A couple of weeks ago I cycled down from north London with the intention of heading testing out a route that takes one towards Greenwich and the surrounding area. I ended up on the the north side of the Thames, with the O2 in the distance.
Until next time, stay safe out there people!
It seems like ages since I went on this overnight ride to Whitstable but somehow I did not actually write a blog post on it. This happens I suppose when you are busy. Well, here it is.
On the night of Friday, 16th August, Dr John and I decided to forgo the destination of Brighton in favour of Whitstable. I have always liked Whitstable and it made a change for us both to embark upon a duo ride there, so it was agreed.
I cycled to our meeting point near the London Eye and reached there in good time. I decided to take my Brompton Electric with me, purely as I had been enjoying it greatly.
Wow. Well I have done it a great deal quicker than I could have imagined. I thought I would pass the 3 million page views mark by/just after Christmas but I have reached this milestone a great deal earlier.
Thank you out there dear reader - those of you who have been there from the start and those of you who are more recent. I very much appreciate it!
This blog was started as an online diary of my adventures, so I could personally recall what I had got up to. This is still very much what it is.
Keep reading as I have many more adventures planned and please keep the comments and emails coming.
Thank you all again and until next time, stay safe out there people!
I rarely look at the statistics of my humble efforts but do occasionally. Today was that day and I am quite astonished by the daily page views and also that I am close to 3,000,000 page views overall. I might reach this milestone in early 2025.
Thank all of you out there who had read any of my blog posts and for those of you who have taken the time to send a message or write a comment. I really do appreciate it.
Please keep reading as there will be a great deal more to read about in the near future and I am already looking to pencil in dates for 2025 and more adventures.
Thank you to all my readers here in the UK and USA and to a huge surge in readership over the years in the Far East.
Until next time, stay safe out there people!
Over on the Brompton website, be seen lights for the Brompton G-Line appeared. Thinking that for this price, it really should come with a couple of Brompton bikes. I am sure that it will be gone by the time you read this and back to the correct price.
Until next time, stay safe out there people!
A few years ago, orange as a colour option disappeared as a colour option for potential owners. I could never really understand that...understably. There are have been a few variations of orange over the years and Brompton have recently released 'Sunset Orange.'
The image below is the colour in question from the Brompton website and a fine colour it is. At the moment, it is solely for the C-Line but it might well appear on other models if popular.
The days of choosing a main colour for your Brompton and another for the extremities are long gone, but it is great to see another version of my favourite colour!
Until next time, stay safe out there people!
When I am out and about in London, invariably I spot another person riding a Brompton. Many years ago (being an early adopter) I might have dinged a bell or nodded in a knowing way, acknowledging that we have equally good taste. I have started to wonder, whether owning a Brompton is a little but like being part of a cult - an excessive and or misplaced admiration for something. Let me try to explain.
#1. Owning one is never enough!
There are many Brompton users out there who have one Brompton. It could be their only bicycle. They might use it for their commute or if they have limited storage where they live. It could be that the compactness of the fold means they can use it for a range of transport options. The Brompton big cheese and all round good egg, Will Butler-Adams, has actually said that Brompton only really wants to sell you one bike, perhaps in the knowledge it will last you years.
That is all well and good but some people have more than one. Some have their commuter hack. Others a summer/fair weather Brompton. Some even possess a stripped down, light racing Brompton for the few times you can actually enter a Brompton event like the Brompton World Championship. If you already own a Brompton but have had your head turned by the svelte T-Line or the all-terrain G-Line, you are but a step away from taking your love of all things Brompton a stage further.
#2 Converting others to the ways of small wheels
When you own a Brompton you do occasionally spark curiosity in others. They might ask questions: what is it like to ride; is it good over longer distances; what it is like to carry... You can of course be the Brompton user that simply answers such questions. If however you start to or have actively encouraged someone to join the fold, highlighting how it has changed your life or that of others...you can probably see where this is heading!
#3 You join a group of like minded individuals
You have seen several people riding a Brompton on your commute and occasionally elsewhere and you ponder the idea of meeting up with other people, who own a Brompton. Using the interweb you are but a click away from spotting a group nearby. Nervously, you join an event and before you know it, you find yourself in a Brompton peloton, gliding through Hyde Park.
#4 The Brompton World Championships
I could be wrong but I cannot recall ever hearing about the Bianchi, BMC, Cannondale, Cinelli...World Championships. I have however heard of the Brompton World Championships. If your usual commuter mode becomes that of an international world class athlete and you join others in this goal, you can perhaps see the direction of travel.
#5 Matchy matchy
You have - for example - a green Brompton. You buy more than one cycling accessory to match - even in the slightest of ways - the hue of the colour of your Brompton, you are joining others (not sure who I could possibly be referring to here) who do the same.
#6 Unsuitable cycle rides for small wheels?
So, you have a Brompton. You have it for your commute. You have participated in the Brompton World Championships but you need more. You find yourself taking part in all sorts of cycling events, normally the preserve of your distant big-wheeled cousins. If you also include #3 and get some of your newfound friends to join you, again you can see where you are heading.
There are almost certainly more signs that you are heading towards the possible cult of all things Brompton. However, you are definitely among friends - some of which will become friends for life. Being part of a Brompton cult can't be such a bad thing...but then I would say that.
Until next time, take care out there!
In London (like many other cities I am sure) there are many locations or objects of great historical significance, pretty much hiding in plain sight. Once such example are the stretcher railings from WWII.
Outside several of London's housing estates, now acting as a fence, are several of these former WWII stretchers.
Dear Readers. Many of you have taken the time to send me an email and I am rather ashamed to say I have only just logged in to read them.
I am very grateful and welcome contact with my readers and I will try and do this more often. There was a long list but I think I have replied to everyone.
Until next time, stay safe out there people.
As I type this in my study, I see four Brompton Bikes - two sitting in those Ikea square and two on top of a cupboard. In our garage there are two road bikes. I am going to need to have a clearout.
I do think that it is rather sad doing this on several levels. There are the memories of actually buying the bikes. Going out on them first time. Using them for the first time for a night ride to the coast. The memories are endless I suppose but that is the important bit. I still have the memories regardless of whether I still have the bike. I wonder if you are also guilty of that feeling you occasionally get when you attached the memory to the object and think, I cannot possibly sell it. So, I have all these bikes and they they are going to need new homes.
The following are going:
It would be true to say that the announcement of the new Brompton G-Line has caused quite a stir - perhaps more so that the T-Line. Today at Brompton Junction there was a mini launch event for those in the know to have a look, hear about it from one of the designers, someone who has tested it out and to even have a test ride on one. I couldn't resist.
I eventually arrived outside Brompton Junction after a perhaps unwise walk down from N6. Yes you read correctly and yes I didn't bring one of my Brompton bikes! It was lovely to see and greet lots of the old crowd, many of which had timed a ride they were on to arrive at Brompton Junction for the event.
Once inside there was the usual friendly greeting from the lovely peeps at Brompton Junction and the chance to see the G-Line in the flesh. It is a lovely bicycle. The 20 inch wheels are just a small part of its newness:
After all this, there was the opportunity take both versions of the bike (standard and electric) for a test run. I did managed to sit on one of them and it was rather comfy to say the least. I sadly didn't have the time to take one out for a pedal as I had to collect Mrs Orange and eldest Orangette.
No need to guess which of the three colours I liked the best. It was as if it could have been made for me in that regard! Would I buy one? Well the appeal is great. I cannot say in all honesty that I would ever stray too far off-road. I joked to some of the Brompton peeps that cycling from N6 down Swain's Lane, across Hampstead Heath, around Regents Park and down through Hyde Park and then back the other way, was a compelling inducement to get this bike!
I suspect that the G-Line will sell itself to current Brompton owners and an entire new crowd. I can see the draw of the T-line - Brompton Bikes last big thing - but it still is something that just doesn’t appeal to me personally. The G-line…Brompton have surely struck gold. Or should I say, 'Adventure Orange?!'
It is true to say (for me at least) that I pay very little attention to the many red post boxes dotted around everywhere. They stand in plain sight only to be given a second thought on the few occasions I post anything. (And let's not go there with the previous blog post)!!
The other day I stopped and propped my Brompton up against a post box to see that it has the less than common Queen Victoria royal cypher.
I will try an keep an eye out for some of the others on my travels and see if I can get a photo of them.
Until next time, be careful out there people!
Over the years, like many of you out there, I have accumulated many Brompton items that I no longer use. The sensible thing to do is of course to gift them on or sell those items that are of more value. However, this can be an almighty hassle to say the least.
Trying to sell a pair of Brooks leather handlebar grips was interesting to put it mildly. Despite me stating I was in the UK and more specifically London, a prospective buyer wanted to know if I could meet up in Barcelona!? Politely informing them of the London bit, I also said that sadly mailing them was not an option either. Thinking that was the end they asked again whether I could post, not to Barcelona but to their friend in Paris.
More recently, the possible sale of my Brooks B17 Titanium saddle really did push me almost to the point of distraction. The potential buyer said they wanted to buy it. Then, they wanted to be reassured in case it was a scam. I did wonder at this point whether I should have offered to meet under a clock at one of the London mainline stations, perhaps wearing a carnation! (An orange one if such a thing exists). After saying no, I was then told that if I sold it on a popular auction site (you know the one), it might reassure them. That was the last straw and I withdrew everything I was selling.
I always pride myself on being a gentleman (albeit one who likes Terry Thomas). Perhaps the new sticker has given me a cad-like reputation? On several levels, I would like to think so.
Until next time, take care out there people!
Not far from St Paul's Cathedral, some office workers eat their sandwiches on a bench in Postman's Park. Many of them do not give the many memorials a second glance.
The memorials in questions are for remembering heroic, self-sacrifice from a bygone era. Proposed by the sculptor, George Frederic Watt in 1867 to commemorate Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee in 1887, the reality of his idea actually happening did not take place until 1898.
There was space for up to 120 memorials but by 1931 only 53 were ever placed up for all to see. Many of the memorials remember those who lost their lives in tragic circumstances - as you can see from the photos below.
If you are ever in the area, well worth a visit.
Until next time, be careful out there people!
