The last month has been, or so, has been quiet from me. I’ve been busy, and finding time to write, never mind cycling, has been challenging. I’ve been working on gaining mindfulness and counselling qualifications. I’d found a lot of help in my life through being more mindful. Now I want to pass that teaching on.
Continue reading “Mindful Cycling, Possibly Tracklocross Style”Category: cycling
Should Tracklocross Bikes Run Studded Tyres?
Previously we talked about how a tracklocross bike works well as a commuter bike; one of the ways to up this utilitarian use is to use studded tyres in winter. Studded tyres will help you find grip where previously there was none. You’ll find yourself riding across sections of paths where others will slip and fall.
Continue reading “Should Tracklocross Bikes Run Studded Tyres?”Christmas Ride
I got a new tracklocross frameset for Christmas, a banana candy yellow Surly Steamroller. To celebrate, I took it for a little ride around Glasgow and below, you’ll see some video from along the River Clyde.
Another Scottish Tracklocross Ride
Another little jaunt on the tracklocross bike, to be honest, though this one may be more considered a fixed gear ride. I ride alongside the Forth and Clyde canal as it meanders between Clydebank and Bowling. I was off to look at the new Bowline active travel path and assess future group ride routes.
Surly Lowside
Sometimes, I like to coast on a bike. I’m not sure why, but sometimes it can also be fun. Sliding around, foot down style, it can almost be as great as riding a fixed gear. So, I sometimes pull a bike that isn’t one of my tracklocross bikes out for a ride in the woods. Today I fancied a new bike, so I built up a Surly Lowside, okay I started doing this last week, but today I finished.
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What Is the Difference Between a Single Speed and a Fixed Gear (Fixie) Bike?
A single speed and a fixed gear bike will look very similar to most people when you put them side by side, but what is the difference between them? The main difference between a single speed bike and a fixed gear bike is that you can coast on a single speed. On a fixed gear, you are pedalling, or you aren’t moving. If you want to know more then, please read on.
Continue reading “What Is the Difference Between a Single Speed and a Fixed Gear (Fixie) Bike?”Underbiking for Fun
The wast majority of people overbike. They do this because the media and marketing have made them feel it is the only way to achieve their goals. They’ll be faster if they buy this. Marketing, as I always say, is geared at racing. That is a massive issue for creating an inclusive cycling culture. Do you think everyone in the Netherlands feels that they are in a race? That is one of the reasons we should underbike.
Continue reading “Underbiking for Fun”NHS Social Prescribing
In my day to day, we’ve just been booked to try an NHS social prescribing pilot. We’ll be running various BMX and gravel rides for them. Today I was off laying down routes for people to follow on the loops. As the loops are short and we don’t want to put people off, we thought it would be a better idea to run these guides on YouTube as a visual cue.
Type 2 Fun
Cycling is fun. That is the main reason we do it, right? Sometimes though the fun is more retrospectively than in the moment. The rain/snow may be getting hammered into your face by a headwind. The mud may be trying to suck you underground. When you get home, though, you just want to do it all again.
Continue reading “Type 2 Fun”Snowy Saturday
Yesterday I posted a video from an unsnowy Russia. Today I thought we could look at a snowy video from Leipzig, a place slightly unaccustomed to snow. Riding a fixed gear with too big a gear for the conditions is what a few people believe tracklocross is all about, to be honest, they are probably not wrong.
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