BIKE Magazine - January 2019

eBike guide - Adventure cycling - Training - Nutrition - Bike review

UK’s Leisure Cycling and Travel Magazine

START 2019 WITH CYCLING TRAINING PLAN JANUARY 2019

FIND INSIDE

GUIDE TO EBIKES

CYCLING ADVENTURE HELSINKI TO SINGAPORE

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Big Cycling

2 BIKE MAGAZINE

BIKE MAGAZINE 3

CONTENTS

INSIDE JANUARY 2019

06 Start 2019 with a training plan Have you got your 2019 achievements ready to conquer? You can now create your very own schedule to help you achieve them. > Training

12 Helsinki to Singapore

16 2019 Cycling Routes The euphoric sense of achievement that comes from crossing the finish line of a challenging bike race or route is hard to beat, especially when it’s situated in one of the world’s most scenic locations. > Cycling Routes

20 eBike Guide

My wife and I are cycling from Helsinki to Singapore for charity and, honestly, since we started this amazing adventure we haven’t once wondered why or have had any regrets but everytime someone asked the “why” the first answer has always been “why not?!”. > Adventure

24 eBike Through Ireland There is a myriad of quiet country roads and lanes in this sparsely populated County that is ideal for either the cycling enthusiast or those who wants to escape the maddening crowd and rejuvenate the body and soul. > Ireland

32 Land’s End to John O’Groats

> Guide

This September, it was my turn. I decided I would take on the famous route as a book tour, promoting my book Eat, Sleep, Cycle about my ride four years previously around the coast of Britain. > British Cycling

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BIKE MAGAZINE 5

WELCOME

Welcome

to January issue It seems clichéd talking about New Year’s resolutions, but we all make them in some way. Perhaps we don’t all pin them to the fridge or deliberately create accountability by sharing them with a loved one, but I’m convinced they pass through everyone’s mind.

Motivational resolutions can be tough for a cyclist as climate, darkness and road conditions become more challenging. However there is enough good kit out there to keep on riding through, as long as it doesn’t get too icy. In the event that a wishful singing has a delayed impact and there’s no snow bike in the shed, one can always resort to a turbo trainer.

Seasonal modifications must include the bike, the very least being winter tyres and of course mudguards if you want keep ride buddies as ... ride buddies. Clothing should be considered from head to toe to fingertips: the extremities are the most exposed to wind, rain and road splash though the body’s natural heating system can get neglectful. Garments can also offer increased visibility in addition to the obligatory decent set of lights.

Though not wishing to focus on the negative, it’s sensible to consider worst-case scenarios, in general and not just on the bike. Think about the ICE- in case of emergency that is, and how this info and medical information can be shared, be it a tag or even a scrap of paper. Our latest useful discovery is the facility on smart phones, they all seem to allow an emergency call while the phone is locked, with iPhones permitting access to entered medical records.

So keep warm, keep seen, keep safe and most of all: keep riding. > Michael Stokes - Assistant Editor

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eBike guide - Adventure cycling - Training - Nutrition - Bike review

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CYCLING ADVENTURE HELSINKI TO SINGAPORE

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6 BIKE MAGAZINE

TRAINING

START 2019

BY CREATING CYCLING TRAINING PLAN Have you got your 2019 achievements ready to conquer? You can now create your very own schedule to help you achieve them. Begging of the year is the time for new resolutions, but without a thought timetable your achievements are not likely to proceed further than your instagram story.

BIKE MAGAZINE 7

TRAINING

Scheduling your own tasks and blocking them within your weekly timetable perhaps is a bit of unnerving task, which is the reason many would prefer the assistance of a professional by buying a book or following an online course.

A pro trainer will easily create your year plan and break it down to days. But it’s not the only way. The most famous selfcoached athlete is ex-world champion Lizzie Deignan, and she does pretty well for herself.

“A dream becomes a goal when action is taken towards its achievement.” > Bo Bonette

So how do you go about creating your own plan?

Start by looking at your very own calendar Normally, people would start thinking about what they want to achieve. However, before they do that, they need to look at their own availability. Figure out how much time you can allocate for training daily, weekly, monthly; what activities you will be able to train during that time, and, certainly, location is very important.

Make sure everything is on your timetable - meetings with friends, work-related tasks, trips away - try not to miss any chance you have to add any extra miles into you schedule.

Try to be as honest as you can when scheduling your own tasks. Be realistic about your achievements. Remember, if you put half the effort you will only get half of the result.

Pick a ‘First’ goal, and ‘Second’, and ‘Third’ goals Now that you’ve got an idea what your training capacity is, you can think about selecting those big dreams, before turning them into realistic goals.

Gallagher suggests that if you’re setting yourself a time based goal, you can be pretty data driven about it if you want.

“With a sportive, or a time trial goal, you can use examples of others. On Strava, you can see the rides of thousands of people who have taken part in an event. If an athlete has a premium account you look at their power to weight on key climbs and equate it back to yourself, to see what is an achievable goal.”

Naturally, take what you find with a pinch of salt, not many people update their Strava profile if they gain weight.

From here, you can look to choose a the ‘Second’ goal. Ideally, this will be a few months before the ‘First’ goal and similar in terrain, discipline and distance so you can use it to look at nutrition and preperation as well as fitness.

A few ‘Third’ goals aren’t a bad idea, to keep you motivated along the way. “A time trial, a hill climb,” Gallagher suggests, “something to keep your mind engaged or to see if your threshold power has improved.”

For the likes of road racers, it’s a bit trickier. It’s often said you should never set ‘winning a race’ as a goal, since it’s not controllable (though most of the pre-Grand Tour interviews would suggest otherwise).

8 BIKE MAGAZINE

TRAINING

“You can only make yourself fit enough to be able to win. Then on the day, it’s up to your decisions – and luck as well. As long as you hit the start line with the potential to be at the front, and the potential to be up there and go for the win, that’s all you can do.”

Naturally, you can adjust your plan to make yourself competitive at the style of race you want to perform well in.

“If it’s a flat race, you want to improve your sprint, your leg speed. If it’s hilly with two-minute climbs, you want to improve climbing and five minute power. You want to come to a race knowing your fit enough to win, whether you win or not isn’t always in your hands.”

One of the hardest elements of planning your own training is periodisation – a system of ensuring that the year builds up to the major goals, in time to peak for the main event.

Traditionally for road cyclists, this means a rest period in late autumn, ‘base miles’ in winter, FTP work early in the year followed by ‘sharpening in spring’ before a summer of maintenance.

Gallagher isn’t so keen: “I would say that method is quite ‘safe’.

But that traditional block is starting to go out the window, I rarely use it.

“Most people don’t really have enough time to get the sort of volume that would generate enough strain to create a progression. You’d need to be doing at least 10 to 14 hours a week. Otherwise, you need to be doing high intensity training to make yourself stronger.”

Instead, he suggests that you take an honest look at yourself, pick out your weaknesses, and focus on them in six week blocks.

“Periodisation can only happen from meeting objectives at each period. You should be looking to make changes every six weeks, in that time you’ll have done enough to see a good ramp in fitness or training.

“Evaluate after each six week block, but be truthful with yourself. Only when you’ve hit the targets that you set yourself, can you move on to the next block. Don’t be afraid to repeat a block.”

Your blocks don’t have to be based on power, heart rate or speed – they may be around technique or work off the bike.

“You might want to improve your ability to climb steep gradients,” Gallagher suggests as an example. “That isn’t necessarily all about a high peak power, it’s about creating power seated.

“So maybe you need to work on neuromuscular strength, and off-the-bike core work. Just be clear what you need to improve on, per block.”

“You might want to improve your ability to climb steep gradients.”

> Gallagher

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TRAINING

“In each block, prioritise the training sessions that deal with your weaknesses. Then you might have ‘B’ training sessions that are a bit more generic – volume, or cadence drills.

Then ‘C’ training sessions that are low priority – maybe skills sessions that aren’t totally relevant to your goal event. If you don’t fit them in, don’t worry about it.”

Personalise your plan and plot it out clearly Planning your training means you can be as flexible as you like, though a good coach will adjust days dependant on your lifestyle too.

Personal factors such as age will come in to play, “older people would usually need to add in more recovery. It depends on the goal, but high intensity training has been proven to have much bigger benefits for older people than low intensity. And they may want to do more strength work, off the bike, as bone density decreases in later life,” Gallagher says.

“Someone in their 20s, perhaps new to cycling, might need to do more volume to build up their base fitness – which someone in their 50s who has been riding a bike for decades won’t need as much.”

Creating sessions shouldn’t be too hard – there’s plenty of online resources to give you inspiration.

You can plot them on a calendar or paper diary, but if you’re using power or heart rate a training software programme like Training Peaks will crunch the numbers and track metrics like peak power/heart rate outputs as well as fatigue, fitness and form.

Rest is important, too. Most people need at least one rest day a week, though two might enable you to come back fresher.

A traditional approach would be to build volume or intensity for three weeks, then back off on volume by around 50 per cent but maintain some intensity for one. The recovery week might end with some testing, whilst your legs are fresh. Again, bear in mind that you may want to make the blocks between recovery weeks longer or shorter to suit you.

Seek outside help They key piece of the puzzle that you’ll miss without a coach is an outside point of view.

“It’s really difficult to be critical and objective and takes a lot of discipline. I’d recommend that at least every six weeks, you speak to someone with experience and bounce ideas of him or her,” Gallagher says.

“If there’s one thing you should get a second opinion about – a friend, someone in your club – it’s illness.

“Training whilst ill, or with the suspicion of illness, can really have a bad effect on you.

Not just in cycling, but it can damage general health.

“In most cases, if you think you’re getting ill, don’t train – if you’re coaching yourself, you need to take a step back and be honest with yourself. Better to focus on nutrition, hydration and sleep than going out training and wrecking yourself.

“Unless you’re healthy, you can’t be fit,” he warns.

Getting a coach So, if we can do it ourselves, why seek out a coach?

Firstly, there’s a lot of references to honesty above. This takes discipline and it’s easier to lie to yourself than to a coach.

“The new fangled session that’s going to boost your race tolerance by 4 percent or 6 percent or whatever – that’s all great but it’s having somebody who is objectively looking at your information which really helps. For me, that’s more important than the actual content of the coaching. A coach can also help you prioritise your lifestyle,” Gallagher says.

Secondly, there’s accountability in knowing that someone aside from yourself will know if you’ve completed your sessions. A lot of us know what we should do, but doing it is another struggle.

Finally, he adds one more element: confidence.

“It can give you more confidence in what you’re doing and in what you’ve done.

Knowing when you get to the bottom of a climb that you’ve spent six weeks working on neuromuscular power and six weeks working on muscle strength is massive.”

If you’re confident in your knowledge and discipline, plan away. If not, a coach could be your answer.

BIKE MAGAZINE 11

CYCLE TOURING FROM A NEW PERSPECTIVE The Atlas Mountains, Atlantic Coast, Sahara Desert …

Morocco is the ideal place to have an amazing cycling adventure this spring. Hire a bike or bring your own to enjoy the great weather and fantastic landscape of this exotic country on Europe’s doorstep.

visitmorocco.com

muchmorocco

12 BIKE MAGAZINE

Aurelie and Marco

HELSINKI

TO SINGAPORE Why not?

My wife and I are cycling from Helsinki to Singapore for charity and, honestly, since we started this amazing adventure we haven’t once wondered why or have had any regrets but everytime someone asked the “why” the first answer has always been “why not?!”.

BIKE MAGAZINE 13

HELSINKI TO SINGAPORE

We get different reactions to our project, mostly depending on age and gender, but the most common is by far “you’re crazy!”. Of course we mostly disagree with this statement!

Just to set the record straight, once upon a time we were “normal” travellers. We booked tickets online, hired cars and even did some sightseeing. I have always felt close to nature and cycling so mountain biking was a obvious choice as a sport and I loved it. Slowly my wife got interested and that’s how we started going on small bike trip at weekends when the weather was nice. Sunday rides turned into small bike packing trips.

They became week long holidays. The rest of the year we would work to save to do those things.

Then one day we saw that documentary and something clicked.

On our way back home (cycling of course) we talked about it; how romantic it sounds to go across a continent on two wheels, and those conversations never stopped. So our dreamy chats became plans. In order to save up for such a long endeavour we stopped buying stuff, we moved into a cheaper flat and the next thing you know you’re assembling your bikes in the middle of Helsinki airport with a massive migraine caused by the stress of the previous 48 hours, trying to remember how to put the front carrier back on.

In reality it was much longer and much more complicated than that but as always, the bad memories get thrown overboard and now it all seems like a million miles away and not so important.

A question that we have often asked ourselves is “why not earlier?” and the answer is always simple; we just weren’t ready.

This bring us to the first real realization about everything in life; things always work out better when they are following some kind of natural order. We are always amazed to meet incredibly young cyclists as we cannot imagine ourselves having done this years ago. We firmly believe that if you follow your instincts you can never go wrong.

Let’s go back to the beginning though; not a single regret about having left behind almost everything (we do have a fair amount in our panniers), having sold most of our valuable belongings (every penny saved is a penny spent somewhere wow and why would anyone have two toasters anyway?) and only seeing

family and friends when the WiFi is decent. We have since learned that it’s impossible to see everything and go everywhere, so no point in double guessing our way, similarly to the word “plan” which has become a synonym of “intention” rather than “arrangement”.

One of the best feeling you can have while touring is the realisation that you don’t have to, in fact, do anything; the world still goes round and all you can do is pedal… or not; doesn’t make a difference to it either way. To have and take the time to see, observe, learn, teach a little too and let your body and soul take you to the next place is simply mind-blowing and we think that this is probably why more and more people are falling for it.

Lately the world feels faster and less personal and bikes of all sorts slow it down and bring it back closer to you. So close that you see it, feel it and sense it every minute of every day. When you travel by car, for example, it’s easy to forget about the importance of the tarmac and it never seems that dangerous. On your bike, when you look down, you are constantly reminded of its presence, importance (oh when you hit that gravel or muddy path…) and also of its lethality by being only a few centimetres away at all times.

Aurelie and Marco are cycling from Helsinki to Singapore and fundraising for two bycicle related associations.

To find out more: 421adventure.wordpress.com or @421Adventure on Instagram, Facebook and YouTube

As cyclists, we strive for that feeling of self-worth which can only be obtained with sweat and pain. Continuously we challenge ourselves subconsciously and only become aware of this once the summit is reached or the border crossed. The feeling of pedalling into triple digits kilometres and then into four digits is undescribable. Shall I try to put into words crossing the 10.000 kilometres “line”?

“A question that we have often asked ourselves is “why not earlier?” and the answer is always simple; we just weren’t ready. ”

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HELSINKI TO SINGAPORE

As for the tourism side of it, well, when you travel this way you often feel privileged by getting to see lots of “behind the scenes” places and stumbling upon local spots that you would otherwise miss or oversee.

My wife and I have the habit of overusing the expression “better than a 5 stars hotel” any time we found a tremendous spot for our tent (especially if it’s near a picnic table or better still, toilets!) or are being hosted by a fabulous stranger in an unselfish act of humanitarianism.

Speaking to non-cyclists we often receive tips about such and such spot and, whenever possible, we try to follow them. However, over time, we have learned that these recommendations are seldom what we are really looking for and have since become aware of what they might lead to; mass tourism and huge disappointments. Similarly to seeking owe in personal achievements, we often feel privileged by seeing beauty on the roadside or finding a particular stretch of road beautiful. Hence the need to have the camera inside the handlebar bag; the view will never be the same again and it’s important to take the picture just after that road sign and not a second before. Another advantage of cycling; it’s so easy to stop just for a sec!

But by far the best aspect of dropping it all and just travel is having the time.

The second great realization is that, in fact, that’s all we have in life, time, and when you don’t have to be back anywhere in a week or a fortnight and you know that you have no alarms and no hurry then even people watching becomes the greatest thing ever!

As we move through villages and towns we are seen and observed and we are aware of that. Perhaps this is why we subconsciously try to show the better side of ourselves. We are two-wheeled ambassadors of our countries and each and every time someone asks us where we are from we answer with pride and a smile as wide as the road itself.

For ages now bicycles have amazed people all over the world. It’s not the easiest way to travel but millions swear by it and it’s undeniably a fantastic way to see our planet and its inhabitants without filters; cyclists feel, see and smell first hand their surroundings and wish for nothing more than a good wind and another day to wake up and do it all again.

So let me ask you again, why not?

BIKE MAGAZINE 15

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16 BIKE MAGAZINE

CYCLING ROUTE

6 AMAZING CYCLING ROUTES

FOR 2019 The euphoric sense of achievement that comes from crossing the finish line of a challenging bike race or route is hard to beat, especially when it’s situated in one of the world’s most scenic locations. But which challenge should you take on and where?

Here’s six amazing cycling routes to add to your bucket list for 2019

BIKE MAGAZINE 17

CYCLING ROUTE

France: Alpe d’Huez, Megavalanche Race 8th-14th July 2019 Unlike most time trial enduro races, this legendary run is all about surviving the exhilarating, snow -drenched, downhill run to cross the finish line before anyone else, and there’s plenty of competition.

Last year more than 2000 mountain bikers took on this challenging 2600m descent from the Pic Blanc summit to the Allemont valley, racing through alpine forest, over snowy plains and past perilous drops and obstacles.

If you’ve got the riding skill, stamina and nerves of steel required to take it on, it’s the race of a lifetime.

Canada: Whistler Mountain Bike Park May to October depending on weather conditions in each run Home to four distinct mountainside zones and one indoor training facility, Whistler Mountain Bike Park caters for every kind of mountain biker.

Among each zone, newbies and pros alike can find a track to satisfy the need for adventure and adrenalin. For the ultimate bucket list experience, take a scenic ride up to the fully, liftserviced peak at 4900m and then race down over 80km of descents lined with jumps, berms, roots and rocks.

Italy: Pila Bike Park June to September depending on weather conditions This bike park located in the heart of the Italian Alps is the reserve of skiers and snowboarders during the winter but when the snow leaves, bikers arrive to take on the variety of downhill, freeride and stadium routes.

Experienced riders should take a moment to enjoy the breathtaking view from the peak of the Desarpa track at 2100m because once you set-off, your eyes need to stay focussed on the route.

During the 15km descent, you’ll have to navigate the turns, berms, obstacles and wildlife that lines the route through stretches of dense Alpine forest and open countryside.

18 BIKE MAGAZINE

CYCLING ROUTE

France: Mont Ventoux for Race or Recreation Riders Anytime but conditions are best between May and October Mont Ventoux is notorious. For race and recreational riders alike it presents a real challenge but the euphoric payoff makes the pain of overcoming it totally worth it.

Known mostly for featuring as a gruelling stage in the Tour de France, Mont Ventoux offers cyclists three paved routes of varied difficulty to reach the summit. No matter how experienced or fit you are, climbing the mixed gradient straights and bends to reach the peak requires stamina and determination.

Italy: Granfondo Stelvio Santini Race 2nd June 2019 If you only take on one competitive road race in your lifetime, let this be it. Three uphill courses ranging from the short, 60km (1950m) route to the punishing 151.3km (4058m) ascent all offer outstanding scenery and the opportunity to test your skill, stamina and speed against other riders in this legendary race.

England: Fred Whitton Challenge 12th May 2019 This time-trial road race through the towns and countryside of Cumbria is so popular that entrants are often selected by ballot so apply early if you want to compete.

Taking a circular route from Grasmere, this challenging 112 mile course takes you through Keswick, Ennerdale and Eskdale on to the Hardknott and Wrynose passes which, individually, are worthy of a spot on anyone’s bucket list on their own, before returning to the start.

With a combination of perilously steep inclines and descents, hairpin sequences, unstable road surfacing and open flats, the Fred Whitton Challenge can be both intensely painful and intensely exhilarating.

BIKE MAGAZINE 19

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20 BIKE MAGAZINE

EBIKES

HOW TO BUY THE BEST ELECTRIC BICYCLES We look at how e-bikes work, how much they cost and how far they’ll take you.

Need an extra push to get on a bike?

There are many reasons you may prefer an electric bicycle to a pedal-powered model.

Why would I want an electric bicycle?

You live in a hilly area.

You’re not all that fit or you have limited mobility.

You want to be able to take off more easily from an intersection.

You want to keep up with traffic and other cyclists.

You don’t want to get all sweaty – particularly if your workplace doesn’t have shower facilities.

How do electric bikes work?

Most electric bikes work by assisting your pedal movement as you are riding – so you still have to do at least some of the grunt work.

The motor cuts in when your speed drops below a certain level, giving you that little extra push. You won’t get pedal-assist beyond about 18mph.

Some electric bikes have a throttle, so you don’t have to pedal at all, and some have both throttle and pedal assist.

How much do electric bikes cost?

Whether you use a conversion kit to turn your current bike into an electric version or buy an electric bike ready-made, you’re going to end up with a heavier-than-average set of wheels – up to 27kg for a ready-made bicycle.

How long does the battery last and how far will they get me?

Most electric bikes have lithium-ion battery packs with 8Ah-14Ah capacity, and voltage from 24V-36V. They range from 200W-250W – you need a licence for anything more powerful.

Electric bikes only get you so far before needing a recharge. Some claim a limit of 20 miles, while others claim up to a more impressive 60 miles between charges. Most give a broad claim because it depends on a number of variables.

As a general guide: A 36V 10Ah battery (360Wh), which is a very common capacity for an electric bike, will take you 30 miles using the highest level of assistance or 60 miles using the lowest level of assistance.

A 36V 9Ah battery (324Wh) will provide about 20-60miles.

Electric bikes aren’t cheap. They range from £995 for a conversion kit for your existing bike to more than £3000 for a ready-made cycle with all the trimmings such as lights, racks and panniers. They generally come with guards for wheels and the chain, making bike commuting a cleaner prospect.

A 36V 14Ah battery (504Wh) should take you 30-70miles.

How much do electric bicycles weigh?

You can expect the batteries to last for about

Hills, headwinds and carrying a lot of weight drain the battery further, and using a throttle drains the battery more quickly than a pedalassist system does.

BIKE MAGAZINE 21

EBIKES

500 charges, and replacements cost between £395 and £550.

Typical recharge time is four to six hours. If you charge only partially, this does not count as a full recharge but a fraction of a full charge.

Check the manual for proper battery charge maintenance.

Size While electric bikes are gaining traction in the cycle market, there are some height limitations. Taller riders may find their choices limited.

What to look for in an electric bike If you’re thinking of buying an electric bike, most of the tips in our bicycle buying guide will still be useful to you. It’s also worth taking the following features into consideration: Front hub motor This means easier maintenance if you need to remove the wheel for a puncture. Rear hub motors can be quite complex for maintenance.

Higher watt motor This means more torque or take-off potential from a standing start. All will be set from 200250W for legal reasons, but a 350W motor limited to 250W will give greater torque than a 250W motor.

Throttle A throttle is useful if you want to take a break from pedalling or need help taking off from a standing start. However, this drains the battery faster than just pedal-assist. A combination of throttle capability and pedal-assist may be best.

Weight Electric bikes are heavy – up to 27kg because of that battery. Remember to take this into account, because if you need to push it after a puncture or you run out of charge on a big hill – you’ll be pushing a lot of weight.

Tyres Puncture-resistant tyres will save you from having to change as many flats – a particular hassle if you have a rear hub motor or if you struggle with the weight of the bike.

Accessories A helmet is a legal requirement when riding a bicycle of any kind. Lights, hi-visibility clothing, locks, a pump, mudguards, a chain guard, racks and panniers are extras worth considering, although remember they all add weight.

22 BIKE MAGAZINE

CYCLING MIRROR

THE MIRROR

THAT CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE Jamais Contente (Never Happy): the name of the car that, way back in 1899, was the first to go at 100 km/h. This name could also describe Carlo Dondo (1942): he is never entirely satisfied with his creations; his first thoughts are how he can improve them and simultaneously invent something new and useful.

Being an inventor is not a job but a state of mind, a kind of virus that gets into your bloodstream as a child and that Carlo soon learned to recognise and take advantage of amid the one thousand and one necessities and surprises of everyday life. Finding in Switzerland a more receptive and productive base than in Italy, which he left when he was just sixteen years old.

The idea of the drop bar mirrors came from a traumatic experience of Carlo Dondo after two serious accidents on his custom made racing bike. Two accidents that could have been avoided if only he hadn’t had to turn around to check the traffic behind him. His innate passion for cycling urged him to find a solution suitable for all road bike enthusiasts.

N SAVE YOUR LIFE

ack in ribe ons; sly

hat d to one a hen

ce of ing

The license plate device Carlo invented in 1984, for which he won his first Silver and Gold medals in Geneva and Brussels, was already a consolidated business at the end of the last millennium, so much so that a few years after selling his business to a third party he started to focus on and improve every aspect of the product range that embodies his entrepreneurial philosophy: the Sprintech® Racing drop bar mirror for racing bicycles and the Sprintech® City for MTB were born. Just as had happened for the license plate device, when the drop bar mirrors were presented at the Innovation Exhibition in Martigny in Switzerland in 1996 they won the second prize for Innovation and in 2012 the Gold Medal at the

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n his first Silver and Gold medals in Geneva and ast millennium, so much so that a few years

International Invention Exhibitions in Brussels and Geneva.

Today the Sprintech® mirrors have earned the reputation among cyclists as the best in the industry. When other brands rattle and spin out of position, Sprintech® mirrors hold true. Riders value the superior quality of these products thanks to their sleek design and ease of fitting. Last but not least, the mirrors are unobtrusive, adjustable and secure positioning when riding over cobbles or bumps. Once used, you will wonder how you navigated the roads without a mirror!

SEEING WELL is only the first half of safety. The second is BEING SEEN. Carlo understood this early on and, between one ride and another, he began to reflect on this. Something that would ALWAYS be visible while riding, especially for the biggest threat to cyclists: the car behind them.

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BIKE BIKE MAGAZINE MAGAZINE 23 21

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and SPRINTEC city bikes and invented and p the Innovation invented andfrom presented at the Innovation The idea of the drop bar mirrors came two in Martigny, S traumatic experiencesExhibition of Carlo Dondo.

Two in 1996 where in Martigny, Switzerland serious accidents on his tailor made racing bike. the prize for I in have 1996 where they won the prize for and in 2012 at t Two accidents that could been avoided if only he hadn’t had to Innovation turn his head to check and in 2012 at the BrusselsInternational E the traffic behind him. His innate passion for Belgium wher International Exhibition in Belgium where the gold m bicycles urges him to find a solution suitable for all racing bicycle enthusiasts him.the gold medal. they like won

for racing bikes and SPRINTECH®

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CITYoffor city bikes and74MTB were They are all original creations Carlo Dondo, cyclist, years old.

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IRELAND

eBIKE THROUGH IRELAND

by Eileen and Seamus Gibbons

Co Leitrim, located in the North West of Ireland has a landscape dotted with hills and valleys and is surrounded by mountains and lakes.

There is a myriad of quiet country roads and lanes in this sparsely populated County that is ideal for either the cycling enthusiast or those who wants to escape the maddening crowd and rejuvenate the body and soul.

Seamus and Eileen from Electric Bike Trails realised this fact and started a bike hire business in their native Leitrim Village in 2012. Leitrim Village is located in the heart of the Shannon Blueway with canal pathways going north and east from the village, as well as being on the banks of the magnificent River Shannon. The network of canals built in the 1900s for boat navigation are now being recognised and developed as a hive of outdoor adventure activity from stand up paddling, canoeing, kayaking to walking and cycling along the banks.

Electric Bike Trails, as the name suggests, have seen the real potential for cycling for everybody with the provision of electric bike hire. We use the German brand Kalkhoff Electric Bikes which have proven to take people over the toughest mountain ranges without any real effort. You do have to pedal all the time but these fantastic bikes kick in with the motor sensor and give you a boost of power when you feel

you need it. With these bikes cycling is no longer an activity for the super fit. Electric Bike Trails also stock a large range of regular hybrid bikes, children’s bikes, child carts and child seats and even a few tandems for a real laugh as you try to synchronise your pedalling with that of your partner. The service we provide includes all the cycling equipment such as helmets, hi-vis vests, pannier bags, bike locks as well as specially selected trail maps to allow you to self-guide with ease.

The cycle trails vary from easy cycles along the canal banks, ideal for families with small children, to longer distances from 15 km to 65 km. One of our most popular trails is across Kilronan Mountain and Arigna Mountain to the highly-acclaimed Arigna Mining Experience where you get to marvel at the panoramic views over Lough Allen and Sliabh an Iarainn (The Iron Mountain), as well as taking an underground tour of the old Arigna Mines with an ex-miner

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IRELAND

as a guide. There is a mining museum and a coffee shop to fritter away another hour or two before you hop on board your bike for the mostly downhill cycle back to base. This 36 km ride can be enjoyed at your ease over the course of a day with a detour to see the River Shannon as it flows from Lough Allen at the hydrometric dam at Bellantra Bridge, with a picturesque return along the Shannon Blueway to Leitrim Village.

Other day tours include a short cycle around the Fairy Hill (Sheemore) which is renowned for its stories of fairies having a massive battle between the hills of Sheemore and Sheebeg, hills made famous in a tune by Turlough O Carolan, the blind harper that wandered the lands of Leitrim in the 18th Century. If you are feeling really energetic you can cycle in the path of legends as you cross over Sliabh an Iarainn, the home of Tuatha De Danann. They were reputedly a race of small dark people who fled into the

“If you are feeling really energetic you can cycle in the path of legends�

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more inaccessible regions of the country.

It is supposedly from these battle shy little people that the myth of fairies and leprechauns emanated. This tour is best taken as a guided tour with a freshlyprepared picnic lunch at a hidden waterfall location.

Here at Electric Bike Trails we like to provide you with a great cycling experience that will have you raving about the beauty and hospitality of the area. Whether it’s good food, traditional Irish heritage or the best of local culture you are interested in Electric Bike Trails have it all here in abundance. We will give you loads of tips to make your trip a memorable experience. Back up transport is available if required so no need to worry about a thing. We also offer bike delivery to local accommodation.

Apart from day hire there are two to eight day tours available. There is a Castle to Castle tour where you stay at the four star Kilronan Castle Estate and Spa Hotel and Lough Rynn Castle and Gardens Hotel, cycle through the heart of Co Leitrim and Electric Bike Trails will take care of your luggage.

There’s a three day Shannon Highlands Tour including glamping accommodation in a Yurt at Pink Apple Orchard overlooking Lough Allen. For the more experienced cyclist there is an eight day Lakelands to Wild Atlantic Way Tour with B&B accommodation and luggage transfer.

Electric Bike Trails also have a bike hire base at Lough Key Forest and Activity Park, Boyle Co Roscommon. There is an eight km traffic free cycle path through natural woodland to enjoy which is very popular for a family fun cycle. Bikes can be hired by the hour during the spring/summer season from Easter to the end of September.

For more details on the tours see http://www.electricbiketrails.com info@electricbiketrails.com or 00353 (0)87 7386439.

BIKE MAGAZINE 27

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28 BIKE MAGAZINE

CYCLING THE WEST CORNWALL LOOP Think of Cornwall located on a peninsula tumbling into the vast Atlantic Ocean and scenic fishing villages, sweeping expanses of golden beaches and blue waters spring to mind.

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CORNWALL

Head to the far west of the county and you’ll find Cornwall at its most rural and rugged – as its most native may say. A large part of the peninsula here was once an island, and even though nowadays joined to the mainland, a feeling of individuality remains. Heathland covers the granite outcrops and the area is scattered with remnants of an incredibly ancient heritage. As you slip off the edge of the map into rocky gorges where tiny fishing villages face a wild ocean it’s as if you have slipped off the edge of time where Cornwall reveals its most individual and captivating side.

The coastal and serene ingredients make for perfect cycling conditions.

Throw in more than a fair few undulating hills and hairpin bends and it starts to get interesting. This is where 2016 JLT-Condor signing, Steve Lampier, comes to train on the West Cornwall Loop, popular with local cyclists and part of the Land’s End 100. This 100 mile sportive takes place in October each year and tours some of the most picturesque parts of Cornwall.

Starting out in the ancient market town of Marazion the route heads to the UK’s most southerly point, the Lizard Peninsula, and then cuts across Cornwall to the north coast. It then follows coastal roads with breathtaking views out to sea to the most westerly point, Land’s End, before heading back to Marazion.

What to see and do along the way…

St Michael’s Mount Just off the coast of Marazion, this iconic landmark rises dramatically from the bay. A former Benedictine Priory, here lies thousands of years of incredible history brought to life with a tour of the medieval castle which is still home to a modern family. www.stmichaelsmount.co.uk The Lizard The rare geology of the area creates a haven for exceptional plants and flowers. Around the coastline you’ll find little fishing ports with huge granite sea walls to protect from the Atlantic gales and gorgeous sandy bays with jagged black rocks jutting out in to the sea.

Eat Grab a window seat with

uninterrupted harbour views at Rick Stein’s Porthleven outcrop. Here the freshest of local seafood comes with an international kick inspired by Rick Stein’s travels. https://www.rickstein. com/eat-with-us/porthleven/ Do Visit the Lizard Lighthouse and find out more about maritime history in the visitor centre and enjoy the views from the top of the lighthouse. http://www.trinityhouse.co.uk/ lighthouses/lighthouse_list/lizard. html St Ives A picturesque fishing village with an artistic flair. Follow the winding streets to the town centre which surrounds a scenic harbour and explore St Ives’ warren of back streets which hide a mixture of galleries, cafes and stylish art stores. You will stumble across many working artists taking inspiration from the surroundings and making the most of the quality of natural light.

Eat Call into one of the many Cornish pasty shops lining the harbour and enjoy a taste of Cornwall’s finest export with sand between your toes on the beach – just watch out for the seagulls who find pasties rather hard to resist!

Do Explore Tate St Ives sitting in a spectacular gallery overlooking the Blue Flag beach of Porthmeor.

The Cornish branch of this national art museum lives up to its city counterparts epitomising why St Ives is a mecca for worldwide acclaimed artists. www.tate.org.uk/stives/ St Just Mining District Much of the stretch of coast between St Ives and Land’s End has been bestowed World Heritage Site status for its mining history. Head underground for a tour of Geevor Tin Mine or visit Levant Mine to experience the landscape made famous by BBC’s Poldark series. www.geevor.com www.nationaltrust.org.uk/levantmine-and-beam-engine

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Land’s End The most westerley point of Cornwall famous for its unique location and stunning scenery.

Get a photo under the iconic Land’s End signpost and be inspired by the End to End interactive tribute to the adventurers who have made the remarkable journey from Land’s End to John O’Groats (or vice versa) covering the entire length of Great Britain. www.landsend-landmark.co.uk Eat A favourite pit stop for cyclists is the Apple Tree Café just a stones throw from Land’s End. Refuel with a Cornish Cream Tea or a handmade lunch. www.theappletreecafe.co.uk Porthcurno With gorgeous fine soft white sand washed by a sea that turns turquoise in the sun and high cliffs on both sides providing shelter, Porthcurno is an oasis of stunning natural beauty Do Visit Minack Theatre, the most famous cliff side theatre in Britain, and enjoy a performance under the stars. Call into the Telegraph Museum to discover Cornwall’s hidden communication history and the role Porthcurno played in connecting Britain to the world. www.minack.com www.porthcurno.org.uk Cycle-friendly places to stay BIKE Directory http://www.bike-mag.com/directory/

BIKE MAGAZINE 31

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LEJOG

Anna Hughes

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LEJOG

LAND’S END TO JOHN O’GROATS A nation-long, bicycle book Tour by Anna Hughes The journey from Land’s End to John O’Groats is a well-ridden one; thousands of cyclists ride this route every year, many for charity, some simply for the challenge, and they ride in all guises, fully supported, fully laden, in groups, solo, lightweight, cargo bikes, Bromptons. This September, it was my turn. I decided I would take on the famous route as a book tour, promoting my book Eat, Sleep, Cycle about my ride four years previously around the coast of Britain.

It’s roughly 1000 miles from end to end, and I would take my time, spending the whole month making my way up the middle of Britain, giving talks and selling my book in each of the places I passed through. The pedalling pedlar.

The trip was planned meticulously, with an event to be held in almost every stopping point: twenty events in total. I had spent two months planning and confirming and promoting the events, leaving nothing to chance. I had booked a sleeper

continued

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LEJOG

train to Penzance, dusted off my old touring bike, and packed everything I would need into my panniers. I wanted a nice outfit each night for the talks, so the idea was to buy a dress in a charity shop in each location and donate it to another the next day. I had sourced a huge pile of vegan snacks from Riverbank Bakery as I knew that these would be hard to come by in the far reaches of the UK. Everything was set. Then, four days prior to departure, I received a phone call telling me my train to Penzance had been cancelled, and the following day, I dropped a D lock on my foot and broke my toe.

A few frantic phone calls to doctors and train companies later, I was on my way, toe strapped up, limping to the start line at Land’s End. A large crowd of cyclists was there, ready for their End to End ride, with their lycra, their road bikes, and their luggage safely stowed in the support van. “Are you riding to John O’Groats?” they asked.

“With all that stuff? Rather you than me!” I smiled with false confidence, but quietly I worried. Would I be able to ride with my broken toe? What if no one came to my events? Where would I stay? Would I be able to stick to my vegan diet? How would I manage the hills?

But, once the cycling had started, none of that mattered. Yes, the hills were tough, very tough in fact, much tougher than I had remembered. The last time I was there had been eight weeks into my round-the-coast journey, with eight weeks of hill-climbing practice behind me. This time, I had no practice, just determination and the vague notion that I should keep on pushing.

But I learned to climb them again, my muscles gradually adapting to life back in the saddle, and with that I remembered the beauty of cycle touring, the simplicity and freedom of keeping the pedals turning. Niggles iron themselves out. “What did I need to know that the road wouldn’t teach me?” I ask in my book, and there I was, discovering what it meant all over again.

I quickly settled into my routine. I would wake in my tent, pack my simple belongings onto my bike, and set off in search of breakfast. I would ride between forty and fifty miles to my destination, find the venue for the event, find an outfit, await my audience, and start talking. I spoke in cycle cafes, bookshops and church

halls. Some nights I spoke to sell out audiences, some to just a handful of people. Once I had a surprise visit from two of my hosts from the round-Britain trip. Each evening people would thank me for inspiring them to explore Britain more - exactly the purpose of having written the book and taken it on tour in the first place.

“What was the best part?” It’s a common question, and one almost impossible to answer. Certain points stick in my mind. A wrong turning just five miles from Land’s End saw me reaching a dead end at Lamorna Cove, so instead of grumbling I went swimming. There’s something magical about swimming in the sea, something I had wanted to do daily when cycling round the coast trip but hadn’t managed to, so it was an utter pleasure to find that cove and take the time to go for a dip. It was followed with a swim off Plymouth Hoe the next day, and one in the River Dart the next. After my Truro event I had my first UK ‘wild’ camping experience, in the grounds of a National Trust property which had closed for the night, where I arrived after dark, with no clue of the view that might greet me in the morning, only knowing I was pitched beside a river for the flashing of navigation buoys in the darkness. I awoke to the mist rising through the trees and the quiet co-cooing of wood pigeons.

On day six I picked up an old railway trail, the Strawberry Line, just outside Wells. This marked the start of around 30 miles of traffic-free cycling, followed as it was by the Colliers Way, then the Two Tunnels Greenway, on the old trackbed of the Somerset and Dorset railway which passes beneath the huge hills at Combe Down and Lyncombe on its way to Bath. Approaching the tunnel entrance was daunting - at over a mile long, the Combe Down tunnel is the longest cycling and walking tunnel in the UK - but lights throughout and a music installation partway through made it a pleasant, if eerie, experience.

Then onwards along the Bristol-Bath railway path: the old Midland railway along which horses had once pulled coal carts. These were the remnants of the railways that were closed in the 1960s by a certain Dr. Beeching when they ceased to be profitable.

When the axe fell, a group of Sustrans volunteers began work to convert the Bath to Bristol trail into a shared-use path for cyclists and walkers - the very

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first route on what was to become the National Cycle Network.

The ride from Bristol was a particular highlight, along the Avon gorge and beneath the iconic Clifton Suspension Bridge to Avonmouth, where the vista opened up to reveal the wide waters of the Severn and the two Severn bridges striding across from England to Wales.

The suspension bridge has a separate track for cyclists so it was this that I crossed, marvelling at the sunlight on the waters below, the views down the estuary, and the feat of engineering that allowed me to soar so high above the river. From there I continued northwards, criss-crossing between England and Wales through Tintern and Monmouth along the luscious Wye valley.

Each place had something remarkable about it: Hereford’s lovely cathedral, the winding River Severn in Shrewsbury, the Tudor buildings in Chester, the Transpennine Trail that led me traffic free almost all of the way from Warrington into the centre of Manchester. While rain poured down in London, I pedalled from Lancaster into the Lake District under a piercing blue sky. I rode at the foot of slopes with peaks of light brown and grey, the green fields below spotted with a scattering of grazing sheep and a grey scribbling of stone walls. Past Windermere, Rydale, Grasmere, Thirlmere and Derwent Water, the road undulated along the water’s edge, an utterly spectacular panorama of peaks lining the view on all sides.

From Bassenthwaite Lake it was an ascent of several hours to the Uldale Commons, that wild, rugged landscape where the wind roams freely and sheep wander across the path, then a ten mile descent into Carlisle.

I passed into Scotland at Gretna Green, in almost the exact spot that I’d left the country on the round-Britain trip.

That border crossing had been so significant, my time in Scotland having shaped so much of my journey, a place where I had gone from touring novice to confident traveller. So it was wonderful to be back, to explore some more of this country, and it didn’t disappoint: Scotland is fabulous for cycling. From the busy metropolis of Glasgow to the bonnie banks of Loch Lomond, to the spectacular pass of Glencoe and up the Great Glen Way, I relished each mile, the lowlands gradually building towards

wild mountain passes and thrilling descents. I camped in Fort William and Lairg and finally Thurso, pitching up after dark right next to the bay, where the sound of the waves on the rocks lulled me to sleep. I awoke to see the sun rise over the water, then I was off for the final miles to John O’Groats, and a long-awaited detour to Dunnet Head.

Dunnet Head was one compass point that I’d by-passed on the round-Britain trip, not having had the chance to ride to the tip of the peninsula then, the most northerly point of mainland Britain. But here I was, striking out across the windswept farmland, the sun at my back, each pedal stroke overflowing with excitement to finally be there. I knew what I’d find: one of Stevenson’s lighthouses sitting squat near the edge of the cliff, and a headstone letting me know that I was as far north as I could possibly be. And there it was, exactly as I had imagined, predictable yet extraordinary, with a breathtakingly clear view of Orkney across a rich blue sea.

The approach to John O’Groats was less euphoric - exhaustion had begun to set in and the road seemed never ending, each village that came and went a teasing prelude to that which would signal the end of my journey.

But eventually it came, and down to the water’s edge I went, to where the famous signpost stood pointing all that way back to Land’s End. I had my photograph taken then sat in the tea rooms eating my soup, feeling something of an anti-climax. That was it. All over. This point had been in my mind since day one, whenever anyone has asked where I was riding, whenever I wrote my blog or arrived at a venue with one of my posters displayed on the door: “Anna Hughes is riding from Land’s End to John O’Groats!” Well, I was, but not anymore.

Now what?

And so it is with long trips, the jumble of emotions that comes at the end, the exhaustion, the elation, the glow of achievement, the sadness that it’s all over, the quiet gloom of returning to real life. One of my motivations for cycling around Britain was to discover the extraordinary in the ordinary, to discover the unfamiliar in a place that was quite familiar. And the same was true of this trip, to have a wonderful adventure without leaving home. I think I achieved it.

BIKE MAGAZINE 37

Eat, Sleep, Ride, Repeat.

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OREGON

OREGON: BIG CYCLING Text by Neil Wheadon

> Neil Wheadon

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OREGON

Worldwide bicycle touring for many brings images of South East Asia or New Zealand, however North America remains off the radar for many considering a cycling holiday. Now consider that with no language barrier, familiar food and fabulous cycling, it’s a destination that once discovered is hard to beat.

Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest, has made huge efforts over the past ten years to become a cycle friendly State, so much so that Portland has become almost revered amongst American cyclists as a fabulous example of what can be done. In the winter of 2014 I put a tour together with Cycle Oregon for a nineteen-day tour of the western part of the State. As a result, eleven of us flew in on a warm September day to be met by Chris who runs the appropriately named ‘Bike Friendly Guest House’, complete with a fully tooled up workshop making bicycle re-assembly a piece of cake.

Exiting Portland along blissfully quiet roads we crossed Cascade Bridge and headed northwest to join the Banks Vernonia cyclepath. Built in the 1920s to transport lumbar, it was Oregon’s first “rails to trails” project and provided 21 miles of tarmacked bliss through the Douglas Firs.

Arriving at an isolated bed and breakfast north of Vernonia, our host Glen explained with a smile that due to trees and fire risks, the fire department required them to have a 5000 gallon pond on hand; rather than have a stagnant pond in the garden he’d plumbed in the hot tub which was much enjoyed by everyone. Dinner was a feast of ribs, pasta salad followed by apple crunch all washed down with a glass of wine from a local winery.

Morning arrived and it was pretty obvious that our hosts were having as much fun as we were. Glen reminisced about his long lost Peugeot PX-10 bike and Sandy snapped away with the camera, so rather than the planned 09:00 start we got away an hour later - but isn’t this half the fun of cycle touring?

We were immediately greeted by great tarmac, a flat road and the logging trucks. Logging is big in these parts, which sounds worrying.

However they are great drivers, always overtaking with metres to spare, so far from intimidating. We were travelling through an unpopulated land. Even the elk at the elk viewing area had disappeared, houses were few and far between, and other than the views, there were few distractions. If you stopped awhile and let the ticking of the freewheel cease, the silence was amazing.

Food stops are a reflection of local life and needs, giving a real flavour of the area.

Country music blared out, car parks were littered with huge pickups and Red Dodge cars with vast exhausts. Inside more clues; chainsaws and stuffed animals decorated the walls and the TV tuned to the hunting channel: yes we were in ‘real men territory.’

You could hear them from the road as we turned along 38th street. The sea lions of Astoria marked the start of four days down the Pacific Coast. Hundreds had taken over a set of jetties, splashing about in the morning sun, creating quite a sight. Under the enormous Columbia River Bridge - akin to a giant Meccano kit - to arrive at the coast near Seaside, courtesy of the 1.5 mile long boulevard that runs next to the beach. All, thanks to Oswald West, the14th Governor

“As far as the eye could see there were blackened rocks of all sizes. ‘It’s like the moon up there,’ I’d been told, and NASA must have agreed when four astronauts trained here in the 1960s” of Oregon in the early 20th century, who declared that all coastline up to high tide is public land, and so the terrific view of the coast at Oswald State Park at the top of a long climb was worth every pedal stroke and testament to his vision.

In parts, the ride hugged the coast tightly, past herons, cormorants and pelicans. Were we really in Oregon or Florida? The roads varied between super quiet and reasonably busy as the road southwards alternated between quiet roads and route101. However, with over 10,000 cyclists a year doing this ride, shoulders were wide on the busy bits due to good planning.

At Depoe Bay we spotted the spouts of grey whales as they migrated from Alaska to Baha peninsula, learning that in the summer 90 reside here and are unique in filtering sea floor sediment for food. It was here that we met a round the world cyclist from Oxford. He’d bought a bike two months before his trip and

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after fifteen months had traversed Russia through to Japan. Now heading down the West coast, he was due to finish his trip in Panama.

It wasn’t just the sea views that entertained us. At Heceta Head, the state acquired the lighthouse which had been built in 1894 and are the process of renovation to bring it back to the standard to which the keepers kept it all those years ago.

The only hiccup was a volunteer overpolishing the original English lens and managing to push out the central section of one of the prisms: $25,000 later, it’s thankfully been repaired.

North America’s largest sea cave was passed, filled with sea lions and for $12 you could take a lift down and say hello to our flippered friends. So it went on, fantastic vistas, ascents and descents in the company of other cyclists heading south. The most remarkable was a guy riding a road bike with an enormous backpack heading for Brazil!

Waving farewell to the coast with one last fabulous view, it was inland to Florence before finishing the coastal section at Reedsport.

The next phase of this remarkable State was the Cascade Mountains.

Stretching from Southern Canada to Northern California, and we had to get over them. We headed east along route 38, then along Umpqua River scenic drive as it snaked through the forest. Roosevelt Elk are the largest mammal in Oregon and they so enjoy the meadow grass in the valley that they stay put and a scenic turn off has been built. The pace had changed; gone was the frenetic coast, replaced by a backcountry life as we headed eastwards.

Beep went the waffle iron. Breakfast is big in the States in all senses of the word. Pancakes, oatmeal and coffee were the favourites and they would fuel us up for another glorious day through the mountains. Onto the “Row River Trail”, at 16 miles one of an increasing number of rails to trails projects in the USA. ‘You guys are awesome’ cried an American lady as she realised where we were going and joined us down the trail on her bike, guiding us past the covered bridges that are a feature of the area.

Ascending towards Oakridge, the road paralleled a small river, quiet and

peaceful. I’d expected a few logging trucks but we were passed by only two cars all day. There were plenty of facilities, campsites and toilets and all the time we slowly plodded upwards, topped the climb and descended to our motel for the night where the English manager had written “Welcoming United Kingdom cyclists” on the board outside: a lovely touch.

Onwards to the McKenzie Valley where the hot pools were enticing and we enjoyed a dip in pools at a barmy 104 Fahrenheit surrounded by folks in all varying degrees of undress.

‘I’ve been here all summer’ said the resident naturist and went on to explain that the water came from the cave at the top into which he dared not enter.

The McKenzie pass is one of Oregon’s classic rides and for us, the last day over the Cascades. It’s a scenic byway as the moss covered sign proudly told us with the added bonus that trucks were banned. Rain started to fall, passing the 2000 foot then 3000 foot marker with the rain continuing and no let-up in the gradient, it became harder and colder.

We weren’t quite as cold as John Templeton Craig who froze to death delivering mail in 1877, but passing his memorial and grave, it was starting to feel like it. Never mind onwards and upwards, a change was in the offing and at just under 5000 foot it flattened and we were able to speed along skipping the puddles as we passed prairie flats. Then suddenly the most incredible change took place as we entered a lava field. As far as the eye could see there were blackened rocks of all sizes. ‘It’s like the moon up there,’ I’d been told, and NASA must have agreed when four astronauts trained here in the 1960s.

As the rain fell harder and the wind blew stronger we reached the top and piled into the Dee Wright Observatory, a shelter built out of lava in 1935.

Mercifully the sun came out shortly afterwards as we descended 12 miles for a rest day at Sisters, named after the two mountains that glowered from above.

The sun shone and so did the snowcapped mountains, with a dusting of snow from the night before, so good that even the locals were taking pictures. We’d conquered the Cascades and could now settle for endless plains and good agricultural

BIKE MAGAZINE 41

OREGON

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OREGON

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OREGON

land that the pioneers had striven so hard to acquire. Volcanic activity littered the area and at Smiths Rocks, it reached a crescendo. Ominously present is a series of enormous rocks fashioned by the wind from volcanic activity, now a Mecca for rock climbers with over a thousand possible climbs. Being an American park, the walk from the parking lot to the viewpoint wasn’t far at all, revealing the Crooked River that wound about at the base of several of the more impressive (and high) rock faces. The river led to another of nature’s fantastic attractions; Pallisades State Park. Making Cheddar Gorge look like a furrow made by a pointed stick, vertical walls hundreds of feet high enclosed a flooded valley.

From 1803 the first Europeans arrived in Oregon.

History tells us that Native Americans were shunted onto reservations and it was through Warm Springs Reservation that we now headed.

It was immediately obvious why this area had been chosen. It was dry, hilly and almost devoid of life, and for a people used to roaming the prairies it must have been devastating. To make a living today is tough in these places, so there was little aside from the two huge casinos built into the barren landscape.

The Deschutes River marks one of the reservation’s boundaries. In 1908 two railroads were built on either bank by two separate companies; one survived, the other didn’t.

The legacy - a lovely eight-mile ride along the riverbank, in the company of fly fishermen.

However the Native Americans had a far better idea. Instead of a rod, they simply built wooden platforms over the narrowest point and dipped a big net to catch the migrating salmon.

The last major climb of the holiday took us up Route 197 with a steady gradient of 6 % before descending into Dufur, home of the Dufur Pastime Saloon, a place where every conceivable wall was covered in Elk and deer heads, beer mirrors and sketches of Wild West stars.

The 197 wound its way south, but we chose to take the back roads through the freshly cut corn. As far as the eye could see was an ocean of yellow, with the occasional isolated farmstead on the horizon. Past abandoned houses and mill houses we went, before finally following a delightful valley towards Cascade Locks. From the quiet of the countryside, it was a rude introduction to the Columbia Valley.

The interstate roared as we rode an almost abandoned road just above it. Compare this to the UK, where it would have been a rat run. In the USA even though there are fewer roads, vehicles stick to the major roads and local knowledge of other roads can be zero. Comments like ‘I’ve never been along that road’ even though there may be only three roads into town are pretty common.

The final stage of our tour was a trip down the mighty Columbia River. With perfect timing the

Columbia Discovery Centre appeared on our right, beautifully illustrating the story of this historic area. What stood out for me was just how poorly the Native Americans were treated. 160 years ago Warm Springs Reservation had been set up, but the Native Americans had retained fishing on the Columbia utilising the rapids and waterfalls to catch the salmon. Along came white man, who set up fish wheels in the 1920s that industrially stripped out the salmon; the railway on both sides split villages in half; and then, as a final insult, Roosevelt in the 1930s dammed the river in several places to provide work and electricity. Result: no rapids, no fishing, and no meeting point for the tribes, so in 1957, the treaty was redrawn, compensating the Indians 27 million dollars in exchange for an almost complete loss of social life.

Back on the road again, we rode the King of Roads or historic Route 30 as it’s now called.

Running alongside the river, this engineering feat from 1915 must have been remarkable, and much was still in evidence. The glorious triple white wooden barriers instead of galvanised metal, stone arches lining water culverts, and the intricate use of concrete to create lovely bridge decorations. As the Model T Ford had limited horsepower like us, the gradients were gentle so all we had to do was find a low gear and spin away.

So proud of their road were our predecessors that they made a monument of certain points, so the climb to Rowena Crest was marked by a pull in and fabulous views east along the river. The engineering marvels continued at Mosier twin tunnels. Finished in 1921 after two years work they proved too narrow for the modern car, so were filled in after the interstate was built. In 1995 work started to reopen them and now they are a shared hiker/biker path.

Our last day and a different attraction; waterfalls.

‘The highest number of waterfalls in a State park,’ an advert proudly proclaimed. Wahclella and Horsetail falls came and went, then came the mother of all falls, Multnomah. This was so popular that it had its own gift shop, snack bar, and even its own birthday party a week ago; 100 years since a white man stared at the double waterfall taller than Niagra. Onwards and upwards, literally, as we climbed the perfect 5% grade to the aptly named Vista House. Here was sited a sandstone monument to the highway, a mix of gothic and art deco architecture that you could climb and admire the views eastwards along the Columbia River.

So the gorge had finished, the river long since tamed by dams in the 1930s had widened and the valley walls softened. The final part of our journey took us into Portland and back along the southern bank of the Columbia River courtesy of a bike path which seemed a fitting end to 19 days round this fantastic State.

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BUSINESS

HUNGRY, THIRSTY, ADVENTUROUS CYCLISTS HELP UK BUSINESSES Joanna Corfield of Sustrans on the beauty and benefits of the National Cycle Network

As any seasoned cyclist will tell you, one of the highlights of cycling in the UK is the pit stops you get to make along the way. From cream teas to fish and chips, pasties to deep-fried Mars Bars, these isles are full of tasty treats for hungry cyclists. These indulgences are your reward for a morning of hard pedalling, but it’s also a chance to take in your surroundings and experience some local culture. Many of the UK’s cycle routes pass by shops, pubs and cafes but they can also lead you to historic sites, churches, grand houses and museums. So keep one eye on the road and the other searching for stop-offs, because you never know what you might be whizzing past.

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BUSINESS

The National Cycle Network - a 14,000 mile network of traffic-free and quiet on-road cycling routes - passes by thousands of attractions. The routes are connected to National Trust properties, Woodland Trust sites, RSPB reserves and run through National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The Network is so well connected that more and more people are using it as a way of getting to attractions, and this increase in cycle tourism is benefiting local economies around the country.

It’s estimated that people who use the Network for holidays and day trips spend an average of £7 a day - although this figure is likely to be even higher for people who take cycling holidays.

Sustrans, which created the National Cycle Network twenty years ago, estimates that people cycling on the routes bring over £650 million to the UK economy each year. The charity’s research claims that the National Cycle Network directly support 15,262 full time equivalent jobs across the services industry, particularly in the food and drink sector where it supports over 10,000 jobs. This means that across the country, there are hundreds, if not thousands of businesses which are benefitting from new cycling routes.

In Worcester, a new bridge across the River Severn near Diglis Island opened up the city centre and riverside to cyclists. One example is the Diglis House Hotel, which has seen a 20% increase in their bar and restaurant sales since the route opened. Steve Pirone, who is the General Manager at the hotel, said: “The riverside is a very important part of the tourism industry in Worcester but until the bridge was built there was no way for people on bikes or on foot to get from one side to the other. As a result of the bridge being built we have experienced a real benefit and I’m sure other businesses near the route have seen an increase in business too.”

Meanwhile, in North Yorkshire, Fountains Abbey is also experiencing the benefit of welcoming cyclists through their doors, thanks to the Abbey’s position next to the Way of the Roses route. The Abbey, a National Trust property and UNESCO World Heritage site, sees up to 170 cyclists a day passing through on summer weekends. The Trust estimate that 35 per cent of the passing cyclists stop and spend on average £3.50 in their café, that’s nearly £20,000 of additional income each year.

Alexa Morton, Visitor Experience & Marketing Manager, said: “We’ve always been happy to welcome cyclists to Fountains but since we were included on the ‘Way of the Roses’ route in 2010, we’ve seen an unprecedented increase in the number of people arriving at the Abbey on two wheels. The impact has been threefold: cycling has reduced pressure on our car parking facilities; it’s helped to reduce traffic and pollution around the site; finally it has increased the café’s income - because cyclists are always hungry and thirsty! As a world heritage site we try to ensure as many people as possible can enjoy this special place be they cyclists, families or dog walkers enjoying the route through the deer park.”

It’s not just pre-existing businesses who have benefited from new cycling routes; some entrepreneurs were clever enough to spot the cycling boom coming and launch businesses to meet cyclists needs. In Cornwall, Nigel Wiggett started Bridge Bike Hire in Wadebridge in 1983 with six folding bikes, today the company is based in

a warehouse containing 400 hire bikes that are used year round.

Nigel, said: “With the development of the Camel Trail in the 1980s and then the National Cycle Network in 1995, cycling in the area really took off and has had a massive impact on the local economy. Along with that we employ two full time mechanics and during peak season we have 20 members of staff. Interestingly we are busy all year round; winter is actually as busy as summer which is quite unique in the tourism sector and really important to the local economy.”

Liz Hodges, another cycling entrepreneur in Devon set up the Route 2 bike café in Topsham and now runs the Route 2 bike Shop in the same town. Liz, said: “We set up the Route 2 café after the National Cycle Network route 2 was developed in 2008. I knew cycling would be popular but I never expected the cycling revolution that we are seeing today. The National Cycle Network has definitely been key to getting more people out on their bikes for day trips and holidays. And the ‘Wiggins effect’ has also been important.

Lots of businesses have benefitted and in my case allowed me to reinvent myself in a completely new career.”

Considering which stop-offs to take on a ride is an essential part of planning a weekend cycling trip or longdistance adventure. To help you decide on your destination, Sustrans has picked some of the tops routes in the country which have great stop-offs nearby.

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BIKE MAGAZINE 47

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DESIGN MUSEUM

CYCLE

REVOLUTION the present and future of cycling > James Cromwell

James Cromwell wandered around Olympic medal-winners’ recordbreaking, everyday commuting and cargo bikes that race each other at the Design Museum’s Cycling Revolution Exhibition in London.

A celebration of technological cycling masterpieces that broke away in the last few decades, the Cycle Revolution Exhibition at the Design Museum in London showcases some of the most powerful and remarkable cycling stories.

“It feels like the right time to stage an exhibition on cycling,” said a very friendly and welcoming Donna Loveday, the collection’s curator. Her mood was the perfect reflection of the exhibition’s ambience, which so invitingly lured the curious visitors along the aisles crammed with famous items that have left their mark on the history of cycling.

The Lotus Type 108 used by Chris Boardman at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games – the event that kick-started the whole cycling revolution and brought the first little bit of cycling success for the United Kingdom – rightly opens the superb collection of the High Performers tribe, which worships the efficiency, technological triumph and sheer beauty of road and track racing and the designs and innovations that have helped to create superior bikes. Francesco Moser’s 1984 Hour Record bike is the next in line, before Eddy Merckx’s famous 1969 Faema racing bike and 1972 bright orange Hour Record bike: the race is on for the title of the most

prestigious item.

Sir Bradley Wiggins’ 2015 Hour Record and World Championship Time Trial bikes magnificently adorn the neatly ordered left-handed wall, making a smooth transition towards Team Sky’s 2015 Pinarello bikes that were so successfully deployed in Chris Froome’s victorious Tour de France.

David Millar’s Cervélo S5 Racing bike ridden at the 2014 Commonwealth Games; Joanna Rowsell Shand’s 2015 Track bike and the 2015 bikes from McLaren Tarmac and HOY Fiorenzuola complete an amazingly prestigious and, if the oxymoron is to be excused, well-sorted peloton of Olympic medal-winners and record-breaking bikes.

There wasn’t a single thing diminishing the excitement that surged through our bodies when we explored the exhibition, not even the constant noise coming from the adjacent room where drills were still working to finish the gallery before the official public opening.

“Cycle Revolution looks at where cycling is right now – incredibly popular – and where it may go in the future,” said Donna Loveday.

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DESIGN MUSEUM

The Design Museum shows where it may be headed. A constant double track of now and the tomorrow that inevitably leads to urban cycling and commuting, presented in another tribe of the exhibition.

The Urban Riders section is led by Lucy Granville, winner of the Design Museum’s global search to find the ultimate urban rider. Entries came from Bangalore, Sao Paulo and Gothenburg, but Lucy is a Londoner who has been traversing the capital since birth. “My bike is my freedom pass. Riding is liberation and sanity,” she says; and so believe hundreds of thousands of commuters from all around the world.

The number of urban residents cycling to work has registered a steady increase in the past years, especially in large towns and cities, with a record number of people now riding bikes in London – a total of 610,000 cycle journeys are made every day, equating to 223million per year. The figures are rising and designers have always set themselves the challenge of producing the ultimate city bike. The Urban Riders tribe displays some of the best of these designs, from innovative small-wheeled and folding bikes including the earliest 1976 prototype Brompton to the 2015 Schindelhauer model. Other stars like the 1962 Moulton Deluxe F-Frame, 1988 Moulton AM SPEED, the 1971 Bickerton portable prototype or the 2015 Princess Sovereign and Gocycle bikes further enhance the exhibition through their very different designs.

Cyclists have always been passionate about their bikes, which represent an extension of the owner and nobody else can prove this point any better than cargo bike designer and founder of Porterlight Bicycles Lawrence Brand, who road-

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DESIGN MUSEUM

“My bike is my freedom pass” tested his prototype by riding it for more than 3,000miles from Eastern Europe all the way to the Chinese border of Kyrgyzstan.

Before the widespread introduction of motorised vehicles, cargo bicycles were fundamental in the transportation of freight, equipment and other goods. They have been made in every imaginable size and shape, and put to use everywhere – from factory floors to market stalls, from small family businesses to large companies, by postmen, milkmen, butchers and fire fighters. But now, they seem to be enjoying a resurgence.

Bicycles with a longer wheelbase and a large cargo container positioned either between the wheels or over the front wheel are used today like cars for commuting, shopping, running errands, transporting unwieldily objects or even children and pets. The Cargo Bikers collection comprises modern such as the 2015 Delibike, Donkey Bike and Bilenky Chuckwagon models, but also a 1982 Coventry Eagle.

The city of Coventry, so famous for its decades of bicycles manufacturing, also provided Cycle Revolution with a Rover safety bicycle built around the year 1888, which is the oldest bike in display. The exhibition recreates a bike builder’s workshop, showing the tools, materials and skills that combine to create a bespoke machine. Six independent British bike builders are profiled through specially commissioned films and bikes – some of which were created specifically for Cycle Revolution.

Bikes considered to be the future of cycling are lined up in a very fashionable style, perhaps offering a taste of things to come – the 2015 Bamboo road bike, wooden models from Paul Timmer, Jurgen Kuipers and others, the very fanciful Cinelli-ARCC Mystic Rat fitted with the ARCC e2-pod Intelligent Power system and the 2013 Pininfarina Fuoriserie, to name a few.

At the start of the 1980s, mountain biking was still in its intimacy, with the majority of bicycles being made

in relatively small numbers by specialised manufacturers. Mass produced mountain bikes, such as the Stumpjumper and the Slingshot, saw sales of mountain bikes overtake those of road bicycles by the end of the same decade.

The fourth tribe of the exhibition, the Thrill Seekers, is all about mountain biking. Off-road cycling has registered a huge rise in popularity over the last 30odd years and this resulted in a number of new designs requiring tremendous balance and precision handling. Great Britain is now a downhill mountain biking and BMX racing superpower with men’s and women’s World Champions in both disciplines.

Coventry contributed once more with a model from Coventry Transport Museum, as the 1970 Raleigh Chopper joined new models like the Specialized S-Works, the Inspired Sky Team bike or Tracy Moseley’s Trek Remedy mountain bike in a very diversified collection.

These initiatives worked a treat for Cycle Revolution and the curator was really pleased with the wide selection of bikes – a few newcomers but also some great landmarks.

She said: “From day one I really wanted Bradley Wiggins’ Hour Record bike on the show. I thought it was going to be really difficult to get hold of it, but it turned out it was relatively easy. There was no lack of enthusiasm from any of the partners who provided us with the items for the exhibition.”

Cycle Revolution does not only celebrate the whole concept of cycling with everything it involves, from old items to famous bikes and latest innovations, but it also offers an invitation to ride, being an inspiration for the afternoons spent in the saddle.

“I will be cycling more now because you can’t work in the cycling industry and not cycle. I have a mountain bike that has been in my shed since last year. I’ll pump up the tyres and get back on the bike as soon as I get a small break,” concluded Donna Loveday.

The Design Museum will be hosting the exhibition until 30th June 2016, giving you plenty of time to clear your busy schedule and book a ticket for this wonderful event.

BIKE MAGAZINE 51

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52 STYLISH MAGAZINE

SHOWCASE

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BIKE MAGAZINE 53

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