Our friends at Cafe du Cycliste recently branched out from the Cote d”Azur and opened up a classy new store in our adopted homeland of Mallorca. We visited last month and were quickly salivating over the beautifully made cycle wear and Cervelo bikes to rent, mentally writing our Christmas wish lists as we went.
The guys at C du C have wasted no time in getting to know the island, but rather than taking the beaten track and sticking to the infamous road rides we know and love, they completed a punishing gravel ride in the centre of the island. Read their stunningly illustrated report on the ‘Toros de Gravel’ here:
Read MoreWant to get the inside story on the “jiffy bag”, ask about his appearance on The Jump, or his latest career as a rower? You’ll get your chance to quiz Sir Bradley Wiggins in person as he goes on tour (without his bike) this November.
If you’re anywhere near Manchester, London, Guildford, York, Cardiff or Nottingham, you’ll be able to join the former British professional road and track racing cyclist, along with TV presenter Matt Barbet, for an evening of tales from his fascinating career.
Read MoreMitts, check. Leather tool roll, check. Vintage bike, check. We’re off…Check out Gareth’s Eroica Britannia ride!
Read MoreLast week saw the inaugural P&P World Cycling Revival event at Herne Hill Velodrome. Spread over three days, it was not only a true celebration of cycling with derny races, a penny farthing hour record attempt and a Brompton invitational, but visitors could enjoy bars, betting, live music, a fun fair, a cycling museum and bike polo.
Read MoreThe fascination of shooting as a sport depends almost wholly on whether you are at the right or wrong end of the gun. Monty had found this out one weekend on the estate of Major Wilfred “Plug” Basham, when he’d had his rear end puckered by shot when he was hiding from Aunt Agatha up a tree.
So it was that that the pair of us took up the new fangled pastime of riding a bicycle. Same kit required: plus fours, shooting jacket and a tie. I’d asked Jeeves if a tie mattered to be told in no uncertain terms: “There is no time, sir, at which ties do not matter.”
Read MoreThe film Time Trial which documents the final year of David Millar’s racing career is released at the Amsterdam film festival this weekend. Talking to Ned Boulting at the Rouleur Classic a couple of weeks ago, he gave a fascinating insight into how it was made while remembering and annus horribilis when he found himself deselected from the Tour de France team he helped to set up.
Read MoreOne of the bonuses of living in Brighton at this time of year is that we’re only a short bike ride away from Lewes, the bonfire capital of the world. As many as 3,000 people take part and they’ve had as a many as 80,000 spectators in the past.
What better way to join in the festivities than tag along with a mass bike ride from our local park, The Level, to Her Majesty’s Prison, Lewes, where the friendly guards allowed us to chain up our bikes?
Read MoreNow in its third year, the 2017 edition of the Rouleur Classic put The Monuments as its central theme. This has quickly become THE cycling show to attend with its celebration of road racing, some of the best brands in the business showing off their latest and greatest products, some stunning cycling art and exhibits and an astonishing line up of speakers.
Read More"I don’t think you know what you’re letting yourself in for and, if you did, you wouldn’t do it."
That was the advice Phil Keoghan got when he first proposed recreating the 1928 Tour de France route and schedule on vintage bikes. His film, Le Ride, documents the madcap journey he undertook with his riding partner Ben Cornell in 2013. It’s now being distributed across the UK by Demand Film this November.
Read MoreThe last few years have seen increasing popularity of unsupported ultra cycling or bikepacking races like the Transcontinental or Japanese Odyssey. The concept is that competitors can choose their own route as long as they hit certain checkpoints. The Transcontinental has grown from a small event with only 30 competitors, to 350 riders taking part this year, racing 4,000km across Europe in just seven to ten days.
If the idea appeals to you but you’re a bit nervous of tackling several thousand kilometres in a limited timeframe, not to mention competing against some of the best ultra cycling stars around, like Emily Chappell, there is another option.
Read MoreThe Chilterns: an area of outstanding natural beauty featuring a 170 mile circular cycle route, so accessible to London you can actually get there on the Tube. So why hadn't we ridden there before? It wasn't until several people at Eroica Britannia asked us if we were taking part in the Chiltern 100 Cycling Festival that we decided to check it out. This year for the first time, the Chiltern Cycling Festival combined with the brutal Chiltern 100 sportive - steel v carbon, heritage vs technology - this was going to be interesting...
Read MoreAs the Tour de France starts this Saturday, many of us will be spending the next three weeks desperately trying to snatch a peek at the TV during the daytime or, at least, making an early evening appointment with the daily highlights show. For Messrs Millar, Boulting and Boardman, July 1st – 23rd is a slog around the ‘Hexagon’ as they commentate on the great race for ITV4. And this year sees them cover each stage in its entirety.
The trio were on hand at this year’s Eroica Britannia as invitees of sponsors Maserati for an informal chat and Q&A with vintage festival revellers who revealed a passion for the modern Tour. Despite more old fashioned Molteni, Brooklyn and Peugeot jerseys never being seen in one place at one time before, their wearers were desperate for the latest on Froome, Sagan and Quintana.
Read MoreIt's now just over a week until the greatest annual sporting event on earth begins: the Tour de France. On 1st July the peloton tackle a 14km time trial through the streets of Dusseldorf followed by 9 flat stages favouring sprinters, 5 hilly stages for the rouleurs and breakaway riders, 5 mountain stages for the climbers and finishing with a 22.5km time trial in Marseille before the coronation of the Yellow jersey bearer in Paris.
Think you know who's going to win? You can test your cycling knowledge by joining our Fantasy Tour de France pool and win a prize of your choice from our online shop. It's free and fun!
Read MoreWell...What a weekend! The sun shone; the most handsome steeds in the country were on show; gentlemen, ladies and children dressed up in their finest; New Romantic legends, ABC, took us back to 1987 and the fab disco had all generations dancing their socks off to cool funkadelia and 70's hits late into the night.
Take a look at our fabulous photos and find out all about it here.
Read MoreWell done to Rapha for laying on such a fantastic event in the London Nocturne on Saturday night. A tricky, technical circuit resulted in quite a few thrills and spills.
Cycling fan, Sir Paul Smith was there to watch a bit of racing as was Cycling Podcast's Richard Moore. We caught up with Ed Clancy before he set off with the elite men and got some great shots of the folding bike shenanigans and our favourite, the fixed gear Crit. It's all here!
Read MoreThe Spin Cycling Festival has always been quirky, innovative and fun, with lots of independent companies showing off the kind of stuff that you wouldn't normally see at a regular, corporate bike show. This year was no exception in their new home of Olympia. We bring you a selection of cool and sometimes whacky products that you may not have come across.
Read More(With apologies to PG Wodehouse)
Everything in life that’s any fun, as somebody wisely observed, is either immoral, illegal or fattening. The exception to this rule is, of course, the Tweed Run. So it was that Bunty and I hot-footed it down to Clerkenwell and that fine establishment, Bourne and Hollingsworth.
To find a man’s true character one has only go for a bike ride with him, and Bunty’s certainly shone through by the end of the day. It was one of those days you sometimes get in May when the sun beams, the birds toot, and there is a bracing tang in the air that sends the blood beetling briskly through the veins.
Read MoreWe asked resident Ride Velo illustrator, Gareth Llewhellin, the talent behind our T shirt designs, to give us his view on this year's Bespoked, the independent frame builders' exhibition in Bristol. There were some big, well established names there such as Condor, Jason Rourke and Caren Hartley that impressed and excited in equal measure. But it was a much younger bike designer, still to make his name, that really bowled him over.
Read MoreAs the cycling season cranks up with Milan San Remo this weekend and Paris Roubaix three weeks after that, you can also get a taste of the Tour de France at Look Mum No Hands. They are exhibiting a collection of stunning photographs from last year’s stages in the Pyrenees.
In July 2016 the London based fashion photographer and cycling enthusiast, Ciaran Spencer spent three days following Le Tour on his bike and capturing the essence of the carnival that follows the greatest bike race on earth. He was joined by Beth Hillier, owner of cycling brand, Bon Courage apparel.
Read MoreChris Boardman appeared at the London Bike Show last week with some exciting news about his new performance centre which will be opening in Evesham, Worcestershire at the end of the year. The facility will include a wind tunnel, activity area and physiology testing suite that will be accessible to all cyclists whether they’re Olympians, Paralympians or club riders.
oardman explained that this was the realisation of a seven-year project and that, “I don’t really do excited but this is really exciting! I’m really looking forward to it.” The idea had been conceived all those years ago when he sat down for a curry with an aerodynamic scientist and, together, they hatched the plan. By the end of this year, you will be able to hire out the facility by the hour at “a very reasonable price” giving everyday riders the opportunity to benefit from high-end technology normally reserved for elite athletes. “It’s going to be revolutionary,” he said.
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