Nice bike stand

Here's  a nice bike stand as found in Westport, Co. Mayo, Eire, there are a few of these around the town which sees lots of people on activity holidays riding bikes around the Clew Bay area.

Looks like the handlebars could be based on one of Graeme O'Bree's designs!

Cyclists Dismount

Am I the only one who gets fed up with poor information, poor signage and crap road design?

One of my favourites is the "Cyclists Dismount" sign, there's one at the end of my street. This is a sign that clearly tells cyclists what to do, in pretty direct and demanding tone, yet it actually carries no weight at all. The "Cyclists Dismount" sign is actually purely advisory, it has no legal force and as such it should surely ask or advise e.g. "cyclists please dismount". When I don't dismount people on foot or in cars assume I'm being irresponsible and breaking the rules; I'm not, the sign itself is giving a wrong impression.

If there is a genuine need for cyclists to dismount then there is a correct sign in the Highway Code, the "No Cycling" sign. Of course that can't be used in places where we are actually allowed to cycle so local authorities keep using the "Cyclists Dismount" sign.

There are lots of other silly things that the authorities do relating to signs, road layouts etc. and some of these will be included in this blog under the label "Cyclists Dismount"

A smile on wheels

When trying to define what a bike is there are so many possibilities. Of course it has two wheels and some way of steering, some means of propulsion by your own power and something to sit or perch on. But I wouldn't want to discriminate against trikes (for example the excellent and adaptable Kettweisel that I reviewed for Cycle earlier this year, or the four wheeled machines used by people with disabilities).

So how would I best define the bike?

Simple, for me a bike is:

"A smile on wheels"

MTB over Rochdale

Today I was cycling with my brother, Brendan, for the first time in well over 20 years and it was our first time ever mountain biking together.

The Peninnes over Rochdale are a brilliant place to ride and in less than 2 miles from home we were off road and stayed that way for the next 20 miles. The wind over the hills was really wild but then we always liked a challenge and being blown into the edges of ruts and sometimes off the edge of singletrack was fun.

After over 20 years we've a fair bit of on-bike catching up to do so perhaps next time we'll be in the Peaks nearer to his home or up at Lee Quarry for a bit of technical stuff.