Cycle December 22 / January 23

There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bikes without decent mudguards. Rambler Alfred Wainwright may have cautioned against unsuitable clothing but for cyclists it’s the mudguards that really matter. Without them, damp winter rides – especially winter group rides – are a like sitting beside a dirty-water lawn sprinkler.

So why do so many road cyclists go without? I was thinking about this towards the end of an autumn century ride, when the heavens opened and the unprotected back wheel I was then sitting behind started spraying like a potter’s wheel. My first thought: this is ridiculous.

My second thought: the industry is selling the dream of inappropriately impractical bikes to people who subsequently invest too much cash in them to admit they’ve bought the wrong bike for year-round riding on a soggy island in the north Atlantic.

Maybe that’s where the denialism gets in. “If this bike, which the cycling media tells me climbs like a mountain goat, corners like a cheetah wearing ice skates, and is absolutely worth four and a half stars, will not take mudguards, well, mudguards are unnecessary, QED.”

Fortunately there are workarounds. Not those little flaps that fit under the saddle to stop a soggy bum, but reasonably long mudguards designed to make road bikes wet-ride ready. We’ve tested four sets this issue – see page 69. I can think of a few riders who need to read this right now. How about you?

DAN JOYCE Cycle Editor

A SHORT TOUR AROUND THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF CYCLING

Shop Window MORE ITEMS ON PAGE 18

Bike tech

Boardman junior bikes

In time for Christmas, Boardman Bikes has launched a range of six bicycles for kids. It comprises a balance bike, rigid-forked hybrids with 16, 20, 24, and 26-inch wheels, and a 26in-wheel gravel bike. The specifications and weights look sensible and the prices are lower than Frog (and also Islabikes). boardmanbikes.com

You ride Patrick Hyett Octogenarian century rider

At the age of 86, life member Patrick this year completed his 12th, and possibly final, 100mile Tri-Vets ride. Proudly displaying the previous 11 date bars attached to his Tri-Vets badge, Patrick was presented with a cup for being the oldest male finisher by Dave Matthews, president and chair of Cycling UK member group Chester & North Wales/CTC Caer a Gogledd Cymru.

Patrick, who lives in Derbyshire, has been a Cycling UK life member since 1952. He says his only regret is that he didn’t start riding Tri-Vets events as soon as he was eligible aged 50 in 1986; his first was in 1989.

Patrick cycles 50-60 miles twice a week on forays out into the local countryside. He also rides around four miles daily to the shops and to carry out other errands. He credits his lifetime of cycling for his good physical and mental health, having not seen a doctor in years.

He hasn’t yet been tempted to swap his vintage lightweight tourers (he has “20 to 30” in a shed) for an e-bike. “The technology is not quite there,” he said. “If you run out of battery, it’s a worry how you’d get home.”

TRI-VETS 2022

For more about the 2022 Tri-Vets, along with details on how to order badges and date bars if you took part, visit cyclinguk.org/article/tri-vets-2022

Classic kit

Optilabs glasses

Prescription cycling glasses on the high street can be expensive Optilabs specs are more affordable, yet the service is good and the glasses work well on the bike. You can buy single vision, bifocal or varifocal glasses in various styles and tints. optilabs.com

Bike hacks

Beat cold feet

Really?!

£874.29 socks

No, that’s not a misprint. The FASTEST SOCK ON THE PLANET TM (singular but you do get a pair) really does cost more than a pretty good bike. They’ll supposedly save the racer with money to burn around six Watts in reduced aerodynamic drag. Words fail. sockeloen.nl/en/

Place about 700g of ceramic baking beans in a suitable jug, then microwave them on high heat for four minutes. Pour them into cotton ankle socks (tip: put each sock in a tall glass, folding its cuff over the top). Seal the tops of the socks with food bag clips, then place in your cycling shoes for a few minutes before riding. You can do the same with dry rice – just don’t eat it!

Patrick receives his oldest rider award

Try this Ride leader training

On my bike

Peter Walker

Guardian journalist & author

Why do you cycle?

Our

volunteers, in conjunction with experienced ride leaders and other experts in the field. It will be available from January 2023. cyclinguk.org/online-ride-leader-course

Events Christmas celebration

Join CTC North Yorkshire on Sunday 11 December for their traditional pre-Christmas get-together in Tockwith. Lunch will be available in the village hall from 11.30am, served by the parents of Tockwith’s underfives group, followed by a Christmas service in church at 12.45pm (very light, all welcome regardless of their religion or beliefs). Back to the village hall afterwards for dessert and more socialising before the ride home. cyclinguk.org/event/tockwith-celebration

Picture this

This machine fights climate change: that was the message we took to Glasgow for COP26 in 2021. Instead of heading off to Egypt this year, we’ve taken that message to politicians in London, lighting up the skies ahead of ‘solutions day’ at COP27, and reminding Rishi Sunak that if he’s genuinely ready to fight climate change, investing to get more people cycling is one of the simple solutions. There’s more information, as well as more projection images, on our website. cyclinguk.org/cop26cycling-fights-climate-change

To get to where I want to go, usually within a minute or so of when I expected to arrive, and often with a smile on my face.

How far do you ride each week?

I’m not sure but I’m on a bike most days.

Which of your bikes is your favourite?

My everyday transport bike with hub gears and a massive crate on the front. It makes me happy every time I ride it.

What do you always take with you?

A lock, sometimes two. I’m a paranoid London cyclist.

Who mends your punctures?

For the most part, me. But my everyday bike has Schwalbe Marathon Plus tyres which haven’t punctured in two years

It’s raining: bike, public transport, or car? Bike. It barely ever rains in London these days. If it does, I have a very unflattering pair of waterproof over-trousers.

Lycra or normal clothes?

Most of the time it’s normal clothes, but if I’m going on a long leisure ride, then Lycra.

If you had £100 to spend on cycling, what would you get?

A spare set of lights or a new cargo net for my vast front crate.

What’s your favourite cycle journey? My 3.5-mile commute to Westminster. Quicker than public transport, costs nothing, keeps me healthy, and is a source of pleasure.

What single thing would most improve matters for UK cyclists?

Going back in time and starting in about 1981 with a decades-long programme of building safe infrastructure.

Peter’s latest book, The Miracle Pill, is now available in paperback.

new, interactive, online ride leader training course aims to equip our member group volunteers with the skills and knowledge they need to organise enjoyable and safe leisure rides. Modules will cover: ride planning; road positioning; how to keep the group safe; what equipment to take; how to be more inclusive; what to do in an emergency; and much more. The course has been developed by Cycling UK staff and

Photo: Gerald Hoban

Stay in touch

CYCLECLIPS: free weekly email newsletter. Sign up at cyclinguk.org/subscribe

CAMPAIGN NEWS: monthly campaigns bulletin. Sign up at cyclinguk.org/subscribe-tocycle-campaign-news

Maintaining momentum

As we approach the end of 2022 it’s a good time to reflect on the year just gone and look ahead to what’s to come. It’s certainly been another rollercoaster of a year. The political landscape has been at perhaps its most topsy-turvy in recent memory. That led to some uncertainty around whether a new administration in Westminster would continue to commit to funding improved infrastructure for cycling and walking.

Thousands of Cycling UK members in England took up our call to ask their MP not to support any cuts to the active travel budget. At the time of writing we’re waiting to hear more about the budget, but it’s inspiring to know that when we combine our voices we present a powerful chorus in support of cycling.

Over the autumn we continued to see media interest in cycling and some encouraging signs that more and more people are turning to active transport in response to the cost of living crisis. It was good to see Prime Minister Rishi Sunak decide to attend the COP27 climate summit this month and great to see so many of you join with us in the ‘march for cycling’ events around the UK, which highlighted cycling’s role in fighting climate change.

Many of you will have seen that we recently announced the winners of our 100 Women in Cycling awards. These include some truly incredible women making a real difference to cycling in 2022. Read on to be inspired.

In other awards news, huge congratulations to our campaigns and policy team, who have just won BikeBiz’s Cycle Advocacy Award for their work on changes to the Highway Code and the Shoreham legal challenge – neither of which would have been possible without the support of our members.

Looking ahead to next year, we’re busy planning delivery of the range of our programmes that help new groups of people to access cycling around the UK. In 2023 we’ll deliver a wide range of activities, including the national e-cycles hire scheme, learn-to-ride activities, bike repair schemes and much more. You can find out more about what we’ll be up to next year in this issue.

This year has certainly been a journey, and along the way there been some great successes and plenty of forward progress. We’re looking forward to next year and getting even more people in the saddle in 2023.

Against a backdrop of tumultuous politics and economic shocks, Cycling UK still made progress in improving cycling’s prospects.

Sarah Mitchell elaborates

£8million

Investment

p8 Revised at last in January this year

24%

E-cycles

EMPOWERING CYCLISTS

We announced the launch of our innovative e-cycles scheme back in the June/July edition of Cycle. Since then, Cycling UK has been working hard behind the scenes to ensure that ‘Making cycling e-asier’ will benefit as many people as possible in pilot cities across England.

Following an £8million investment from the Department for Transport, the scheme continues to successfully deliver in Manchester and will launch in several more locations –including Leicester, Luton and Dunstable and Sheffield – in the coming months.

Communities in each location will be given access to a wide range of electric bikes and trikes, including conventional e-bikes, non-standard e-cycles and e-cargo bikes and trikes. These will be accessed through selected Evans Cycles e-hubs, local community e-hubs, workplaces, and education hubs. Cycling UK experts will be on hand to share e-cycle skills and knowledge.

Participants can enjoy a free one-month e-cycle loan or take part in an interactive skills and confidence session. Prior to using the machines, beneficiaries will be shown how an e-cycle works and given

basic training to ensure that they feel safe and comfortable riding and looking after an electrically assisted cycle.

People of all cycling abilities can benefit from ‘Making cycling e-asier’. The extra energy from the battery and motor will give them the opportunity to discover the advantages of using an e-cycle for short journeys such as commuting to work, doing the school run or nipping to the shop for groceries. By incorporating exercise into everyday trips, participants can start to reap the associated mental and physical health benefits.

Due to the current cost of living crisis, many people across the country are looking for ways to cut costs. Beneficiaries who choose to use their free e-cycle loan to cut down on shorter car journeys can save money on fuel and might also consider driving less and cycling more as a long-term choice. By cutting down on car emissions, this scheme is also helping to fight climate change.

‘Making cycling e-asier’ delivers part of the ambitious Cycling and Walking Plan (Gear Change), which has a target for half of all journeys in towns and cities to be cycled or walked by 2030.

For more information or to sign up, visit cyclinguk.org/making-cycling-e-asier

Transport

NO ONE AT THE WHEEL?

Driverless cars might be the next step in driving, helping to make the roads safer and less congested. Road collisions could still happen, however, and if it’s between a driverless car and a cyclist or pedestrian, what would that mean in the courts? A multi-national manufacturer squaring off against Joe Public? Policy director Roger Geffen considers whether now is the time to make presumed liability a reality on UK roads. cyclinguk. org/driverless-future

Self-driving car trial

Membership ANNUAL PRICE RISES

As passed at this year’s AGM, from December 2022 the Individual membership rate will increase to £50, having been frozen for two years, and the Household rate will rise to £80. The Concessionary rate and Affiliated individual membership will remain at £33. Life membership will be moving to a flat rate of £950. Group membership will increase to £88 from February 2023.

Left: Joe Cotterill. Right: Alamy

Our ‘Making cycling e-asier’ project will enable residents of several English cities to switch on to e-bikes. Joanne Clark gives an update on how it’s going

Participants can enjoy a free one-month loan

Proportion of UK’s greenhouse gas emissions that come from transport, the highest sector (source: gov.uk)

(source: BBC)

EVERYONE’S A WINNER

Raffle Thank you to everyone who took part in our Summer Raffle: your support helped raise over £44,000 for our charitable projects, an incredible result. To view the full list of lucky winners, visit the website below. Didn’t win this time? Don’t worry –you’ll get another chance to win some great prizes in our Biggest Ever E-bike Raffle. Entries for it open online on 2 January 2023. cyclinguk.org/rafflescompetitions

Governance

TRUSTEE ELECTION

RESULTS

Cycling UK is pleased to announce the results of the 2022 Trustee Elections. Details of the successful candidates can be found at: cyclinguk.org/trustees. We would like to thank all those involved in the election process, and we welcome the 2023 Cycling UK board of trustees, all of whom will help direct Cycling UK’s strategy, enabling millions more people to cycle.

Northern Ireland

INACTIVE TRAVEL PLAN

At the time of writing, Northern Ireland remains in limbo. There’s no Assembly or ministers and no election has been called. Yet this can no longer be an excuse for inaction by the Department for Infrastructure, whose dismal record speaks for itself.

Belfast has just two miles of permanent, segregated cycle paths, and there’s been no adoption of or consultation on the GB Highway Code changes, which help protect vulnerable road users; the DfI still uses outdated terms like ‘shared responsibility’ in its recent Road Safety Strategy. These are all things that should have been addressed when we had a minister in post.

The Climate Change Act in Northern Ireland signed into law a commitment to 10% of the

Transport

WALES STRATEGY BEACHED

Last year Cycling UK welcomed the long-term ambitions and vision set out in the Welsh Government’s 20-year transport strategy, Llwbyr Newydd. Unfortunately, and with huge support from local campaigners, we’ve had to submit a less positive response to the government’s consultation on its National Transport Delivery Plan. It was supposed to set out how these ambitions would be

transport budget being spent on active travel, and that applies regardless of whether the Assembly is sitting or a minister is in post. But the last we heard from the DfI on this was that the plan is “due by the end of 2023”, over a year and a half after the Act became law. It’s another excuse to kick the active travel can further down the road, when that road sorely needs a cycle lane.

Stalemate at Stormont shouldn’t be an excuse for not creating a dedicated team to deliver the Belfast Bicycle Network, or start consulting on an Active Travel Act so it is ‘oven ready’ when the Assembly returns. But we need civil servants and the DfI to move from being a department for road building to one that takes active travel seriously.

realised, but there’s not enough on delivery, timescales, detail, funding or accountability. If the government really wants to switch more people to active travel, we hope they listen to our recommendations. cyclinguk. org/wales-strategy-beached

Active travel should, by law, get 10% of the NI transport budget

Left: Doubletake Projections

of British drivers support the changes to the Highway Code

78%

Cyclists head to the Senedd

Member groups

FIFE & KINROSS CENTENARY

Fife and Kinross CTC are having a final fling for their centenary with a Christmas ceilidh on 3 December. It rounds off a year of celebrations, which included a club dinner and several commemorative rides, including a weekend visit to the group’s very own hut. Fife and Kinross offer ‘rendezvous rides’ on Wednesdays and Saturdays year round. cyclinguk.org/ local-groups/fife-kinross

Awards

100 WOMEN IN CYCLING 2022

Now in its sixth year, Cycling UK’s list celebrating the achievements of outstanding women in cycling was revealed in November.

Family cycling CHILDREN CYCLING BENEFITS ALL

When children cycle, it brings financial, health and practical benefits to the wider family – as well as advantages for the children themselves. So says recently published research conducted by Cycling UK and commissioned by Transport Scotland. Interviews with parents across Scotland showed that when children cycle, benefits include saving money and creating quality family time. cyclinguk.org/ new-research

At Cycling UK, we believe representation matters and is crucial in guiding behaviour – if we see people like ourselves doing something, we’re more likely to believe we can do it too. That’s why, since 2017, we’ve been releasing our annual list of 100 Women in Cycling, which recognises the achievements of women empowering other women to get on their bikes.

Men who cycle still outnumber women, a discrepancy we want to redress given the myriad benefits and joys cycling offers. By and large, taking up cycling can seem more challenging to women than men, whether the obstacles are real or perceived – from safety concerns, to care duties, or the fact that the cycling world can seem a dauntingly male-dominated environment. In some cases, women were simply never encouraged to ride a bike as a child if it was not considered a thing girls should be doing.

The 100 Women in Cycling 2022 list again celebrates achievements in four different categories: sporting accolades; industry trailblazing; influencer storytelling; and

grassroots campaigning and community support. All are equally important in improving the visibility of women’s cycling. To give a flavour of this year’s list, we’ve given away gongs to para-cyclist pair Sophie Unwin and Jenny Holl, alongside 10-year-old BMX champion Amelie Eaton. We’re also shining a spotlight on climate activist Jessie Stevens, who was just 17 when she cycled all the way from Dartmoor to Glasgow for COP26, and Caroline Burrows, who uses poetry to tell stories about cycling. And there’s a whole host of community champions who campaign tirelessly for active travel and inspire others through leading rides, fixing bikes, and organising inclusive group activities.

cyclinguk.org/100women/2022

years ago Cycling UK organised a mass trespass on Dartmoor over its bike ban: cyclinguk.org/ dartmoor-1998

Teenage climate activist Jessie Stevens

Left: Jordan Gibbons

DONATE NOW FOR TOMORROW’S JUSTICE

An awful lot has happened in the last year. It seems like only yesterday we were celebrating victory in Shoreham and showing councils across the country that there are serious repercussions for unlawfully removing cycle lanes. That win was down to you, thanks to your support and generous donations.

This year we fought to ensure justice prevailed again, this time for Tom Bosanquet. When Avon and Somerset police made the decision to charge Tom for inconsiderate cycling, he contacted us. Through our Cyclists’ Defence Fund, we paid his legal costs for defending the case. We felt it was only right to support Tom, one of our members, not only to help him but also to ensure decisions like this don’t happen again.

Tom had found himself at the traffic lights next to a driver who was engrossed in using a mobile phone, and then witnessed another

running through a red light. Tom submitted video evidence of these offences, only to be prosecuted himself for inconsiderate cycling because he’d delayed another driver for a few seconds!

The Crown Prosecution Service saw sense when it reviewed the case before the trial date, and rightly took the decision to drop it. Prosecuting a cyclist for delaying a motorist risked setting

a dangerous precedent, potentially leading to cyclists being blamed for other people’s impatience or bad driving. That was why the Cyclists’ Defence Fund took Tom’s case. Yet Tom’s experience isn’t unique. A police officer in Essex this year stopped two cyclists he claimed were “causing an obstruction” and “causing people to drive carelessly” – a complete misrepresentation of the Highway Code.

Off-road access

It is not just on our roads where we are having to use our Cyclists’ Defence Fund to ensure that cyclists’ rights are heard.

We were delighted to hear the announcement of a new national trail, the coast-to-coast Wainwright route, stretching from St Bees in Cumbria to Robin Hood’s Bay in North Yorkshire. But much to our dismay it was designed to be inaccessible to cyclists – and, for that matter,

Caught running a red light: not charged. The cyclist filming was!

Only two of England’s 16 National Trails are ridable. Donate now to change this!

we set to work.

National trails can be planned as multiuser trails (see p47), but currently just two of England’s 16 existing national trails have been. The Wainwright route was to be for walkers only, too. Natural England and DEFRA failed to consult with Cycling UK and the BHS during the initial consultation phase of the new national trail. This is despite both organisations being prescribed outdoor user groups, who should be consulted on changes to rights of way.

On this basis, our only course of action was to submit a Pre-Action Protocol letter to the then Secretary of State for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), the Rt Hon Ranil Jayawardena MP. That letter set out the legal grounds and demonstrated the ways in which the decision was unlawful. It called on the government to reconsider the proposals for the route because Natural England had failed to consult appropriately.

Thanks to our joint threat of legal action, DEFRA and Natural England have undertaken to consult with ourselves and BHS and revisit their decision. The best possible outcome from this would be that the Wainwright route is made accessible for people cycling and horse riding as well as on foot.

More cycle lanes, not fewer

This year cycle lanes and judicial reviews have been at the forefront of our minds once again. A long-awaited report that the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea commissioned from the Centre for London was finally published. It recommended that more cycle lanes were needed – timely advice because there’s a judicial review of the decision the borough took to remove a cycle lane on Kensington High Street. This is scheduled for trial in December.

While the judicial review is being brought by Better Streets for Kensington and Chelsea, we chose to use CDF resources to support them. By providing advice and financial support to another superb local group, we can further the reach of the fund and our work.

We all know it can take time to effect change. Take the Highway Code: years of campaigning and hard work finally saw a significant revision. Thanks again for supporting us through that.

Déjà vu on Dartmoor

Our next big challenge – and one reason we need your donations now – will likely be fighting for cycling access on Dartmoor. Some 24 years ago we staged a protest on Dartmoor against bye-laws that restricted cycling there. We could be heading back there…

We’re looking at Dartmoor’s bye-laws now because last year the Dartmoor National Park Authority (DNPA) consulted again on them. We believe that the criminalisation of cycling across large parts of Dartmoor conflicts with the statutory purposes of national parks. DNPA is about to publish its final proposals for bye-law amendments. If the restrictions aren’t relaxed, that’s another challenge to consider – and another protest!

Like many of the cases we pursue, the Dartmoor one could set a dangerous precedent so we want to nip it in the bud. There’s a worrying trend for authorities trying to restrict cycling access –despite an upsurge in cycling from people looking for economical and ecological ways to travel, and for safe and stunning places to ride their bikes.

That is what we want for all cyclists and would-be cyclists. With your help and donations, we can achieve this. So please, at this festive time, give a donation to the Cyclists’ Defence Fund. Thank you.

• ONLINE: at cyclinguk.org/cdf

• PHONE: by calling 01483 238 300

• POST: send a cheque made payable to ‘Cycling UK’ to: Cycling UK, Parklands, Railton Road, Guildford, SURREY GU2 9JX , not forgetting to let us know it’s for the Cyclists’ Defence Fund.

Ennerdale – donate now to ensure you get to see this view by bike. The protected cycle lane in Shoreham that was unlawfully removed. Cycling UK’s 1998 protest on Dartmoor

Clockwise from top: alh1, FlickrCC; Shoreham ByCycle; Alec McCalden

horse riders. In conjunction with The British Horse Society,

Fundraiser

CANDY WHITTOME

Cancer survivor Candy Whittome is raising money for Cycling UK while exploring the world by bike. Tiia Jaakola spoke to her

One of our 100 Women in Cycling 2020, Candy Whittome decided she’d travel the world by bike once she had recovered from cancer treatment. The pandemic delayed her but she’s now back on the road. Instead of circumnavigating the globe, she has divided her adventure into four sections: east, west, north and south.

Her eastward leg took her across Continental Europe to Greece and back in 2021. In April 2022, she set off to ride westward for seven weeks through South-East Asia. Landing in Hanoi, she cycled to Ho Chi Minh City, up the Mekong through Cambodia (with a stop-off in Singapore), then along the coast to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Candy only took up cycling again in her 50s, initially for her own health and fitness, but quickly fell in love with riding. She believes it had a big impact on her recovery from cancer, and her doctors agree it helped her tolerate chemo. That’s why she decided to fundraise for Cycling UK, wanting to help make the UK a better place for cycling.

Train services are one area where Candy thinks the UK can learn from South-East Asia. “All the trains have luggage carriages,” she says, adding that staff are on hand to load passengers’ bikes. “Once you know the system, the service is fantastic. But when they say there is no room, they really mean it.” Bike spaces sometimes need booking weeks in advance.

Raising money for Cycling UK

Whether you have signed up to an event or are creating your own adventure like Candy, you can nominate Cycling UK as your chosen charity. There are multiple platforms that can assist you, from JustGiving to Facebook – visit cyclinguk.org/ fundraise-for-us for more information.

And if you don’t have time to fundraise for us, don’t forget that you can still donate to help with our charitable and campaigning projects.

Another difference is that cycling in South-East Asia is accepted as a normal form of transport for anyone. Locals weren’t surprised to see her cycling but instead were “always unfailingly kind, helpful and interested.” Women in particular were curious about what Candy was doing.

The weather took some acclimatising. Not only is it hot but incredibly humid too. “Getting up early is the key”, Candy says. She rose at five and was on the road by six, because by 7.30 it was already hot. She says she treasured those early mornings, however: just her, the darkness, and the dawn chorus of birds and cicadas.

The abundant wildlife was another highlight. One morning on a quiet country road she encountered a wild boar walking across the road. “It took one look at me and thought, ‘I don’t wanna see you’.” Snakes slithered across the road and monkeys were swinging in the trees. “That was just amazing.”

There was also a moment where Candy questioned whether she could finish this leg of her adventure. “I’d had something to eat that didn’t agree with me and was feeling really quite sorry for myself,” she says. Starting to brush her teeth with the water bought earlier, her face felt suddenly on fire.

It wasn’t water but white spirits, which are sometimes sold in similar bottles. “That was a low point,” Candy admits. But catching sight of her Cycling UK top soon after, she says knew she couldn’t give up.

Candy’s northward leg saw her cycle across the Baltic countries and Finland in summer 2022. For her final segment in 2023, she’s planning to start in Ethiopia and see how far south she can get.

More info

Read more about Candy’s travels online:

cyclinguk.org/article/travellingall-senses-exploring-world-bike

Candy on the road in Malaysia earlier this year

SHOP WINDOW

1

Cycling UK gift membership

£48+

As well as six issues of Cycle, £10m third-party insurance and more, your recipient gets a free gift –Stolen Goat cycling socks or a Blackburn 2’fer light. cyclinguk.org/JoinXmas

5 Quad Lock Bike Kit £45.99+

With the right apps, your phone can function as a GPS bike computer or satnav. With this kit, it won’t fall off the handlebar and break. quadlockcase.co.uk

6 Wolftooth RoadLink £23

Roadies: stop suffering on climbs. Fit this, an 11-40-tooth cassette, and some extra chain links, then spin up hills smiling. wolftoothcomponents.com

2

Timber! MTB Bell 4.0 £27.99

Jingle all the way (or just some of it) on shared trails off road, alerting walkers to your presence before you round the corner. cyclorise.com 3

Endura Pro SL Winter Cap £31.99

Not indoors on Zwift? Me neither. This keeps cold wind off your ears and sleet out of your eyes. Fine with or without a helmet. endurasport.com 4 Bicycle Maintenance Guide £4.49

Save money with DIY repairs. This app has over seven hours of (more reliable than random YouTubers) video and 50,000+ words. And it gets updated. iOS or Android

Cycling UK guidebooks £14 each

Help someone find their next adventure with a printed guidebook to one of Cycling UK’s new routes. Price for members is just £12. cyclinguk.org/guides

More online

Check out our in-depth reviews of the latest bikes and gear online at: cyclinguk.org/cycling-advice

Gearup

COMPONENTS, KIT, AND MEDIA SELECTED AND REVIEWED

BY

BIKE JOURNALISTS AND CYCLING UK STAFF

Put to the test

Is there a product that you think needs reviewing?

Write to: Cycle, PO Box 313, Scarborough, YO12 6WZ editor@cyclinguk.org

The Beacon 2 follows on from the successful first version, which was a favourite with many dirtroad tourers and backcountry bikepackers like long-time Cycle contributor Cass Gilbert. Not having used v1, I asked Cass for his thoughts on the Beacon 2, and he noted some real improvements, particularly less flicker. That’s important given that the light is designed to be used at the low speeds you often travel at when riding off road. I only noticed an initial flicker when I started riding, which is soon replaced by a steady beam after you’ve travelled a few metres.

It’s solidly built from machined aluminium, and houses a powerful 750-lumen light with three separate LEDs. A switch allows you to toggle between high and low beams or turn it off. The low beam works well for road riding with intermittent street lighting, and will likely cause less glare for other road users –though you may want to angle its beam down.

The 750-lumen high beam gives a good spread of light, enabling you to ride with confidence in the dark. I headed down a bluegraded trail at night with just the Beacon 2, and had no trouble picking my way while equally competent riding pals with

Cycle’s test promise

battery-powered lights gingerly inched along.

The illumination is fantastic, but for me what puts this light above others in its class is the facility to charge devices on the go. While you can buy additional components to charge your electronics via a dynamo hub, I usually find them a bit fiddly.

You pay for the convenience with the Beacon 2 but you’re also getting lighting and charging systems that are designed to work together. Lighting is given priority over charging, as it should be.

Sinewave uses corrosion-resistant connectors, like gold-plated USB contacts, and covers the

electronics in epoxy so even if water gets inside the connectors it won’t do any damage.

One other neat touch is, as well as charging an external battery pack, you can also use that pack to power the light. It’s ideal for when climbing at night, lighting your campsite or even allowing you to switch the lamp to another bike without a dynamo.

Price is dependent on the exchange rate as it’s made in the USA, although it’s available here from St John Street Cycles. Don’t forget to factor in a hub dynamo (and wheel build?) if you don’t already have one.

Sam Jones

At Cycle, we are proudly independent. There’s no pressure to please advertisers as we’re funded by your membership. Our product reviews aren’t press releases; they’re written by experienced cyclists after thorough testing.

Verdict

Perfect for selfsufficient cycling adventures, this powerful, if expensive, light will easily ensure you have no trouble travelling in the hours of darkness, while also keeping your electronics charged.

Ashort ride over bumpy ground is enough to dispel any doubt that Cane Creek’s EE Silk+ suspension seatpost is an effective device. Exactly how effective is something of a mystery as it doesn’t seem to move much when given the obligatory hands-on ‘pump’ test and it gives little sensation of movement when pedalling. And yet highly effective it is, and in a way that suggests an elastomersprung deformable parallelogram is the best suspension medium available for this application.

The concept has been around for a long time, with early examples dating back to the early 1990s when elastomer suspension seatposts designed for mountain bike use offered three or more

times the 35mm travel said to be available from the EE Silk+. ‘Said to be’, because there’s no obvious lowest point to its travel, unlike the definite bottoming out I felt a couple of times with the coil-spring-equipped Redshift ShockStop seatpost tested in the April/May 2021 issue.

The Cane Creek post’s parallelogram linkage provides a similar travel path for the saddle but uses a moulded block of flexible elastomer that’s compressed between the parallelogram’s plates as it is deformed. The elastomer bulges out of the way as it is squashed (its volume doesn’t change) but never becomes entirely rigid –although the linkage will run out of travel. The effect is to provide

Verdict

With a microadjustable cradle, five elastomer options and a choice of aluminium or carbon fibre posts, the EE Silk+ offers plenty of fitting choices to go with its exceptionally supple ride and impressive build quality. The rising rate of suspension makes it well suited to road and gravel riding alike.

a rapidly rising rate, swallowing the smallest bumps and ripples unnoticed and taking the edge off larger ones while settling at a consistent height during pedalling and, as far as the test could show, becoming highly resistant to further compression some way before reaching a definite – and uncomfortable – hard stop.

In any case, its 35mm of travel is a big increase on the 20mm offered by the road-orientated EE Silk. The Silk+ is aimed at ‘gravel’ cycling but, given the lack of pedal bob, will appeal to many riders who don’t venture off road. Elastomers of five hardness levels are available. The test post was supplied with no.3 installed; no.4 felt too hard for me (I’m 80kg).

The post is offered in 27.2mm and 31.6mm diameters and in aluminium and carbon fibre versions of both. Weights are 373g and 378g respectively for aluminium, while the carbon ones are each 50g lighter. The micro-adjustable cradle is set back by around 12mm. There’s no shielding to prevent dirt reaching the linkage bushings (I rigged up a boot from an old innertube) but spares are available if needed.

Richard Hallett

Pros & cons

+ Practical for utility cyclists

+ Durable, lockable, waterproof – Fixed capacity

Velobin

Velobin lockable pannier

Box-style plastic pannier with a lockable lid

£64.99 velobin.com

The Velobin pannier is something I tested 15 years ago in its previous incarnation as the Bikebin. It seemed like a bit of a novelty item at the time but proved surprisingly useful. My husband used it regularly for years to carry bike and gardening tools, and I used one for commuting until, after too many bashes into a narrow railing, the rack hooks gave way. The basic design of the Velobin seems to be much the same as the Bikebin but with a few refinements – for example, the Rixen Kaul hooks seem a lot stronger. (In any case, Velobin now offers a five-year warranty.)

The rigid, recycled plastic box is a convenient alternative to a fabric pannier for trips around town. No more fiddling with clips, zips or straps: just flip open the lid and grab what you need. As with any single-compartment

pannier, you may need to rummage for small items.

Quick-release hooks, a carry handle and a shoulder strap enable it to go with you easily. Or if you’re just popping into a shop you can leave it on the bike, locking the lid of the Velobin and securing it to the bike’s rack with a cable lock. (Assuming you have the lockable version of the pannier – there’s also a nonlockable model for £59.99.)

Velobin claims the product ‘will never leak’ and it certainly withstood a heavy Cumbrian downpour. The polypropylene material feels robust and the carrying capacity of up to 10kg is perfectly adequate for small shopping trips, utility journeys, and commuting – any clothing can be neatly folded rather than squashed up.

While I wouldn’t use the Velobin for touring (I’m a ‘take

everything you can squeeze in’ kind of traveller), the flat lid does provide a handy platform for carrying more stuff on top – assuming you attach a pair of Velobins. There are five handy loops around the lid to hook luggage straps onto.

There’s a choice of colour combinations: black with a blue, red, yellow or black lid. Velobins are sold singly and can be fitted to either side of a rear rack due to the tapered shape. Each has a capacity of 17.5 litres and weighs 1,100g.

Julie Rand

Verdict

A practical alternative to traditional panniers for everyday cycling journeys. Some rattling and shaking might make it unsuitable for things like cameras and laptops, unless they are wellpadded and secured safely.

Other options

ORTLIEB BIKESHOPPER £80

Waterproof 20-litre shopping pannier with a shoulder strap, Quick-Seal closure, and excellent QL2.1 hooks that allow singlehanded removal from the rack. ortlieb.com

£45

SPECIALIZED COOLCAVE PANNIER

A 19-litre pannier made of rigid, 50% recycled plastic. It’s equipped with KlickFix hooks and comes with a cargo net; a lid is an optional extra. specialized.com

Books

CYCLING INSPIRATION WHEN YOU’RE STUCK INSIDE

Details

By: Will Butler-Adams & Dan Davies

Publisher: Profile Books

Price: £25

ISBN: 9781788168304

Britain’s Best Bike Ride

Details

By: John Walsh & Hannah Reynolds

Publisher: Vertebrate Publishing

THERE’S SOMETHING CAPTIVATING about cycling across a whole country, whether from side to side or bottom to top. But before embarking on the journey it’s worth asking why you want to do it and what you hope to see. A select few will be motivated purely by time: to get it done as quickly as possible or set a record. If riding Land’s End to John o’ Groats (LEJOG) is on your bucket list and your focus is time, then the 1,000-mile route created for John Walsh and Hannah Reynolds book probably isn’t the one for you.

Details

By: Simon Parker

Publisher: Summersdale

Print queue

Cycle doesn’t feature all books received. Reviewers pick the ones they think you need to know about from the Editor’s shortlist. Send review copies to: Cycle, PO Box 313, Scarborough, YO12 6WZ

The Brompton

NEVER AGAIN will I simply glance over at a Brompton folded up on a train. Instead, I’ll see engineering, precision, enterprise, problem solving, tough decisions, crafting, production lines and, above all, success. It’s a story told passionately from the inside, mainly by Brompton’s CEO Will Butler-Adams. It journeys from inventor Andrew Ritchie’s shed in 1975 to 2022, titanium frames and a burgeoning turnover. This is a compelling read, a biography of a transformative bicycle. Recommended. Cherry Allan

Riding out

Price: £20 ISBN: 9781839811135

The shortest LEJOG route you can sensibly cycle is 874 miles but involves busy main road sections, and nobody I’ve spoken to who’s ridden that route has talked about experiencing the best of Britain by bike, just how quickly they did it.

That’s what’s so special about this book, because the route is a meander through magnificent places and history. It’s an invitation to create memories of different regions from the saddle. The route is broken into 30 adaptable stages, with suggested itinerary options for ten-day, two-week or three-week adventures.

All the practical information you need from a guide – including directions, where to stop, stay and eat, mapping and downloadable GPX files – is included. The added magic with this one is its story of a journey through Britain; this is much more than just a trip from end to end.

Excerpts

You can read excerpts from some of the books that Cycle has reviewed at cyclinguk.org/ cycle-book-excerpts

It’s impossible to read this book without wondering how much your ride would be enriched by taking the long LEJOG route, giving yourself the time to breathe in the best of Britain by bike.

Duncan Dollimore

Price: £16.99

ISBN: 9781800074996

CYCLING AROUND BRITAIN in 2020, Simon Parker captures a moment that seemed to last forever, when people were nervous even to approach each other. Despite this fraught atmosphere, the vulnerability of being a solo cyclist enables him to connect with people he meets and discover how the pandemic impacted all of us, from Shetland to the Scilly Isles. It’s an enlightening book that doesn’t shy away from big topics like loss, grief, and mental health struggles, and the healing power of the outdoors.

Sophie Gordon

The Dot

Details

By: Lachlan Morton

Publisher: Rapha

Editions & Bluetrain

Publishing

Price: £20

ISBN: 9781912164219

COULD A SINGLE, unsupported rider complete the full Tour de France route –including transfers – ahead of the race itself? Inspired by the Tour’s earliest riders, professional cyclist Lachlan Morton took on the challenge. Morton’s account of his relentless ride is raw and brutally honest – a fascinating window into the world of someone who can pedal many thousands of kilometres. This is an eloquently written and beautifully printed book, although at 132 pages it does feel a tad lightweight for the price tag.

Sam Waller

THIS MONTH CYCLISTS WELCOME, CYCLE TRACK GATES, LOWER GEARS, WASPS, CYCLE INSURANCE, AND MORE

Letter of the month

Cyclists welcome

What a welcome sight the article ‘You’re Welcome’ in the Aug/Sep issue was. I live near King Alfred’s Way and I’ve seen some of the wonderful small businesses that seem to have cropped up to support people cycling it. I’m sure the same will be happening with the West Kernow Way, the Cantii Way and any other such routes.

As a member since the early 1990s, I remember the old CTC handbook well and always thought its demise was a shame. As I started reading the article, I began thinking to myself: “This is exactly what the old handbook used to be. Wouldn’t it be great to have a new online version?”

As I read further, I see that’s exactly what is being planned. Are there any plans for Cycling UK members to contribute recommendations of cyclefriendly businesses? With the outreach available through Cycling UK, such a resource could become a huge benefit both for Cycling UK members and the cycling community as a whole.

Neil Warwick

It’s not UK-wide but businesses in Cornwall, Kent, and Norfolk (where the Experience Project is happening) can already apply to become cyclefriendly places, and members can suggest to owners that they do so – see cyclinguk.org/experience

Win a Green Oil bike care kit worth £64.99

The letter of the month wins an Eco Rider Deluxe set, courtesy of Green Oil. Green Oil’s plant-based lubes and cleaners are fully biodegradable and contain no PTFE. The kit comprises: Green Oil Wet Chain Lube; Ecogrease; Green Clean Bike Cleaner; Clean Chain Degreaser; FSC Drive Chain Brush; two Bike Armour cable-rub protectors; an EcoRag; a reusable plastic tub for water or storage; and some seeds to grow your own food! For details, or to order Green Oil products, visit green-oil.net

Get in touch

LETTERS are edited for space, clarity and, if necessary, legality. The editor reads and acknowledges all members’ letters but publishes only a selection and doesn’t enter into correspondence. Feedback for the next issue must arrive by 23 December. Please include your membership number.

WRITE TO: Cycle, PO Box 313, Scarborough, YO12 6WZ or email editor@cyclinguk.org

Open to all

In relation to the letter about not being able to get through gates on a handcycle, I thought I’d send you a photo of this gate in Broughton Wood, a Forestry England site near Broughton in Furness. It is based on a similar one, which I think was the first ever of this design, in Grizedale Forest. Sadly the one in Grizedale has fallen into a state of disrepair.

The gate is really easy to use and it swings both ways, so it’s usable in either direction. As it self closes, such a design would make sense for fields with sheep and cows in. It would be nice to see such a design rolled out more widely.

Alan Grace

Incy spider

What a pity you reviewed a 46-30 Middleburn chainset, a setup one can get cheaper elsewhere, rather than something unique to Middleburn and especially wanted by Cycle’s readers. I’m talking about the truly sub-compact doubles that can be assembled upon Middleburn’s ‘Incy’ spider.

This five-arm spider has BCDs of 110 and 58mm, accepting outer rings down to 34 and inners as small as 20 teeth! My Incy runs 40-20 with an 11-36 10-speed cassette. The resulting 15in bottom gear helps this 68-yearold continue to access all areas without much difficulty or a motor!

Chris Juden

Left: Pannier.cc

The West Kernow Way’s cycle-friendly Keigwin House

Obituaries

Are

Pop to the shops

Photo of the month

Standard bearer

When wasps attack

I was reading the Aug/Sep issue and saw the hairnet-on-the-bike-helmet tip for deterring wasps (and the neck injury warning that came after it).

Last September, I was cycling across the bridge over the Clyde when a wasp flew inside my glasses, stung me by my right eye, then went into my helmet. Throwing off my helmet, with my glasses skittering alongside it (now broken), I realised I had been stung four times on my scalp while it crawled inside the helmet. It flew away and I went to work with one eye mostly closed for three days.

Does anyone have any other tips to handle wasps?

Liz Small

Quality cover

I recently experienced some great customer care from one of Cycling UK’s partners, Yellow Jersey. I had a minor incident when I had to avoid a car reversing carelessly out of a side road. Having swerved, I lost control of the bike, hit a hard ridge hidden in the grass verge, and fell. Thankfully I missed the car (which disappeared) but buckled the front wheel badly.

Yellow Jersey quickly agreed the insurance claim and suggested I get the fork professionally checked out –even though it didn’t look damaged, it could be. As it turns out, they were correct. Yellow Jersey found me the right replacement fork and got it delivered the next day to my local repair shop, who also built a new wheel around the undamaged hub dynamo.

It was fantastic service. So thank you to Yellow Jersey for getting me back on the road so speedily and safely.

Bill Clegg

Shopping by bike is good for your health, the environment, the economy, and overcomes parking problems. It is perhaps a little restrictive on carriage weight and volume but how it lifts the spirits! Covid spoiled two years of all our lives and public transport was a difficult substitute. Popping to the shops was a real life saver for me.

I’m now 92. I cycled as a child and with my family, then returned to riding aged 65. I joined the local Bicycle Belles ladies’ club, cycling every Saturday. When my friend Betty contracted Alzheimer’s, I decided to ride 1,000 miles in 12 months to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society and the Live! Cheshire charity. In 2018 I was nominated as one of Cycling UK’s 100 Women in Cycling.

Sylvia Briercliffe

Warm showers

Having recently retired, I have decided it would be good to do some cycle touring, primarily in the UK but potentially abroad in the future. In looking for cheap accommodation options, I came across warmshowers.org , which facilitates “reciprocal hospitality for cyclists and hosts”.

Before I part with $30 to join their network, I wondered if many Cycling UK members are also members of the warmshowers community. What have your experiences of hosting and being hosted been like? Are there many hosts in the UK?

Feedback from any members would be very helpful.

Paul Fletcher

CYCLING UK FORUM

Get immediate feedback from other members at forum.cyclinguk.org. Here’s an abridged extract from a recent thread: cyclinguk.org/ winter-glove-recommendations

GOOD WINTER CYCLING

GLOVES?

Jon in Sweden: This will be our first winter in Sweden and also my first winter on the bike since I was a child (in Derbyshire). Can anyone recommend good gloves that will see me through the winter?

Paulatic: I find EDZ Boiled Wool Gloves really warm and perfect for cycling.

roubaixtuesday: Carnac Waterproof Crab Hand Winter Gloves from Planet X (£14.99). Would also strongly recommend thin synthetic liner gloves with any winter glove when really cold.

Jdsk: Would you consider electrically heated gloves?

tenbikes: Pogies are the best of any kind of glove for winter… 45Nrth or Rock Brothers. I have both; the RB are warmer and half the price.

KM2: Ex-army mitts, with trigger finger.

Lamb skin inner, attached to leather palms, thumb and canvas backing. I’m still on my first pair, stamped 1955.

Slowster: I think that tenbikes is right: pogies, probably combined with a thinnish fabric glove, e.g. wool or polypropylene. foxyrider: My cold weather gloves are actually ski gloves.

Think i’ve got five levels of glove plus the over mitts and liners, so there is something to suit all conditions.

Bmblbzzz : Also think about your eyes: clear glasses to stop them drying out and/or streaming with water in the cold. I also found a buff or similar around the chin a great help.

Dingdong : My preference is for thin, 100% wool black gloves. The same as burglars use! They heat up very quickly and dry very quickly if they do get wet.

Having seen the item in the Oct/Nov issue about the cycling mural in Manchester, I thought you may like this: a new mural in Beeston, Nottinghamshire, commemorating Sid Standard. Sid ran the local bike shop and led many rides. He was particularly noted for bringing on the youngsters, including future fashion designer Sir Paul Smith. The mural includes Sid’s well-known saying: “It’s all rideable.” Ian Newton

published online at cyclinguk. org/obituaries . Contact publicity@ cyclinguk.org

Great Rides

On a meandering tour from Kenya to Cape Town, Keir Gallagher and his partner Heba spent a week riding through Damaraland in Namibia

DESERT CROSSING

Giraffe numbers are on the rise here but (right) the human population is sparse

KEIR GALLAGHER

Keir and Heba are on a year-long tour. Follow them on Instagram @boosting_about

Cycling into a desert is always a daunting prospect. We’d mapped out a chain of water points, increased our capacity to 23 litres between the two of us, and crammed our panniers with seven days’ worth of breakfasts, lunches, dinners and snacks. Yet as we rolled out of the frontier town of Kamanjab and into Damaraland, a sparsely populated and desperately arid region of the Namib Desert, our excitement was tempered by nervousness.

Would the wells we were relying on be dry? Would our supplies last? And, perhaps just as importantly, would the scenic wonders of this inhospitable region live up to our high expectations?

ARID BEAUTY

As it turned out, that last question was first to be answered. We’d spent the previous weeks of our tour from Kenya to Cape Town cycling and hitchhiking across the Kalahari savanna, our minds numb after 2,000 kilometres of dead-straight, pan-flat roads. I was anticipating a day or two of transition from the dull plains to the unique scenery of the Namib Desert.

But from the moment we left town, we found ourselves riding through a rapidly changing landscape. A natural sculpture park of Picassoesque boulders rose from either side of the road, carved by millennia of wind, while jagged crags burst upwards between them like shards of glass.

Thrilled by the scenery, our first real challenge was soon visible ahead: Grootberg Pass, a snaking line of gravel weaving between the cliff-crowned, flat-topped Palmwag mountains. At just 350m in altitude, it ought to have been an uncomplicated climb, but in Namibia nothing is as straightforward as it ought to be.

As we began the approach, one of my overladen panniers became the first casualty of the rough roads: a screw had rattled loose and disappeared in the sand, leaving the bag hanging limply off the

rack. I pinched another to patch it up, and we were soon beginning the climb, hauling our 60kg bikes into a fierce headwind under the blistering sun.

It was a tiresome slog, but with stunning scenery on all sides, glowing golden in the afternoon light, it was impossible to be anything but elated as we summited the pass and rolled down to find a beautiful spot to camp. A magnificent starscape soon grew above us.

DESERT GIANTS

We were delighted to find our expected water points appearing on cue, with village hand pumps or tanks providing once-a-day refills. Just as our nerves were slipping away, we were treated to another of Namibia’s wonders.

Heba spotted the first one, which was well camouflaged against the ochre hues of the desert landscape. Another materialised beside it, eyeing us curiously from behind a stunted tree, and then another. Suddenly, six giraffes were staring straight at us from the roadside.

Normally among the shyest of animals, this troop was unfazed by two dusty cyclists. We were the awestruck ones, admiring their awkward elegance as they paraded onto the road ahead. No clearer message could have been sent: road or no road, this was their domain; we were merely guests.

While we’d seen plenty of giraffes over the previous months, most of Africa’s famous wildlife is concentrated in national parks, where cycling is generally prohibited and entry fees are high. Here in Damaraland, however, it’s the people who are confined to a handful of small settlements, while giraffes, elephants, zebras, antelope and lions roam freely beyond. Sharing the road with these remarkable animals was a truly special moment.

The following days were a treasure of gravel road riding as we passed through red Martian landscapes, pale

moonscapes scattered with alien plants, ancient canyons, unexpectedly luscious wildflower meadows, and sand dunes carpeted by silvery grasses rippling in the wind like a sea of mercury. Recent rains had ended a 10-year drought and, although the rivers were again bone dry, we were treated to the rare wonder of a desert in bloom.

SLOGGING THROUGH SAND

In this world of extremes, the sublime beauty of the landscape was inevitably matched by its inhospitableness. As the days passed our muscles ached, our lips cracked in the dry air, and we spent our afternoons huddled under whatever shade we could find to avoid heatstroke.

By day six, we were just 117km from the small mining town of Uis. A good day’s ride would mean we’d reach it –and a shower, a bed and a cold beer – the following day.

Rising early and determined, we set off under a beautiful pastel sunrise. And then hit a stretch of unrideable sand, forcing us out of the saddle

Fact file A week in Damaraland

Distance: 468km Route: Following the C39 from Kamanjab over Grootberg Pass, before turning south at Palmwag and then joining the C35 to Uis, via the painfully sandy D2628 and D2612.

Conditions: Unrideably hot in the afternoon sun, chilly at night. Rough roads with plenty of washboard, loose gravel and sand.

Bikes used: Genesis Vagabonds

Maps/guides: A mix of Google maps, mapy.cz, Komoot and a paper map, while iOverlander helped find water points.

I’m glad I had… Rehydration salts, used daily, kept us hydrated, while our Hydrapak water bladders were invaluable for carrying capacity.

Next time I would… Love to ride it with significantly less luggage. We were weighed down with kit for a year-long expedition.

WE SPENT OUR AFTERNOONS HUDDLED UNDER WHATEVER SHADE WE COULD FIND TO AVOID HEATSTROKE

Top:

Despite greenery,

drinking water is scarce

Bottom: Palmwag mountains

and leaving us plowing a desperately slow course on foot, our energy and motivation sinking as rapidly as our wheels.

An army of flies descended on us, drawn to the sole source of moisture and salt for miles around: our pouring sweat. With our hands clinging to the handlebars to try to stay upright, flies would brazenly land on our cheeks, noses, ears or eyelashes, edging ever closer to the glistening moisture of our eyes. Swatting them merely sent them boomeranging around our heads to restart their exploration.

Frustrated and exhausted, Uis suddenly seemed days away. I found myself trapped in a cycle of mental anguish: I would gee myself up, remind myself that all progress is progress, and get into a positive mindset, knowing that every metre covered was one fewer between us and our destination.

Then I’d make the mistake of allowing positivity to turn into optimism. I’d hit a patch of slightly solid ground and hop onto the saddle, elated at being able to ride again. Looking ahead, I’d spot a slight rise in the road or a change in the shade of the surface. Perhaps the sand was ending? I was imagining easy riding all the way to town.

Then the front wheel would sink, and my heart would drop with it.

ICE COLD IN UIS

It was a punishing day: in six hours we covered just 20km. Our rations were thinning, and when we stopped, exhausted, for lunch, we discovered our six-day-old bread was mouldy. Emergency instant noodles – cooked with ease in the midday sun to preserve limited gas – saved lunch. But then we had to keep on pushing.

Eventually, with indescribable relief, we reached solid ground, and squeezed another 20km out of our tired legs. Our hope of reaching town the next day was alive.

Pitching our tent as the sun dropped, it felt like our perseverance had earned the desert’s respect. We were treated to the most incredible sunset, the sky turning slowly from pink, to purple, to orange, to yellow, while the silhouette of Brandberg loomed on the horizon like a huge moon.

It was an energy-restoring, magical moment, and the following day our dreams came true: we were gifted with rideable roads. By 2pm we

were sitting in the shade, clutching a pint, almost disbelieving the emotional rollercoaster of the previous seven days.

Elated and exhausted, we knew we’d barely scratched the surface of the Namib; we would spend the next month covering another 1,000km of this remarkable desert. But we also knew that if we’d managed Damaraland, we could manage anything, and that if the rest of Namibia was a fraction as incredible as this week had been, we’d be in for the ride of a lifetime.

Cycling in Africa

Africa is easily stereotyped as unstable, yet many countries are not only safe but are filled with friendly people and fantastic cycling, especially if you’re willing to explore the dirt and gravel backroads. However, it’s important to be prepared. Bring your own spare parts, sun cream, camping kit, and everything else you’ll need. For a cross-continental tour, the main challenge is covering the vast distances while avoiding the often busy intercity tarmac roads. Bikepacking.com has a detailed guide for cycling in Africa, which we found useful for preparation: bikepacking.com/plan/ bikepacking-africa/

IT WAS AN INCREDIBLE SUNSET, THE SKY TURNING FROM PINK, TO PURPLE, TO ORANGE

Top: Surreal sculptures litter the desert Bottom: Soft sand sapped mileages

Contine

Clockwise from top left: Stein am Rhein, Switzerland. Rijeka, Croatia. Steve near Passau, Germany. Little Venice in Colmar, France. Zagreb funicular, Croatia

drifter ntal

Brexit wasn’t going to stop Steve Melia’s long-anticipated, extended tour across Europe and back – but it would make it more complicated Healthcare

& insurance

When I retired, I promised myself I’d take a long tour through Europe. All my holidays have been in Britain or Western Europe for the past 17 years, as I stopped flying when I started working in sustainable transport. With time on my hands, I could dream of going further. By March 2022, two months before my 60th birthday, I was ready.

The idea was to ride through France, meeting up with some old friends and my father, who lives there, and then follow Eurovelo Route 6 to Vienna. From Vienna I would turn south, following Routes 9 and 8 along the Adriatic coast to Greece, before taking the ferry to southern Italy to start the long ride home.

I began planning all this before Brexit, however. The new rules have complicated travel across Europe and, as I would discover, unexpected events can complicate them still further. Due to the 90-day Schengen limit (see ‘The clock is ticking’, p41) my route was designed to reach Croatia as soon as possible. The sooner I could cross the Croatian border, the more time I could spend in Greece at the end of the trip. Or so I thought.

The weight I was carrying would limit my daily mileage but that was fine; I wanted to spend time enjoying the experience. Some of my cycling friends couldn’t understand why I wanted to carry so much stuff, but washing a single pair of underpants every night for several months is not my idea of fun.

FIRST STOP: FRANCE

I bought a pair of giant 70-litre Ortlieb panniers for the rear and a 25-litre pair for the front. I was going to take emergency camping gear but the bike was already too heavy, so I took my chances on finding affordable accommodation. For all their faults, Airbnb and booking.com have made that easier. I also used warmshowers.org, a community of cyclists offering accommodation free of charge,

through Britain and France, but it became more difficult to find hosts after that and I eventually stopped trying.

I crossed the Channel from Poole to Saint-Malo to ride through familiar territory, although it had been three Covid-infected years since my last visit to France; the remaining Covid restrictions there were lifted a few days after my arrival. I had almost forgotten what a great country France is to ride through, with its dense network of quiet lanes.

From Rennes, I headed south-east towards the Loire, where I followed Eurovelo 6 for a few days before turning south. This was the famous chateau route at its springtime best. In Saumur I spent a night in a studio flat inside a medieval building, where I carried my bike up a spiral staircase that looked like the entrance to a dungeon.

As I left the Loire corridor to follow the Vienne south-east, the population density began to fall. I have passed through many quiet villages in France but the contrast was particularly stark here.

Sylvain, an old friend from Paris, planned to join me in Argenton-sur-Creuse, from where we would ride together for two days. He has helped me out many times over the years – and soon would again.

The day from Argenton to Guéret was tough. The ride from Saint-Malo had been fairly flat, but as the terrain turned hillier the heavens opened. The 80km ride was long enough for me with full panniers; Sylvain had not ridden a bike since the pandemic and found it harder. In the only town on the route, Dun-le-Palestel, everything was closed, including the big supermarket. As we ate peanuts and muesli under the canopy of its petrol station, my body temperature dropped to shivering point.

The following day the weather improved as we followed the River Creuse to Aubusson. The beauty of the valley reminded me why my father chose to retire here, though he sometimes found it too quiet. Like much of rural France, the bars close early and

Brexit actually made little difference to healthcare for travellers. The GHIC has replaced the old E111, and in theory provides similar benefits. My experience is only in France (and nothing very serious) but whenever I have tried to use either of those cards, the receptionists or practice managers have always said: “I have no idea what that is; you will have to pay the full amount.” So the bottom line is, if you travel, you need healthcare insurance. It will not cover everything. No travel insurance would have covered the complicated dental treatment I needed.

For trips longer than 120 days, I discovered that it is almost impossible to insure your bike. I could have added it to the ‘gold level’ sports travel insurance I took out, but the additional premium would have been more than the bike was worth. Fortunately, the thieves who stole my phone and camera didn’t take the bike!

it lacks doctors and dentists, which was becoming a big issue in the presidential election campaign – and a painful one for me, as I was starting to get toothache under a bridge.

There was no chance of seeing a dentist in Aubusson. On my 10th attempt I finally spoke to someone at the dental hospital in Clermont-Ferrand, who gave me an appointment in a few days’ time. They gave me X-rays and other tests but couldn’t find anything seriously wrong, so I continued northeast towards the spa town of Vichy. Then the pain returned. Staying in France for longer treatment could bust the 90-day Schengen limit, so I reluctantly decided I would have to go home. Sylvain said I could leave my bike at his house in Paris. What a great mate he has been over the years.

A couple of days later I took the TGV from Le Creusot in Burgundy to Paris, where I rode from the Gare de Lyon to Sylvain’s home in Villejuif. Only when I returned to the UK and read Cycle magazine did I realise that Eurostar had stopped carrying fully assembled bikes during the pandemic and were only “planning to restart the service in the summer”.

LOST LUGGAGE

A month later, in early May, I picked up my bike in Paris and took a train to Colmar, near the German border. As I rode from the station to the first hotel a strange anxiety came over me as I wondered: what else could go wrong?

I crossed the border into Switzerland by the Three Countries Bridge over the Rhine, where France, Germany and Switzerland meet. Switzerland had the best cycle infrastructure I encountered, with clearer segregation and fewer shared pavements. All the paths on the designated routes were asphalted. People in this part of Switzerland speak Swiss German dialects; most can also speak standard German but not everyone. Some people had told me that nearly everyone in Switzerland, Germany and Austria speaks English. That might be true in cities but not in smaller places, where events would test my dodgy German to its limits.

Switzerland was also the most expensive country, so where Eurovelo 6 followed the border east of Basel I always tried to eat on the German side. Eurovelo 6 is mainly quite flat, although I sometimes diverted from it. Over the next 500km I would pass through some magnificent towns and city centres in Sigmaringen, Ulm, Neuburg an der Donau, Ingolstadt, Regensburg and Passau.

By comparison, the first city in Austria, Linz, was disappointing. A vast industrial area known as the Chemical Park stretches along much of its waterfront, but eventually the industrial activities gave way to wooded hillsides with sumptuous churches on the highest points.

I had been riding for four weeks and was feeling quite happy; nothing serious had gone wrong. Then, arriving in the market place in Tulln, I reached into my panniers and found no camera, no phone

Clockwise from top left: Saumur, France. Sigmaringen Castle, Germany. Steve at 840m altitude in Croatia. Roman amphitheatre in Pula, Croatia. Neuburg an der Donau, Germany

and no credit cards. I asked several people (none of whom spoke English) if I could call my number. Most refused. One old woman let me dial on her phone but insisted on keeping hold of it in case I tried to steal it. “I’m from Vienna,” she explained.

Eventually, a German man helped me discover through Google Timeline that the phone had been stolen from a shop. This was the start of a fourweek nightmare involving exasperated police, sluggish insurance companies, and incompetent banks and mobile phone companies. In the meantime, I bought local sim cards, which only work in one country and cost a fortune to call the UK, post-Brexit. Around the same time, I left my precious water heater in a B&B and the keyboard I used to write my articles somewhere else. I have no idea where.

All of this dampened the enthusiasm I would have felt arriving in Vienna. There are so many beautiful buildings, with such a rich history, that a few days there can feel overwhelming. I spent much of my time just wandering and observing.

The Wiener Musikverein, where I watched a piano recital, glistens with gold on every pillar. An usher dressed like a naval officer looked askance at my attire and confiscated my water bottle.

Due to the 90-day Schengen limit, my route was designed to reach Croatia as soon as possible

Although it has some good cycle paths, I was glad to get away from Vienna’s traffic and aggressive drivers. The suburbs and industrial sprawl spread a long way south, but as I rode towards the Slovenian border the terrain became hillier, quieter and more wooded.

OUT OF THE SCHENGEN AREA

Slovenia is a country I would like to see more of but, as I was trying to leave the Schengen Area, I crossed it along the River Mura, where Slovenia is only 40km wide and not particularly impressive. At the Croatian border a guard took my passport, did something with it and handed it back. A few hundred yards later, I stopped to check it: no date stamp. Recalling horror stories of Brits being arrested and fined for this, I headed back to the same official. He spoke a few words of English but clearly understood very little. Fortunately, he understood “Brexit”, which got me the stamp I needed.

The clock is ticking

UK citizens can spend ‘90 days within any 180-day period without a visa’ inside the Schengen Area, which includes most European countries.

I spent a lot of time researching options and eventually learned that there was no visa available to extend those 90 days – if I completed the application truthfully. Some people flout the rules but risk detention, a fine and a five-year ban from Europe. That means, for example, that if you want to travel for 120 days, you must spend no more than 90 in the Schengen countries and at least 30 in non-Schengen countries. Most of the Balkan countries are currently outside the Schengen Area but three of them are in the process of joining. So, if you are planning a trip like this, now is the time to do it. Croatia will join in March 2023, with Romania and Bulgaria likely to follow. After that, nonSchengen options will be limited to: Serbia, Bosnia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Albania – and Belarus and Ukraine, if normality ever returns to those countries.

Several things were different here, compared to Austria and Germany: for example, a more flexible attitude towards laws. I was surprised to read that Croatia has similar smoking laws to the rest of Europe. No one pays any attention to them. Cycling on (undesignated) pavements is illegal in towns and cities but most cyclists do it and no one seems to object.

There are many cycle routes across Croatia, although it is difficult to relate the GPX routes on the official websites to the haphazard signage on the road. Most of the minor roads are wide with long sight lines, which can encourage high speeds, although it is possible to find quieter, twisty lanes in the hillier or mountainous areas; I would do a lot more climbing here.

I was due to meet my wife in Pula and had time to cross the country slowly. I took several days to ride between the historic capital of Varazdin and the modern one, Zagreb. You can see the Austrian influence on Zagreb’s older buildings, though they have not been so well maintained. At the top of a short funicular I stumbled across Strossmayer Promenade, ‘Zagreb’s Montmartre’, which had artists’ stalls and two amazing guitarists playing to a handful of passers-by.

The road towards the coast climbed to over 800m, through the memorably named Fučkovac, before the Adriatic came into sight, with tourist resorts nestling in the bays between two large oil terminals. Rijeka,

I had wanted to spend time on the islands but, when I looked again, all the accommodation had gone. So to avoid retracing my route, I took the island ferry all the way to Zadar, further down the coast. It was a magnificent journey, with the wind cooling the effects of the burning sun on the open deck. Zadar is another historic city with Roman remains, but in mid-July there are so many tourists it is difficult to walk, let alone cycle, through its pedestrianised centre.

Eurovelo 8 seems to have two alternatives from Zadar: one goes inland, the other mainly follows the coast road. When I looked online all the available accommodation was on the coast, so it would be very difficult to avoid that coastal road. I started at 6am but the traffic, including heavy lorries, was already busy by seven, and it was getting hotter.

Import duties again

If you’re travelling into Europe and back to the UK with your bike, you shouldn’t have to pay import duty in either direction – if the bike is clearly yours and doesn’t look like it’s being brought across the border for resale. When you’re travelling with your bike on a plane, train, or ferry, you’ll be waved through customs. Problems can occur if you’re travelling separately from your bike. A group of Welsh charity cyclists was charged over £7,000 last summer to reclaim their bikes, which were taken to Spain in a van while the cyclists made their own way. Cycling UK has written to the UK Government for an explanation on why the charge was levied and how cyclists can avoid it without investing in an expensive carnet. See also cyclinguk.org/cycle-magazine/knowhow-travelling-abroad-cycle

Croatia’s third city, was ruled by the Venetians for many years. You can still see the Italian influence on its old buildings and smart pedestrianised centre, which has café terraces on every corner. I spent a week there, as the temperatures rose, swimming from its pebble beaches. I asked my host if this heat was “normal”. Not at all, he said in broken German. The climate was “kaputt”.

From Rijeka, I followed the coast into Istria, on Eurovelo 8 for part of the way, although there wasn’t much evidence of that on the ground. That day I started at 7am, but it was 32 degrees and sweltering by 10.30am.

I met my wife in Pula, a port full of Roman sites, in early July. There is nothing like a long period of travelling alone to remind you whom you love and why. My feelings were entirely uninfluenced by the credit cards, keyboard, water heater and sim card that she brought.

BURNING ISSUES

On our last evening, a Saturday, I was washing my bike and noticed a split in the rear wheel rim. All the bike shops were closed until the Monday, so I had to stay two more nights and pay twice for accommodation. Fortunately, I found a friend in Ron of Enduro Bikes, who fixed everything while I had a coffee on the Monday morning.

A Greek friend told me it was 43°C in Athens. As I planned my route, I realised that conditions would be like this for some time. I had been considering shortening the ride for various reasons but this tipped the balance. I would end my journey on the Split-to-Ancona ferry and make another trip to Greece at a different time of year.

That was the end of my continental ride, but not the end of the story. When I started to plan my route home (without flying), I discovered that neither SNCF nor Trenitalia were offering cycle spaces between Milan and Paris. I found a way across the border via Ventimiglia and Nice, but the only option from there to Paris was the overnight sleeper in two days’ time.

Eurostar’s website said the company had delayed its plans to restart its cycle service due to “security and customs issues” (Brexit again), so back to Cherbourg and Poole it would have to be. There were two silver linings to all this. If I had stuck to my original plans and discovered these problems in Greece, I would have fallen foul of the 90-day Schengen limit and could have been detained at Cherbourg. Now, at least, I could ride the last stretch home.

Taking a fully laden bike on and off trains and ferries is always stressful but the night train was well-organised. There were four cycling spaces in our carriage, and they put the cyclists together in the cabin nearest to the bikes. I didn’t get much sleep but at least we could swap stories about our travels. A Dutch couple told me that Flixbus carries a few bikes on some of its routes, which might be useful for the future.

I arrived home in early August. I had travelled for four months, including the English sections, cycled on just over half the days, covered 2,200 miles, and spent just over £10,000. For years I have dreamed: when I retire, I will cycle across Europe and write about it. Things didn’t go to plan, they rarely do, but I am still basking in quiet satisfaction that I did it.

Eurostar had delayed plans to restart its cycle service due to “security and customs issues” (Brexit again)

Zagreb Art Pavilion. Below: Melk, Austria

The Reivers Route Weekender

There & back again

Return via the C2C or Hadrian’s Cycleway: cyclinguk.org/ cycle/coast-coastalternatives

This 170-mile route is the least ridden and most challenging of Sustrans’ coast-to-coasts across northern England. Alf Alderson rode it

Named after the border country cattle raiders who inhabited this area between the 13th and 17th centuries, the Reivers Route runs through some of the wildest countryside in England. As it meanders between Whitehaven on the Irish Sea coast and Tynemouth on the North Sea coast, it takes in the northern fells of the Lake District, the wild and remote uplands of Northumberland and the Scottish border, the deep green depths of Kielder Forest, and the open moorland of the north-western Pennines.

The riding varies from quiet country lanes to forest fire-roads and cinder tracks. When I rode it last May we enjoyed stretches for miles at a time without seeing another vehicle of any sort.

The ride can be done in two days if you want to push yourself, but is better suited to a long weekend or even four easy days. While it can be ridden in either direction, west-to-east generally makes more sense since you’ll likely have the prevailing wind behind you.

You can use the train to get back to your starting point or ride back on one of the other Sustrans coast-to-coast routes if time permits.

ALF ALDERSON

Alf is an adventure travel writer, covering everything from skiing and surfing to mountain biking and cycling

Redesmouth.

Kirklinton Hall ruins.

Near Newcastleton. Kielder Forest

THE REIVERS ROUTE

Route name: The Reivers Route. Start/finish: The Beacon, Whitehaven (NX 969 182) to Tynemouth (NZ 374 691). Maps: OS Landrangers 79, 80, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90. Ride length: 276km/170 miles. Climbing: 2,284m. Bike type: gravel, MTB, tourer. Ride level: expert (two-day route); intermediate (three- or four-day route). GPX file: cyclinguk.org/weekender-reivers-route

1 Cockermouth

The busy little town of Cockermouth makes for a fine cake-and-coffee stop on your first morning, and there are a couple of good bike shops if you need to pick up any spares etc. Famous former residents of the town include Fletcher Christian, the mutineer of ‘Bounty’ fame, and England cricket star Ben Stokes.

2

BACK O’ SKIDDAW

These northern fells of the Lake District are seldom visited by tourists, and the ride provides magnificent views across the wild, windblown moorlands that rise up to 931-metre Skiddaw, the sixth-highest mountain in England.

3 Kielder Forest

The main off-road section of the Reivers Route involves an easy climb up to the high point of the ride at 357 metres, from where you can enjoy inspirational views across what is one of the largest man-made forests in Europe and, of course, Kielder Water, the largest artificial lake in England.

4 Bellingham

One of the larger towns on the middle section of the route, Bellingham is an appealing place to stop off, having a decent selection of accommodation, pubs and shops and an interesting history (Vikings, reivers and saints) which you can check out in the local heritage centre.

6

TYNEMOUTH

After the solitude of most of the Reivers Route, Tynemouth comes as a bit of a shock, but Newcastle’s bustling and cheerful beach resort is a great place to finish to ride, dip a toe in the sea, slurp an ice cream and enjoy an overnight stay before heading back to Whitehaven.

5 Thockrington

The lonely moorland road past the hamlet of Thockrington offers some of the best – and quietest – on-road riding of the route. The churchyard of St Aidan’s Church is the last resting place of Lord Beveridge, founder of the modern welfare state, author Tom Sharpe, and aviatrix Connie Leathart.

2

NO WAY!

CYCLISTS AND HORSE RIDERS ARE EXCLUDED FROM ENGLAND’S NEWEST NATIONAL TRAIL. CYCLING UK IS CHALLENGING THIS, AS DUNCAN DOLLIMORE EXPLAINS

Ennerdale Water by Robert J Heath, FlickrCC

There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing. You’ll often hear cyclists say this. The source of the quote is that famous fell walker, author, and creator of the coast-to-coast (CtC) route between St Bees in the Lake District and Robin Hood’s Bay on the Yorkshire coast, Alfred Wainwright. Perhaps it’s not surprising that many of Wainwright’s famous walking quotes can equally be applied to cycling – leisure cycling, particularly mountain biking, is in many ways just rambling on wheels.

You might think we’d celebrate the decision to create a new national trail in England, broadly along Wainwright’s existing route. Many Cycling UK members enjoy rambling on foot, and Cycling UK is keen to promote the benefits of outdoor access. But there’s a problem: the new national trail is solely for walkers.

Cycling UK wants to see more national trails. When a route is designated a national trail, it gets additional funding for maintenance and promotion –£5.6million in this case. Directing that funding only to walkers is a missed opportunity. It could have been a multi-user trail. Just two of England’s 16 national trails are multi-user ones that cyclists and horse riders can also enjoy.

ACCESS FOR ALL

Now I know this is a sensitive issue, so I’ll accept straight away that not every section of every national trail is suitable as a multi-user route. However, in addition to the Pennine Bridleway and the South Downs Way, which are both multi-user, there are national trails like the North Downs Way that already have multiple sections of bridleway which cyclists and horse riders can use. Yet they just don’t link together to create a continuous trail.

DOLLIMORE Head of campaigns

That’s why, four years ago, we found a workaround on the North Downs Way, showing that it was possible to create a ‘braided route’. On our North Downs Way alternative route, cyclists are diverted from the walked route for short sections to create a continuous, rideable route.

That route on the North Downs Way exists only as GPX file. It isn’t signposted on the ground, hasn’t been promoted as a national trail, and doesn’t attract national trail funding. But the fact that we could come up with an alternative route shows that it’s straightforward to cater for cyclists and horse riders when creating new national trails or re-imagining an existing one. All it really takes is some creative thinking, the upgrade of a few footpaths to bridleways, and the inclusion of some ‘braided’ sections.

That’s why Cycling UK and British Horse Society (BHS) are so frustrated by the actions and decisions of both

DUNCAN

DIRECTING NATIONAL TRAIL FUNDING ONLY TO WALKERS IS A MISSED OPPORTUNITY

Photo:

DEFENDING CYCLISTS

Cycling UK’s Cyclists’ Defence Fund helps fight significant legal cases involving cyclists and cycling, especially those which could set important precedents for the future and could affect the safety of all cyclists. It is supported by

clubs, members and individuals who have all made contributions to help ensure that Cycling UK is ready to work on behalf of the wider cycling community when it’s really needed.

You can donate now at: cyclinguk. org/cdf

Natural England and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) regarding the proposed CtC national trail. In August, DEFRA announced that the CtC route was to become a national trail, but despite being legally obliged to consider our activities when devising new national trails, they forgot about us. Nobody bothered to consult with cycling or horse riding organisations to see if there was a way to make it a multi-user route.

They had tunnel vision, ignoring the suggestions in a separate report prepared by Yorkshire Dales National Park on realising the wider benefits from designating this route as a national trail. That report identified how the trail could be a multi-user route. It set out proposed detours for cyclists and horse riders from the walked path – effectively, a ‘braided’ route.

COULD

MULTI-USER ROUTE WITH DETOURS FOR CYCLISTS AND HORSE RIDERS

The report also suggested the cost would be around half a million pounds – less than 10% of the £5.6million budget for a walking-only trail. We know that where national trails are promoted for cycling as well, around 25% of the users are on bikes, which can bring millions into the local economy each year. It’s madness for a government that claims to be focused on growth not to spend half a million to realise those benefits.

COURT ACTION

Fortunately, because of the support of our members, Cycling UK can seek to challenge decision makers, including governments, when the actions they take are detrimental to cycling. Sometimes we do that by quiet lobbying. Sometimes we have to run our campaigning parallel with the threat or actuality of legal action, as we did last year when successfully taking West Sussex County Council to court after they unlawfully removed a cycle lane in Shoreham.

The time limit for any legal challenge through the judicial review process is incredibly tight, however, so in relation to DEFRA’s decision on the CtC national trail, we’ve had to join forces with BHS and immediately spring into action. Ahead of any

legal action, we’ve sent a formal letter to DEFRA and Natural England, calling on the government to reconsider proposals that would effectively prevent people cycling or horse riding along the length of England’s next national trail.

As I write this, we’re still waiting to hear back from the government. Will they reconsider, engage with BHS and Cycling UK, explore opportunities to make the CtC route multi-user, and commit to consulting with us on national trail proposals in the future? Or will we have to go to court?

By the time this goes to press, we should have an update. However, there are not many charities which are prepared to take on the government in court, and fewer still that can afford to. Litigation is an expensive and uncertain business, and we’re only able to contemplate this because Cycling UK has the Cyclists’ Defence Fund (CDF), which is there to fight significant legal cases involving cyclists and cycling, especially those which could set important precedents for the future. The CDF is funded entirely through donations from members and supporters. If you want to help us continue fighting for cycling and cyclists, please consider donating today at cyclinguk.org/cdf

Our North Downs Way Riders’ Route shows how it can be done

IT

BE A

Great Rides

On holiday in Spain, Zak Viney realised he was close to the Pico de Veleta and the highest paved road in Europe. He couldn’t resist

Riding high

At the summit, 3,398m above sea level

Right: Army barracks

at Hoya de la Mora

Because it’s there. George Mallory’s reply, when asked why he’d attempt to climb Mount Everest, has passed into legend. He would go on to die on his mountain. Spoiler: I didn’t on mine, the Pico de Veleta.

It was meant to be that ‘no cycling allowed’ holiday, one to get swept up in a place, its food, and its people. Granada is a fascinating city with Moorish architecture, winding streets, and flamenco echoing from hundreds of tapas bars. Surely my compulsion to sit on a saddle could lie dormant for a mere week?

I tried to scratch the itch by hiking, exploring the beautiful Sierra Nevada National Park. First a lazy wander beside the crystal clear waterfalls in Monachil, then a tougher hike from Cogollos to the Peñón de la Mata. But when I looked up I could see the Pico de Veleta, one of the Sierra Nevada’s highest peaks (3,398m) and home to the highest paved road in Europe…

START: NO GEAR, ALL IDEA

I didn’t have a bike but I did have a phone. Google informed me that Bicicletas la Estación could supply me with an aluminium road bike with a compact chainset and a cassette with a 32-tooth sprocket. It was fitted with flat pedals (no bike shoes with me), two bottle cages, and a phone mount.

I filled my small bidon to the brim, topped up my Camelbak, and donned my rented bike helmet. I was ready to take on the climb.

I headed south-east out of Granada, remembering

to cycle on the right hand side. As the road rose and rolled gently, the vista opened up. Farmers were busy across the valley of the Monachil River. Buildings were replaced by fig trees lining the edges of the road. Green olive trees gave way to arid foothills.

The road began to rise further. So did the temperature. At 11am it had already passed 30ºC. I’d begun my ascent of the Veleta. Ahead lay 38km and another 2,700m of climbing. El Purche, climbing out of Monachil, was the hottest and hardest part the whole ascent: six kilometres with an average gradient of 9%. I cycled alongside a Spanish climber, encouraging one another as we exchanged positions between the steeper ramps.

In the absence of a refreshing breeze, the views to the south provided inspiration to keep pushing on. Then there was a rolling descent to Carretera de la Sierra, where I joined the smooth tarmac of the A-395. Looking north from the A-395, the magnitude of the Sierra Nevada was imposing.

MIDDLE: CLIMBING TO 2,000M

At 1,500m, the Genil River dominated the landscape. Its deep blue waters were reminiscent of the glacial lakes of Canada. Not knowing what to expect ahead, I stopped to top up on fluids. “Aqua, por favor,” I asked in broken Spanish at a restaurant. A delightfully kind lady obliged.

At El Dornajo visitor centre, I turned left up the hairpins of Carretera de Las Sabinas. This section was tree covered, the shade giving some respite from the sun. An estate car in the

A car in the livery of the BikeExchange pro cycling team passed me, followed shortly by Simon Yates

ZAK VINEY

Zak

is

a Cycling UK campaigns officer who’s forever dreaming of the next cycling challenge

Getting there

Bringing your own bike? Bagged bicycles travel free on Spain’s high-speed trains, so long as the dimensions are no more than 120×90×40cm and you include the ‘bicycle add-on’ when you buy your ticket. (Those dimensions will be good for TGV services through France too, but until Eurostar starts taking bikes again an all-rail journey isn’t feasible.) Granada is thus easily reachable by rail from Malaga, Madrid or Barcelona. You can take a fully assembled, unbagged bike on mid-distance Spanish trains but you have to book (free or €3) and spaces are typically limited to three per train.

blue-white livery of the BikeExchange pro cycling team passed me, followed shortly after by Grand Tour winner Simon Yates.

It was a reminder that, unlike football fans who will never play at Wembley, cyclists can ride on the same roads as our heroes, experiencing the same spectacular scenery and suffering. The climb to Hoya de la Mora was a key summit finish at the Vuelta a España in 2017 and was again decisive in 2022.

Leaving behind the twists and turns of the hairpins, the climb then opened up onto a long drag overlooking Pradollano ski station. For most of the year, these peaks are snow covered; the Veleta summit is only accessible in the summer months.

Having passed 2,000m, the air began to get cooler and thinner. My breathing rate increased. Spotting some food vendors in a parking area near a military refuge, I refuelled with a burger, patatas fritas, and a coke.

END: ON TO THE SUMMIT

As I climbed further, up above the surrounding peaks and the cable cars from the ski station below, the views became even more impressive. The road twisted like spaghetti above and below me. I spotted another landmark: the Sierra Nevada Observatory, its radio telescope a beacon in a desolate landscape.

The road was no longer smooth asphalt but gritty and rougher. Shale and gravel from cliff faces littered parts of the road. I tried to stayed focused. I didn’t want to puncture up here.

And then, at 2,800m, my speed dropped off completely. My heart rate had climbed to a steady 180bpm. The thin air was taking its toll. Nervousness seeped in: the summit was still 500m higher up.

I rolled along gently in the lowest gear, pausing now and again to acclimatise and take in the scenery. With 2km to go, the road disintegrated into a rocky gravel trail. At first, I steered my bike through tarmac lines among the rubble. Then the road ended and became a trail. I looked up. The top was close. I could see a small pastel-coloured mountain hut alongside the obelisk marking the summit. Around me, ibex were loitering.

I hiked the bike up the final few rocks, placed my bike by the summit monument, and stopped. There were tears in my eyes. A sense of achievement? The otherworldly vista? Or a deoxygenated brain exaggerating fundamental emotions? Who knows?

I wasn’t alone at the top. A family spanning three generations smiled and hugged each other. Three jovial hikers asked me to photograph them as they posed at the summit. I asked them the same, then took a video for my family.

Then I put on my gilet and set off downhill.

Fact file Pico Veleta

Start/finish: Bicicletas la Estación, Granada

Route: Out and back from Granada via Huétor Vega, with the climb starting in earnest at Monachil. I took the A-395, then the A-4025 to Hoya de la Mora. The final section is a testy, winding gravel path to the summit.

Distance: 92km Conditions: In midJuly it was roasting hot at the base and cooler further up. From 2,000m, the air was noticeably thin.

Bike used: Hired road bike with a 5034 chainset and 11-32 cassette.

Navigation: Smartphone attached to rented phone holder. Komoot Premium for mapping.

I’m glad I had: Camelbak for water and a gilet for the descent!

Next time I would: Use a gravel bike: lower gears and fatter tyres to handle the final, rocky 2km before the summit would increase pleasure and comfort.

Top: Canales Reservoir

Bottom: Veleta has snow for much of the year

CYCLOPEDIA

Questions answered, subjects explained – Cyclopedia is your bimonthly cycling reference guide

other bit of kit, that the drivers’ insurers would still make an issue of it. Insurers are like that.

The criteria for the selection of clothing ought to include creation of a contrast with the backdrop. Given our narrow front and rear profiles, brightness and contrast are paramount. Visual acuity is at its most efficient looking straight ahead; peripheral acuity is less, so in reality it’s down to us to announce our presence!

Paul Darlington

Q A &

Legal Hidden reflector

Technical Tyre ‘directionalness'

QMy

wife recently bought a Ribble Urban AL e (pictured). It has white and red lights that run off the main battery, as well as the required pedal reflectors. However, the red rear reflector on the seatpost is obscured when a saddlebag is attached to the rear rack. So far we’ve been unable to find a red reflector to fit the rear mudguard. Does the fact that the rear red reflector is covered by the saddlebag cause a breach of the law, in any or all circumstances?

David Durose

AParking my obsession with cyclists’ conspicuity for a moment, the law’s requirement for a red rear reflector only applies during the hours of darkness (lighting up times). If you know that the bike will only be used in daylight as so defined, then you are not contravening the construction and use or road vehicle lighting regulations.

Otherwise, were you to venture out at night or in conditions of reduced visibility, a sense of self-preservation dictates the use of front and rear lights along with retroreflective material, all of which is likely to be more effective than the solitary red reflector required by law. But still try to fit one, because if the very worst happened you can bet your boots, irrespective of every

DR KATE BRODIE Retired GP {Health}

QOkay, I know ‘directionalness’ isn’t a word. I’ve got Schwalbe Marathons, the ordinary ones (Greenguard?). I’ve just noticed that my front one is mounted the wrong way round, according to the arrow. This bike has disc brakes, so I can’t just turn the wheel around. It’s been like that for about 1,500 miles. Does it matter?

LancsGirl, via the Cycling UK Forum

RICHARD HALLETT Cycle’s Technical Editor {Technical}

AThe rotational direction arrow found on some, but by no means all, cycle tyres is essentially advisory. There’s negligible risk of premature failure from using a cycle tyre with such an arrow installed the ‘wrong’ way round. Typically, the tyre’s rubber tread cap is applied as a strip wrapped around the carcass prior to vulcanisation in a mould. The ends of the strip are angled at the overlap to ensure its continuous thickness.

PAUL DARLINGTON Consultant Solicitor, Cycle SOS {Legal}

Motor vehicle tyres must be used in the correct rotational direction to prevent the overlapping edge from being

from being

Your Experts

peeled open by scrubbing against the road surface.

Cycle tyres don’t experience scrubbing forces sufficient to cause this. Some tread patterns are designed to be directional, in that any water-displacing or grip-enhancing effect they provide is supposed to be dependent on the direction of rotation. While the effect is debatable on a cycle used on the road, off-road tyres should be used as indicated to maximise traction.

Richard Hallett

Health

Knee pain

QIhave been having a lot of problems with my knee, which had an ACL reconstruction in 2006. I’ve also had hamstring pain/tightness in this leg. An MRI showed a meniscal tear and also some inflammation of the hamstring. I wonder whether my new bike (bought in March) might be the culprit? I’m also a keen runner and the knee seems fine when running.

Robin Grimmer

AYou don’t say where in your knee the pain is located but in general knee problems arise from three related causes: change in equipment; change in training intensity; knee anatomy and function.

Avoiding knee problems is best done by not making drastic changes in training or in bike setup. Your new bike may well be causing issues. Consider a bike fit. Check the positions of your cleats, if you use them. Look after your legs by stretching large muscle groups after a ride or get a massage. Work on

core muscle strength as this will balance and protect the limb muscles from injury.

Your knee problem is complex, with previous surgery and a recent cartilage tear. Taking tailored advice from a physiotherapist would be wise. The site of knee pain is a strong clue as to the cause, and there are different strategies for anterior, posterior or lateral knee pain which address the underlying problem.

Dr Kate Brodie

Technical Cracked head tube

Technical Ghost puncture

QI

recently bought a lovely aluminium trekking bike with a suspension fork. Yesterday I was cleaning it and noticed a crack in the head tube. The crack starts at the bottom and continues upwards for maybe 3-4 cm. It is wider at the bottom and thinner, like a hair, at the top.

I rode the bike for a very short time before I saw the crack and I heard no creaking. Can I keep riding this bicycle? Is there anything I can do? MsMellie, via the Cycling UK Forum

AIf you ride the cycle as is, the head tube crack is likely to get longer and the tube may fail entirely without warning, with potentially fatal results.

It may be possible to weld up the crack, but if the frame uses a pressed-in head bearing cup the result is likely to be unsatisfactory. Pressed-in cups generate an expansion force on the head tube once fitted, and this bursting force is likely to have caused your crack. The inside of the head tube is accurately machined to size to provide the required force fit. (If the tube ends up even slightly oversized after welding, the cup will be loose and will quickly wear even looser.)

If, on the other hand, the frame has an integrated headset, where the cartridge bearings sit directly in the head tube in chamfered seats to provide location once the headset is tightened, the result may work as designed.

You’ll need to find a local aluminium welder willing to do the job. Ask their advice on its feasibility.

Richard Hallett

QI found my rear tyre flat today (road bike, 700×25C Schwalbe Lugano Endurance II tyre). I took it off and checked the tube thoroughly: not a puncture anywhere. Tyre likewise checked. The valve is okay. I put it back on, pumped it up, and it was still rock hard two hours later. Any ideas what might have caused that? The bike is kept indoors and no one else has access to it. I usually pump the tyre up to 80psi, which is below its recommended range of 95-115 psi. Could that have been a factor?

Martian Tom, via the Cycling UK Forum

AHow long beforehand was the tyre known to be correctly inflated? Was it still ‘rock hard’ (you may wish to check your pump’s gauge) three hours later rather than just two hours later? Did you remove and refit the valve core when checking it? A less-than-tight core can leak air quietly, and you may have inadvertently cured the problem simply by checking the valve.

Punctured tubes don’t repair themselves, nor does under-inflation cause deflation. Which leaves sabotage; have you checked your door lock?

Richard Hallett

Get in touch

EMAIL your technical, health, or legal questions to editor@cyclinguk.org or write to Cyclopedia, Cycle, PO Box 313, Scarborough, YO12 6WZ. We regret that Cycle magazine cannot answer unpublished queries. But don’t forget that Cycling UK operates a free-to-members advice line for personal injury claims, TEL: 0330 107 1789.

Bike finder

Which bike should I buy?

Ask us at cyclinguk.org/bikefinder

All-purpose child trailer

For: Daria Taddei, age 38, from Bramley, Surrey. ‘Bike’ needs: A trailer for porting a newborn through to later years, for nursery drop-offs etc but also touring/bikepacking. It needs to be moved easily between different bikes/e-bikes. Must be: Lightweight. On and off-road touring suitable. Durable. Narrower than 32 " to get it through the passageway between our house and the neighbour’s! Must not be: Heavy. Budget: Ideally under £1,000 but we could stretch this.

Cass Gilbert

It sounds like you have some great family adventures ahead. With your budget and off-road ambitions, I’d suggest a trailer with suspension, and more specifically a two-wheel model, given that versatility is important to you.

As for specific trailers that meet your requirements, my first-hand experience is with Thule’s Chariot series. The Thule Chariot Cross (£1,100, thule.com) is just above your £1,000 budget, and the Infant Sling will set you back a further £100. The trailer doubles up as a stroller, which is perfect both for day-to-day use and exploring towns while touring. It’s 65cm (25.6in) wide and its 13.8kg weight is reasonable given its build quality and suspension system. I’ve used one with a 29+ Surly Krampus without any issues.

If you want to try before you buy, Bike Trailer Hire (kidsbiketrailers.co.uk) is a business that rents out another worthy contender, the Burley D’Lite X (burley.com). It sells for £880 in the UK but there’s a 'pre-loved' section on the Bike Trailer Hire website listing one for £560. This model is 69.9cm (27.5in) wide and the same weight as the Thule. As a final option, there’s the Croozer Keeke 1 (€950, croozer.com), which is 2kg heavier.

A two-wheel trailer shouldn’t offer any issues towed behind the likes of a Tern GSD. In terms of future proofing, the Robert Axle Project has an excellent Axle Finder (robertaxleproject. com/cargo-child-trailers/) for all manner of trailers, bikes and dropout standards.

Dan Joyce

My first thought was a single-wheel trailer with suspension like the Tout Terrain Singletrailer (tout-terrain.de), which would be fantastic off road and fine on it. At £1,800 it’s way over your budget, however, and the only UK stores I could find listing it (hitchabike.co.uk and kinetics-online.co.uk) show it as unavailable. Tout Terrain doesn't ship to the UK directly.

A two-wheel trailer with suspension is a more affordable option, and it’ll be fine for “light off-road use” on wider trails. As a two-wheeler doesn't need to be balanced, day-to-day trips will be easier than with a single-wheeler when your little one grows.

I recommend the Burley D’Lite X (burley.com). If you don’t plan to have more children in the next five years, the one-seater Single version (£769, kidsbiketrailers.co.uk) is 1.3kg lighter and about 10cm (4in) narrower than the Double that Cass mentions. Being narrower, it’s less likely to be scraped when wheeled down that passageway. It will also be easier to use as a stroller.

Whichever D’Lite X you choose, add the Burley Baby Snuggler (£75) so you can transport junior right away. I’d also recommend the Burley 16+ Wheel Kit (£179), which lets you swap the 20in road wheels for more off-road capable ones with 16×3in tyres. There’s a push-button axle release so switching wheels takes moments. At £1,023 (assuming you pick the D’Lite X Single), this whole package is roughly on budget.

Burley produces a range of optional hitches to fit just about any bike or e-bike. See burley.com/collections/hitch-adapter.

Daria Taddei

CYCLOPEDIA

Knowhow

Making sense of commonly misunderstood subjects

Dan is glad that EveryReady lights with D-cells are long gone

Lighting What lights do I need?

The best choice of lights for seeing and being seen while cycling at night will depend on how and where you ride.

UNDER STREETLIGHTS

The primary role of your lights here is to make you conspicuous; you don’t need a strong beam. Flashing or pulsing lights work well under streetlights. Other road users can still track your position thanks to the streetlights, and they’re more likely to notice you initially.

Since traffic will be travelling slower – e.g. 30mph – being seen from a huge distance away isn’t vital. But there will be junctions so it’s important that your lights are visible through a wide arc front and rear, not just directly in front or behind. Dynamo lights need a standlight as you’ll likely be stopping and starting often.

UNLIT ROADS

Without streetlights, your front lamp must have a beam powerful enough to light the way further ahead than your riding speed’s stopping distance. Avoid the temptation to fit a mountain biking light that will dazzle other road users. A road-specific light with a focused beam and around 300-500 lumens should be sufficient. If

you want brighter, look for a beam cut-off at the top of the lens and/or the facility to switch to a lower output to instantly ‘dip your headlight’. The rear light needs to be bright enough to be seen from far behind as traffic may be travelling fast. Look for 30-50 lumens or more. Avoid using a flashing rear light unless you also use a steady one. A flasher won’t signpost your trajectory or proximity in the dark.

OFF-ROAD TRAILS

Mountain biking at night requires lots of lumens. Most dynamo setups won’t produce enough – although the Sinewave Beacon 2 (p20) and Exposure Revo may, depending on your riding. As a rule of thumb, you’ll want at least 800 lumens from your main light. More is better. A broader beam that gives you peripheral vision is helpful, as is a secondary light with a tighter-focused spot on your helmet. For the rear light, saddle rail mounting is useful as it doesn’t preclude a dropper seatpost.

Lighting law

To ride on the road legally between sunset and sunrise, your bike (not you) must be fitted with an approved white front light and an approved red rear light. (You also need a red rear reflector and amber pedal reflectors.) Lights that can only flash –hardly any – must emit at least 4 candela (~50 lumens). Lights that have a steady mode must be marked as conforming to BS6102/3 or an equivalent EC standard. In practice, it’s difficult to find approved lights in the shops… unless you run dynamo lights, which usually meet the German StVZO standard. A small number of battery lights also do and are marked as such. Having said that, you won’t be stopped by the police as long as you fit bright lights of the correct colour that don’t dazzle. cyclinguk.org/lightingregulations

Front:

Front:

Front:

DAN JOYCE Editor

Photo: Robert Spanring

First look

Biketest

Budget e-cargo bikes

An e-cargo bike is a viable alternative to a car for heavily laden journeys. Richard Peace tests models from Mycle and Velosta that cost less than £2,000

Conventional bikes and e-bikes can tackle many single-occupant car journeys, as any cyclist knows. Add a trailer and they can haul the weekly shop or a couple of pre-school passengers as well. E-cargo bikes go further. They can easily transport bigger, heavier loads and more and/or bigger passengers than is possible or practical by bike and trailer. Those journeys that people say you have to have a car for? An e-cargo bike can do lots of them.

The downside of e-cargo bikes, despite their low running costs, is that the initial purchase price can be high. Several thousand pounds isn’t uncommon. We’ve looked at some of them before, such as the excellent Tern GSD (cyclinguk.org/cycle-magazine/ bike-test-tern-gsd-s10-electric-cargo-bike). For this test, I’m focusing on e-cargo bikes that cost less than £2,000 – mid-priced for an e-bike, very much budget priced for an e-cargo bike.

Both featured models, the Mycle Cargo and the Velosta V1, have the benefit of coming from UK-based

companies who can provide help at the end of a phone. So there is extra value in that budget price too, compared to buying blind from an anonymous web discounter. The test bikes’ contrasting sizes and carrying capacities have their own particular pros and cons, but that means that even at the low end of the e-cargo price scale there is real choice.

Frame and fork

Both bikes are longtails: the extra carrying capacity comes from an extra-long, superstrong pannier rack that’s welded into the rear structure. This long rack can be fitted with various carrying accessories such as cargo boxes and child seats. The rear loading area is considerably bigger on the Mycle: I fitted a tall, 70cm-long carrying box on top (with ratchet straps) but was limited to a low-profile 60cm box on the

Suits heavier loads best thanks to a high-torque rear hub motor and a big 720Wh battery

RICHARD PEACE Richard is a cycling journalist and author. His books include Electric Bicycles and The Ultimate C2C Guide

Velosta. As well as having a shorter rack, the Velosta’s seat overhangs more of it.

Both bikes are built from large gauge aluminium tubing with a sloping down tube for easy stepover mounting. And both have a very strong, latticestyle frame at the rear to give strength to the main load-bearing area. The Mycle has space just behind the seat tube to accommodate an optional second battery, potentially doubling your range. The Mycle also comes with composite, imitation plywood boarding for the rack-top and footrests. The Velosta, meanwhile, can be stored vertically as it can be balanced on the rear of the frame.

Like most longtails, both bikes use 20in wheels. The loading space above the rear wheel is thus relatively low down and stable. The frames have clearance for large volume tyres, which help spread the load – super-plush 3in-wide ones on the Mycle and 2.35in tyres on the Velosta. As both models have rigid aluminium forks, they rely on their large-volume tyres and comfy seats to cushion the ride.

Bike weights reflect the relative sizes of the frames and their (proportionately sized) electric-assist systems. The Velosta weighs in at an impressively light 21.5kg, while the Mycle is significantly heavier at 33.1kg. Total payload limits (rider plus cargo) are 140kg and 215kg respectively.

Components

The ‘little and large' differences are reflected in the electric assistance offered. The Mycle has a potent-looking Bafang rear hub motor with a ‘fat bike’ spec of 48 volts, rated at 65Nm of torque.

It’s powered by a 720Wh battery with high-quality LG 21700 cells, some of the most energy dense on the market, and they're from a maker with a premium name.

By contrast the Velosta uses the bijou Bafang G310 36-volt, 45Nm rear hub motor – one that I’ve come across a few times and really rate. (What looks like a bottom bracket motor is in fact the battery.) It’s clearly tailored to the more modest weight and payload rating of the bike. The 345Wh battery and smaller motor might

Tech Spec MYCLE CARGO

Price: £1,999 (inc delivery).

Sizes: one size. Weight: 33.1kg/ 72.8lb (base model).

Frame & fork: 6061 aluminium with integral rear rack and fittings for handrail, mudguards, front rack, kickstand, and extra battery.

Wheels: 76-406 CST Big Boat tyres, double wall alloy rims, 36 spokes.

Transmission: Shimano Altus 7-speed derailleur, SIS thumbshifer. 42t chainring, 14-28t cassette. Seven ratios, 33-66in.

Electronics: 48V, 65Nm rear hub motor, 720Wh battery. Minimalist control unit.

Braking: Tektro Aries cable disc brakes, 180mm rotors.

Steering & seating: 720×31.8mm BMX style bar, 90° adjustable stem. Saddle with passenger handle. Equipment: Spanninga Axendo 60 and RL1900 hardwired lights, kickstand, metal mudguards, skirt/ leg guard, steering damper. mycle.co.uk

I carried loads of up to 70kg but the Mycle's payload limit (rider plus cargo) is 215kg

Top: The big Bafang rear hub motor provides 65Nm of torque

3in-wide tyres better isolate the load and rider from bumps and provide more traction when braking

First look

seem suited to shorter, around-town-type trips in flatter country but our tests showed the Velosta to be remarkably efficient and capable on hilly trips, even with a 45kg load.

Both bikes are adjustable to suit a wide range of rider sizes, with the Velosta having a height adjustable bar and seat and the Mycle having a fore-and-aft adjustable bar – not one size fits all, perhaps, but most. Both bikes have an upright and comfortable riding position.

Top: The Velosta’s payload limit, including the rider, is 140kg. Its smaller rear rack limits load volumes too

The Mycle is equipped with cable-operated disc brakes while the Velosta has hydraulics. The Mycle's cable brakes are super effective even with the heaviest loads on board, though the Velosta hydraulics are somewhat smoother and more progressive. Both use budget-priced, Shimano 7-speed derailleur gearing with a thumbshifter. Neither drivetrain missed a beat.

Bottom: Like the Tern GSD, the Velosta can be parked upright on its rear end

all manner of metrics, while the Mycle has a very basic unit showing only the battery capacity by way of coloured lights.

Both bikes come with metal mudguards, front and rear hardwired lighting, and kickstands. The Mycle features a rear wheel sideguard to keep out straying objects like flapping clothing.

Extras

Carrying aids are extra to the base price quoted here. Both companies offer child seats. The Mycle has room for two as well as a handrail, plus the option of a padded deck-top seat and rear grab-rail that look suitable for a larger passenger. Mycle also offers a range of bolt-on alloy baskets front and rear. The Velosta can be specified with a front rack (pictured on our test bike) and has options for a rear child seat.

Price: £1,689 (inc delivery). Front rack £48.95 extra.

Sizes: One size.

Weight: 21.5kg/ 48.5lb (22.5kg with front rack).

Frame & fork: 6061 aluminium with integral rear rack and fittings for mudguards, front rack, kickstand.

Wheels: 58-406 Kenda K Rad tyres, aluminium rims, 36 spokes.

Transmission: Shimano Tourney 7-speed derailleur, SIS thumbshifter. 48t chainring, 14-48 cassette. Seven ratios, 35-70in.

Electronics: Bafang G310 36V 45Nm

rear hub motor, 345Wh battery with Panasonic cells –removable and with USB charging port. LCD display.

Braking: Tektro hydraulic disc brakes.

Steering & seating: Promax folding handlebar and stem with height extension and handlebar rotation. Gel saddle with QR Promax aluminium seatpost.

Equipment: Mudguards, kickstand (side or centre), hardwired front and rear LED lights, bolt-on front carrier (+£48.95). velosta.co.uk

The e-bike controls for toggling through motor power levels are different. The Velosta has a clear LCD screen showing

Neither company offers oversize bespoke panniers like Tern’s, so you will likely be hunting online for the best solution. As most standard pannier

Cycle’s test promise

At Cycle, we are proudly independent. There’s no pressure to please advertisers as we’re funded by your membership. Our product reviews aren’t press releases; they’re written by experienced cyclists after thorough testing.

fixings won’t fit the oversize tubing used for these racks, ‘saddlebag’ style panniers are probably best.

The ride

Both bikes feel controlled and stable even with moderate-to-heavy loads. The key is to avoid carrying a load heavier than about 80% your bodyweight, and to get that weight evenly distributed and as low down as possible. Riding heavily laden is different from regular riding; you need extra time and space for manoeuvres and for stopping. I carried loads of up to 70kg on the Mycle and 45kg on the Velosta, and both coped well. Heavier riders may feel comfortable with even more weight on the back before the ‘tail starts to wag the dog’.

The power systems on both bikes have enough oomph for their load ratings and enough torque for steep hills. The Mycle has the potential to power very heavy loads up steeper hills more easily. By contrast, the power on the Velosta is more subtle but smoother and more responsive to rider pedal input; the Mycle has noticeable lag. On an extended hill-climb test, with 5-10% gradients, the Mycle surged quickly to the top. While the Velosta was slower, I was impressed with its performance given such a small motor.

The Velosta comes into its own in stop-start urban traffic, where that lovely, responsive power pickup is a delight. The Mycle has a switched, twistgrip-style throttle control but only as a walk-assist function for lowspeed manoeuvres. More motor assist from the throttle would have been great for maintaining balance when setting off with heavy loads.

There is a twist-and-go-only throttle option on the Velosta “for off-road use”. It’s a bit of a

Other options

missed opportunity for both e-bikes, because throttles can supply quick power that’s useful for keeping a big load under control. Note that independent throttles (twist and go) are legally allowed on e-bikes if they provide power up to 4mph only. Throttles can also legally provide assistance up to 15.5mph as long as the pedals are turning.

BABBOE CURVE-E

£3,449+

Babboe is a longstanding player in the e-cargo market, specialising in bigcapacity budget-priced box bikes and trikes. The Curve-E looks like a lot of load trike for the money. babboe.co.uk

The range of both bikes should be in excess of 30 miles if ridden reasonably carefully over rolling countryside. While the Mycle has twice the battery capacity, it’s also heavier and uses a more powerful motor. Heavier loads and more hills can substantially eat into the range of either bike, of course.

Verdict

Both of these e-cargo bikes are remarkably effective within their brief, and can be tailored with carrying options to meet your needs. If you regularly haul significantly heavier loads, such as a small adult passenger, two children, or very bulky items, the Mycle Cargo is the more practical option.

RIESE & M Ü LLER LOAD

£6,309+

If you need a full-suspension box bike, this is the only e-cargo model out there that fits the bill. It comes in smaller (60) and larger (75) sizes. r-m.de

If nipping through traffic or regularly picking up the bike is important to you, the Velosta is a better choice; its low weight and small size distinguish it from heavier e-cargo bikes. Velosta says it was originally designed with a smaller rider and child in mind, for situations where larger cargo bikes would feel unmanageable.

The Mycle’s throttle is limited to 4mph

The Velosta’s brakes are hydraulic

It can also haul two kids or another adult

This is the battery, not a mid-motor

Biketest

Frog 69 MTB

The suspension on kids’ bikes is often awful – but not always. Victoria Hazael and son Noah test a higherperformance hardtail from Frog

The last few years of primary school can be an awkward age for children’s mountain bikes. Size XS adult bikes that may fit younger teens are still too large, while a junior, rigid-forked allrounder may not cut it on singletrack trails with small drops and logs to ride over. Fortunately there are some children's hardtails with decent, airsprung forks, such as Frog’s MTB 69. This is a proper mountain bike so it has a commensurate price tag: £755. With the cost-of-living crisis beginning to bite, many families won’t be able or willing to splash out that kind of sum. Our Frog MTB 69 is rented from The Bike Club ( bikeclub. com) for £25.99 a month; Cycling UK members get a discount. (For more on the pros and cons of renting versus buying, see cyclinguk.org/buy-v-rent .)

Above: As well as lockout, the easily adjustable air-sprung fork has rebound damping so it doesn’t just pogo back up over bumps

We already own a Frog MTB 62. As my eldest grew, we were happy to progress to a Frog MTB 69. We’ve had the bike since the start of this year and it’s been used for family off-road rides, trail centre singletrack, sections of routes like King Alfred’s Way, and a spot of Go-Ride level XC.

The aluminium frame is big enough for small bikepacking bags, which is important to me as I encourage the kids carry their own tools and supplies. But its standout feature is its 100mm-travel fork. Being air-sprung, it’s easy to set up for your child’s (changing) weight. There’s rebound damping, so it doesn’t just pogo back up over bumps, and a lockout.

Learning gears when you are younger takes practice, so having a visual display of them helped. The 1× drivetrain is intuitive and an 11-40t wide ratio cassette

Other options

ISLABIKES

CREIG 26

£1099.99

A lighter (11kg), tubeless compatible and more raceready mountain bike for kids. RockShox 30 Gold RL fork, 150mm cranks, and 1×8 SRAM X4 gearing. islabikes.co.uk

WHYTE 403 JUNIOR TRAIL GRANITE £750

A nice little trail bike with what Whyte calls ‘Downsized Total Geometry’. Air-sprung 100mm Suntour XCR fork, 1×9 Shimano Altus gearing. 13.2kg. whytebikes.com

Tech Spec FROG MTB 69

Price: £755.

Sizes: One size (but MTB 62 and 72 are similar). Weight: 11.9kg (inc pedals).

Frame & fork: 6061 T6 aluminium alloy frame with fittings for rear rack and one bottle. Frog 26in-wheel, 100mm travel, junior-specific air-sprung fork with lockout and damping control.

Wheels: 50-559 Kenda K1134 tyres, 26in double wall aluminium rims, 24/28 front/rear spokes, 100mm QR disc front hub, 135mm QR disc rear hub.

Transmission: Platform pedals, Frog 140mm chainset with 32t direct mount chainring, Thun Shorty ML-SL square taper

bottom bracket, KMC 9-speed chain, Sunrace CSM990 9AX 9-speed 11-40t cassette. Shimano Acera SLM3000 Rapidfire 9-speed shifter, Shimano Alivio RD-M3100-SGS Shadow 9-speed rear derailleur. Nine ratios, 21-76in.

Braking: Tektro M276 hydraulic disc brakes with 160 front and 140mm rear rotors and junior levers.

Steering & seating: Rubber grips, 600mm UNO aluminium handlebar, 60mm UNO aluminium stem, Neco 1 1/8in threadless headset. Frog junior saddle, 380mm aluminium alloy seatpost, QR seat clamp.

frogbikes.co.uk

provides enough range for steeper climbs. The hydraulic disc brakes have junior-sized levers that can be pulled by smaller hands, although more modulated braking would be nice given that this will probably be your child’s first bike with powerful, hydraulic disc brakes.

In 2021 Frog upgraded the tyres on this model to actual mountain bike tyres; previously they were more like a hybrid or gravel tyre. The clearance is now a bit tighter. If racing is your child’s passion, note that the rims aren’t tubeless ready.

Verdict

A very capable mountain bike with a wellthought-out suspension fork that’s suitable for lighter riders. Unlike cheap coil-sprung forks, which just add dead weight, this one makes a palpable improvement to the ride.

Grouptest Road bike mudguards

Bikes without clearance or fixings for normal mudguards can still be fitted with road-bikespecific ones. Emma Silversides tests four sets

Details WHAT TO LOOK FOR

EMMA SILVERSIDES

Since retiring from professional road racing, Emma continues to cycle daily, with touring being high on her agenda

Adecent set of guards can make for an infinitely more comfortable ride in wet conditions. They stop road spray from flicking off both wheels, keeping your feet, lower legs and back drier for longer – not to mention your kit cleaner. Your frame, components and drinks bottle get protected from the grit, salt and pollutants that sit in standing surface water. Last but not least, they save the kit and eyes of the person riding behind you if you venture out with groups.

While some folk are lucky enough to have dedicated winter bikes with conventional guards, others rely on temporary measures for a single bike that they use all year round. However, an increasing number of modern road bikes don’t have sufficient clearance or fixings for guards. Designs of ‘quickrelease’ options have improved hugely to match the rise in minimal-clearance, race-orientated bikes.

All the guards I’ve tested are designed to go on and off quickly, so taking them off for dry days, as well as bike cleaning or fettling, should be a twominute job – likewise putting them back on.

Cycle’s test promise

At Cycle, we are proudly independent. There’s no pressure to please advertisers as we’re funded by your membership. Our product reviews aren’t press releases; they’re written by experienced cyclists after thorough testing.

1 Coverage

A guard offering generous coverage will protect you, your bike and riders behind. Some extend in front of the brakes, while others offer nothing at all here. If you ride alone, you can get away with something shorter at the rear.

2 Fixings

Are you willing to use straps/bands/ adhesive strips directly on your frame? While there are some designs that don’t touch your paintwork, many attach directly to the fork and seatstays, which could compromise the frame’s finish.

3 Stability

Guards not using eyelets are likely to have a degree of play. Incessant vibrations from rough surfaces can result in shaking, rattling and rubbing. Fine adjustments can

avoid this but if you have wider tyres it might be unavoidable.

4 Fitting

Check manufacturer websites for videos and hints. Some written instructions are vague, so watching an expert do the job can save you time and hassle. When you receive your guards, never assume that any bolts already fitted to them are secure.

5 Adjusting

Check every fixing before heading out and take necessary tools for minor adjustments. Very few guards will be perfectly fitted before your first outing. If mounting requires pads/ adhesive/straps, take spares out with you. Don’t forget to clean guards frequently to avoid a build up of dirt and debris.

Verdict

If you don’t want to mount guards on your frame, get a pair of Quickguards. They accommodate wider tyres and offer rattle-free riding and decent personal protection. Following riders might not thank you, though.

You can get better protection from any of the three framemounted guards. SKS Raceblade Longs are the least likely to be affected by rougher roads, look tidy, and protect those behind.

The Flinger Race Pros are similar but don’t look as tidy, and clearance at the seat tube could be problematic.

The Crud Roadracer MK3s win hands down on protection for both you and your bike; those behind are left wanting a little. They are also good value for money. If you ride on narrower, harder tyres, consider potential rattle on rougher roads.

More online

For more reviews of bikes, kit and components, as well as how-to guides, visit... cyclinguk.org/advice

1 SKS Raceblade

Long

Set

£56 sks-germany.com/en

THESE GUARDS OFFER excellent coverage for you and anyone behind you, and they look great. Fitting is a little fiddly as the guards clip onto bridges that fit at the brake callipers; the brakes need to come off completely for this. The stays are anchored using the quick-release skewer, which gives a stable fixing but may hinder roadside puncture repairs. On rougher roads, I found that the short element at the front resonated against my front wheel. It’s thankfully small and the guards still offer great protection without it.

Installation takes time but gives excellent overall coverage

2 Flinger Race Pro

£59.99 chickencyclekit.co.uk

THESE GUARDS ATTACH at the brake calliper; you only need to loosen (rather than remove) the calliper to fit the brackets. The stays attach to the fork and frame using rubber straps. Tape is supplied to wrap the frame first. This doesn’t make for a tidy look and could affect paintwork in the long run. The guards are stable enough to avoid rattle on tyres up to 25mm, though there may be issues with bigger tyres at the seat tube. Adjustment using the barrels on the stays is easy. Personal protection is good but anyone behind will be sprayed.

Easy to fit/adjust but a little short at the rear and not the tidiest

3 Quickguard Mudguard

£29.99 (EACH) chickencyclekit.co.uk

THESE REQUIRE YOU to remove the standard quick-release nut and replace it with the Quickguard nut. The guards then clamp onto the nut. Front and rear are identical. They offer limited coverage: the rear will offer protection for you or fellow riders but not both. I had plenty of teething problems, making many minor refinements to avoid rub – be sure that the clamp bolt passes through the stays. Once adjusted, they protect well, fit tyres up to 32mm and don’t rattle. Check axle compatibility before investing.

Good if you ride alone more than in a group. Fiddly at first

4 Crud Roadracer MK3 Mudguards

£34.99 crudproducts.com

THESE BRITISH-MADE guards were the easiest to fit. They attach to the frame and fork using Duotec, a heavy-duty Velcro. Out of the four I tested, they are the only ones to protect the frame right down to the bottom bracket area and to offer full coverage under the brake callipers. Personal protection is excellent but following riders will get some spray. The Duotec is robust if stuck on correctly (follow the tips video on Crud’s website). The guards look neat. There was a degree of rattle from the front guard on rougher roads.

Neat looks and great protection for your bike. Front may vibrate

France

A French end-to-end

Last September Bryan Hopkins cycled 900 miles across France, from Brittany to the border with Spain on the Mediterranean

My route was from Pointe St Mathieu in Brittany to Cerbère, the last French town on the Mediterranean coast. My wife Helen drove our campervan following my route, which meant that I didn’t have to carry the usual touring paraphernalia and could take routes that would be difficult on a heavily laden bicycle.

Working on an average of about 60 miles a day, it took 15 days. Doing the journey in September meant that we followed the sun as the northern European autumn advanced.

I crossed Brittany, then the Loire, and headed south along the Atlantic coast, following Eurovelo 1 as far as Royan. After that I headed inland along the Dordogne Valley, then turned south to cross the edge of the Massif Central before dropping down to the Mediterranean near Narbonne. I then followed Eurovelo 8 along the coast to my final destination at Cerbère.

Along the Atlantic coast I saw plenty of bikepackers but I didn’t see any after heading inland. The few days I spent crossing the

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Massif Central were tough but magical: forested landscapes criss-crossed by deep gorges, with hair-raising descents and long, long climbs.

Crossing a country on a bicycle is a special experience. You feel the landscape alter. The air on your skin changes when you arrive at the coast. Your leg muscles tighten as you move from flat, coastal cycling to hilly terrain. Your mental state changes from exhilaration when descending quickly to meditation as you slowly climb.

It was an unforgettable experience. I used the ride to raise money for World Bicycle Relief, a charity that promotes bicycle use in low-income countries. You can donate, if you wish, at bit.ly/ WBR-bryan-hopkins.

Britain

E2E the other way

WHAT BETTER FOR A FAMILY

adventure than cycling the length of the UK? We (Adam, Liz and 13-year-old Joseph) decided to ride JOGLE over three weeks in the summer, and spent last winter planning and booking.

We went north-to-south as we live in Cornwall so we’d be cycling home. Our route was based on the Sustrans guide, with adjustments to reflect past experiences and preferences. We used one-way van hire to Inverness, the bike transport service from Inverness onwards, and a fair few Premier Inns. Daily distances were around 50 miles. We rode by ourselves, without support – just us, our bikes and our panniers.

There were many memorable moments. In Scotland: the emptiness of Sutherland; the massive infrastructure of a wind farm near Lairg; 13 miles of cycle-path heaven downhill from Drumochter to Pitlochry; and cycling over the Forth Bridge.

In England, there was the steepness of Deep Dale; searing heat over the top of Bowland; seeing an otter in the River Irwell; passing Old Trafford as we traversed Manchester; the canals and heritage railways of the Midlands; the Strawberry Line to Cheddar; Exmoor in the late afternoon sun; the delights of the Tarka Trail; and a welcome from friends and family (and Camborne Youth Band!) at Land’s End, to the surprise of us and passing tourists alike.

Co-op sandwiches and sheltered churchyards sorted out many lunch times. We had no punctures and no breakdowns, just a huge sense of achievement –especially for Joseph.

Adam Birchall and family rode from John o’ Groats to Land’s End

Backup enabled Brian to travel light

Crossing the Firth of Forth

Brian’s finish near Cerbère

SW England

The West Country Way

Jane John and three friends went bikepacking from the English Channel to the Bristol Channel

Last year we cycled King Alfred’s Way on our mountain bikes in a heatwave and, surprisingly, absolutely loved it. This year’s challenge was the West Country Way: 130 miles and 13,800ft of climbing from Plymouth to Minehead over three days, again in a heatwave. It didn’t start well. One husband got stuck on the very crowded Plymouth train helping us stow our bikes. The first stop after Reading was Taunton!

Things could only get better... and they did. Some highlights included: the early morning ride out of Plymouth on disused railway tracks; the joy of second mid-morning breakfasts and the inevitable ‘route advice’ given to us by café locals; the welcome cool of pushing our bikes through rivers in 30º heat; and the privilege of having the national parks virtually to ourselves.

We also enjoyed: the 7.30am ride along the Two Moors Way gouged into cliffs below Castle Drogo; whooping as we made it to the top of Dunkery Beacon in the mist (disturbing couples quietly picnicking – apologies); practising our herding skills on stubborn, path-blocking cows, ponies and a pig; and the many glorious downhill swoops in the Devon and

Somerset countryside, the rewards for killer climbs.

Low points included the broomcupboard-sized bike storage on the train, and the route across the very busy A361. The only sensible option we could find was lugging our mountain bikes along the boardwalks of the Two Moors Way footpath and humping them up over the trees holding up the board walk, which at least took us under the A361. We missed Cycling UK’s expert route planning!

The trip provided more memories to treasure of time spent cycling with three good friends (met through Wantage Cycling UK), who all value and support each other and who know when hysterical laughter is the only option!

Ireland bit by bit Eire

MY PARTNER ED and I decided to cycle Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way back in 2018. It’s 2,600km (1,600 miles) up the west coast from Cork in the south to Donegal in the north, finishing in Derry/Londonderry in Northern Ireland. We estimated it would take three two-week holidays.

We set off in September 2018 and cycled all the headlands of Cork and Kerry, finishing in Tarbert where a ferry goes across the Shannon to Co Clare. The highlights were the tips of all the headlands, which were so beautiful and always had few cars.

The following year we set off from Tarbert Ferry and cycled all the coast of Co Clare and Co Galway, finishing in Ballina in Co Mayo. We spent an amazing night on Aranmore, one of the Aran Islands, and saw dolphins from the ferry.

Covid put paid to the next two years, so we set off to complete our challenge last summer. We had 10 days’ cycling from Mayo to Derry/Londonderry. There were occasional busy roads with no alternatives, but otherwise miles of fabulous, beautiful and sometimes very hilly roads. We stayed in B&Bs, hostels and the odd hotel. We drank many pints of Guinness and ate our weight in salmon-and-potato suppers.

Now we just need to decide whether to carry on and circumnavigate Ireland.

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Dunkery Beacon

The ocean is never far away

Shelagh O’Riordan rode the 1,600mile Wild Atlantic Way in stages