CYCLING
SHORTS
Cycling Shorts is a platform for your news, views and opinions on anything bikerelated. How did it feel getting back on the road after the months of lockdown? Did you spend your days in isolation plotting and planning new routes? Or did you overdo it on the cake and biscuits? Maybe you’ve got something else to get off your chest. We’re keen to hear any of your biking tales, old or new. Drop us an email with the details. We’re looking for all types of story from Audax riders (up to 200 words), with a picture of yourself, too. Contact gedlennox@me.com.
Taxpayer to fund e-bike boom?
Arrivée149Autumn2020
The government is reportedly considering introducing a scheme to promote the sale and use of electric bikes as part of a more general campaign to improve the nation’s fitness. At the end of July this year, roads minister Jesse Norman indicated that a subsidy was being considered to encourage older and less fit people who may be unsure about getting back into the saddle, to buy an e-bike. The vehicles, which can cost anything between £600 and £3,000, can be powered by a small electric motor within the bike’s frame, as well as propelled by pedals. The suggestion is that they will be included in the government’s £2 billion proposal to promote cycle use generally. So far there are no details about the e-bike subsidy, though if it similar to the scheme for electric cars, the taxpayer may pick up the bill for up to a third of the cost. The announcement came on the same day that the government launched a scheme offering bicycle repair vouchers. The website crashed within minutes of the scheme’s midnight on 29 July launch, according to news reports. While demand was expected to be high, the popularity of the £50 repair voucher scheme, 50,000 of which were offered on a first-come, first-served basis, took CS the government by surprise.
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OCD claims
This has not been the best year for Audax rides, but if you have been out on your own, cycling in the hills, you may have some cols to claim. So, as you are reading this, now is a good time to review, and submit your claim via the AUK website.
The OCD man, Rod Dalitz CS
A Lockdown SR
Back in March a pessimistic John Irwin, fearing a total lockdown, rented a treadmill and exercise bike before the hire company shut up shop. Roll forward to early April and, although he was clocking up the kilometres on the treadmill, the bike had yet to see any significant usage. Realising it was only a matter of time before this would start to draw comments from his family he decided to do something about it… My first few 25km efforts were hot and boring but, with an industrial fan and streaming music, it was altogether different. I started to appreciate the efficiency of the bike as a means of covering distances I could only dream of outdoors. I started to think about what my standard six hours per 100km with stops might feel like and then if I could do a 200 on it? If I could do a 200, could I do a 300, and if I’d done a 200 and a 300, could I go the whole hog and do a 400 and 600 to complete the set? … once the idea was in my head, the Lockdown SR was on! I was up early on the morning of 26 April for the first leg. My strategy, thinking of longer rides ahead, allowed two hours including stops every 50km with longer two-hour breaks after each 100km. This pattern served me well throughout the series. I even had time, on the longest rides, for four-hour sleeps each night
The Crafty Charlotte upcycles fancy furlough fashion
which was a novelty and a luxury for someone who usually rides in fear of missing the cut! That said, plenty of time was lost from faffing at virtual controls but at least there weren’t any queues. Even though cycling indoors meant no headwinds, rain or hills, I suffered just the same, particularly on the longer two rides which were as tough as anything I’ve experienced outdoors – riding solo and staring at the same wall for 1500km was hard enough, without catching sight of the occasional ‘wall monster’ lurking in the corner of my eye. Physically I’d seriously underestimated just how much time is spent freewheeling in the real world, and this lack of punctuation became more prominent the further I rode – evidenced by the penultimate 50km becoming two 25km legs and the final 50km being ridden over four 12.5km legs! Although I met the challenge, and successfully completed my Lockdown SR, it was probably a one-off, driven by a unique set of circumstances I’m hoping not to encounter again. And, of course, I prefer to ride outdoors and have my rides officially validated. Starting, finishing and remaining at home throughout provided me with easy access to my domestiques, both of whom lasted the event, so thank you, long-suffering wife and daughter.
Like many an Audaxer, ceramic artist Charlotte Stockley found herself with time on her hands during the lockdown furlough – and turned her attention to a pile of old inner tubes. “Being furloughed from work meant that I finally had time to concentrate on all those crafty ideas on my to-do list,” she says. “While I try to patch as many punctured inner tubes as possible, some are inevitably irreparable. Rather than throw the old tubes in the bin, I’m now upcycling them into various items, such as keyrings, dog leads, bookmarks and Christmas decorations. “There’s been a lot of trial and error, and some swearing too,” she adds. “I’ve discovered that different width tubes are good for different uses. My local bike shop has even kindly supplied me with all sorts of odd sizes.” More products are in the design stage. Charlotte is pictured here with one of her keyrings, which was stitched on a sewing machine using different coloured thread, then riveted into place. Charlotte, who lives in Surbiton, Surrey, cycles every day to her studio in Kingston-on-Thames. She rides for Kingston Wheelers and regularly takes part in Audaxes and other long-distance events. In 2017 she cycled a solo LEJOG over 11 days, and also had a couple of memorable years at the Tour of Flanders sportive with fellow members of Kingston Wheelers. You can see other examples of her art at https://folksy.com/shops/CharlotteStockley.
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Charlotte Stockley CS
