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A U G U S T / S E P T E M B E R 2 0 1 7 | CYCLE
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CW from far left: Josie Dew, Tereza Pultarova, Richard Hallett
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FROM THE E DITOR E-BIKES ARE cheating and riding one isn’t proper cycling. Folding bikes aren’t proper bikes and riding one is embarrassing. Not my opinions, but ones you’ll sometimes see expressed on internet forums inhabited by Proper Cyclists. Proper Cyclists who have spectacularly missed the point of both kinds of bike. E-bikes and folders aren’t alternatives to ‘proper’ cycling; they’re alternatives to not cycling. They enable people to cycle when they otherwise wouldn’t. The cycling cake isn’t being cut into smaller slices. It’s a bigger cake. Who doesn’t want more cycling or, for that matter, more cake? I don’t own an e-bike yet but it’s only a matter of time. And I don’t mean 20 or 30 years. Hills and distances can be a struggle even now. Not on most of my bikes, just one in particular: the cargo bike. With a heavy load, hills are as hard on that as I expect them to be on all bikes in years to come. An electric-assist kit like the one Richard Hallett tried this issue (p54) might be just the job, given that I don’t want or need a completely new machine. A folding bike, meanwhile, lets cycling seep into all those gaps in your life where you might otherwise be bereft of a bike. You don’t wheel out your Brompton in preference to your beloved titanium bike (at least, I don’t). You ride it when the alternatives are walking, taking a taxi, or waiting for a bus or the Tube. Want to spend more time cycling? Get a folder: job done.
Contents EVERY ISSUE
THIS ISSUE
04 B I G P I C T U R E
34 G O I N G C O A S T A L
Some of Cycling UK’s 100 Women in Cycling
07 F ROM THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE Paul Tuohy on empowering cycling
08 C Y C L E S H O R T S Born-again cyclist Eric Waters, Emily Chappell’s custom Shand Stooshie, off-road access issues, Cycling UK’s member conference, and more
20 S H O P W I N D O W Interesting products coming soon
Get five years’ membership for the price of four. Phone 01483 238301
Josie Dew takes her 6-year-old and 3-year-old around the Isle of Wight
42 F U M I N G
How bad is the air pollution you inhale when cycling, and what can you do about it?
48 A N E N D I N I T S E L F
Land’s End to John o’ Groats – and not for charity or the challenge of doing it
54 E L E C T R I F Y Y O U R B I K E
There’s more to assisted cycling than hybrids with big batteries. How about your own bike, electrified?
64 C O M P A C T F O L D E R S
22 G E A R Clothing, accessories and books reviewed
31 L E T T E R S Your feedback on Cycle and cycling
60 Q & A
Two of the best small-wheeled folding bikes compared: the Brompton SL2 and the Birdy World Sport
73 B I K E P A C K I N G S E A T P A C K S Four waterproof seatpacks for bivvying and more
Your technical, health and legal questions answered
81 T R A V E L L E R S ’ T A L E S Cycling UK members’ ride reports
82 C TC CYCLING H O L I D AY S
ON THE COVER The New Forest Cycling Week, by Selim Korycki
Let us take you there
Cycling UK, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, GU2 9JX E: cycling@cyclinguk.org W: cyclinguk.org T: 0844 736 8450* or 01483 238300
Founded in 1878
DAN JOYCE Cycle editor
Membership
Cycle promotes the work of Cycling UK. Cycle’s circulation is approx. 51,000. Cycling UK is one of the UK’s largest cycling membership organisations, with 67,000 members and affiliates Patron: Her Majesty the Queen President: Jon Snow Chief Executive: Paul Tuohy. Cyclists’ Touring Club, a Company Limited by Guarantee, registered in England No 25185, registered as a charity in England and Wales Charity No 1147607 and in Scotland No SC042541. Registered office: Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, GU2 9JX. CYCLE MAGAZINE: Editor: Dan Joyce e: cyclinguk@jppublishing.co.uk Head of Design: Simon Goddard Designer: Katrina Ravn Additional proofreading: Julie Rand Advertising: Anna Vassallo tel: 0203 859 7100 e: annav@jppublishing.co.uk Publisher: James Houston. Cycle is published six times per year on behalf of Cycling UK by James Pembroke Publishing, 90 Walcot Street, Bath, BA1 5BG. Tel: 01225 337777. Cycle is copyright Cycling UK, James Pembroke Publishing and individual contributors. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission from Cycling UK and James Pembroke Publishing is forbidden. Views expressed in the magazine are those of the individual contributors and do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or the policies of Cycling UK. Advertising bookings are subject to availability, the terms and conditions of James Pembroke Publishing, and final approval by Cycling UK. Printed by: Precision Colour Printing, Haldane, Halesfield 1, Telford, TF7 4QQ. Tel: 01952 585585 *0844 numbers are ‘basic rate’, costing under 5p/min plus your phone company’s access charge on a BT landline. Other providers may charge more.
The big picture Nationwide
Photo: Josh Corrie
WOMEN’S F E S TIVA L OF CYCLING CYCLING UK CONTINUED our inspiring summer of cycling with the Women's Festival of Cycling, running throughout July 2017. According to our research, women who do not cycle on a daily basis are most likely to cite feeling nervous about cycling on the roads because they think it’s dangerous – 44% of women give it as a reason compared with 26% of men. We want to raise the profile of women in cycling and remove barriers to encourage more women to get on their bikes. So we took the opportunity to celebrate inspirational women in cycling with our inaugural ‘100 Women in Cycling’ event (some of those 100 are pictured). The event in Birmingham saw women from all walks of life come together to share their experiences and positive stories, and also raise the profiles of the many fantastic females who are making a difference through cycling.
CYCLE SHORTS
Right: by Kristian Pletten. Far right: Emily Chappell
Emily with everything she needs to cycle across Europe
Isla Rowntree has encouraged Emily to spin smaller gears
My Bike
EMILY CHAPPELL For long-distance bikepacking like the Transcontinental Race from Belgium to Greece, Emily Chappell uses a custom-built Shand Stooshie. Dan Joyce spoke to her
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MILY CHAPPELL IS an endurance cyclist in the mould of the late Mike Hall. A director of the Adventure Syndicate, a Cycling UK affiliate group encouraging women to undertake challenging rides, she was one of the guest speakers at Cycling UK’s ‘100 Women in Cycling’ event. She came to long-distance events through touring and a career as a cycle courier. When we spoke, she had just returned from the 2,500km TransAtlantic Way race in Ireland, pulling out after 2,000km due to pain in her hands. She had been testing her long-distance bike, a Shand Stooshie. ‘I was originally interested in the Stoater,’ she said. ‘The Stooshie is lighter and more racy. It’s designed to go on and off road. It’s excellent on gravel. I think everybody is trying to achieve an ultimate do-anything bike. For me, this one is close to the Holy Grail.’ It’s a bespoke bike, built by Shand in collaboration with Isla Rowntree. ‘Isla applied her brilliant obsession with detail to get me in the right position,’ Emily said. ‘She did the eventual drawings for the bike. It’s adapted to my size and also to my style of riding, which she observed by coming out on long rides with me. Before this, I was riding much more stretched out, because I’ve always ridden bikes that are too big for me, like
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quite a lot of women. Also, the front end of my old bike was too high. I ended up with the hoods rotated too far around the handlebar, to try to get lower. It was uncomfortable.’ Isla and Emily are still making tweaks to the Stooshie. ‘Bike fitting is a difficult art because there are so many factors,’ said Emily. ‘And it’s a moving target: people’s bodies change over the course of their cycling career, and even over the course of a ride.’ That was why she rode the TransAtlantic Way ahead of the Transcontinental: ‘You don’t know what’s going to happen on day seven if you’ve never ridden that bike for seven days in a row.’ Overall, the new bike was much more comfortable. The hand problems will be addressed by adjusting the position of the handlebar or brake hoods – or perhaps by adding tri-bars. The smaller frame has had other repercussions, however. ‘With a shorter head tube, there’s less space before the bottles bump into my frame pack,’ Emily said. ‘You have to be more ingenious if you’ve got less space.’ Fortunately, Emily does travel light: ‘Over the years, the bags I carry have got smaller and smaller with less and less in them. The most recent event I did, I used Apidura’s smallest seatpack containing a sleeping bag, a bivvy bag, and a foil blanket; I don’t carry a mat, because my back seems to like sleeping
on concrete and gravel. I also carry a merino vest in there, a spare pair of socks, and some spare food. I have a half-sized frame pack that’s got tools, spare gloves, arm warmers, and spare lights in, plus a top tube bag, and a couple of food pouches.’ The priority on any long-distance event is to keep moving, which is why Emily favours mechanical disc brakes and shifters. ‘I can fix cable discs myself, unlike hydraulics,’ she said. ‘And I don’t trust electronic shifters not to let me down in the middle of nowhere.’ People are drawn to adventure racing from different backgrounds: racing, triathlon, audax, touring, and more. Emily’s background as a cycle courier isn’t an obvious advantage, yet she’s done very well in past events. ‘I am used to getting on the bike every day, even when I feel rubbish,’ she said. ‘As a courier, it’s your bread and butter. Last year I came first by about two days – as long as I carried on, I was going to win. This year, there’s people like Paula Regener, Janie Haynes, and Shu Pillinger, who’s done the Race Across America. So I think it will be quite exciting.’ The TransContinental Race starts on 29 July. For more details, or to follow Emily’s progress, see transcontinental.cc. The Adventure Syndicate website is theadventuresyndicate.com. Emily Chappell’s Shand Stooshie FRAME & FORK: Custom-built Columbus/Dedacciai steel frame, TRP carbon fork WHEELS: Schwalbe Pro One tubeless tyres, new Hunt carbon wheels, front hub is a Schmidt SON dynohub TRANSMISSION: carbon Time pedals, 46-36 Sram chainset, 11-32 cassette, Shimano Ultegra mechanical shifters BRAKING: Avid BB7 mechanical discs STEERING & SEATING: narrower handlebar, Specialized Ruby saddle EQUIPMENT: Supernova dynamo lights, Sinewave USB, Garmin, Apidura luggage
PRODUCT NEWS | SHOP WINDOW
Product news
SHOP WINDOW
The Cycle Show
Returns to the NEC from 22-24 September. Visit Cycling UK on stand L61. More details on p78 and at cycleshow.co.uk
DAN JOYCE Cycle editor
1 KINESIS TRIPSTER AT
EDITOR DAN JOYCE PREVIEWS A SELECTION OF NEW CYCLING PRODUCTS AVAILABLE NOW OR COMING SOON
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£699.99 F&F
Kinesis UK’s popular titanium allrounder (bit.ly/cycle-tripster) now comes in more affordable aluminium, with a carbon fork and clearance for 700×45C and 650×52C tyres. kinesisbikes.co.uk
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2 SENA X1 HELMET
E229
‘Smart’ helmets are coming. This one has speakers (that don’t block your ears), a microphone, smartphone connectivity, a four-way intercom with other Sena X1s, and more. sena.bike
LIGHTWEIGHT WWR 3 SWRVE REGULAR SHORT £65
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I was asked at the Cycle Touring Festival: which non-Lycra shorts for touring? These, with Endura Singletrack shorts, would be on my (ahem) shortlist. Sizes: 30-38in. swrve.co.uk
4 TOPEAK BACKLOADER £54.99/£64.99
The bikepacking bandwagon keeps rolling. Topeak’s seatpacks (6L or 10L) include a dry-bag, an air release valve, and a rear light clip. topeak.com
5 GREEN OIL ECOSPRAY LUBE £9.99
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An aerosol spray lube for displacing water etc. has been missing from Green Oil’s environmentally-friendly, PTFE-free bike lube collection – until now. 400ml tin. green-oil.net
6 ICENI TRIKE
£4,000 APPROX
Reminiscent of the Cycles Maximus, Iceni’s electric-assist trike has three versions: Cargo (£3,999), Family (i.e. rickshaw, £POA), and this wheelchair-user transporting Adventure (£POA). icenicycles.co.uk
7 SHIMANO QUICK LINK 11S £11.99
After years of finicky joining pins, Shimano has released a quick-link. The SM-CN900-11 is for 11-speed, comes in a pack of two, and isn’t meant to be reused. shimano.com
D E TA I L S WHERE: Isle of Wight START/FINISH: Ryde, with breaks at Sandown and Yarmouth DISTANCE: 117 miles PICTURES: Josie Dew
ISLE OF WIGHT | GRE AT RIDES
Great rides
GOING COASTAL
(Above) Ryde pier (Left) Bembridge harbour; Whitecliff Bay
Cycling UK Vice President Josie Dew circumnavigated the Isle of Wight Coastal Path with two small children, a pushchair, a balance bike, and a pedal bike
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ast Christmas wasn’t the most successful I’ve ever had. Two days before Santa was due to climb down the chimney, my dad suddenly died. This put an unfestive spanner in the works; at Christmas, you want boisterous fun, not burials. And then suddenly it was New Year and my two girls (Molly, 10, and Daisy, 6) were due back at school. As I felt they hadn’t had much of a holiday, I asked them whether they would rather go to school or have an adventure by the sea. Molly, being the studious and conscientious one, decided she had better go to school. Daisy, being more like me (i.e. not so studious or conscientious) leapt at the idea of a coastal adventure. School gave the go-ahead for our seaside jaunt, so one cold, sunny day at the beginning of January, I left Molly under the wing of my mum and my husband Gary, while Daisy, my 3-year-old son Jack and I headed for the Isle of Wight. I had no idea how far we would get in a day so booked no accommodation, just hoping we would find some sort of B&B despite the season. My plan was to follow the coastal footpath for as far as we could get in about five days. Daisy and Jack would ride their own bikes, while I carried a rucksack and
pushed a pram for Jack to climb into should his little legs get tired. Technically, bikes aren’t allowed on footpaths, but I thought: ‘What the heck: they are young children.’ And if they were to ride the coast road on their bikes with all that fast-rushing traffic alongside, it would be almost suicidal.
A WEE ADVENTURE Arriving at Portsmouth Harbour, we took the ferry to Ryde where Jack and Daisy shot off on their bikes down the oldest (203 years old) seaside pier in the world. From there, we headed east for Seaview and Bembridge. With sea air in their lungs, and legs blurring away at high speed, Jack and Daisy looked rejuvenated: rosy-cheeked and full of bounce again after the sadness of granddad. As darkness fell that first night (far too early at 4pm), and with no B&B yet found, we struck lucky. On deserted Seagrove Bay beach a little yappy dog suddenly ran up to us and promptly lifted its leg on Jack’s wheel. I was about to boot the mutt over the touchline when its owner appeared. ‘You look like you’re on a bit of an adventure with all that gear!’ she exclaimed. I said: ‘We are!’ She was called Jo and we ended up spending the night in her huge new immaculate modern-build
Do it yourself
SMALL-SCALE TOURING Travelling with young children, you have to go at their pace and stop and start a lot. You must have adequate food (and treats) on board to keep them happy, and frequent stops to play on beaches, playgrounds, trees, rocks, and shipwrecks. I always take a football and a small bouncy ball with me. A bucket and spade is good too. We used the Portsmouth to Ryde and Lymington to Yarmouth ferries. There is also a Southampton to East Cowes service and a Portsmouth to Fishbourne one. Southern Vectis buses don’t allow bikes – unless you find a bikefriendly driver.
WITH SEA AIR IN THEIR LUNGS, AND LEGS BLURRING AWAY AT HIGH SPEED, JACK AND DAISY LOOKED REJUVENATED CYCL I N G U K.O RG CYCL E 3 5
FE ATURE | AIR POLLUTION LONDON’S ‘PEA SOUPERS’ ARE LONG GONE BUT SMOG REMAINS
Feature
F U M IN G AIR POLLUTION IS A PROBLEM THAT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE DISPERSING. TEREZA PULTAROVA EXAMINES WHAT IT MEANS FOR CYCLISTS
he traffic light turns green. As I push against the pedals, the engine of the Audi in front of me roars. The car pulls off, spewing a thick black cloud of soot from its exhaust pipe. I hold my breath. A stream of expletives runs through my mind. ‘Another selfish **** who can’t be bothered to buy a new particulate matter filter and got it removed instead,’ I think.
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I cycle in London every day, riding 50 minutes to and from work, so am no stranger to pollution. I started cycling for the exercise but the omnipresent carcinogenic cloud of diesel exhaust worries me. It’s been in the papers a lot lately. Car manufacturers have been fined for cheating on emissions standards. In January this year, air pollution was briefly worse in London than Beijing. In February, the European Commission issued the UK with a final warning for ‘persistent breaches’ of air pollutants…
So I jumped at the chance when a colleague forwarded an invitation to become a volunteer in a King’s College study aiming to assess commuters’ exposure to air pollution.
SOMETHING IN THE AIR While I am preventing myself from inhaling, waiting for the soot cloud created by the Audi to dissipate, a thin black tube that sticks from behind the collar of my jacket keeps sucking in the air. The tube leads to a black box as thick as five smartphones that sits in
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BIKETEST | FOLDING BIKES
DAN JOYCE Cycle editor
Bike test
COMPACT FOLDERS When it collapses to the size of a suitcase, you need never be without your bike. Dan Joyce tests a budget Birdy and a 2-speed Brompton
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RAINS, BUSES, CAR BOOTS, boats, aeroplanes, offices, cloakrooms, hallways, studio flats – folding bikes go where others won’t fit or aren’t freely allowed. The smaller they pack down, the more loopholes they’ll slip through. For example, trains in the UK carry ‘compact, fully-folding cycles with wheels up to 20" in diameter… without restriction’. Two of the best compacts are the Brompton and the Birdy. Both cost from around £1,000, which is a lot more than an entry-level Dahon (rebadged or otherwise). Yet for long-term usage, it’s money well spent. A compact folder enables you to integrate cycling into your everyday life so deeply that it may transform the way you think about transport. Moreover, the initial cost will be recouped in saved bus fares/taxi fares/petrol. In its 40-year history, the Brompton has evolved from a bike-rail solution for the cognoscenti into a marketing-friendly, middle class icon. It now exists in a variety of à la carte formats. I picked a two-speed partly because I’ve not used the Brompton derailleur before, but also because it saves about 600g over the 3-speed, and low weight is a big deal for a bike you’ll often hold in one hand. With mudguards, flat S-type handlebar, Schwalbe
Kojak tyres, and the all-important front luggage block, it costs £970. The German Birdy is even more premium priced than the Brompton; standard models start at £2,069. However, manufacturer Riese und Müller also offers a couple of ‘model-T Ford’ versions: the World Birdy Comfort (£1,439 with Nexus 8-speed hub, dynamo lights, and rear rack); and the £1,169 World Birdy Sport, which comes with 8-speed derailleur gearing and in any colour you like as long as it’s black. (Note that in common with UK retailers, I’m transposing the name and calling this bike the Birdy World Sport.)
FRAME & FOLDING: BROMPTON One of the reasons that the Brompton is so compact is that it doesn’t simply fold in half. The rear triangle pivots behind the bottom bracket, enabling the rear wheel to tuck underneath the main frame tube. The bike stays upright sitting on its haunches, so it can be parked like this. In earlier models, there was nothing but your weight on the saddle stopping the rear end tucking under, which was an issue if you picked up the unfolded bike (or bunny-hopped it…). Now there’s a catch to hold the rear triangle in place. The top of the rear triangle has a rubber
THE BIRDY RIDES LESS LIKE A FOLDER AND MORE LIKE A CONVENTIONAL BIKE… I’D NOT HESITATE TO DO ALL-DAY RIDES ON IT 6 4 C YC L E AUG UST/SEPTEM BER 2017
suspension bumper where it butts against the seat tube. There are two grades of suspension available, standard or firm. Unless you’re very light, pick firm. If it’s too soft, the suspension bobs through each crank revolution, robbing a little energy and making the bike wallow. Tucking the rear wheel under is step one of the folding procedure. Step two, once you’ve ensured the left-hand crank points forward, is to undo the frame hinge and, holding the stem, lift the front end of the bike up and back; a catch on the left-hand fork blade hooks over the drive-side chain stay. Step three is to undo the seatpost quick release, lower the seatpost, then refasten the quick release; the dropped seatpost locks the rear triangle into its folded position. Step four is to undo the stem hinge and let the stem and handlebar drop down; a nodule on the stem fits into a bracket on the fork crown, holding the stem and bar in place. Finally, rotate the cranks backwards so that the right-hand pedal is next to the tyre, and then fold the left-hand
Above: The Brompton doesn’t need a kickstand because you can park it like this
FOLDING BIKES | BIKETEST
BROMPTON S2L Still the benchmark for compact folding
BIRDY WORLD SPORT Better steering geometry and full suspension
CYCL I N G U K.O RG CYCL E
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BIKEPACKING BAGS | G RO U P TE S T
Group test
BIKEPACKING SEATPACKS
DAVE ANDERSON Cycling journalist
Big seatpacks add lightweight luggage capacity to any bike, on road or off. Dave Anderson of radventure.cc reviews four bags B U N G E E CO R D TI E D OW N S Useful for quick and easy stowage of spare clothing, waterproof layers, or short-term carrying of food shopping. Really useful on extended tours as a drying facility on sunny days.
RO L L - D OW N C LO S U R E
D O U B L E V E LCRO S TR A P S Provide a snug and secure seatpost fitting. Look for the least amount of overlap or the use of non-snagging velcro to prevent them catching on your shorts.
Simple waterproof solution that allows easy access to the contents on or off the bike. Look for packs that integrate this into the stability strapping of the bag.
TR A N SV E R S E S TR A P S
R E F L E CTIV E PA N E L S A N D LO G O S
These fix the seatpack securely to the saddle rails and, cinched down, help increase the stability of the bag. Captive straps are good as they don’t flap around, which can be annoying.
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EATPACKS are widely used by mountain bikers for bikepacking, both on full suspension frames and anywhere a streamlined approach to load-carrying will make tight singletrack easier to negotiate. Accompanied by a handlebar-mounted roll pack and a frame bag, there’s scope to distribute a fair bit of kit around the bike without overly affecting handling. Seatpacks on their own also offer considerable benefits to anyone looking for
Side and rear reflectives are a bonus. They increase visibility when using the bag on the road without any weight penalty.
a ‘fast and light’ approach to bike luggage, be it for credit card touring, gravel rides or commuting. (See bit.ly/cyclinguk-lessismore for ideas.) They also offer enough capacity for overnight trips and are a solution for any bike without pannier rack mounting options. The first seatpacks available from American companies required separate drybags to ensure they were up to UK use, so it’s good to report that manufacturers are now offering a range of waterproof products more suited to our climate.
Your thoughts? WRITE TO US: Cycle Letters, PO Box 313, Scarborough, YO12 6WZ EMAIL US: editor@cyclinguk.org DISCUSS ONLINE: forum.cyclinguk.org
CYCL I N G U K.O RG CYCL E 7 3
Travellers’ tales
Riaz (centre): ‘A rose between thorns,’ Paul said
Singletrack for starters RIAZ RASHID WAS ONE OF SEVERAL BEGINNERS ON AN OFF-ROAD WEEKEND IN WALES
TR AN S PE NNINE TRUNDLE Cycle campaigner Simon Geller took the Sustrans route from Southport to Hornsea
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e are the Sheffield Slobs, an informal riding group whose rides are as short and easy as we can make them. But once a year we do a longer ride. In 2016, we chose the Trans Pennine Trail. From Southport, we took the lovely old Cheshire Lines route. In Aintree, we diverted from it to the beach at Crosby to see the amazing Anthony Gormley ‘Another Place’ installation. Then we joined the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, passing the Stanley Dock Tobacco Warehouse, the largest brick building in the world. We emerged on the waterfront by Liverpool’s ‘Three Graces’ – the Liver building, the Cunard building, and the Port of Liverpool building.
Another Place to park a bike
e paused to take the sea air in Conwy after a morning enjoying dramatic coastal views, not to mention the climbs and descents that had presented them. There were 20 off us, mostly seasoned cyclists of the sensible and clean ‘road’ variety – clearly a different breed to the dirty mountain bikers we were becoming. We were ready to face the challenge of the Marin Trail in North Wales, being equipped with rugged bikes and in some cases knee pads. It’s easy to label challenges as awesome and inspiring, but these off-road trails were certainly that. The newbies, including myself, were quickly brought into the fold by the regular riders who had signed up for another CTC Cycling Holidays tour run by Paul Rogers. The group gelled from the moment we gathered at the bunkhouse in Llanrwst on Thursday evening, looking forward to the long weekend. There was good balance of men, women, and different ages. So why had I decided to join this fixed-base holiday? It’s an amazing feeling to do something that frightens you, heightens your senses, and brings you back to nature. Then there’s that feeling of being 12 years old again and having that freedom that only two wheels can bring.
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Most of the TPT is off-road
Back on the main route, we headed south on a green corridor before turning east, leaving the Loop Line to follow the Mersey inland through pleasant parkland. The last section followed the canal to Warrington, home of Cycle Facility of the Month and 20’s Plenty. Next day, we set off for Manchester. It was lovely and flat at first, passing through Tame Valley Country Park. The route then climbs over the Pennines using Saltersbrook, one of the packhorse routes used to bring salt over from Cheshire. A rapid descent got us to Wortley, where we stayed overnight and were regaled with tales of the Dragon of Wantley (Google it!). The next day we drifted down the Dearne Valley to the outskirts of Doncaster, passing the former Earth Centre, then made our way north on trails and quiet roads. Strawberries could be bought at the roadside. Some Trans Pennine Trail volunteers from Hull guided us through their city, showing us the preparations for Hull City of Culture on the way. Thanks, guys! We finished at Hornsea, where I’ve never had better fish and chips.
High above Conwy Bay
To support the trail, visit transpenninetrail.org. uk/friends/ CYCL I N G U K.O RG CYCL E 8 1