No Ride 100 this year

Several weeks ago, the announcement came that there would be no Ride 100 for 2025. That of course means all the rides complementing it with lower mileage would also be cancelled. I am not sure what thoughts lead to this decision and whether it will return in 2026? There might be several reasons.

I did the Ride 100 in 2024, gaining a charity place quite late in the day. The charity concerned obviously did not fill the allotted number it has been given. A few years ago gaining a charity place was not impossible but harder, requiring one to sign up early. 

Is the Essex event and route as popular as the Surrey one? I have participated in two of the Ride 100 events in Essex and the bit out of London is pretty similar to the Dunwich Dynamo. The getting back into London is along a normally busy main road and not that pleasant on the eye (or the legs with a relentless headwind). 

Could it be the costs to participants slowing down the entry numbers? I live in London and can cycle to and from the start easily, so not an issue. However, if you lived further afield you would need to factor in the costs of getting there and back, perhaps staying overnight in a hotel and that is before you either pay your £100 entry fee or try and raise a few hundred pounds for your charity place. 

It is a charity event and not a race but on every Ride 100 I have taken part in I have heard and sometimes witnessed a sizeable number of participants who seem not care less about anything apart from their desire to complete the event as quickly as possible and with little regard for those around them.

However, closed roads are a bit special. No cars to worry about, no traffic lights and the overall vibe is wonderful. There was a huge amount of love out there for Brompton riders or those not completing the 100+ miles on a road bike. In addition to this, there is a camaraderie among most participants. Have a chat to the person left or right and you hear about the reason why someone signed up for this event. This can be quite humbling. Once you are out into the countryside, it is rather beautiful and again, no cars really adds to the experience. 

It is a shame that it is not happening for 2025 and let's hope that something is in place for 2026. There is of course the Dunwich Dynamo later in the year, but the getting back into London can be more of a headache than cycling about 120 miles through the night and early hours.

Until next time, stay safe out there people!

Perfect books for the G-Line user!?

The other day, I needed to go to a physical bookshop so that I could buy a book, take it home, wrap it up and give it to someone. The closest was Daunt Books. I took my G-Line with me and cycled to Marylebone High Street. 

Daunt Books is either eerily quiet of rammed. For my shopping experience it was rammed and not really the best of ideas to bring a folded G-Line inside. Several elderly types tutted in my general direction like disapproving aunts. I tutted back at them!

I got the book I was after but did notice a little collection of books that would be perfect for the G-Line user. I picked up a few of them and flicked through some of the dead-butch rides on offer, making a mental note of the copious advice given therein. 

As I cycled back on a horrid gravel path - with my new bought book strapped to the rear rack no less - that you can cycle through parts of Hampstead Heath on, it became obvious that I would not need any of those books at all! You see, none of them had chapters dealing with:

• Parents with small toddlers
• Parents with small toddlers in prams
• Parents maybe with a toddler in a pram but jogging pushing said pram along
• People with dogs on the lead
• People with dogs
• Dogs!
• Instagram influencers taking photos
• Tourists 
• Joggers
• Cycling while wearing a Harris Tweed blazer
• People on hire bikes
• Dogs being walked by those people whose job it is to walk more dogs than they can  handle!
• Feral dogs!
• Little dogs with the bravado of a big dog.

Perhaps I need to think about my own book as cycling in London can be like rollercoaster. The One thing that kept me going through all of this was, thank goodness I decided to take my G-Line with me!

Until next time, stay safe out there people!

The novelty of a rear rack on a Brompton no longer a novelty

Two blog posts in one day! Surely not?

On the Brompton bicycles I have owned, the idea of getting one with a rear rack or retrofitting one, has not been given a second thought. With my G-Line, it was a must as it was either rack with mudguards or no rack and no mudguards. Living in London/UK where the weather is as unpredictable as what seems to appear in the news at the moment, having a rack was a must.

Look at the rugged rear rack!

Perfect for those...ahem...spontaneous photo opportunities!

At first, the rack was a bit of a novelty and just existed. I didn't have a use for it. However, when I half folded the bike, it stayed in place in a rather pleasing way. Photo opportunities were made less scary as it make the bike more stable. When I was at a station, using the rack when the bike was semi-folded was wonderful. It glided along as a swan might. 

The addition of bungee straps meant that I could actually carry the odd item quite easily and securely. A panettone from a select delli travelled safely, sitting on the rack while traversing the wild gravel tracks to be found on Hampstead Heath!

On another occasion, I didn't take a front bag with me but stored what I needed in a little waterproof roll-top bag secured quite happily on the rear rack. It all worked well. 

I cannot see me getting a rear rack for any of my other Brompton bicycles. On the G-Line is really does enhance, the look. The look I refer to is one of dead hard, butchness. On my other Brompton bikes it might give off the vibe of a sociology teacher or maybe probation officer. I'm sure you know what I mean, but it just isn't for me. 

Yes, it makes the G-Line heavier however I like it and it works. It enhances the all-terrain, rugged look of the G-Line, even if the owner still looks like a junior government minister on a fact finding exercise!

Until next time, stay safe out there people!