Emily Finch, (A) Super Woman!

May 6, 2013July 25, 2015 AdiAwesome Cyclists, Bakfiets, Cargo Bike, Cycling, Electric Assist, Emily Finch, Finch Mobile, Fun, Kids, Portland, Tandem BikeLeave a comment

Emily Finch, mother of 6, fabulous cycling citizen, and currently our favourite person on the planet.

Emily on ‘Why cycle?‘:

Emily bikes for a simple and somewhat corny reason. It makes her happy. And she and Mitch love the sweet chaos of children and family. “I love my bike,” she insisted repeatedly during our conversation, “I really do. Because it’s changed my life. I can’t really explain it. In the end, my bike just brings me happiness.”

Emily on ‘Why not electric-assist?‘:

Faced with pedalling several hundred pounds (she once estimated a load of groceries, kids, and gear at 550 pounds) she has perfected a technique to deliver maximum power to the pedals.

…

When I asked her why she doesn’t get an electric-assist system, she replied with a big smile, “Because I like chocolate!”

Read more about this fabulous woman here, and follow her on twitter here.

Image from Non Pro Cycling Blog.

My View: Bikes versus Lorries

April 20, 2013July 25, 2015 AdiCycle Lanes, Cyclist Killers, Lorries, Segregated LanesLeave a comment

My View On Bikes v/s Lorries

I don’t want to ban lorries from our cities.
I don’t want to be provided segregated (and separated) bike lanes everywhere in the city, immediately.
I do want lorries to be banned from roads where segregated bike lanes aren’t / can’t be provided.

If it’s too narrow for a segregated bike lane, it’s too narrow for bikes and lorries to coexist.

Dementors of cycling!

April 18, 2013July 25, 2015 AdiDementors, HIIT, Intervals, quotes, Suffering, TrainingLeave a comment

Intervals are the dementors of the cycling world. They drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them!

– @norbs, on Twitter.

New Forest.

April 17, 2013July 25, 2015 AdiCycle Hate, Flooding, Lake District, New Forest, NIMBY, Sabotage, Scotland, Sportive, Threatening, Trains, VacationLeave a comment

In under a week, my plans for New Forest have changed half a dozen times. Here they are:

Mid last week :): Going for the sportive in beautiful New Forest, on Sunday morning.
Late last week :(: Earliest train reaches only 4 mins before start, so no point going.
Saturday evening :): Sportive cancelled due to flooding. Glad for money saved, and now I can plan for next time.
Saturday night :(: Sportive now scheduled the day before only other sportive I’m riding this year. Which one to skip?
Monday morning :): Having passed the driving test, making plans to hire a car and take partner and dog down to New Forest for whole sportive weekend.
Monday night :(: Read road.cc report on sabotage of sportive, and heckling of cyclists in New Forest. Plans cancelled. Not going there ever again.
Tuesday morning :): Screw New Forest vigilantes. I’ll just save money and head back up to Lake District or Scotland!

One Man And His Bike

April 16, 2013July 25, 2015 AdiArthur Conan Doyle, Cheer Up, Cycling, Mike Carter, One Man And His Bike, quotes, Spirits, Stress ReliefLeave a comment

“When the spirits are low. When the day appears dark. When work becomes monotonous. When hope hardly seems worth having. Just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking.”

– Arthur Conan Doyle, cited by Mike Carter in ‘One Man and his Bike’.