy

Photo by Bradley Ormesher for Welcome to Yorkshire

Le Tour up close

“buttertubs pass might sound like something out of tolkien’s shire, but it has suffering written all over it” I climbed up to Chelker Reservoir, still into the wind, swearing quietly.

Up and down dales

The stage began for me properly as I descended into Skipton town centre and skirted the war memorial statue. A 20-foot high plinth carries a bronze figure of Winged Victory with a depiction of a man breaking his sword at the bottom. As I was feeling poetic, the icons seemed apt: a single rider will assume the position of stage victor while others will break over the hills to come.

I climbed out of Skipton and into the scenery. The route left major roads behind and embraced the beauty of the Dales. At Threshfield, I met the River Wharfe, which had clearly been responsible for carving out the valley that narrowed and twisted the road below my wheels. Having no need to focus on a wheel in front, I was free to enjoy the landscape in a way that the racers won’t.

Looking around, I could see the tiny figures of climbers clinging to the overhanging heights of Kilnsey Crag.

I relaxed a little in my fight against the headwind before stopping for tea and sandwiches at the Cottage Tea Room in

Kettlewell. Score another point to me: it was far more civilised than energy bars snatched from a musette. The rest stop was necessary as the first classified climb of the day was close. Kidstones is almost two miles long, with an average gradient of 7%. It’s one of those horror story hills that saves its steepest gradient – 16%! – for the top. The sprinters will be nervous here as the climbers might stretch their legs for the first time in the Tour. I had the wind directly in my face and a solo ascent took me nine minutes; the pros will be over in under five.

Bishopdale valley provided brief respite before another sharp climb up to Aysgarth, where I’d hoped to pick up at least a whiff of Wensleydale cheese, which is native to the region. First crafted by 12th century Cistercian monks, the cheese is still made today. I could have done with some – or anything, really – to provide a bit more of a calorie buffer. Riding along by the River Ure, I was contemplating a right turn at Hawes that would signal the hardest climb of the day.

Buttertubs Pass might sound like something out of Tolkien’s Shire, but it has suffering written all over it. It’s long, at nearly

The route will be packed with fans, so get there early to choose your spot. The climbs are a good place to spectate but space will be limited and roads will be closed to traffic early on race day.

Cycle up and take food, water, and warm clothes.

The race organisers are providing 17 ‘spectator hubs’ on the route that are free to enter and include big screen race coverage. These are great options for those wanting to soak up the atmosphere of the day whilst not missing out on any of the action.

See letour.yorkshire.com/ stage-1/allhubs.

CTC have teamed up with HF Holidays to provide a full Tour de France experience. It involves race spectating, guided rides, and speakers, and it takes place over four days. Watch out for a review in the next issue.

CTC members can take advantage of a 10% discount at the Vélofest Tour Festival, based at Kilnsey Park Estate in the Dales. See velofest.co.uk, and use code CTC10 when booking.

Many farms alongside the route will be temporary campsites for the weekend. Some areas, such as Kidstones, are providing big screen coverage.

See kidstonescamping.co.uk.

If you want to make a week of it, CTC-affiliated Ilkley Cycling Club is running a TDF Festival of Cycling from 28 June-6 July. It includes a sportive on 29 June, which takes in much of the route while avoiding some of the main roads. See ilkleycyclingclub.org. uk and click on the ‘Le Tour’ link.

CTC. O R G . U K cyc l e 3 7

tour d e yorkshir e | GREAT R I DE S Below right & right: Welcome to Yorkshire

(Left) The race will go up Holme Moss on Stage 2, as it heads through the Peak District to Sheffield (Below left) Chris Froome is less likely to be in yellow in the UK than a sprinter who can climb, such as Peter Sagan

Fact File: Tour de France, stage one Where: Leeds to Harrogate When: Saturday 5th July 2014 Distance: 118 miles (190.5km) Ascent: 8,700 feet (2,651m) Terrain: Mixture of busy main and narrow winding valley roads. Three categorised climbs Conditions: All well-surfaced roads (a fringe benefit of the Tour coming to Yorkshire) Start: Leeds Town Hall Finish: Harrogate, The Stray (York Place) I’m glad I had: Lots of food, warm jacket for summit of climbs and descents I wish I’d had: A sub-20lb carbon fibre race bike, a support car, a peloton to draft behind Further Info: Official Tour site: letour. yorkshire.com Yorkshire Info: yorkshire.com

3.5 miles, and has sections that exceed 20%.

There’s even an evil false summit just before the true top. The Buttertubs of the name are a set of deep limestone potholes near the road that legend has it were used for keeping butter cool. There was nothing cool about me as I sweated over the summit, 70-odd miles in my tired legs. I had just enough energy to hold on throughout the twisting decent into Muker.

Limestone landscape Swaledale was carved from limestone by glaciers, and this stone has been used to construct barns that are visible in almost every field. The peloton won’t notice them; they’ll be too busy gearing up for the final climb of the day. I hit this at Grinton, after ten undisturbed miles of pleasantly scenic riding.

The climb is a similar length to Buttertubs, and equally foreboding given the miles ridden to reach it. Mist shrouded the climb and I ascended in glorious solitude – with exactly zero curiously-dressed spectators running alongside shouting. I inched my

way round the bends, wondering when the summit would come. Eventually, it did.

At the crest, with no radio in my ear to guide me, I assessed my situation. Thirty eight miles left to go and, according to a wizened roadman I’d met at the top, flat all the way to Harrogate. The previous 80 miles and 8,000 feet of ascent had robbed me of any desire to make a break for the finish. I was just looking to get there. As for the Tour, I suspect this is where the chase for the breakaway will begin.

I pointed my wheels down the A6108 and headed towards Ripon. I was worried that this section would echo the ride out of Leeds with featureless A-road riding.

However, the River Ure had seen to that, forcing the road to twist and turn through a set of small hamlets with enough backdrop to keep the will to ride alive.

I crossed the river after Masham, which was deemed a ‘Peculier’ in Medieval times and thus allowed jurisdiction over its own affairs. Theakston’s Brewery was founded in Masham. Hence the name of Theakston’s Old Peculier beer – something I could

Start information, Leeds: bit.ly/RBTHTe finish information, Harrogate: bit.ly/1uYH586 GPS log: download Dave’s GPS tracklog from ctc-maps.org.uk/routes/route/2571

t df s tage 1

4

3

5 6 2

1 1) Leeds 2) Skipton 3) Buttertubs Pass

4) Leyburn 5) Ripon 6) Harrogate

CTC. O R G . U K cyc l e 3 9

GREAT R I DE S | tour d e yorkshir e (Left) Sprinter Marcel Kittel has said that Yorkshire’s narrow roads and dry stone walls could be ‘dangerous’ for the peloton

Brian Robinson: Welcome to Yorkshire

“it showcases one of the most beautiful areas of england, whilst injecting the drama of three categorised climbs” enjoy at the finish if I wanted, instead of, I don’t know, beetroot juice or colostrum or whatever.

No sprint finish today My riding pleasure notched down a level on reaching Ripon, as the route gathered pace on the A61 for the final 12 miles.

The sprinters will relish the fast, wide, flat approach to the finish. I hated the relentless traffic. Perusing the map, I realised that there were a number of unclassified roads that would have made a far better alternative.

Reaching the town centre, I looked forward to a final flat run in to Harrogate. This was not to be: Ripon Road is a short, steep climb of nearly 6%. I cursed it, as will the lead-out trains.

The official route finishes along Parliament Street in Harrogate. I was forced to turn off due to the one-way system and was thus denied an official sprint finish. I collapsed into a heap on The Stray and contemplated

4 0 cyc le J une /july 2014

the route that I’d ridden.

It’s a perfect showcase for a Tour de France stage. Fast, wide roads at the start to allow a breakaway to form, whilst letting the pack riders compose themselves for the hills to come. A long middle section that does Yorkshire justice, showcasing one of the most beautiful areas of England whilst injecting the drama of three categorised climbs. Finally, a fast flowing run back to the finish to facilitate a spectacular chase for the line. The pros and television commentators are going to love every minute.

As for the amateur, there are better routes: the A61 is a road to avoid, and a full flavour of the day’s riding can be had by forgetting Leeds/Harrogate and heading west from Pately Bridge instead. Then you can suffer the climbs along the B6265 and enjoy the sanctimony of riding harder roads than the Tour. Join the official route at Threshfield, then leave it at Ripley for a return to your start.

Brian Robinson became the first British stage winner of the Tour de France in 1958. An ambassador for the Tour de France in Yorkshire, and still a regular rider aged 83, we caught up with him on his own Yorkshire sportive in April.

‘This is something I never dreamed would happen in my lifetime. We have a top notch team and have won the Tour twice.

‘I know all the roads. They show off Yorkshire, but can also shake up the peloton. The initial climbs into the Dales might not worry them, but the descents and some of the bridges might. The pull past Grinton Youth Hostel could be a deciding point, with the sprinters’ teams having to work hard to get back before the finish.

‘Stage 2 is my back yard. I still have one of the fastest times up Holme Moss (6 minutes and 5 seconds), but the last 50km has some stinkers. Look what happened when the Tour of Britain went over the Strines.

You might not win the Tour in the first two days, but you can lose it.’

Bikes Events 2015 Ad.indd 1

16/12/2014 14:52

Coasting along It’s summer, so it’s time to head to the beach.

With a bike. Clive Andrews looks at the prospects for cycling beside the surf

co a s t a l r i d i n g | f e a t u r e

(In the photo) In Scotland, beaches and coasts are covered by the same liberal access laws as other off-road areas there (Photo by Bruce Mathieson)

CTC. O R G . U K cyc l e 4 3

f e a t u r e | co a s t a l r i d i n g

Brighton and Hove’s Low Tide Bike Ride.

Fat bike not required

W

e’re an island nation: 11,000 miles of coastline surrounds us.

None of us is further than 70 miles from the sea. But most of our coastally-flavoured rides only begin or end at the water – a Coast to Coast perhaps, or an overnight trip to a seaside café for breakfast. Rarely do we explore the shoreline itself. Perhaps it’s time we got to know our coast a little better?

Many British beaches were reshaped by last winter’s storms. On the south coast alone, beaches from Kent to Cornwall are very different now from how they were in summer 2013. For off-road cyclists, these new beachscapes are places we might explore. But

Ti d e a n d t i m e …

The sea is a powerful force, and the fun of riding this close to nature should never blind us to issues of safety.

Don’t ride out onto unknown sand flats without sufficient local knowledge.

Don’t leave tides to chance. To avoid getting cut off, check their times and get to know their speeds and patterns of ingress.

Be cautious around cliffs, whether riding at the top or the bottom.

Be sensible about the weather. An upto-date weather forecast is recommended for any ride, but when exploring the beach, it’s vital.

4 4 cyc le J une /july 2014

we are wary. Isn’t the beach out-of-bounds for cyclists? Won’t it ruin our bikes?

Fat-tyre fun One of the most enthusiastic beach riders you might meet is Bruce Mathieson, who lives in Scotland’s East Lothian, next to 42 miles of coastline. ‘I could never get bored of beach riding. I love the technical challenges it holds,’ he says. ‘There’s so much to explore. I’ve been riding here for years and I’m still discovering hidden singletrack, shipwrecks and World War II fortifications.’ Such is Bruce’s love of the ever-changing beach terrain, most of his cycling takes place there, with only occasional ventures inland.

If you’re planning to heed Bruce’s call to the coast, you may want to equip yourself especially for it. And the most obvious option available now is the fat bike: a mountain bike – usually rigid – with extra-wide tyres (3.5 or 4 inches), mounted on suitably sized rims. Initially pioneered by brands like Surly, the fat bike is a niche that’s nudging into the mainstream, with machines now available from brands like On-One, Kona, Specialized and Genesis.

Several of them use Surly components. Not only must the frame and fork accommodate these giant wheels, but various other key components have been re-engineered – hubs, bottom brackets and even front mechs – to keep a fat bike rolling. SRAM is now producing a fat bike-specific groupset.

Bruce Mathieson’s enthusiasm for coastal

riding sits alongside an equal love of fat bikes, his mount of choice for beaches. Bruce bought the first fat bike in Scotland, an original Surly, and now owns a growing collection.

He even organises the Forth Fat event, a gathering of fat bike riders who come together to explore the coastline with him. See coastkid. blogspot.co.uk for details.

Beyond the beach Though Bruce got into fat bikes purely for beach riding, he is now one of the biggest flag-wavers for their use on any terrain. ‘They’re lovely in pine woods – great on loamy rooty soil or the peat of the Pentlands and Cheviots.

Once they’re rolling, they’re not bad on the road either.’ Bruce has a point. With an overall tyre diameter similar to a 29er, a fat bike is capable enough on tarmac – fine for getting to the beach or trails.

Another fat bike advocate is On-One designer Brant Richards. But unlike Bruce Mathieson, Brant is not convinced about the wisdom of playing on the beach. On-One’s venture into fat bikes was inspired by the snow of the Iditarod race, and in Brant’s view, riding by the sea doesn’t sound wise. ‘Why would you do that to the bottom bracket in your quality bike?’ he asks.

‘Fat bikes are really all about fun,’ says Brant. ‘This is another way to ride your local trails. An accessible, different way to have a laugh. It’s part of mountain biking’s bigger evolution away from racing and back towards

“I’ve been riding here for years and I’m still discovering hidden singletrack, shipwrecks, and World War II fortifications”

Ride below the high-water line and you’re unlikely to get any objections

fun.’ On-One’s Fatty is the brand’s current bestselling bike.

Brant and Bruce may have very different ideas about using fat bikes for coastal riding, but they are united in their belief that this is a versatile breed of mountain bike and not just a specialist niche. ‘I would have no qualms in having a fat bike as my only bike,’ insists Brant.

Lower fat alternatives So who’s buying fat bikes? Are they just a fad, or to be taken seriously? Ison Distribution deals with Surly and Salsa, between them providing several quality fat bikes. Allan Doyle at Ison describes a positive picture: ‘Fat bikes are selling all over the country. They’ve really boomed in the last 18 months,’ he says. It seems many fat bike buyers are in their forties, and are rediscovering the simple fun of ’80s and ’90s mountain biking.

If there’s no room in the shed for another bike right now, there are other options than a brand new fat bike.

Option one: use a standard mountain bike. For all the fat bike excitement, a regular mountain bike, with its two-inch tyres, is still a versatile machine built for uncertain ground conditions. A conventional MTB will be fine on rock and firm wet sand, though will struggle on dry sand. If you have a choice of bikes, then simple is best. A bike with fewer gears (maybe just one) will run better in sandy conditions and will be easier to clean up afterwards.

Avoid suspension or any other feature that

f e a t u r e | co a s t a l r i d i n g

Four-inch tyres provide traction even on loose, dry sand

Right: Clive, by Paul Stanley. Other pictures by Clive Andrews

High fat content

“If your chosen beach bike is anything other than a scrapyard special, a through postride clean is essential” can’t be easily cleaned or disassembled.

Option two: scrapheap challenge. If you fancy neither a fat bike investment nor the salty abuse of your favourite machine, another option is to keep your eyes open for skips, tips and car boot sales.

If your chosen beach bike is anything other than a scrapyard special, a thorough post-ride clean is essential. Wash it rigorously. Consider removing the bottom bracket if the sea is likely to have reached that level.

Bruce Mathieson’s tip is to plan for prevention rather than repair. He coats the inside of his steel frames with a wax treatment, and every bolt on his fat bikes has been inserted with the aid of copperslip grease.

Shore enough As proof that beach riding doesn’t need specialist equipment, consider the Brighton and Hove Low Tide Bike Ride. This irregular jaunt unites a varied collective around the twice-yearly equinoctial tides. Participants set off to explore Brighton’s rarely-exposed sand flats – not on fat bikes, but on a collection of old mountain bikes, rusty shoppers and basic singlespeeds.

Few of them are fervent cyclists, just Brighton people with a love of their beach

4 6 cyc le J une /july 2014

and a wish to see their city from a different perspective.

How about the legal implications of exploring the coast? In Scotland, a liberal approach to countryside access affords much freedom. In England, beach access is more complex. ‘Of the 3,000km of English coast, just 90km is technically bike legal,’ access expert Colin Palmer says. ‘Half of this is underwater at high tide.’ For the remainder, common law and local tradition combine to give horses and walkers a technical right of access, but the situation for those on two wheels is unclear.

Colin is reassuring: ‘Above the high water line, usual rights of way laws prevail, with bridleways and byways providing access.

Below the high water line, things are much more relaxed. Use some common sense and no one’s going to stop you.’

In Northern Ireland, the legality of coastal riding is unclear, but there seems to be a positive approach in Wales – above the beach, at least. The Wales Coast Path is currently 20% bike-legal, though these sections are geared more towards leisure than off-road beach riding. CTC’s Councillor for Wales is Gwenda Owen. ‘The Welsh Assembly’s Active Travel Act provides an obligation to map and improve cycle routes, and there’s even talk of using the Wales Coast Path to link up communities,’ she says.

Exploring any off-road environment by bike needs care, and a respect for other users, but Bruce Mathieson points out that the fat bike, at least, can be a force for good in areas where relationships with other outdoor enthusiasts are sensitive: fat tyres float on top of fragile soils, rather than digging in.

Those 4-inch tyres, mounted on super-wide (82mm!) rims, define the Surly Pug Ops. The steel frame has asymmetric stays to accommodate them. And they make a huge contribution to the way it rides.

On wet sand, the Pug rolls easily. On dry sand or shingle, it stays mobile where other bikes stall. On firmer terrain, it feels much like a regular hardtail once it’s up to rolling speed. The wheels don’t lift and respond as easily as a regular 26-incher’s. Long chainstays, part of fat bike design, make rearward weight shifts almost unnoticed.

But to try to ride it like a normal bike is to miss the point of a fat bike. Why wrestle its weight to flick and manoeuvre your way through technical terrain when you can just relax? The key to enjoying the Pug is to let it do its thing. Don’t try to finesse it: let it plough over and soak up the bumps. It’s a different feeling from telescopic full-suspension, but it’s a fun bike to ride.

There are lots of frame fittings.

The 135mm-wide rear-facing dropouts allow singlespeed or hub gear usage, although ours was set up with derailleur gears.

Tech spec: Surly Pug Ops PRICE: £1849 WEIGHT: 16.2kg (35.8lb) SIZE TESTED: L SIZES AVAILABLE: XS, S, M, L, XL FRAME & FORK: Surly 4130 cromoly steel, with double-butted main triangle. Surly Moonlander fork. Rack and bottle mounts.

WHEELS: Surly Nate tyres 26×4in tyres. Surly Rolling Darryl rims on Surly (F) and Shimano (R) hubs.

TRANSMISSION: 2×10, Shimano SLX/LX mix, with Surly cranks BRAKING: Avid BB7 cable discs STEERING & SEATING: Salsa ProMoto bars, HL stem, Kalloy seatpost, Velo saddle CONTACT: Ison Distribution – isondistribution.com – 01353 662662

Bikes Events 2015 Ad.indd 1

16/12/2014 14:52

Where: French Alps Start & finish: Annecy elevation: The road summit at Semnoz is 1,660m pictures: Alamy & Calvin Jones

B R O M P T O N S U P T H E A L P S | G RE A T R I D ES

Gre at r ide s

Bromptons up the Alps

You don’t need trade team lycra and an over-geared road bike to cycle up mountains, as CTC member Calvin Jones and his friend Jon proved

T

he Alps, we know, are high. It’s why weekend cyclists and professionals ride up them. They’re also exposed, sitting up there where the weather happens. As I began my descent towards Aravis from top of the Croix Fry, I could see thunderheads and skirts of rain. They were travelling fast. So was I: sixty kilometres per hour. A professional might descend much faster, an imperial rather than metric sixty.

But he wouldn’t be on a Brompton…

Travelling with a bike in Europe is easier than in the UK, but still not always easy, especially if you don’t fly. Looking at a map, the Alps were a long drive from Calais, particularly for a long weekend. Rail seemed sensible, but would involve loading and unloading road bikes onto three different trains – assuming we could book them aboard. We could hire decent road bikes there, but an early Monday return would bring logistical difficulties.

‘Jon, let’s take the Bromptons,’ I said.

Folding freedom A folder is a perfect way to ease and extend the experience of train trips to city destinations. Relying on one to provide fun over a few days of steep climbs was something else. The logic seemed inexorable, though: train to Paddington, then across to St Pancras; bikes bagged for the Eurostar; unfolded for the dash across Paris from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon; and onto the TGV to Annecy. Ten hours, door to door. Two days of riding, then home.

All that remained was the question of how far to adapt our commuting machines

in search of extra speed and power. Swap out the Marathons for slicks? SPDs? Lighten the load by ditching rack and guards? In the end we did none of these things. What was an extra kph or two?

My only concessions to cycle specificity were some padded undershorts, a couple of merino T-shirts, and a pair of Five-Ten shoes that would double up as pub wear (and turn to weighty sponges on the soggy Col du Aravis, never to recover).

Baronet of the mountains When you tell other cyclists you are going up an Alp (or two) on your Brompton, they mostly look askance. As if somehow the tiny wheels on the bike don’t function over 1,000m in altitude or on gradients greater than 6%. But Bromptons climb fine. The gearing, on a six-speed at least, is no problem. The lowest gear, with the minus 12% gearing option, is under 30 inches.

That’s lower than on most road bikes, and is perfectly adequate to get a half-fit person up a 10% slope.

Other Brompton downsides – the twitchy steering, the right-then-left shifters – actually matter far less when winching upwards at a steady 10kph in a straight(ish) line. Some things do need thought. Two hours of climbing with the same hand position would bring home the inadequacy of the grips, so

Do it yourself We took the train from Cardiff, the Eurostar to Paris, and then the TGV to Annecy. It was about 10 hours door-to-door. We had no trouble travelling with the Bromptons, but the optional cover hides the fact it’s even a bike.

Cycling across Paris (from Gare du Nord to Gare de Lyon) is a joy using the separate cycle paths, but you might want to walk your bike around the big and busy Place de la Republique. There are plenty of places to stay in Annecy – the Ibis is cheap, and central. A return train ticket from London to Annecy was around £200.

“the lowest gear on my brompton is under 30 inches – lower than on most road bikes, and adequate for a 10% slope” CTC. O R G . U K cyc l e 4 9

G RE A T R I D ES | B R O M P T O N S U P T H E A L P S (Left) 6-speed Bromptons climb fine. It was the descents that were worrying…

Fact file Where to ride: From Annecy, the Tour climb to Semnoz is next door. The Cols Aravis and Croix Fry are easily doable out-and-back, as is the more famous Colombiere. For the more laid back, the multi-use path around the lake is ace.

What to ride: We had 6-speed Bromptons, which give a nicely low spinning gear. Would I do it on a 2-Speed Brompton? No.

“i had intended to leave the s-bag at the hotel. Then I remembered i was about to cycle up an alp wearing a straw trilby” a swap-out for Ergons is a must.

The reach is necessarily short, and you’d never suggest it’s the most efficient position for getting the most from your quads. Yet both spinning and honking are perfectly feasible. Not once on a climb did I wish for a ‘proper’ bike. On the descents, however…

Here the small wheels of the Brompton show their worst, not so much in the quickness of steering but in the transmission of bumps and surface roughness.

The Tour de France finished its annual sojourn to the Alps at Semnoz last year on Stage 20, high above Annecy, with Mont Blanc to the east, floating serenely over its lesser brethren. This meant the Yellow Jersey and his lesser brethren would not essay the descent to Leschaux, and thus that road was not spruced up. Inches-deep potholes, long fissures jagging in and out of line with your direction of travel, and unexpected sprays of gravel jarred the arms and shoulders, and caused me to grip tighter on the handlebar (which made things worse).

Brompton brakes are, to put it politely, adequate for their urban use. The intrepid descender must factor their wooden languor into his Alpine hairpin braking, whilst remembering the problematic physics of

5 0 cyc le J une/J uly 2014

rubber-on-metal rings that are friction-heated twice as much as 700C versions.

Bags of fun In my case, some of the braking was taken care of by the air resistance offered by the Brompton S-Bag sitting athwart the long stem. I had intended to leave it at the hotel and fill my pockets with bottles, gels, tools and sealant. Then I remembered I was about to cycle up an Alp on a Brompton wearing a straw trilby, and so had already crossed the line into ridiculousness. The bag stayed on. It swallowed all manner of emergency clothing and useful bits. And I could hunker down behind it in the hail coming off the Croix Fry. I think it was the bag that caused the most consternation and amusement from the lean Frenchmen and Italians grinding purposefully past me up the Semnoz. It was the cause of much jocular banter at the top with the Brits in the café. (‘You’ll have to climb it again – you forgot the shopping.’)

Most of all, the S-Bag seemed to me to say: ‘Yes, I am here for the same reason as you.

For the challenge of this hill. But (as I said to the especially amused French couple) not with some lung-bursting Strava-goal in mind, but lentement, observant et avec plaisur.’

When to go: We went mid-June, which meant the weather was reasonable (mid20s) and the snow had departed all the cols. All roads were relatively calm, but be careful of mad downhill MTBers flying overhead as you climb the Semnoz.

Maps/guides: I downloaded full worldwide base-maps (with turn-byturn guidance) to my Nokia phone, thus avoiding troubling data charges.

Indispensable: The Brompton S-Bag, which stayed with me on all the climbs – a baguette fits nicely. The aforementioned Nokia phone, an 808. The quality of the camera meant one thing fewer to carry.

If I did it again… I’m not sure the straw trilby was quite the thing. A bit Sid James?

Maybe this year, a Panama?

ANNECY 1 2 3

1) A nnecy-le-Vieux 2) Seynod 3) Vieugy

Bikes Events 2015 Ad.indd 1

16/12/2014 14:52

roa d justic e | f e a t u r e

Crime righting How can we stop bad drivers getting away with murder? That’s the focus for CTC’s public debate on Road Justice. Rhia Weston explains

O

ne year on from the launch of the Road Justice campaign, CTC will hold a much-needed debate on sentencing of driving offences. On 13 June, CTC president Jon Snow will chair the debate, which will see two leading barristers, a representative from the Crown Prosecution Service, a judicial expert, and a criminal law expert deliberate how sentencing guidelines can be improved to discourage bad driving.

You can join in the debate by submitting questions to the panellists. If you use Twitter, tweet your questions on 13 June using #CTCdebate. Those unable to get involved on the day can email questions prior to the event instead to rhia.weston@ctc.org.uk.

Illustration by Adam Gale (adamgale.com)

Road crime realities The objective of this debate is to influence the forthcoming review of sentencing guidelines for serious driving offences, announced by the Government in 2013. The current guidelines, and the way they are being applied by the judiciary, have been shown repeatedly to fail to do their intended job. They should ensure offenders are sentenced appropriately and proportionately to the seriousness of their offence, and to ensure consistency in sentencing.

If this were so, we wouldn’t hear of cases like these: driver sentenced to 240-hours of unpaid work and a mere one-year ban for killing a cyclist whilst he ate a sandwich at the wheel of his car as he drove between 55 and 60mph; driver given six-month suspended sentence, a one-year ban and ordered to do 200-hours of unpaid work for killing cyclist whom she had 11 seconds to see before ploughing into him.

Sentences like these give the impression that road crime is not taken seriously by the justice system. What’s more, judges’ reluctance to impose long driving bans

reinforces the false idea that driving is a right not a privilege. The majority (65%) of disqualifications given for careless driving and driving licence offences (which carry discretionary bans) are for less than a year.

The situation is little better for more serious offences: the top graph overleaf shows how bans given for causing death and injury by driving offences (which carry mandatory disqualifications) rarely exceed three years. Lifetime bans accounted for less than 1% of all bans imposed in 2012.

As well as bans being short, they are also used less frequently now than seven years ago. There was a 47% drop in the number of disqualifications imposed between 2007 and 2012, despite the number of road casualties falling by only 27%.

The sentencing debate Sentencing guidelines need to be overhauled to reflect the fact that the irresponsible use of a vehicle is a serious

crime with potentially life-changing consequences for both victim(s) and driver.

In May, CTC welcomed the Government’s announcement to extend custodial sentences for drivers who cause death whilst disqualified, unlicensed or uninsured from two to ten years, as well as the introduction of a new offence of causing serious injury whilst disqualified, which will carry a maximum four-year prison term. The Government also plans to make driving whilst disqualified an ‘either way’ offence, and to increase the maximum penalty from six months to two years’ custody. CTC also wants judges to make greater use of vehicle confiscation to prevent such drivers from getting back behind the wheel.

There is clear public and political momentum for a change in how driving offences are handled by the justice system.

Outrage at the lenient sentencing of bad drivers who kill has led to the creation of several online petitions calling for tougher

Doing victims justice

The Road Justice campaign’s key calls for change.

Charging and prosecution practice C harging guidance should undergo a full consultation and review P rosecutors handling serious and fatal road crime cases should be obliged to take part in a national training programme on road traffic law M anslaughter should be the default charge in road death cases involving wilful risktaking or intention to cause danger T here must be greater transparency at both a national and local level about who is making

charging decisions and why V ictims of road crime should be counted in crime statistics Drivers

who maim and kill should be given immediate interim driving bans as a condition of bail Sentencing practice S entences for bad driving offences should be reviewed by the Sentencing Council as soon as possible F ailing to have proper and safe regard for vulnerable road users should be emphasised as an aggravating factor in the revised sentencing guidelines

T he revised guidelines should recommend greater use of non-custodial sentencing options, particularly driving bans, where danger was caused but with no evidence of intent or wilful risk-taking on the part of the driver The revised guidelines should increase the recommended sentences for the worst offenders J udges should receive specialist training in road traffic law and cycle safety issues, especially if handling fatal cases, so as to avoid victim-blaming

CTC. O R G . U K cyc l e 5 3

f e a t u r e | roa d justic e

Length of disqualifications by the courtS for very serious driving offences 45% 40%

Overly lenient sentencing Lenient sentencing is not just a product of unsuitable sentencing guidelines. It is also caused by the prevailing trend within the justice system to treat bad driving that causes injury or death as merely ‘careless’.

This trend is demonstrated by the dramatic drop in the number of prosecutions for ‘causing death by dangerous driving’ after the introduction of the offence of ‘causing death by careless driving’ . It suggests that many cases that would have previously been prosecuted as dangerous driving are now being prosecuted as careless driving.

Careless driving offences carry much lighter maximum sentences than dangerous driving offences. For instance, the offence of causing death by dangerous driving carries a maximum sentence of 14 years in prison, whereas causing death by careless driving carries a maximum of five years.

Favouring of ‘careless driving’ over ‘dangerous driving’ is in part a result of inappropriate charging standards and imprecise definitions of what constitutes ‘careless’ and ‘dangerous’, which make it difficult for prosecutors to make objective and consistent charging decisions.

Downgrading, which is when the courts accept a guilty plea to a lesser offence, is also a problem – one that CTC fears will be exacerbated by the Government’s encouragement of prosecutors to accept guilty pleas in order to limit the cost of

5 4 cyc le J une /july 2014

Causing death/dangerous driving Crown Court

30%

Causing death/dangerous driving Magistrates’ Court

25% 20% 15% 10% 5%

fe Li

e er nd

& Ye a

rs

rs 10

Ye a 5

li f

ar ye ov

un &

& rs Ye a

er ,u

r1 0 de

de un

s 4

s

s ye r5

un

de

Ye a

&

3 ar ye 3 er Ov

ar

r4

rs

s ar r3

un & rs

Ye a

ar 2

ye 1 Ov

er

ye

ar ye de

r2

1

de un &

& s th on m 6 er Ov

s

r Ye a

ar ye r1

de

de

un

r6

6

m

M

on

on

th

th

s

s

0%

Un

sentences. The petition set up by the family of Jamie Butcher, killed as he crossed a pedestrian crossing in Cambridgeshire in 2011, led to the Government committing to review sentencing guidelines. The petition set up by the family of Ross and Clare Simons, killed whilst cycling on their tandem in Bristol in 2013, led to a cross-party parliamentary debate on dangerous driving in January of this year.

CTC, meanwhile, met with the Sentencing Council – the body responsible for producing sentencing guidelines – earlier this year to voice concerns about lenient sentences and suggest improvements. CTC was invited to contribute to the consultation on the new guidelines, and representatives of the Sentencing Council have agreed to attend our debate on 13 June.

35%

Casualties and disqualifications 2007-2012 110% All casualties

100%

down

21%

90%

Disqualifications

80% 70% 60%

down

47%

50% 40%

2007

2008

2009

protracted court cases.

CTC fears that the establishment of regional traffic courts (29 of which were set up last year) will lead to increased dismissal of dangerous driving as careless.

These courts will deal with low-level offences, such as traffic light and document offences but can also be used for careless driving. The police, rather than the Crown Prosecution Service, make the charging decision in careless driving cases and can also prosecute ‘either way’ offences, including dangerous driving, if a guilty plea is anticipated. Although traffic courts will cut bureaucracy and speed up the justice process, freeing up resources for more complex cases, there is a risk that if the

2010

2011

2012

police do not correctly interpret careless driving as driving that did not cause danger, more acts of dangerous driving will be undercharged.

Most victims of road crime lack accurate and timely information about their cases because they are denied victims’ services, and this also contributes to undercharging.

Victims injured by speeding drivers, drink drivers, and careless drivers are not recognised as victims of crime and therefore are not included in the Victims’ Code, which delineates who is entitled to victims’ services.

CTC’s proposals for reform CTC’s proposals have been published in two Road Justice campaign reports: 1) Charging

roa d justic e | f e a t u r e

and Prosecution; and 2) The Courts and Sentencing. Both can be downloaded from roadjustice.org.uk/road-justice-reports.

The proposals for improved sentencing practice will be discussed at the debate on 13 June, mentioned at the start of this article.

Charging and prosecution practice

In order to tackle the problems of undercharging, the Road Justice campaign is calling for a full consultation and review of the guidance used by police and prosecutors when deciding what charge to bring against a driver (known as charging guidance). CTC wants the revised guidance to include clearer definitions and more appropriate examples of dangerous and careless driving.

The campaign is calling for prosecutors who handle serious and fatal road crime cases to undergo standardised national training in road traffic law in order to avoid dismissal of dangerous driving as careless.

The campaign wants manslaughter to be the default charge in road death cases where there is evidence the driver engaged in wilful risk-taking or intentionally caused danger.

CTC is demanding greater transparency from the police and CPS at a national and local level about who is making charging decisions and why. CTC is also calling for the number of road crash victims and drivers involved in crashes to be counted in crime statistics, and for information on the mode of transport of the victim and the road user involved in causing the incident to be collected. At present, no such data is gathered. And finally, CTC wants drivers who seriously injure or kill to be given immediate driving bans as a condition of bail, to prevent them from endangering others and to avoid victims’ distress at seeing them driving.

S entencing practice

The Road Justice campaign is calling for the planned review of sentences for driving offences to be conducted as soon as possible, and for the revised guidelines to emphasise that failing to have a proper and safe regard for vulnerable road users is an aggravating factor when it comes to sentencing.

CTC is calling for substantial driving bans (i.e. of ten years or more) and other

Download copies of CTC’s Road Justice reports from roadjustice. org.uk

non-custodial options such as re-testing, suspended sentences and vehicle confiscation, to be used for drivers who cause unintentional danger or who drive carelessly. CTC believes greater use of noncustodial options for such offenders would make jurors more likely to return a guilty verdict and prosecutors more likely to press for the tougher charge in the first place. The worst drivers – those who drive with intent to endanger, who engage in wilful risk-taking, or who breach driving bans – should be treated with a much heavier hand in the form of long or lifetime driving bans, coupled with custodial sentences.

CTC also wants judges presiding over serious and fatal cases to receive specialist training in road traffic law and cycle safety issues to avoid making comments during sentencing tantamount to victim-blaming, such as referring to a deceased person’s decision not to wear high visibility clothing.

Working with the police The first campaign report ‘Road Justice: the role of the police’, which called for improved road crash investigations, better resourcing and training of roads police, and greater support for road crash victims, has been well-received by police forces in England and Wales. Over two thirds of forces have sent CTC their views on the report’s recommendations. And 85% of those that responded agreed with all or some of the proposals. (Check how the force in your area responded: go to roadjustice.org.uk/ police-petition-map.)

Several forces have voiced interest in

engaging with CTC in order to implement the recommendations, and a few have either already met, or plan to meet, with local cycling groups to discuss their concerns. CTC would like to establish local partnerships with every police force in England and Wales, with a view to furthering the Road Justice goals. CTC members can help achieve this ambition by becoming a Road Justice campaigner and attending campaigner training. For information on campaigner training, visit roadjustice.org. uk/campaigner-training-2014.

CTC recognises that the recommendations for the police to set up online road crime reporting systems, and to receive training in the practical and legal issues facing cyclists, are hard for each force to implement without external changes. CTC has therefore been working to ensure measures are in place to assist the implementation of these recommendations. The campaign coordinator is involved in a working group set up by the Metropolitan Police Service to improve the functionality of their online road crime reporting tool in the hope of rolling out this template to other forces. And CTC will this month meet with the College of Policing, the body responsible for developing police training, to discuss how information about cycling can be included in training modules.

Road Justice campaign in Scotland A coalition of road safety and cycling organisations (including CTC Scotland, Pedal on Parliament, the Scottish Campaign Against Irresponsible Drivers, Go Bike, Spokes East Lothian, and RoadShare) is furthering the goals of the Road Justice campaign north of the border. Members of the coalition have raised concerns over the leniency shown to bad drivers with both the Crown Office of the Procurator Fiscal (the Scottish prosecution service) and the Scottish justice minister, Kenny McAskill.

The Scottish Government has committed to setting up its own Sentencing Council in 2015. As such, the Road Justice coalition plans to focus on ensuring the Council produces appropriate sentencing guidelines for driving offences. A Road Justice report looking at the Scottish criminal justice system will be published later this year.

CTC. O R G . U K cyc l e 5 5

fe a t u r e | hidd e n britai n

You choose your own routes between checkpoints, so can avoid most traffic

Hidden Britain CTC’s British Cycle Quest gives you 402 reasons to explore somewhere new by bike. Becky Sampson is a recent convert

T

his was a quest. Not a knights-onhorseback kind of quest; I wasn’t out to rescue a princess: I wanted a queen. I was in pursuit of Queen Elizabeth, or rather the Queen’s Hunting Lodge, which is in Epping Forest on the outskirts of London.

I wanted to know the name of the public house next to it. I could have Googled it, but that would be missing the point. Finding the answer was my reason to ride. I was on my first foray into the world of the British Cycle Quest (BCQ).

Escaping the city I followed the Lea Valley Canal towpath from Essex to London via Her Maj’s watering hole.

Not being the best navigator, I augmented my highlighter-coloured OS map by asking

5 6 cyc le J une /july 2014

passers-by for directions. It worked well, taking me along well-maintained tracks and minor roads… until I met ‘helpful’ Phil, a local who told me of his short cut to Epping Forest.

Be wary when non-cyclists provide you with a short cut. Phil’s route was up a series of steep off-road inclines, the majority of them muddy. Huffing, puffing, pedalling, and eventually pushing my bike up one such slope, I was rewarded with a stunning view. Acres of undulating, cloud-shadowed greenery spread out down below me into the valley. The soft blue waters of the King George V Reservoir lapped against the side of its concrete compound. It seemed incomprehensible that London was a handful of Tube stops to the south.

A glorious swoop down the other side of what I now know to be Daws Hill – obviously named after my splendid Galaxy! – took me into the forest and straight to the pub. Thank you, CTC, for catering to thirsty cyclists when putting the clues together! Quest one: completed.

Finding the witch-finder I was hooked. Strapping camping gear to my bike, I headed off into the Essex wilderness.

On the trail of Matthew Hopkins, the 17th century witch-finder general, I meandered through biscuit-tin villages, tiny hamlets and beautiful countryside.

Manningtree – Hopkins’ birthplace – claims the title of England’s smallest town.

It also claimed the lives of many women

Opposite: Alamy. Others: Becky Sampson

The checkpoints aren’t hidden, but you’ll need to be able to navigate

“As we cycled from clue to clue, past gorgeous manors, we took in tiny lanes hemmed in by hedgerows, grand estates, and a hangman’s hill” during his reign of terror.

The following morning, I pedalled across the border into Suffolk, a county famed for strong draught horses and stronger cider. My focus this time was Flatford Mill, a National Trust property filled with timberframed farmhouses and – most importantly – a tea room. The road out took me through Tudor villages. Undulating hills criss-crossed with mosaic fields swiftly submerged in to the suburbs of Colchester.

Colchester has one of the many fabulous Sustrans way-markers that are dotted around the country. A last look at Essex included a trip to Greensted, and the oldest wooden church in the world.

Whilst doing the BCQ solo is fun, I thought it would be enjoyable to drag others along with me. My friend Jess accompanied me to Berkshire. Jess has a top-of-the-range, ultralight carbon bike. She whizzed up and down hills at breakneck speed, seeking out clues long before I had caught up on my steel tourer. She had to wait eventually, however: it was me that had panniers filled with snacks.

As we cycled from clue to clue, past gorgeous manors, we took in tiny country lanes hemmed in by hedgerows, grand sweeping estates and a hangman’s hill.

This involved tackling a washed-away road, damaged by the recent floods. My fattertyred Galaxy came in to its own on this

Collecting checkpoints The British Cycle Quest is a great incentive to explore Britain by bike. There are 402 checkpoints scattered across the UK. At each checkpoint, there’s a question to answer to show you’ve been. We give you a list of checkpoints and questions, and you submit your answers on BCQ Answer Cards. There are no set routes between checkpoints. The only rule is that you have to travel to the checkpoints by bike.

Aside from postage, the BCQ is free. And there’s no

time limit: you’ve got as long as you like. You can download the BCQ Question book and an order form to obtain answer cards here: ctc.org. uk/britishcyclequest. Or you can get the BCQ Question book by post: just send a selfaddress A4 envelope with two second-class stamps affixed.

For the Answer Cards, you need an order form – also obtainable from CTC National Office (see page 3).

When you visit your first 10 checkpoints you’ll receive a certificate – and another

when you visit your first 50. There are also regional certificates for visiting every checkpoint in each of the BCQ’s 10 regions, and medals for visiting 100, 200 and 300 checkpoints. Anyone who visits all 402 gets a trophy.

Several CTC members have completed the BCQ: Alan and Mavis Wallace (2003), Helen Sandelands (2004), Paul Snowden (2004), Damian Hill (2010), Andrew Read (2011), Liz and Ken Gates (2011), Paul White (2012), and Ian Weatherill (2012).

fe a t u r e | hidd e n britai n (Left) You can create long tours linking checkpoints, or just visit a few if you’re in the area (Below) While you could Google some answers, getting there by bike is what the BCQ is all about

Twice the fun

“I entered a bluebell wood infused with the scent of wild garlic. It made me realise how lucky I was to have an excuse to be out on my bike” terrain, whereas Jess’s precious racer had to be carried like a newborn.

The great thing about having a cycling companion is that two heads are better than one. Theoretically. In fact, it meant that Jess and I could blame each other when we couldn’t find the answer to a particularly difficult clue.

We eventually decided that the clue had been removed, gave up and turned in the direction of home. A few minutes later, I heard the squeal of Jess’s brakes: she’d stumbled across the missing plaque. I’d made a mistake with the grid reference and we’d been looking in the wrong place!

On my next quest, I asked along two Sampson family members. They joined me on an old, old tandem… up and down the punishing hills of East Dorset. When we reached our destination – Cerne Abbas – we again spent a while looking for the answer in the wrong place. If you go there, you will discover that’s quite hard to do.

Reasons to ride My next jaunt – solo – was to Hardy’s Monument. The monument, which lies between Weymouth and Bridport, is on a

5 8 cyc le J une /july 2014

stretch of stunningly scenic coast road. Josie Dew described this road thus: ‘never mind cycling 600 feet up the long steep gradient of Wears Hill, I could scarcely push it to the top.’ Fortunately, Sustrans have helpfully marked a cycle route through the adjacent valley, which is either downhill or flat most of the way if you’re heading to Bridport.

Fortunately, I was.

The roads were quiet: a few farmers on tractors returning from spraying their fields.

The brightly coloured crop of yellow rape was a dramatic contrast to the ominous skies above.

Hail started hammering down. I did question why I was out chasing clues, but then I entered a bluebell wood infused with the scent of wild garlic. It made me realise quite how lucky I was to have an excuse to be out on my bike in all weathers.

The certificates you can earn doing the BCQ are really just a bonus. The joy is in exploring, getting you out of the rut of those routes you ride so regularly, and having reasons to go cycling around the countryside in search of things like names on benches or crusader graves – and, of course, the cafés to refuel at en route.

Philip & Helen Muir are doing the BCQ on their tandem. As of 1st April, they had visited 161 checkpoints.

‘We began collecting BCQ checkpoints two years ago. We now kick ourselves for not starting earlier. It has revolutionised our tandem agenda. You could describe it as the cycle tourists’ version of Munro-bagging, on a national scale.

‘We are now approaching our second century of BCQs visited on day rides and tours from home in South Warwickshire.

The two of us have toured from the Isle of Wight to The Western Isles, and from the Fens to the Pennine Hills and Welsh mountains.

‘From home on long day rides, we’ve discovered corners of Britain we never knew existed, a highlight being a long summer’s day in the saddle to Sapperton Tunnel in Gloucestershire – complete with a music festival at the adjacent pub.

‘We look forward to our BCQ silver medal and all the yet unvisited interesting places our tandem rides and tours will take us. We’re sure they will be as diverse and interesting as the home of cricket or Mary Stuart’s place of execution. Maybe we’ll have another encounter with a pro rider such as Mark Cavendish, who passed us in the opposite direction whilst we were collecting BCQs on the Isle of Man!’ Philip & Helen Muir have visited 161 checkpoints in two years

f e at u r e | S PAC E F O R CYC L I N G

We make Space for Cycling Individuals make a big difference locally in national cycle campaigns.

Chris Peck and Jacqui Shannon profile two CTC members who made their mark

C

TC’s power comes from its networks of volunteers: thousands of ride leaders and campaigners who work to get more people into cycling and who lobby councils across the country. It is thanks to their work that the new cycle route that appeared in your town was built or, sadly more likely, that the worst designs for new roads were sent back to the drawing board – or amended to make them a bit better.

To back up those CTC volunteers in their dealings with councillors and officers, we need to show that there are many more people who want improved conditions for cycling. That’s what Space for Cycling is about. Thousands of people have already written to their councillors. If you haven’t yet, visit space4cycling.org.uk to find out how you can get involved.

CTC’s Space for Cycling campaign is run in coordination with Cyclenation local campaign groups and funded by the Bike Hub, the cycle industry funded levy. It follows the London Cycling Campaign’s lead; there the local elections have provided an opportunity to focus candidates’ attention on cycling. Outside London, the local elections aren’t as crucial, but sitting councillors still control vast – if diminishing – budgets, and they decide what happens on the streets and roads that we use every day.

These are just a couple of the stories of CTC campaigners out there working to make Space for Cycling, either with the help of, or in the teeth of opposition from, their local council.

6 0 cyc le j une /j uly 2014

Becky Reynolds, B r i g h to n In 1998, Brighton and Hove decided that many of their roads needed to become one-way to stop them from being used as ratruns by motorists. On the surface, this makes complete sense: no one wants their road to become the go-to route for fast-moving cars or taxis. The downside of the new one-way systems was that no provision for cyclists was made alongside.

So cyclists faced the choice of going far out of their way or riding illegally, which many did.

‘Having cycled from childhood, it began to make me angry when I saw rules and roads changed that made it unnecessarily difficult for cyclists,’ says Becky. ‘I guess I’m an enthusiast for improved conditions.

I don’t want to live in a

place where children are strapped into cars from the moment they’re born.’

One of the main affected areas of the city was Brighton’s North Laine, a network of shopping and residential streets near Brighton railway station. Recent studies have shown that shoppers who arrive by bicycle can provide an essential boost to local economies and can help regeneration, something people rarely considered in the 1990s.

Becky and her fellow campaigners at Bricycles began a cleverly-named ‘One way? No way’ campaign, insisting that there should be no oneway streets without a two-way provision for cyclists. One of her fellow campaigners was a cycle trainer,

S PAC E F O R CYC L I N G | f e at u r e

Ian Davey, who went on to become one of Brighton’s Green Party councillors.

Things really began to change once the Greens took control of the council and formed a minority administration in 2011. ‘There are a lot of environmentallyminded people in Brighton,’ says Becky, ‘but we really gained momentum when Ian Davey joined the

Green Party. It created a sea of change in the community, and a lot positive changes gained cross-party support.’

In the autumn of 2012, Becky Reynolds, Bricycles, Councillor Ian Davey and fellow campaigners were able to celebrate their success as Brighton’s North Laine was transformed: many oneway streets became two-way for cycling.

W h at you c a n d o To see help open up one-way streets to cycling, fight for 20mph on residential streets, or demand protected space on main roads, the first step is to write to your councillors, asking them to make Space for Cycling.

Visit space4cycling.org.uk to get started.

You can also support the Space for Cycling Campaign by making a donation to ensure that we can continue this campaign until next year’s general election. We want every main party to include a pledge to support our Space for Cycling aims in their manifesto. To donate, please visit ctc.org.uk/donate, phone 0844 736 8451, or send a cheque by post to: CTC, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, GU2 9JX. Together, we can make space for cycling!

Becky campaigned to open up one-way streets for contra-flow cycling

Sarah campaigned for 20mph limits to improve cyclist and pedestrian safety

S a r a h S h a r p, C h i c h e st e r ‘It was my daughter that was really the driving force,’ Sarah admits.

A shy and quiet girl, she took a lot longer than her brother to learn to ride. But at the age of 11, and after the first two days of cycling to school with

mum, Sarah’s daughter expressed a desire to go on her own.

Like any mother, Sarah didn’t want to stifle her daughter’s independence but she also needed to ensure her safety. The school had two drop-off points:

one for cars and one for bicycles. But with most parents driving their teenagers to school, there was often a pinch point, and some confusion, especially when not everyone went the same way.

‘I saw parents I knew, even ones with teenage sons older than my daughter, driving their kids to school. I realised they drove because of fear,’ Sarah says. ‘They simply didn’t feel it was safe for their kids to cycle.’

That’s when Sarah started thinking she should do something.

Realising what that was didn’t come until February 2010, when she held a meeting over her concerns and a member mentioned Portsmouth’s successful 20’s Plenty campaign.

Hearing about how Portsmouth was able to make its roads safer got her thinking, and she asked: ‘What are the obstacles to creating a 20mph campaign for Chichester?’

While it was Portsmouth’s campaign that gave her direction

and started her on the path to success in 2013, it was not always easy. In November 2012, Chichester Council decided to leave the decision of whether to adopt the 20’s Plenty campaign to a public vote. The decision outraged Sarah, for whom the campaign was always about protecting the city’s children first and foremost.

‘There was a lot of work but there was a lot of fun too,’ Sarah says.

‘On “In town without my car day”, we took over a prime parking space in a very busy car park, rolled out grass, set up lawn chairs, and brought out lots of cakes. It was a beautiful day and we collected 200 signatures in favour of the campaign.’

Knowing that she was doing something to benefit the entire community, Sarah relied heavily on fellow volunteers. She received help and encouragement from the original 20’s Plenty for Us campaigns team.

CTC. O R G . U K cyc l e 61

meet the experts

expert advice

Q&A Your technical, legal and health questions answered.

This issue: hub dynamo advice; avoiding cable run on bar bags; carbon's strengths; broken ankle rehab; and flooded roads question of the month

Chris Juden CTC Technical Officer and qualified engineer

Highway authorities are responsible for maintaining roads, which includes clearing road drains and gullies

Dr Mat t Brooks Cycling GP

Paul kitson Partner from Slater & Gordon (UK) LLP

Legal

FLOODED ROADS

Q

Are there any legal requirements for councils to provide a specified number of gullies or drains in road gutters? The A230 near me has a considerable flow of rainwater after even moderate rain, as the gullies are hundreds of metres apart. It forces me to cycle further into the road than I want to.

Iain Sturges

A

Standing water on a road surface is a hazard for cyclists and other road users. Tyres are more likely to lose traction and it is difficult to see hazards beneath the water such as potholes.

There is no legal requirement for a specific number of gullies or drains, but I have pursued claims against highway authorities alleging failure to maintain

6 4 cyc le J UNE /J ULY 2014

drains or gullies. A highway authority has a statutory duty to maintain the highway pursuant to Section 41(1) of the Highways Act, 1980. Does the highway authority's duty to maintain the highway extend to its drainage system? The leading authority on this is the 1968 case of Burnside v Emerson, considered by the celebrated Judge Lord Denning (then the Master of the Rolls). In that case, the plaintiffs (prior to 1998, claimants were called plaintiffs) were injured when their car, travelling at about 25mph in very wet conditions, was struck by another car, which swerved on entering a pool of water on the road.

There was evidence that the other car must have been travelling at approximately 50mph at the time of collision; its driver was killed. There was also evidence that the particular part of the road was frequently flooded in wet weather and that this was due: (a) to a drain not being placed at the lowest part of the road; and (b) to a lack of cleaning of the drain by the highway authority. A

claim was brought against the highway authority under the Highways Act 1959 (the previous version of the 1980 Act).

Lord Denning MR held where there is a permanent danger in the highway by reason of non-repair, failure to maintain may be inferred. Where there is a transient danger due to the elements, the existence of danger for a short time is not evidence of a failure to maintain. In this case, Lord Denning MR upheld the findings of the trial judge that the plaintiffs had established a cause of action against the highway authority because it failed to maintain the drainage gully, which had not been cleared of detritus and vegetation, thus causing the standing water.

It has been argued by some highway authorities that Lord Denning's case is no longer good law. However, in 2006 the Court of Appeal in DETR v Mott MacDonald held that the highway authority's duty to maintain the highway did extend to drains and gullies, not just the road surface. So it remains possible to pursue a claim for damages if the injury or death was caused by a failure to maintain.

Paul Kitson


The J-shaped ‘noodle' from a V-brake can be used to create a 90 degree bend in gear cables

Technical

DYNOTOUR QUESTION

Q

I read with interest the review of a Spa tourer with dynamo hub.

A dynamo seems perfect for touring, but what about strength? If I am carrying 20kg in my front panniers, will a dynamo hub handle it? And do they last as long? And which lights and mobile charger should I pair it with?

Mr Wilkes

A

Don’t worry about a dynohub’s loadcarrying ability: that should never be a problem, even with the extraordinary frontal load of 20kg.

If you want the best, that’ll be Schmidt’s new SON28. On my tourer, I have Shimano’s top model dynamo hub. It’s almost as efficient, reasonably light and durable, but cost less than half as much. The SP hub on the Spa tourer is intermediate in price, equals the SON28 in efficiency and looks very neat, but its closer flanges build a slightly weaker wheel and its small ‘sealed’ bearings are unlikely to last as long, I think, as

Shimano’s cup and cone. We won’t really know about that for a year or three.

I use a Busch & Müller E-Werk transformer, but that’s because (in addition to the usual USB devices) I have a 7.6V camera battery. If all you want to charge is a phone and other USB devices, the best lamp will be the Busch & Müller Luxos IQ2-U, which is not only a most excellent headlamp, but also incorporates the electronics to power a USB socket (with a small internal cache battery to keep it powered when you pause), saving the expense and clutter of a separate transformer and its wiring.

Chris Juden Technical

STI ‘WASHING LINES’

Q

In the review of the Spa Cycles tourer in the April/May issue, Chris Juden says: ‘it puts gear cables in the way of a bar-bag but there are workarounds'. I’ve never found one. I don't want to replace my old Shimano 105 gear levers, which work fine.

It you could point me in the direction of the workarounds, I’d be most grateful.

Ken Kenyon

A

Dynamo hubs are ideal for tourers. Don't worry about front pannier weight

I mentioned one commonly recommended workaround, Nokon flexible casings, in a Q&A on ‘Chafing Gear Cables’ in the previous issue (p61 F/M ’14). And as a follow-up to that I received an even better suggestion (more readily available and much cheaper!) from John Kinahan in Belfast. He uses a pair of ‘noodle’ guide pipes intended for V-brakes, to impart sharp 90˚ bends on exit from the shifters, which as you can see in the photo keep his cables just clear of the bar bag. These pipes are sized for thicker cable, so could introduce some indexing slop, but over such a short length this

Q&A

Carbon fibre is literally a black art. Be guided by manufacturers' warranties and rider-weight limits

advise me on the best training to regain my fitness?

David Morris

A

does not seem to be a problem.

It’s interesting how these ideas get around. John saw this on a CTC tour in France, on the bike of Oxford member Eve Thornton, who got it from…?

I’ll add another suggestion: wider handlebars. Unless you care about tiny aerodynamic gains, there’s no such thing as a too-wide dropped handlebar. Even the widest available drops are narrow compared to other shapes of bar.

Chris Juden Technical

STRENGTH OF CARBON

Q

I enjoyed the article (Feb/Mar issue) comparing Ribble and Hewitt carbon road bikes. I am a 17-stone rider who enjoys 30-plus mile rides a few times a week. I am considering buying a carbon fibre framed bike but have reservations about the strength of carbon fibre, particularly the strength of fork. I would appreciate your comments on my reservations concerning my weight before making a purchase.

David Aylett

A

Anything is strong enough if you use enough of it in the right way, and in the case of carbon fibres you don’t have to use a whole lot. But the way of using them is crucial and there’s my problem.

From the outside of a ‘carbon’ frame or fork it’s impossible to tell anything about how those fibres are disposed within the plastic matrix. Unlike metal, where fitness

Contact the experts

for purpose may be inferred from the alloy specification, tube diameters and wall thickness (known or guessed from weight), a carbon component must be taken entirely on trust, and all we ‘outsiders’ can do is observe the pattern of success or failure.

In the early days of carbon forks and frames, there were quite a few failures, but we seem to be beyond the learning stage now. You must nevertheless accept that sports equipment – regardless of what it’s made from – is made for performance rather than long-term durability, so it WILL fail sooner or later: sooner if you’re heavier than average, but later if you ride less than average. Let the manufacturer’s warranty be your guide – it’s all there is to go on. I rather like the fact that Cannondale give a lifetime warranty – or they did last time I checked.

Some manufacturers specifically exclude use by riders of more than a certain weight, so do check those warranty conditions.

Chris Juden

There are several general principles here and I'm afraid I'll have to resort to a few clichés. Firstly, everyone is different so your recovery will depend on a number of factors, including the type of injury and surgery you had.

Next, the more you put in, the more you'll get out, so do persevere with the exercises, tedious as they may be. Thirdly, don't try and do too much too soon. Once back on the bike, build up your mileage steadily, listen to your body and don't overdo it.

The internet is awash with anecdotal advice and personal experiences, some very useful and some less so. I came across several cyclists who were advocating use of a turbo trainer (if you have access to one) during the recovery period after ankle surgery, on the basis that it allows you to control the stress on the ankle joint.

Exercises to strengthen and improve flexibility of the ankle after the boot is removed will pay off in the long-term. You could take the opportunity to concentrate on other activities like walking and swimming during the initial stages of your recovery. If you get the chance to see an NHS physiotherapist, they will be able to advise you on appropriate exercises. If you need basic exercises and have not been provided with any, try typing 'ankle exercises NHS' into an internet search engine of your choice for some NHS hospital physio advice leaflets which can be downloaded. You might also want to consider seeing a sports physio for some more specific advice.

Matt Brooks

Health

BROKEN ANKLE rehab

Q

I recently had an ankle operation and will be in plaster for six weeks followed by six weeks in a boot. After this, I have been told that I can start walking and cycling again.

I was cycling 120 to 150 miles a week and doing a number of sportives and audaxes, which I want to get back to as soon as possible. Please can you

Exercises for strength and flexibility when the boot comes off much improve recovery

Send health and legal questions to the Editor (details on p3). We regret that Cycle magazine cannot answer unpublished health and legal queries.

Technical and general enquiries, however, are a CTC membership service. Contact the CTC Information Office, tel: 0844 736 8450, Email: cycling@ctc.org.uk (general enquiries) or Chris Juden, technical@ctc.org.uk (technical enquiries). You can also write to: CTC, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, GU2 9JX. And don’t forget that CTC operates a free-to-members advice line for personal injury claims, tel: 0844 736 8452.

6 8 cyc le J UNE /J ULY 2014

REVIEWS | BIKE TEST

bike test

Petite road bikes Helen Juden and Cherry Allan test ride a Liv/Giant Avail 1 and a Tifosi CK7 Gran Fondo Veloce Triple. Review by Technical Editor Chris Juden Since WSD (women specific design)

became a thing, there’s no lack of lightweight bikes designed for sporty women. Because a few threaded holes weigh nothing and add a lot in terms of versatility, we searched for two you can easily bolt a rack and some guards onto.

One even came with guards.

These are nevertheless road bikes – of the sportive, audax or endurance variety.

Compared to race bikes, these trade a little speed for the comfort most people want (even if they’re not riding all day) by putting the handlebars a bit higher and closer.

While Helen and Cherry rode the bikes, I measured and researched them, keeping the results to myself so as not to prompt them. For cycling is a hugely suggestible activity.

6 8 cyc le J une /july 2014

My wife Helen has ridden many different bicycles over the years, mostly drop handlebar tourers. She nowadays prefers flat bars, but also has a Trek Pilot road bike (reviewed in A/M 2010, which we've modified with lighter wheels, shorter cranks and lower gears). This is also a woman-specific sportive design, which accepts guards and a carrier, so it compares closely with our test bikes. We’ll occasionally refer to the Trek, and its review (bit.ly/1gvnYcl) is also worth reading for what it says about sportive bikes in general – and particularly the Giant Defy, of which the Avail is a women’s version.

Cherry has ridden nothing but flat-bar hybrids for ages, but she’s always hankered after something lighter and nimbler. Her latest hybrid, a WSD Cannondale Quick, is by no means heavy, but ‘these two defied

gravity, giving me more for less effort than ever before, both on the flat and up the hills and, boy, was that an epiphany!'

Frames Although they’re light as a road bike should be at this price point, neither of these small bikes weighs much less than a mediumsized men’s equivalent, which will be ridden by someone 50% heavier and stronger. It wouldn’t be reasonable to make all parts of a bike in lighter versions, of course, but small frames at least could have thinner tubes. Apparently they don’t. Both are stoutly constructed from alloy that doesn’t look any slimmer for being painted in pastel tones, though a hydroformed top-tube avails the Avail some elegance. Speaking of appearances: reactions to the Tifosi’s Barbie

BIKE TEST | REVIEWS

P61

Tifosi CK7 Gran Fondo Veloce Triple

(Above) Good clearance under the brake calliper is wasted by thick mudguard fittings (Below) The inner chainring hangs off the middle – and cannot be smaller than 30

pink varied from revulsion to ‘magnificent'.

Other colours are available.

The Tifosi frame does not pretend to be WSD; it’s simply very small. The Avail does.

The only difference, however, between this and a 43cm Giant Defy, is 1cm on the head-tube and half a degree off the angle.

Some other sizes also subtract 5mm from the top tube – big deal! One more headset spacer and a shorter stem does the same for a Tifosi. Helen’s Trek is also ‘WSD by components’ and goes one better with 5mm extra fork offset to match the shallow head angle, which all small road bikes must have (or else a smaller front wheel). Result: the others have excess trail, which makes the steering floppy at low speed. Helen noticed that the Tifosi ‘rides best when you try hard and pull on the bars, but when cruising, it tends to weave.' Cherry observed that the Avail ‘gave me a more stately ride than the rather skittish Tifosi, and buffered me more effectively from the bumps in the road.'

Despite their shallow head angles, both bikes have potential toe overlap, depending on whether guards are fitted and how small the rider’s feet are. The 50mm-offset fork and shorter cranks they need anyway would solve that problem too. Smaller bikes with shorter cranks also need a lower bottom-bracket, but seldom get it, and these are no exception.

Result: short riders always find stopping and starting more difficult. The Avail’s shorter seattube made it easier to step over.

Also available

1) Cannondale Synapse 6 Tiagra Women's £950 The carbon fork has a 55mm offset on the smaller models to sharpen the steering. The bike has 57mm brakes too. Gearing is compact-double Tiagra.

cannondale.com

2) Ribble Sportive 365 From £870 See F/M 2014. Smallest unisex (carbon) frame has similar top tube length to the Giant and Tifosi. Components are à la carte, although short cranks aren't on the menu. ribblecycles.co.uk

CTC. O R G . U K cyc l e 6 9

BIKE TEST | REVIEWS

Liv/Giant Avail 1

Giant provide fittings for racks and guards but then don't leave enough space.

Guards can be crammed in – notably, Giant's own special mudguards for the Avail, Defy and similar models. (A pair arrived separately and too late for this article, but will be reviewed next issue.) But as Cherry says: ‘the Tifosi came with mudguards, so no nightmarish fitting sessions – there genuinely is room'. Tifosi, however, waste a lot of that room in the way they’ve fitted those guards.

(Above) This mech goes no lower, so you can't retro-fit smaller chainrings (Below) Extra levers add from-the-tops braking confidence, but short-drop brakes mean scanty clearance

top of the bar – a most reassuring feature.

As smooth and capable as the gears were on both machines, I found shifting with the Tifosi’s thumb button and lever considerably more intuitive than the integrated brake/gear lever system on the Giant.'

Although Helen is used to Shimano STI on her Trek (the levers are fitted with reach reducers, as are those on the Avail) she too preferred Campag Ergopowers, for their shorter shifting stroke and for making use of her thumbs.

“165mm is as short as cranks come from big brands such as Shimano. But anyone who needs a bike this small should expect 160mm” C h e r ry ’ s f i r st b i t e ‘The Tifosi was the first I tested. It took me a while to feel in control, but I think this was more to do with me than the bike. With practice and some saddle tweaks, I grew accustomed to the stretch to the bars. And once I'd relaxed enough to stop strangling them, I found the Campag brake and gear controls no challenge for my small hands.

‘The Giant's frame fitted me equally well, although the Shimano STI hoods felt slightly too bulky for me to hold comfortably.

Some of my old troubles with road bikes momentarily returned, so it’s good that Giant provides a second pair of brake levers on

The only significant difference between the systems controlled by these levers is a lower bottom gear on the Tifosi thanks to its triple chainset. This will be useful on hillier rides than our testers undertook, but to be fair we should have compared a Giant Avail with the double version of the Tifosi Gran Fondo, which has identical gear ratios and price tag. I think £200 is a lot extra to pay for only one gear lower, but from Giant you don’t have that option. A smaller double is out of the question too: the front mech won’t fit any lower.

I mentioned shorter cranks already: short legs want them. But I said nothing to our

CTC. O R G . U K cyc l e 71

REVIEWS | BIKE TEST

Tech Spec

Tifosi CK7 GF Veloce Triple Price: £1199 Sizes: XXS (tested), XS, S, M, L, XL Weight: 9.24kg Frame & fork: Alloy & carbon.

Fittings for 2 bottles guards & carrier Wheels: Vittoria Rubino Pro 25-622 tyres, Reflex RX5 15mm rims, Miche hubs, 2.0 partbladed spokes, front 24×0, rear 32×3

Road bikes this small with 700C wheels require a shallower head angle to prevent toe-overlap. A longer-offset fork – which neither has – would sharpen the steering

testers. Helen noticed immediately that the Tifosi was uncomfortably long: standard 170mm on a bike this small is unforgivable.

She found the Giant not so bad: 165mm is as short as they come from big brands such as Shimano. But anyone who needs a bike this small should expect 160mm.

B at t l e o f t h e b r a n d s Almost everything that isn’t Shimano on the Avail is made, or branded at least, by Giant – even the tyres. The saddle, however, gives more prominence to ‘Liv’. This is Giant’s new brand for women. Our petite testers were amused and some women might be unhappy to ride a bike that shouts GIANT! In future these bikes will whisper ‘Liv’.

Tifosi supplement Campag with parts from other Italian brands. The Miche brakes functioned equally well, but Shimano’s have adjustable shoes with replaceable pads.

And whilst Miche’s wheels rolled like a very round thing, as much as 45˚ twist in bladed spokes is a sign of poor building.

The wheels on both bikes are secured by the weight-saving kind of quick-release that

72 cyc le june /july 2014

Transmission: 30-speed: 27–112in.

unfortunately takes more finger strength to open and safely close – a bad choice, especially for women.

The Selle Italia Lady is a favourite of many women, but Tifosi instead choose a hard and narrow Selle Italia saddle that neither of our testers found at all ladylike. Liv felt much better and comes on a carbon post.

Both bikes get a narrow handlebar (Helen found the Avail a bit too narrow) with a nice shallow drop. Both bikes offer 4-5cm of bar height adjustment, with the Avail generally higher by 3cm.

Tifosi’s mudguards are a reliable German brand with safety-release fittings – whew!

Conclusion Overall, the Giant is a more pleasant bike to ride and better value for money, but it’s a close-run thing: the Tifosi has nicer levers and versatility on its side. Of the two, it was Cherry's favourite – and she's bought it!

This review shows that Women Specific Design can tempt women onto road bikes, but I think we have some way to go before we can say these bikes are truly specific.

Campagnolo Veloce group: 170mm 50-39-30T chainset, 12–30 cassette BraKing: Miche Performance, 57mm Steering & seating: Deda 13cm drop 38cm bar, 6cm ±6° stem.

Integrated headset.

Selle Italia X1f saddle, alloy post Equipment: SKS Bluemels narrow guards Contact: chickencycles.co.uk

Liv/Giant Avail 1 Price: £999 Sizes: 50, 52, 54, 56, 58cm (56 tested) Weight: 8.76kg Frame & fork: Hydroformed alloy and carbon. Fittings for 2 bottles & guards

Shimano 105 STI group: 165mm 50,34T chainset, 12–30 cassette Braking: Shimano 105 short-reach dual-pivot. STI plus Tektro RL721 top levers

Wheels: Giant PR-3 25-622 tyres & wheels, 2.0/1.8 db spokes, front 24×0 rear 28×0/×3

Steering & seating: Giant 12cm drop 36cm bar, 7cm ±8° stem.

Integrated headset.

Liv/giant saddle, carbon post

Transmission: 20-speed: 30–112in.

Contact: giant-bicycles.com

REVIEWS | BIKE TEST

Tech Spec Dimensions in millimetres and degrees

675 550 750

684 45

73˚

70˚

120

430+

610

77

40

483

170

280

622

c. 1045

30

Montague Boston Price: £699 Sizes: 19in (tested), 21in Weight: 10.46kg (23lb) Frame & fork: 7005 aluminium frame, horizontal dropouts, 1 fi bottle mounts. Cromoly steel fork £700 big-wheeled folding bike

Mon tague B o s t on With 700C wheels, this US-designed folder rides like a normal bike. Review by Dan Joyce

Wheels: 28-622 Kenda Kwick Roller Sport tyres; 622-19 Alex aluminium rims; 32fi3 14g spokes; Formula front hub & flip/flop rear Transmission: alloy pedals; SR Suntour chainset with 170mm cranks, 42T chainring; square taper BB; KMC 1/8in chain; 16T freewheel/16T fixed cog. 71in gear Braking: Promax sidepulls

The Montague Boston is a singlespeed

urban runaround that trades the better performance of bigger wheels for a less compact fold. Instead of a big central hinge, it pivots around the seat tube.

Frame & folding To fold, you undo the brake quick-release and remove the front wheel, which you can do one-handed with the Clix QR skewer.

Then you undo the frame QR and press down the cam lever so the other end will clear its frame socket. Turn the handlebar in as you fold so it comes to rest against the back wheel; there's a velcro strap to secure them. You can also lower the saddle.

It took me about a minute. I measured it at 92×72×36cm, plus a bit more width for the front wheel. That's small enough for an end-of-carriage rack but bigger than the 90×70×30cm luggage size allowed by the

The Montague Boston will easily fit on a train, but to avoid any hassle you'd be better off hiding it in its optional bag

78 cyc le J UNE /J ULY 2014

National Rail Conditions of Carriage. Only one guard challenged me, and even he let me aboard ‘this time'. I think it was the bikeness that bothered him, so I'd get the Montague bag (£99.99) for regular rail use.

While there's enough space under the mid-reach brakes for full mudguards, given narrower tyres, you'd need to be inventive to fit them. They would compromise the fold and the Boston lacks eyelets. (Montague do sell partial, clip-on guards for £24.99.)

The ride The Boston rides like the lightweight, 700C-wheel hybrid that it is. There's no frame flex. I though it felt harsh through the handlebar, and put this down to the fixed hand position and thin grips. Then I noticed the rims: they're mountain bike width! On such wide rims, 28mm tyres feel dead.

The 71in singlespeed or fixed gear is fine for flatter cities. Living in a hilly town, I'd swap the 16T sprocket or freewheel for an 18. I'd use a different chainring too. This one had some half-height teeth, presumably to improve non-existent shifting. Since the Boston uses standard parts, it is easy to make changes. In fact, in the US you can buy the frame and fork only; you can't here.

I'm in two minds about the Boston. I like its handling, easy speed, and lightweight simplicity. But I mostly need a folder for normal-clothes utility use, which requires the full-length mudguards this bike won't take.

Steering & seating: 540fi25.4mm riser bar; 100mmfi7º Kalloy stem; 27.2fi300mm seatpost Folded size: 920fi720fi360mm web: montaguefoldingbike.co.uk

Also available

1) Tern Joe P24 £699 Folds to 92fi85fi32cm with front wheel in situ but weighs 13.8kg. Fat 26in tyres, cable disc brakes, and basic 24speed gearing. paligap.cc

2) Airnimal Joey Sport £999 11kg folder with 24in (520 or 507) wheels and 8-speed gearing. Front wheel is removed to fold – to 98fi85fi35cm initially but smaller is possible. airnimal.com

REVIEWS | BIKE TEST

Tech Spec WORX JA26 Price: £495 Weight: 8.75kg Size: Suits rider with 60cm-plus inside leg (approx age, 9-plus) Frame & fork: Double-butted 6061-T6 aluminium with fittings for mudguards, rear rack, 1 bottle Wheels: 25-559 Kenda Kontender tyres (Schwalbe CX tyres available), double-wall aluminium rims, 32×3 spokes, Worx WRT cartridge hubs £ 500 junior road bike

W or x J A 2 6

Junior road bikes are enjoying something of a renaissance. Adam Coffman and daughter Mia tried one from online retailer Worx

Transmission: Flat pedals, Worx 155mm chainseet with 32T chainring and chainring guards, Sram 9-speed 13-32T cassette.

Microshift 9-speed shifter and rear derailleur. 9-speed, 24-59 inches Braking: Tektro Oryx cantilevers with auxilliary levers Steering & seating: All by Worx, including 34cm width shallow-drop bar Contact: worxbikes.com

Worx are a newcomer to the cycling scene,

having been selling bikes online since 2013.

They make road, cyclo-cross and track bikes for adults, as well as a junior range in three sizes: 24-inch wheel, 26-inch (tested) and 700C. Like Islabikes' drop-bar bikes, the children's ones are lightweight, cyclo-cross style multi-purpose machines.

My 11-year-old daughter Mia tested the mid-sized JA26. It was her first experience of riding on the road with a dropped handlebar.

I expected the transition from her flatbarred hybrid to a bike with drops to prove something of a challenge. But the JA26's handling is stable, and the sizing gives a comfortable riding position.

The styling is bold, modern and quite different from what you normally see on a child’s bike. These bikes look like miniature adult bikes rather than the bikes that are normally sold for children. Mia said that she felt like she was riding a ‘cool, grown-up bike' – perhaps other manufacturers should take note?

L O W W E I G H T, L O W G E A R I N G There is a high level of attention to detail throughout. The cranks are sensibly short, at 155mm; the handlebar has a child-friendly width and drop; and the 13-32 cassette makes sense, providing gears at the bottom end at the expense of an 11-tooth small

8 0 cyc le j une /j uly 2014

sprocket that kids seldom need. (Even if they race, small sprockets are sometimes prohibited due to gear-size restrictions.)

There are eyelets for a rack and mudguards.

The bike weights only 8.75kg and the Kenda road tyres have little rolling resistance.

Mia found it quick on the flat and much easier than heavier bikes uphill.

Many of the components are Worx branded. The hubs and bottom bracket have decent cartridge bearings, and they spin smoother and quieter than is usual on kids' bikes. The auxilliary brake levers on the top of the handlebar give confidence to young cyclists who are graduating from flat bars.

Overall, this is a well-designed and well-built bike for children who want drop handlebar bike either for racing (cyclo-cross or road) or for longer, challenging rides in the country. Mia’s verdict: ‘It is as light as a feather and is beautiful to ride.'

Also available

Islabikes Luath 26 £399.99 The pioneers of lightweight quality kids' bikes, Islabikes are well designed, good value, very popular, and hold their value secondhand. islabikes.co.uk

Genesis Col du Glandon £599 650B-wheel junior bike with 35mm tyres, 16-speed Shimano Claris gearing, and a full complement of mudguard and rack mounts. genesisbikes.co.uk

group test

single-person tents

your thoughts?

A single-person tent can pack small enough for a mountain bike or a road bike, as well as a tourer.

Journalist Mike Davis considers four options

Cycle Letters, CTC, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford GU2 9JX

W r i t e to u s :

Email us:

cycleletters@ctc.org.uk Join in online:

forum.ctc.org.ok

Cycle touring in a group allows you to distribute camping gear between

you. If you’re going solo, you’ll have to carry everything yourself. Some tourists opt for lightweight two-person tents for a bit of extra space, but most ‘oneperson’ tents are pretty generous for one person. Many will take two people… in a pinch. (If you’re well-acquainted and not too big-boned.)

A one-person tent has nearly as much pole and fabric as a two-person, but is usefully lighter: 1.5 to 2kg is typical, with some lighter yet. They’re more compact when packed too. Usually you’ll find a couple of spare pegs, guy ropes and possibly a repair patch and pole repair section. If you’re desperate to save weight, you can leave these (and the bags) behind. On a long trip, it’s best to take them.

Sp a c e

Fabric Lightweight tents are typically polyester. You’ll see ‘hydrostatic head’ quoted, which is a measure of how waterproof a tent is. Anything above 1500 (all these tents are) isn’t going to let water through the fabric; any leaks are usually at the seams.

V e n t i l at i o n

A vestibule outside the inner tent is useful for stowing kit that wants to be kept dry but doesn’t need to be in the tent with you. If it’s positioned such that you don’t have to climb over stuff to get in and out, so much the better.

In a smaller tent, there’s less air volume so condensation is more of an issue. Plenty of vents, ideally high up, are important for small tents. It’s best if you can open and close them from the inside to make adjustments according to the conditions.

Pitching Tents pitch either inner first or flysheet first.

Fly-first tents often have the option of leaving the inner attached for quicker pitching. Innerfirst risks the inner getting wet before you get the fly on, but you can use the inner alone if it’s warm and dry.

Inner first offers more consistent clearance between inner and outer, so you should get more space for a given size.

8 2 cyc le J UNE /J ULY 2014

Poles Poles will be aluminium, fibreglass or carbon fibre for low weight. Tents that pitch by clipping poles onto hooks are less fiddly than ones that rely on threading poles into sleeves.

Pegs Lightweight tents generally come with light aluminium pegs. These are fine on soft grass, but if you expect to encounter harder surfaces you might want to substitute steel ones. They’re heavier, but harder to bend.

group T E S T | RE V IE W S

1

2

1) R obens Starlight 1

3) Easton Rimr ock 1

£99.99 robens.de

£199.95 madison.co.uk

Pitching the Starlight is straightforward. It goes up flysheet-first, with just one aluminium pole to deal with – the four short corner poles stay attached. The inner then clips and hooks on, and you can leave it attached if you like.

There’s 85cm of height inside, and the corner poles eliminate the awkward shallow angles inside traditional tents and make it a little less claustrophobic inside. There’s a generous vestibule alongside the inner and a lot of vents – two at the top and one at each end, plus the actual doors. All the zipped vents do add a bit of weight – it’s 2.1kg complete – but it’s hardly heavy. The flysheet does sit quite close to the outer, so you need to take care not to accidentally push them together; water will start to seep in if you do. Packed size: 56x17cm.

Quick to put up and plenty of space and ventilation, but a little heavy

The Rimrock uses two aluminium poles running lengthways and crossing at each end. Fortunately the poles and clips are all colour-coded so you get the right bits in the right place. It goes up inner-first and looks very tall and thin until you put the flysheet on. The pole arrangement means that interior height is generous for a small tent at 91.5cm – high enough (just) for a 6ft person to sit up.

The overlapping poles mean that you’ve got that height for quite a substantial area in the middle of the tent, too. There aren’t any obvious vents, but the inner tent is very porous, the large inner door is all mesh and you can unzip the large outer door from the top for a little more airflow. With the flysheet in place there’s a large vestibule, with half of it away from the inner door. At 1.6kg it’s very light for what’s quite a roomy tent.

Packed size: 38x15.2cm.

Very light and spacious, but inner-first pitching won’t suit everyone

2) Jack Wolfskin Gossamer £90 jack-wolfskin.co.uk

3

4

The Gossamer is a tunnel-style tent with two hooped aluminium poles. It’s quick to put up: peg out the inner, clip on the poles, throw the fly over and peg/ guy out. Usefully, the guying points and zips are reflective, making them easy to spot if you’re pitching by torchlight.

The inner is made entirely of mesh, so while condensation tends to form – there aren’t any vents other than the main door – it does so on the inside of the flysheet and isn’t too objectionable. In settled hot and dry weather, you can use the inner by itself. There’s only 75cm of headroom inside which is rather tight for anyone of above average height, and the vestibule is small. But the Gossamer’s simplicity, relatively low weight (1.75kg) and affordable price are plus points.

Packed size: 46x15cm.

Light, simple and good value but a bit short on headroom and the vestibule is small

4) Hilleber g Akto £490 hilleberg.se The Akto is hugely more expensive than the other tents here, but this is the state of the art in lightweight tents. If you’re planning a very long tour or just intend to use your tent a lot, it’s worth paying for the sturdy yet lightweight construction.

The layout comprises a single hooped pole across the middle, with four stubby poles that stay in place at the corners to give better head and foot room around the edges. Handily, while the Akto can be pitched with the inner and outer together in one go, it can also be used with either the inner or outer by itself.

Using just the outer gives you a minimalist shelter for when you want to travel even lighter than the Hilleberg’s already-low 1.6kg weight. As well as the large door, both ends can be opened for ventilation, with a further vent at the top. At 90cm inside, there’s plenty of headroom. Packed sized: 58x17cm.

Expensive, but ready for anything

CTC. O R G . U K cyc l e 8 3

benefits & special offers for ctc members

member benefits

Visit ctc.org.uk/memberbenefits for more details

CTC Be ne f i t s in c l ude B e part of a 70,000strong network that looks after cyclists and promotes cycling G ive cycling a louder voice: we campaign for cyclists J oin any of our free, diverse, local rides.

There are thousands!

Discover

new routes. We have a vast library R ide with peace of mind: you’ll be covered by £10m third-party insurance Get

expert advice by phone or online E njoy six issues of Cycle

For the full list of offers and benefits j o i n n ow o n :

0844 736 8451

Pay by Direct Debit and get 15 months for the price of 12 STANDARD MEMBERSHIPS

Adult

£41

Senior (65 years plus)

£25

Family (2 adults & unlimited under 18s)

£66

Affiliated Club or Workplace

£60

VALUE MEMBERSHIPS

15% o f f English Heritage Membership CTC members can get 15% off English Heritage membership. Join now for as little as £33.15.* With unlimited entry to over 400 properties across the country, English Heritage membership is a great way to discover England’s history and culture. Membership also includes free entry for up to six kids**, free or reduced entry to hundreds of exciting events, exclusive members’ magazine, and a free handbook worth £10.95.

Get 15% off English Heritage membership, visit english-heritage.org.uk/join and enter CTC15W at checkout or call 0870 333 1182 and quote CTC15P.

Terms and conditions *Price based on 15% off annual senior membership. **Membership allows free entry for up to six children (under 19 and within the family group) with every adult member. Discount not available on life memberships. Offer only available for new memberships, cannot be used for membership renewal. Offer closes 1st August 2014.

8 6 cyc le J UNE /J ULY 2014

V I S I T:

ctc.org.uk/member-benefits

Membership r ates

c t c me mbe r ship s av e s you m o ne y 5% off at Cotswold 1 Outdoor £10 off European Bike Express trips H alf-price YHA membership 2 months free from CS Healthcare 1 0% off CTC Training courses P lus discounts on events, products and hundreds of cycle shops…

GO ONLINE

Adult 5 years for 4

£164

Senior 5 years for 4

£100

Life membership (see CTC website or call CTC Membership Department on 0844 736 8451)

C O N C E S S I O N A RY M E M B E R S H I P S

Junior (under 18)

£16

Unwaged (unemployed)

£25

Student (with NUS card)

£16

Disabled (call Membership Dept for details) £25 Disabled Carer

£25

Why join CTC? Whether you’re new to cycling, ride regularly or want to get back into it, we cater for you. With over 130 years of experience to share, we are passionate about helping more people enjoy the benefits of cycling.

As an independent charity, we are heavily reliant on voluntary donations for funding.

You can help us grow and support our work by being a member.

t r av e l l e r s ’ ta l e s John’s 240-mile trip took in monuments, war graves, and museums en route

Belgium’s battlefields John Kennedy organised a short history tour from Dunkirk to Brussels

Sebastian set off from Dhaka, Bangladesh, and is heading for Mumbai

India, coast to coast Sebastian Tomlinson was still cycling across the sub-continent when he sent this report

T

he idea to cycle across India came from my dad, who noticed how much more economical it is to purchase a return flight than a single. I had intended to begin in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and just cycle around for four months before returning home from wherever I ended up. Instead, I booked a homeward flight from Mumbai. I had a target.

At the time of writing, I’m half way down the east coast and have covered 1,700 miles. The roads have been a random mixture, from smooth highways to gravel dirt tracks. Some of the accommodation has been pretty grim, and you have little choice when crossing open stretches of the country. Mind you, it can cost as low as £2 a night, and it makes arriving at a nice place all the more rewarding.

You rarely spend more than a quid or two on a meal either. Everywhere I’ve been, there are many roadside stalls for tea and biscuits, hot food, and sweet refreshments.

The attention from passers-by is mind blowing. Touring by bike seems to give you the celebrity status of a Premier League footballer. Everybody, young and old, asks about the trip. The inquirers like to have their photo taken with me. I’m stopped and asked this a dozen times a day, every day.

I’m often asked to go back to people’s homes to meet the rest of the family, and when I have done I’m treated like royalty. I once had two journalists ride up next to me on a motorbike, asking questions. The following day there were crowds of kids running up to me, calling my name, holding a newspaper, and asking for an autograph!

For anyone thinking of doing a similar trip, I’d advise you to spend less time thinking about it and just do it! You can follow my progress at sebsindiatrip. blogspot.co.uk. I’m raising money for a homeless foundation in a West London.

Cycle tourists attract

I’m one of the volunteers with SeaAbility in Leatherhead, riding tandems with visually-impaired stokers. Each year, we organise a ride for ourselves on our solo bikes. This year we rode from Calais to Brussels.

A wet start to get trains to Dover was the only rain we had. Our first night stop was at Bergues, just south of Dunkirk. Then we rode to Poperinge to visit the grave of a relation of one of the group.

Next we went to Brandhoek to see the grave of one of the three men to have won both the Victoria Cross and Bar. In Ypres, we visited the museum in the rebuilt cloth halls and cycled out through the Menin Gate. We had to leave too early to hear the daily sounding of the Last Post.

We spent the night in Roeselare, travelling to Bruges for sightseeing – and climbing the belfry – in the afternoon. There was a choral concert in St Saviour’s Church in the evening.

Sunday took us to Oudenarde, site of the 1708 battle of the War of Spanish succession. It’s now a flat agricultural area. Monday was our longest day at 53 miles, with a stop at Ronquieres to see the inclined plane on the canal.

Tuesday took us to the Waterloo battle site, where there’s a museum at Napoleon’s last HQ, and a lion-topped monument at the site of the allied position. The farm of La Haye Sainte is still there, with plaques to the units who fought there.

When we at last got to Brussels, we took the Eurostar home.

curious crowds CTC. O R G . U K cyc l e 8 9

t r av e l l e r s ’ ta l e s

The Brecons beckon Having a few days to spare in July, Alan Mason headed into the Brecon Beacons National Park Mid Wales means peaceful roads and – on a good day – great views

Beckfoot viaduct at Low Gill in Cumbria

Walney to Whitby Nick Edwards spent three glorious summer days cycling across northern England

I

nspired by an article on the W2W coast-to-coast route in Cycle, I decided to do it myself. I chose the southerly leg, riding from Walney Island in Cumbria to Whitby in North Yorkshire rather than to Wearmouth in Sunderland.

I could not have had better weather.

I cycled in warm sunshine, and everything looking wonderfully green.

I’m sure I still would have enjoyed the trip even if the weather had been less benign.

It was a delight to follow a route that had clearly been planned by people who wanted to keep me away from traffic. There were quite a few times when the route arrow would point up a hill when I knew I could get to the next village by just following on down a minor road. But it was always well worth the extra climb to get even more stunning views.

Sustrans do an excellent map to cover the whole of the Walney to Wearside route, but you need to download the equivalent for the Barnard Castle to Whitby section from the W2W website (cyclingw2w.info).

I travelled up from the south by train to Barrow, and returned from Scarborough – another 20 miles south

from Whitby, but it has a direct train to York which made for a much quicker journey back south for me.

I made two overnight stops on my W2W route: The George Hotel in Orton, just after the route crosses east of the M6; and the Four Alls in Ovington, five or six miles east of Barnard Castle.

Both had secure storage for bikes and offered reasonably-priced food.

The highlights of the ride were the fabulous views, the abundant bird-life, the quiet back-roads, the charming small towns of Ulverston and Grange over Sands, the Beckfoot viaduct, the slog up Tan Hill, and the views as you circle through the northern edge of the North York Moors National Park.

It’s a wonderful ride. Just be sure to book your weather!

Starting with sandy tyres from Walney

The Taff Trail took me out of the centre of Cardiff, where I live. It’s a rail trail, with tarmac all the way to Pontypridd. Then I joined the A4054 to Merthyr Tydfil. I made one small detour to visit Aberfan, as I wanted to see the memorial to the disaster.

After Merthyr, I took the A470 up to the Storey Arms. I love the view from here across the rolling farmlands of mid Wales, so took a break before heading downhill. From Trecastle, I turned uphill onto the sheep-cropped moorland.

I stopped for tea at the Red Kite Café, where they welcome cyclists.

After this I rode the short distance to the hostel at Llandeusant.

Next morning, I made my way to Carreg Cennen castle over undulating minor roads. I was rewarded with sightings of red kites, buzzards and a heron. At length the castle appeared, perched on a crag and looking very battered. An easier road took me through Bethlehem to Llandovery, then the A40 led to Brecon and a welcome lunch break in the shade.

The last stretch was a trip to see Llangorse Lake, then to the hostel just outside Talybont on Usk. My final day dawned overcast.

I cycled along the wooded edge of the reservoir before hitting the steep slope at the head of the valley.

I walked most of it. Then it was downhill to Pontsticil Reservoir, and soon I was back on the Taff Trail.

share your story: Cycle wants your Travellers’ Tales. Write or email the editor – details on page 3 – to find out what’s required.

9 0 cyc le J UNE /J ULY 2014