Cycling Cold Turkey

In London for 2nd half of holiday. No cycling for 6 days and surrounded on all sides by commuter cyclists. Going quietley mad!!

Cycle Route 68

Have dropped The Golden Child at the sister-in-laws for a couple of nights while the wife and I do some walking. We are in Northumbria and keep coming across marker posts for cycle route 68 -AKA The Pennine Cycleway.

The roads and forest tracks look great and my wife read me correctly when she asked if i'd like to be cycling it now. I had to say yes but qualified it by adding that was only if it was a choice between walking and cycling as a solo activity rather than a coupley one.

I think I got away with it!

Weekly Averages

Got a Cateye Strada trip computer last week. Averaged 100 miles at 14.5 mph on various commute routes since. A higher number of miles than normal due to shifts but happy with the speed as I like to coast to lights and hit them on green rather than wait at them on red.

Most of time i was between 16 - 22 mph with uphills at 8 - 13 mph. The hills are getting easier though!

Dutch Bike Shops

Eric Schuijt runs a bike shop in Amsterdam called DeVakantiefietser, which i think means Holiday Cyclist. The website is in Dutch but Google can translate to English if required, although the original meaning is sometimes a little mangled.

The guy specializes in touring bikes and stocks both Koga and Santos along with various others. Not only does he sell them but he tours them as well. The video below shows him and a friend cycling/pushing their bikes through Patagonia.

This is a man I can do business with. A trip to Amsterdam is looking more and more likely then. I just hope his English is better than my Dutch (won't be hard!).

Another moblog

The Golden Child

Just checking out the new phone but as have child care duties about the nearest i'll get to a bike today.

Posted 10 mins after shooting video while still in the park.

Moblogging

Got a new mobile phone and provider as my old one owed me nought and T Mobile just cut my loyalty discount - tripling my monthly bill!

Upshot? Can now moblog with ease, as with this entry, so will be trying some pics and video while out and about.

New Bike...but when?

Well, getting back to work after the holiday I found my employer - despite trumpeting an environment friendly travel policy and being a huge national concern - doesn't actually take part in the cycle to work scheme! Speaking to the manager concerned I learnt it maybe happening by the end of September...maybe. If it is up and running they will partner with the cyclescheme company and so will provide up to £1000.00 in voucher form to use at participating dealers. Cycle Sense in Tadcaster does participate so that is some relief anyway as they are my local Koga dealers. There is a twist though...

I have been looking at various forums on the pros and cons of various touring bike set ups and the more I read the harder it becomes to make any final decisions. Also a second contender is now up for consideration - Santos bicycles - another custom builder in the Netherlands. (The website is in Dutch but they plan to have a English language version up "...by the end of the Summer...". Your guess is as good as mine!)

A couple are cycling the length of the Americas on a pair of Santos Travelmasters and documenting their travels on www.worldonabike.com. I must admit it was Mark Beaumont's record breaking round the world cycle that switched me onto the Koga and this trip has highlighted the Santos bike. Both Koga and Santos would no doubt provide more than the bike I need for commuting and what are likely to be shortish tours in Europe but I still want to choose the most appropriate bike for me and that means researching all I can (It's half the fun!).

Still, I need to confirm my potential job change this month and have a employer scheme to use before I will consider spending hundreds of pounds on a pushbike. I also have a perfectly acceptable bike set up for commuting in the Marin and my Pennine Cycleway isn't happening until July 2010 so I have time I can bide.

I have just ordered a Brooks B17 saddle from Wiggle though, so I can at least start to break that in!