the bike show

Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 13:44:43 +0000

Nice to see the police setting an example. Today at 2.20pm on Webber Street, corner of Blackfriars Road, SE1.

For those who don’t know, this is an Advance Stop Line, a ’safe place’ for cyclists to wait at junctions. If it wasn’t filled with two tonnes of Plod, that is.

The license number of the van is LX54 JBE.

‘Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?’ roughly translates as ‘Who watches the watchmen?’

Superb BBC Radio 4 documentary about bike messengers in London

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 11:38:21 +0000

Over the summer BBC Radio 4 aired a half-hour programme about life as a bicycle messenger here in London. First of all, what the programme does really well is convey the magic of daily cycling in London - the vistas, the skies, the sun, the wind and the rain, the secret places. This is something that any everyday London cyclist can appreciate, whether or not they work as a messenger. The documentary avoids the usual traps of romanticising the job, focussing obsessively on risk and danger, the bikes, the machismo, the fashions and so on. It’s telling that there is not a single mention of ‘fixed wheel’. The contributions from working messengers and former messengers are honest and thoughtful.

This half-hour radio documentary is way better than any film, television or radio feature about bicycle messengers that I have ever seen and, thanks to the marvelous Bicycle Film Festival, I have seen enough for a lifetime! In short, if you like The Bike Show, you will love this.

It should come as no surprise that the documetary features friends of The Bike Show like Buffalo Bill & Nhatt Attack, the latter I hope will be making her Bike Show debut on the next season of the show. Of course, where The Bike Show leads, the BBC follows. For the two part rolling interview with Buffalo Bill that aired on Resonance FM back in May 2005 click here (part one) and here (part two).

Listen to the BBC Radio 4 documentary over here, courtesy of ~~Messenger of Doom~~ rjs.

6 October 2008: The Moulton Story (part two)

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 18:43:30 +0000

The concluding episode of a two-part feature on the story of Dr Alex Moulton and the reinvention of the bicycle. We pick up the story with the launch of the Moulton space frame design (pictured left) in the early eighties. Featuring interviews with eaturing interviews with Dr Alex Moulton, Shaun Moulton, Tony Hadland, Michael Woolf, Paul Villiers, George Coulouris, Jean Dollimore, Chris Mahon, Patrick Doocey and Mog from Brixton Cycles.

Play on links below. Other file formats (Ogg Vorbis, 64kb MP3) over here.

29 September 2008: The Moulton Story (part one)

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 17:00:56 +0000

The first of a two-parter telling the story of Moulton bicycles: the radical reinvention of the bicycle by Dr Alex Moulton that, despite some commercial setbacks along the way, continues to push the boundaries of cutting edge engineering. Moultons have been feted by architects and designers, won races and broken speed records, and are taken to the hearts of their riders, the Moultoneers, many of whom consider them to be the best kept secret on two wheels. Over the next two weeks The Bike Show will trace the history of the Moulton bicycle from its inception in the late 1950s and its sixties heyday, look ahead to its future and try to capture something of the Moulton spirit. Featuring interviews with Dr Alex Moulton, Shaun Moulton, Tony Hadland, Michael Woolf and a cast of Moultoneers. Image, left, shows the young Sheldon Brown on his Moulton Deluxe in 1971.

Play on links below. Other file formats (Ogg Vorbis, 64kb MP3) over here.

27 September 2008: Bicycle Film Festival comes to town

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:37:31 +0000

The Bicycle Film Festival comes to London from 1-5 October. Laura Fletcher is the BFF’s London ambassador and she previews a handful of highlights from the seven screenings at the Barbican Cinema plus all the parties, art shows, polo matches and roller-racing that make the Festival a veritable jamboree of bicycle culture. Plus a very special message from the Founding Director, Brendt Barbur. Buy tickets online here.

Play on links below. Other file formats (Ogg Vorbis, 64kb MP3) over here.

Ride the Gridiron 100 - Sunday 5th October

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 15:47:18 +0000

OUTING CANCELLED DUE TO SOUTHERN TRAINS ENGINEERING WORK OVER THE WEEKEND MAKING TRAIN TRAVEL FROM LONDON IMPOSSIBLE. GRIDIRON STILL GOING ON BUT WITHOUT BIKE SHOW / TWEED.CC

The Bike Show is joining forces with the splendid Tweed Cycling Club for an autumnal outing next weekend. The 16th “GRIDIRON 100″ Randonnée, through the scenic roads of the New Forest, is on 5 October. It’s among the biggest Randonnées of the cycling year, attracting more than 500 riders.

10am start at Boldre Village Hall (halfway between Lymington and Brockenhurst). The route crosses as many cattle grids as possible in a 100km loop. Route information provided at the Registration. £5 entry on the day, £3.50 entry in advance. Cheques by post to the organisers, Wessex CTC, who have more information at their website. Let us know if you’re coming in the comments.

For those coming from London on the day, it means an early start (6.30am or 7.35am trains), but there may well be an overnight camping option under development.

CycleSafeLondon.com

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 11:44:36 +0000

Two cyclists have been killed and another injured in collisions with lorries on the streets of London in the past week. This brings the unofficial total fatalities in 2008 to 8 or 9, depending on whether you count someone killed while wheeling their bike a cyclist or pedestrian. Whichever way, it’s 8 or 9 too many. Raising awareness, calling for action to make London roads safer and educating cyclists on how to minimise risk are the objectives of CycleSafeLondon.com, set up this week by members of the London Fixed Gear and Single Speed web forum, myself included.

Critical Mass is tonight and we’ll be distributing a basic leaflet explaining the problem and what can be done. You can download it to print yourself from here.

This is the text:

In the last week two London cyclists were killed in collisions with lorries and another was seriously injured. A London Road Safety Unit study of London cyclist fatalities between 1999 and 2002 concluded that, of the 49 collisions with lorries, more than half were the result of a left turn by the lorry.

The design of many of London’s cycle lanes and advance stop lines (green boxes at traffic lights) lure cyclists into the most dangerous position at junctions: slightly in front of and to the left of lorries. At the two junctions where cyclists were recently killed by left-turning lorries (Upper Thames Street junction with Queen Street Place, and Camley Street junction with Goods Way) there are advance stop lines, both with feeder cycle lanes from the left.

What is needed:

1. A ban on very large lorries (HGVs) from the current Congestion Charge zone during Congestion Charge hours.
2. Compulsory installation of the latest ‘blind spot’ mirrors and more training for drivers on how to use them.
3. Removal of dangerous cycle lanes.
4. Tougher punishments for drivers and lorry companies convicted of negligent driving.

To make this happen, we need to tell the government officials and the lorry companies about the problem and demand that they take action.

Write to:

- Your MP
- Boris Johnson, Mayor of London
- Your representative on the London Assembly
- Your local councillors
- The Secretary of State for Transport
- David Brown, Managing Director, Surface Transport, Transport for London
- Roger King, Chief Executive, Road Haulage Association

Find out who your elected representatives are and how to write to them by visiting www.WriteToThem.com

Changing laws, removing dangerous cycle lanes, fitting better mirrors and training lorry drivers will take time. In the short term it is possible to take action when riding to minimise, if not eliminate, the risk of conflict with a lorry.

- Be aware of where they are. This means keeping an eye on the road behind you.

- Avoid crossing their path, or potential path. If you are behind them, this means staying behind the rear axle when they are moving. If you are in front, this means keeping an eye on them to make sure that if they overtake they are giving you enough room.

- The place you definitely don’’t want to be at any time is alongside, or slightly in front of, a lorry’s front wheels. Especially at junctions. This is because lorry drivers who have killed cyclists by left-turns, even if they signal, often fail to look in their left-hand mirrors to check for cyclists.

- Passing lorries and other long vehicles on the inside (left side) increases the risk of not being seen.

www.cyclesafelondon.com - 26 September 2008

22 September 2008: Grant Peterson on overnight trips and a visit to London’s ‘anti-bike shop’

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 19:32:20 +0000

Grant Peterson of Rivendell Bicycle Works urges us to get on our bikes for sub-twenty four hour overnight camping trips. Plus a visit to a fantastic new ‘anti-bike shop’ in Finsbury Park, specialising in classic English and Italian steel road bikes. The shop doesn’t have a name yet, but you can drop in at 74 Mountgrove Road, Finsbury Park, London N5 2LT - MAP. Some photos below, more here:

Play on links below. Other file formats (Ogg Vorbis and 64k MP3) over here.

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Summer antics: Cycle Camping in France

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 16:23:06 +0000

On this week’s show I promised some documentary evidence of my cycle tour in France last month. Well here it is. All filmed on a cheap and cheerful Panasonic Lumix DMC-FX07 compact digital camera with a video mode, so please excuse some less than perfect audio quality.

Part one:

Part two:

My route took me from Biarritz on the Atlantic coast to Brioude in the massif central via most of the big Pyrenean cols, through Cathar country to the Mediterranean coast, Narbonne & Montpellier and then up across the Cévennes to Le Puy-en-Velay and the Auvergne. Train back from Brioude to Clermont Ferrand, Paris and London.

Some stills:

Bikely route map coming soon.

Day 1: Bayonne Airport - St. Jean de Luz - Ascain - Sare - Cherchebruit - Col de Pinodieta - Esplette - Itxassou - Pas de Roland (outstanding swimming spot). Camped in a field. 45km

Day 2: Pas de Roland - Bidarray - St Jean Pied de Port - Larceveau - Arros - Col d’Osquitch - Tardets - Montory - Arette. Hotel run by former tandem world champion. 92km

Day 3: Arrete - Issor - N134 - Escot - Col de Marie Blanque - Bielle - Laruns - Eaux-Bonnes - Col d’Aubisque - Col du Soulor - Argeles-Gazost - Soulor. Campsite. 102km

Day 4: Soulor - Lourdes - Soulor - Luz St Sauveur. Campsite. 50km

Day 5: Luz St Sauveur - Col du Tourmalet - Col d’Aspin - Arreau. Campsite. 63km

Day 6: Arreau - Col de Peyresourde - Bagnere de Luchon (excellent thermal spa). Campsite. 38km

Day 7: Bagnere de Luchon - Col du Portillon - Bossost - St Beat - Col des Ares - Col de Portet d’Aspet - St Lary - Castillon-en-Couserans. 98km.

Day 8: Castillon-en-Couresans - St. Girons - Massat (fabulous lunch at L’Hotel le Globe) - Col de Port - Tarascon - Appy. Camped in field, with donkeys. 102km

Day 9: Appy - Lordat - appalling track 5km through a wood - Col de Marmares - Belclaire - Quillan - Couiza - Rennes-le-Chateau - Rennes-les-Bains. Hotel de France. 94km

Day 10: Rennes-les-Bains - Col de Linas - Cucugnan - Tuchan - Vingrau - Opoul - Perillos - Fitou - La Franqui - La Palme - Port-la-Nouvelle - Narbone. Camped in a vineyard by the canal. 155km

Day 11: Narbonne - La Barque - Coursan - D162 - Nissan-lez-Enserune - Lespignan - Vendres - Serignan - Canal du Midi - Vias - D192 - Agde - Sete - Frontignan Plage - Vic-la-Gardiole - Villeneuve-les-Magelone - Maurin - Latts - Montpellier. 143km

Day 12: Montpellier

Day 13: Montpellier - Castelnau-le-Lez - D21 - D109 - D26 - Treviers - D1 - D1e9 - Valfaunes - Pompignan - St Hippolyte - Lasalle. Lovely campsite by a waterfall. 74km

Day 14: Lasalle - St Jean du Gard - Pompidou - Florac. Campsite. 73km

Day 15: Florac - Le Pont de Montvert - Col de Finiels - Le Bleymard - L’Estampe - Chasserades - La Bastide - Langogne - Pradelles. Campsite. 102km

Day 16: Pradelles - La Monastier-sur-Gazeille - Le Puy-en-Velay - Vorey - Retournac - Craponne-sur-Arzon - Cheyrac - St Victor-sur-Arlanc - Piers - Bonneval - La Chaise Dieu. Camped in a field with wild boar. 156km

Day 17: La Chaise Dieu - Chassignoles. L’Auberge de Chassignoles. ~30km.

Day 18: Chassignoles - Brioude. ~30km.

Train from Brioude to Paris, Eurostar to London.

15 September 2008: Are cargo bikes the future of urban transport?

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 19:53:03 +0000

Do the rising oil price, the growing concern about man-made climate change and breakthroughs in cycle design mean we’re on the verge of a pedal-powered cargo revolution? Discussing the past, present and future of cargo bikes and pedicabs is Leslie Wacker, a Chicago native who placed second in the cargo bike race at this year’s World Cycle Messenger Championships, Buffalo Bill author of Moving Target Zine and controller at Creative Couriers. We also hear from Mark, controller at from Zero Couriers, London’s first and only dedicated cargo bike courier company about the challenges his company has faced convincing potential commercial clients to choose pedal-powered cargo delivery. 8Freight photo thanks to BikeFix.

To donate to Resonance FM, follow this link.

Play on links below. Other file formats (64kb MP3 and Ogg Vorbis) over here.

8 September 2008: Ian Hibell - Paying respects to a legend

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 22:59:45 +0000

Remembering Ian Hibell, the world’s most accomplished and intrepid long-distance cyclist and adventurer, who was run down and killed on a road in Greece last month, aged 74. He’d been on a ‘training ride’ which began in Hull (England) in preparation for his next trip to Nepal and Tibet. Nic Henderson talks about his friend and hero. For more about Ian Hibell’s life, adventures and bicycles, including some superb photographs, visit Nic’s excellent website. From the Tour of Britain we hear the latest news from the Rapha-Condor-Recycling team and a protestor from Climate Camp who has something to say about energy company E-on’s sponsorship of this year’s Tour.

Update: Subsequent to this broadcast, The Economist published a superb obituary of Ian Hibell.

To donate to Resonance FM, follow this link.

Play on links below, other formats (e.g. Ogg Vorbis) over here.

1 September 2008: Around the world the hard way (part two)

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 07:43:51 +0000

Alastair Humphreys has cycled round the world ‘the hard way’: four years, sixty countries and forty-six thousand miles. In the second of a two part special he tells the story of his epic adventure: from Mexico to Alaska, through Siberia, Japan, China and central Asia.

Thunder and Sunshine, the second volume of his travelogue is out now, published by Eye Books.

Play on links below, other file formats (e.g. Ogg Vorbis) over here.

11 August 2008: Around the world the hard way (part one)

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 18:29:09 +0000

Alastair Humphreys has cycled round the world ‘the hard way’: four years, sixty countries and forty-six thousand miles. In the first of a two part special he tells the story of his epic adventure from Yorkshire to South Africa and Chile to Colombia. Thunder and Sunshine, the second volume of his travelogue is out now, published by Eye Books.

The studio at Resonance FM is closed on 18th and 25th August so there will be no show on those dates. The second part of this two-show special will be broadcast on 1 September.

Play on links below, other file formats (e.g. Ogg Vorbis) over here.

4 August 2008: Cycling, politics and ideology

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Wed, 06 Aug 2008 15:02:05 +0000

On this week’s show we ask whether the bicycle and cycling are inherently left-wing or right-wing. Featuring Ruth Beale and Karen Breneman, two artists who recently rode together from London to the Institute for the Art and Practice of Dissent at Home in Liverpool in search of cycling’s socialist and non-conformist past, present and future. Putting the case for the libertarian right is the leading political blogger and cyclist Guido Fawkes who explains why leading members of the British Conservative Party are so keen to advertise their taste for two wheeled transport.

This weekend get on down to Rollapaluza XI “Kingspin” on Friday night at the Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes and Tour De Play, ‘a five mile cycle tour looking at playscapes as a form of outsider architecture’ starting at the South London Gallery at 12 noon on Saturday.

Play on links below. Other file formats (e.g. Ogg Vorbis) over here.

28 July 2008: Looking back at Le Tour 2008

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 23:32:33 +0000

Looking back at this year’s Tour De France, with Guy Andrews, editor of Rouleur magazine and author and broadcaster Graeme Fife. As well as discussing the racing, we go into what it means for a small towns when it plays host to a stage of Le Tour de France. You can listen to an hour-long Tour De France themed edition of Ruby’s Chicky Boil Ups on Radio Nowhere, featuring Jack Thurston and a pile of cycling tunes over here.

Play on links below. Other file formats (Ogg Vorbis etc) over here.

21 July 2008: Sublime Nights: Dunwich Dynamo 16 and S24O with Grant Peterson

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 21:42:36 +0000

This year’s Dunwich Dynamo was perfect: a dry, moonlit night, a tail wind and a hot sunny morning on the beach. Around 500 people enjoyed the sixteenth edition of the classic British night ride that covers some 120 miles (190 kilometres) through north east London, Essex and Suffolk. But you don’t have to wait until the next Dunwich Dynamo on 4 July 2009 for a sublime overnight bicycle experience, as Grant Peterson of Rivendell Bicycle Works explains.

Play on links below. Other file formats (e.g. Ogg Vorbis) here. Some photos from the DD 16 are on the flickr.

14 July 2008: Vive Le Tour // Civilised Streets

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 22:09:22 +0000

Celebrating Bastille Day and the first week of Le Tour De France plus a discussion of civilised streets with Louise Duggan, streets advisor at the UK’s Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE). Just six days until this year’s Dunwich Dynamo….

Play on links below. Other file formats (e.g. Ogg Vorbis) over here.

7 July 2008: 50 Quirky Bike Rides

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:46:04 +0000

A ride along the splendid London end of the Grand Union Canal with Rob Ainsley, London cyclist and author of 50 Quirky Bike Rides, a new book about weird and wonderful places to go on bicycles in England and Wales. We visit a canal that passes over a motorway and take advantage of a little known rule that allows bicycles on certain parts of the London tube network.

This week’s show was broadcast from the excellent Southwark Lido (pictured below - more pics here). Get there while it’s still open.

Play on links below. Other file formats (e.g. Ogg Vorbis) over here.

30 June 2008: London Lidos by Bicycle

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:12:58 +0000

A tour of London lidos by bicycle with Jason Cobb, a lido enthusiast, cyclist, photographer and author of Onion Bag Blog, a blog devoted to life in the Stockwell-Oval-Brixton triangle. Taking in Brockwell Lido, the ghost of Kennington Lido, the Serpentine Lido, the refurbished London Fields Lido and an unexpected audience with Brixton’s wheelbuilding legend Sam The Wheels.

We discover why cycling and outdoor swimming are a good mix.

Jason’s London links:

Diamond Geezer (blog)
Londonist (blog)
Last Bus Home (blog)
The Way We See It (photo blog)

Play on links below. Other file formats (e.g. Ogg Vorbis) over here.

23 June 2008: London architecture by bike and a Rapha exclusive

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 20:48:34 +0000

Featuring an interview with Stephen Bayley, design editor of The Observer, about his guided cycle ride around the houses and homes of celebrated London artists and architects which kicks of a fantastic programme of bicycle tours as part of the London Festival of Architecture. Stephanie Laslett of Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios explains why architects love bikes. Plus the latest from Simon Mottram of Rapha, the London-based cycle clothing company and a short report about the Summer Solstice night ride to Stonehenge. To win the 2008 Etape du Tour reconnaissance DVD courtesy of CycleFilm, email the correct answer to bikeshow (at) gmail (.)com.

Play on link below, other file formats available over here (Ogg Vorbis etc)

16 June 2008: From the Tropics to the Stones

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 19:10:47 +0000

The Bike Show is back for the summer season. This week’s show features two long rides: from Singapore to China with two small children in tow and a preview of Rolling to the Stones, a midsummer night ride from Central London to Stonehenge.

Plus music from Bucky: you can see the video version over here. The London Festival of Architecture has a fantastic programme of architecture and urban design themed rides coming up, running from a month starting on 21 June. Since being on air, Alastair Humphrey’s talk at Stanfords has sold out.

Play using links below. Other file formats (e.g. Ogg Vorbis) are here.

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The Last Shall Be First and the First Shall Be Last

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 11:25:18 +0000

The Fluxus Olympiad took place over the late May bank holiday weekend at the Tate Modern and one of the highlights was a Slow Bicycle Race in which a handful of Bike Show presenters, contributors and listeners raced to see who was the slowest.

In the 1970’s, Fluxus artists created games that subverted the seriousness of high art and encouraged participants to celebrate everyday occurrences rather than static art objects. Created in 1961 by the artist George Maciunas, the term Fluxus was originally intended as the title of a magazine that would document new art. Fluxus, a word chosen by Maciunas for its connotation of change, became a loose association of artists, some of whom were making work that the original Fluxus publication meant to document. Fluxus drew upon a combination of sources that included Dada, Duchamp’s readymades, Surrealism, Futurism, Spike Jones, and the music of John Cage to counter the belief that the experience of art was superior to that of life.

Games became an important means for Fluxus artists to disseminate and explore their ideas about art. Because games lend themselves to humor, often require physical participation, and undermine the seriousness of art that certain Fluxus artists opposed, they were a perfect medium for Fluxus expression and experimentation.

The usual International Olympic Committee Rules on slow bicycle racing applied over the 50 metre course: stay in lane, no feet down, freewheels only and no track-stand funny business. View the action replay:

Resonance FM benefit 18 May: Robyn Hitchcock & more

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:23:16 +0000

Resonance FM presents a night of live music on Sunday 18 May, with all proceeds going to keep the radio station going in 2008 and beyond.

Headlining is English psychedelic folk rock legend and occasional bicyclist Robyn Hitchcock (pictured below) with Terry Edwards; Kiss Akabusi, masters of deconstructed Black Metal/Chinese pop/Reggae and special guests from Quebec, the duo Mankind. Plus Resonance DJ Johnny Trunk of the Official Soundtrack Show and more.

photo by Carina Jirsch

Tickets are are bargain at £10, though you should definitely chip in a bit extra on the night, the station really needs it.

Arts Theatre, Great Newport Street, 7.30pm. Leicester Square tube. Box office: 0844 847 1608 or book online. See you there!

Summer Solstice night ride to Stonehenge

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Tue, 13 May 2008 17:18:28 +0000

If you like night riding (and who doesn’t?) but find the marvelous Dunwich Dynamo just a little bit too mainstream for your tastes, then look no further than Rolling to the Stones, a summer solstice ride to watch the sunrise at Stonehenge. I can remember as a child being able to clamber all over the stones but these days they’re fenced off and the summer solstice is the only day of the year when people are allowed to get among the 5000 year old bluestones to soak up the pagan vibrations.

The route covers 90 miles into the prevailing wind with a fair few hills along the way but the ride is being led by Dazzler, a London bicycle messenger, who has done it several times before and promises to make it to the church on time, so to speak. If you’ve ever looked at a bicycle messenger and wondered what on earth he or she did before the invention of the bicycle, the answer is clear. They were druids. Here is a recently unearthed archive shot of London’s favourite former bicycle messenger turned blogger:

And here is the modern version:

Ride leaves Marble Arch at 8.30pm. For more info, move it on over to Moving Target. I’ll do my best to be there, although I’m thinking it might be a bit more hectic than my usual gentlemanly sedate style of cycle touring.

In ancient times, hundreds of years before the dawn of history.
There lived a strange race of people…the Druids.
No one knows who they were, or what they were doing…
But their legacy remains…
Hewn into the living rock of Stonehenge…

Off-air antics: L’Enfer du Nord

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:14:04 +0000

One of the advantages of being off air for a while is more time to get out and about, for instance, a quick trip sous la Manche to watch the 2008 Paris-Roubaix, the Queen of the Classics. Just shy of 260 kilometers, with around 55 kilometers over the brutal pavÃ© (cobblestone farm tracks) of northern France. Camera: Andy Curry, William Greswell.

And a few stills:

If all this makes you want to test yourself on the toughest single day course in cycle racing, the Paris-Roubaix cyclo-sportive on 8 June is still accepting entries.

3 March 2008: Cycling Troubadours

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:36:38 +0000

The fourteenth and final show in the current season features an extended interview with Jimmy and Triin aka Too Dumb To Die, cycling jazz troubadours, back from a year and a half touring South East Asia with the Cyclowns Circus. The show also features Martin Low of Westminster City Council describing the Sustrans Connect2 project to build a cycle-friendly bridge across the railway in north Bayswater.

Thanks to everyone who’s helped make The Bike Show this season, in particular reporters Kieron Yates and Amy Cooper and the fabulous engineers at Resonance FM. Thanks for listening! The Bike Show will be back in a couple of months.

MP3 | Other file formats (e.g. Ogg Vorbis)

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25 February 2008: Will Vélib work in London?

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:01:02 +0000

Kieron Yates and Matt Tempest report from Paris on the VÃ©lib bike hire system that has brough 20,000 bicycles to the streets and transformed the French capital overnight into a cycling metropolis. Can it work in London?

MP3 | Other file formats (e.g. Ogg Vorbis)

Photo by Deep Blue

18 February 2008: Hanging with the Trixie Chix

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 23:25:39 +0000

Jack Thurston is away and in his place Amy Cooper presents a show devoted to the swashbuckling Trixie Chix, London’s female fixed wheel freestylers. Will Amy and her sit-up-and-beg town bike cut the mustard with the trackstanding, bike polo playing, long skidding, backwards circling Trixies? Find out…

MP3 | Other file formats (e.g. Ogg Vorbis)

11 February 2007: Love

bikeshow@gmail.com (Jack) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 20:10:19 +0000

In a special Valentine’s Day edition, sultry Southwark Cyclist Miss Alex Crawford explains why cycling is so good for flirting while love goddess Venus Kamura tells of the fifth annual Reclaim Love ‘happening’ on Saturday 16 February at the Eros Statue on Piccadilly Circus. Over the past few days, all across the bicycling world, there has been an outpouring of love for the inspirational Sheldon Brown who sadly died last weekend. We play a song by Oysterband, Sheldon’s all time favourite band. Plus a heads up for Wheels and Heels, a lovely bicycle fashion show on the evening of the 14th, at Columbia Road from 6pm and a chance to party ’til the break of dawn with the swashbuckling Trixie Chix, on Friday 15th February way up there in Dalston, northeast London. No excuse not to get loved up one way or another this week. Whew!

MP3 | Other file formats (Ogg Vorbis etc)