Filed under Sisters in the saddle
The fabulous charity Re-Cycle have gathered 420 unwanted UK bikes from dusty attics and jam packed garages across the UK, they’ve lovingly restored them to full working order and at the end of March the plan is to ship them all to Namibia.
In Africa the bikes become more than a keep fit tool or a weekend run-a-round. In an area with limited public transport, they’ll provide a way for kids to get to school, parents to travel to jobs in other villages and health workers to deliver medicine and support to those with HIV/AIDS.
A Namibian woman enjoys the benefits of her donated bicycle from BEN Namibia © Re-Cycle/BEN Namibia
It only costs £6.50 to ship each bike to Africa. So far enough money has been raised to send 190 bikes but Re-Cycle have teamed up with See The Difference in a push to get enough funds to ship the remaining 230 and this is where they need you!
Re~Cycle from See The Difference on Vimeo.
How can you help?
- Post a photo of you and your bike on the See The Difference facebook page. They will add the pictures to the end of the video and donate £1 for each one (only one bike photo per person though).
- Donate directly at See The Difference
- If you have a bike languishing in your shed or cluttering your hall that you’d like to donate you can take them down to the Re-Cycle hub in Colchester - just drop them a line first: [email protected]
- Spread the word!
You’ll See The Difference…
…when the full £2,730 has been raised, and the 420 bikes have been shipped. Share the Difference be posting lots of ‘them and their bikes’ photos of their new owners, so you can see the Namibian bike love that you helped make happen
Filed under Sisters in the saddle
In pictures: The beauty of the bicycle
Photo: Rupert Steiner
Michael Embacher has been collecting bicycles since 2003. Not that long you might think, but this design orientated Austrian has amassed 200 of the world’s most weird, wonderful, fantastic, functional and failing formulations of two wheels. His website is a treasure trove…
www.embacher-collection.at
Michael’s has also teamed up with Paul Smith to create the beautiful hardback book, Cyclopedia. ’A homage to the beauty of two wheels’. Its just been released so I haven’t had a chance to look at it but as soon as I do I’ll let you know. If it’s anything like the website though its going to be loaded with weighty bicycle porn!
Cyclepedia: A Tour of Iconic Bicycle Designs
Filed under Sisters in the saddle
I’m a sucker for an invention and this, quite frankly, is a total winner.
Six years of development by two very stylish Swedish ladies has resulted in The ‘Hvvding’ helmet. This air-bag collar springs into action in response to impact or abnormal motion.
The product was developed in response to the Swedish government making it compulsory to wear a helmet. As the girls point out, many people simply don’t want to wear a helmet because it doesn’t go with their outfit and it messes up their hair. It might sound trite but let’s be honest, it’s true.
The collar / helmet will be available in a range of colours
What I love about this ‘helmet’ is that rather than vainly attempting to trendy up a product that will just never be cool, this product is taking the fundamental problem, safety, and addressing it in a new way.
The Hvvdin is coming to UK shores soon and I’m desperate to give it a try. Watch this space, as soon as I can get my hands on one I’ll report back.
Filed under Sisters in the saddle
Normally I start my day cycling into town closely followed by a coffee. Not today.
Today I started my day cycling to the other side of town to give this new US fitness craze a run for its money. I’m a bit of a runner, a lot of a cyclist and I’m ALWAYS curious in anything new, especially something that looks as intriuguing as this…
ElliptiGO: The world's first Elliptical bicycle
The ‘bike’ is presented onto the market as being beneficial for both runners and cyclists. The motion of riding it emulates running but without the impact, so it’s perfect for anyone recovering, rehabilitating or looking for a good cross-train option.
For cyclists it’s a great cross-training alternative to your regular cycling training, especially valuable if you want or need to reduce impact (to zero!). The biggest pull for me is that it’s a serious workout. I was probably more tired after 1 mile on the ElliptiGO than I would be after 10 miles on my bike, so for building up cardiovascular fitness this would definitely be a good option.
You can see the ElliptiGO in extreme action here.
And me in action here!
The ElliptiGO 8S retails for £1,599 (excl. VAT).
For more information please visit www.elliptigo.co.uk
Filed under Sisters in the saddle
I have misplaced/lost half of my favourite gloves. While this saddens me greatly, at least it was the ‘hate’ hand; I’d be inconsolable if I’d lost my love.
In light of this small tragedy I have created my top tips to avoid glove loss in the future:
Option 1: Always put them in the same place when you take them off e.g. right hand side pocket of jacket. Apparently after 21 days this will become habitual.
Downside – what if you are not wearing that jacket?
Option 2: String through back of jacket.
Downside – although not really appropriate over age of 5.
Option 3: Never take them off.
Downside – hot hands when inside and tricky to execute intricate tasks when doing so.
Option 4: Once glove removal is on the cards remove helmet too, place gloves in helmet – as with option 1, after 21 days this will become habit.
Downside – A lot of faffing involved.
To be continued…
Filed under Sisters in the saddle
It’s All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels by Robert Penn
While chatting with the girls yesterday our conversation, unsuprisingly, was pretty bike focused. We were chatting about bike racing and I started to talk about a six, the 6 day racing comps which originated back in the 1800s when some nutter set himself the challenge of riding 1,000 miles in 6 days.
OK, so whilst that might not sound like too much of a challenge to some of you it’s important to bear in mind that the best bike available to him was a heavy and cumbersome machine which averaged a speed of 13.5 miles an hour and he covered the distance by doing laps of the agricultural hall. Needless to say, the crazy Victorians loved it and a new sport was born!
I was wondering to myself where on earth I had absorbed this random nugget of information from and remembered it was whilst reading Robert Penn’s amazing book It’s All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness On Two Wheels.
This true story is a dream read for any cyclist.
Rob, a lifelong cyclist, builds the bike of his dreams, scouring the globe for the key components to put this together. Not only do we meet many interesting characters as Rob transcribes his tale but he also introduces history and mechanics, both ancient and modern, on all things bike.
Reading Rob’s story you’ll learn a great deal about bikes but to be honest, my lasting memory of this book is the passion that reverberates right through it. Rob’s own passion, but also that of every single person he encounters. Its about following your dreams, doing what’s important to you, and having a wonderful time along the way.