My new(to me) guitar

Back in the late 80's or early 90's I scraped enough money together to buy a useable guitar. What I bought, much to the amusement/approval of the owner of the store was a late 70's early 80's harmony. Little did I know that this was a name of some weight, used latterly by a far eastern company.

When I moved to London I became friends with Rob, who explained that harmony had been a mass producer of instruments that real people could afford. It seems appropriate that they are now a vintage instrument that real people can afford.

Years later Rob decides to sell his 53/1. Needless to say I bought it. If Rob says it's in good nick then it is. It plays better than any guitar I've owned and is very pretty indeed. Better still it begs to be played, smells like an old blues bar and already feels like an old friend.

WNBR Brighton 2012

WNBR London 2012

 Well,

Anyone who has read this blog for a while will know that I ride the WNBR (or World naked Bike ride) most years. Effectively the WNBR stands for 3 principles

• Pro bike(and bike safety)
• Anti-Oil dependency
• Body acceptance

This year's ride took place on the  9th of June and as per last year the weather in London was gloriou (the weather in Brighton was yet again not ideal)

Anyway. If you want to know what it's like to ride naked around the capital... Come and try it next year.

Sculpture in the city of London.

Mostly bikes

Today the lovely miss s bought herself a bobbin bike. She had tried out a couple, but after much deliberation this was the royal blue bike for her.

We rode back through the city of London, where I saw a guided tour stopping at the old bailey, all on bromptons.

We stopped by the allotments for a spot of bean tying and tidying before heading back via the park

As I speak I can hear toad in the hole cooking in the kitchen. A truly lovely day.

Bike to Bestival

Warren, Sophie and I are organising this event this year. Please come along and join the fun

Tickets now available for Bike to Bestival from www.WeGotTickets.com

London to Hengelo

Dave and I recently went on a brief cycle tour, the long way round the Netherlands, to visit our old friend Adam. Highlights included a 20 mile dyke/road across the north sea, the sheer volume of public art, naked saunas, very flat riding and trappist beer...

Mostly Sophie in the new forest

Just been off camping in the new forest, which unfortunately meant missing most of the Jubilee celebrations, where we had a lovely time. Here are some of my holiday snaps, which for some reason seem to be mostly of Sophie.

Countdown to departure

This Saturday I set off on my trip around the Nederland. The trip has two real purposes:

  

•      Go and see my old friend Adam who lives out that way,
•      Get out on the bike away from it all for a few days.

The main problem with any form of cycle holiday is getting to and from your start. What is the point of starting at home if that means that it would be several days of cycling to get to the bit you wanted to do? On the other hand it seems extremely wasteful to transport my bike by train to another country and only ride upon arrival. One potential long-term solution for me would be to go back to using a Brompton for this type of trip. The bike then becomes a travelling companion rather than a means to a holiday in itself.  For this ride I have to put the bike into a bag (disassembled rather than folded) and carry it between trains. 

Packing is quite amusing. My bike is the Kona Honky Tonk2009 that I used for the LEJOG ride last year. I have added a rack and panniers (review upon return) but little else. A bike of this sort has clipless pedals and a stiff saddle, which means special shoes and shorts. For comfort I will also need gloves, cycling tops for different weather and waterproof clothing just in case. One pannier is full of cycling gear, whilst the other has regular clothes.

I would quite like to sort out a touring solution that allows minimal dual kit. Seamless reinforced trousers and a brooks saddle for example, would eliminate the need for additional trews and shorts... Especially if I were cycling between trains or planes etc...

Anyway for now I have had to purchase:

•       Ortleib back roller waterproof panniers
•    Tortec tour ultralite rack
•      Cinelli bike bag
•    Plus vegetarian and vegan energy and protein snacks just to be on the safe side...

We’re on the Eurostar by Saturday lunchtime with a 36 hour stop in Haarlem...

Seperated by time