“I pushed my soul in a deep dark hole and then I followed it in.” A line sung by the young Kenny Rogers in 1967, the summer of love, over a psychedelic haze of backwards guitar, feedback and acid trips. It brings to mind my first Dunwich Dynamo. If it felt like a journey into the unknown, that’s because it was. Where am I going? Will I make it? Who are all these people? Am I lost? Which way is the sea? Continue reading
Tomorrow’s the London Cycling Campaign Big Ride, which aims to be the biggest ever mobilisation of cyclists (and pedestrians and rollerstakters) on the streets of London. There are feeder rides from every corner over the capital, read about them here.
If you want to join a probably small but perfectly formed Bike Show peloton, then join us for a gentle roll into town, with a cafe stop en route and a pint and a bite afterwards. There’s too much fussin’ and fightin’ on the streets of this city. To bring a little peace and harmony we’ll meet at the wonderful Buddhist Peace Pagoda by the River Thames in Battersea Park, at 10am.
If you’re coming, let us know in the comments. Or over on Facebook.
In the concluding half of an extended interview with engineer and bicycle inventor Mike Burrows, we talk about Mike’s biggest passion: laid back bicycles. He explains how these human powered vehicles came about and where he hopes they’re going. You can see the world’s fastest human powered vehicles racing at the world championships this June at the Fowlmead country park near Deal in Kent.
Plus bike blogger and endurance athlete Simon Nurse discusses the possibility of a cycling equivalent of the London Marathon. The closest we could find is the Vätternrundan in Sweden: 300km, 23,000 participants.
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Velonotte Rome - picture by Alan Vouba/Moskultprog
With the start of British Summer Time we look ahead to two upcoming mass rides: Velonotte London and the Edinburgh Pedal on Parliament.
On the night of Saturday 23rd June, Sergey Nikitin‘s Velonotte (pictured in Rome, above) will come to London as part of the 2012 London Festival of Architecture. A night ride starting at St Paul’s cathedral, traversing the East End to the Olympic Park and finishing with a live orchestra welcoming the dawn at the London Pleasure Gardens. The ride will feature a simultaneous broadcast on Resonance FM of soundscapes and Velonotte’s expert guides including Peter Ackroyd, Ricky Burdett, David Adjaye, Sergey Romanyuk and Peter Murray.
Meanwhile, on 28 April, Scottish cyclists will take to the streets of Edinburgh to call for the Scottish government to put more investment in cycling infrastructure and cycle safety. Sally Hinchcliffe is one of the organisers of the Pedal on Parliament.
And if you’re taking part in either of these rides, there’s no more stylish and practical bike to ride than the Paper Bicycle. Its designer Nick Lobnitz explains the thinking behind a bicycle that could join the F-frame Moulton and the Brompton folding bicycle as a British design classic, pictured below.
Paper Bicycle in Lausanne
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Flowers and candles for Ellie Carey, a 22-year old woman killed while cycling on Tower Bridge Road on 2 December 2011. The flowers and candles were left by family and friends on 14 December following a short vigil at the spot where she was killed by a left-turning heavy goods vehicle.
Ellie’s father Allister has led calls for the Mayor of London to step in and reduce the danger to all road users of a junction that has been the subject of safety campaigns by cyclists and pedestrians for at least two years. Politicians and campaigners are pressing the Mayor to take action to reduce road danger at many of London’s busy junctions. In response, the Mayor has promised a safety review of 300 junctions but remains committed to a policy of ‘smoothing traffic flow’ that precludes significant reengineering of layouts to give cyclists protected space on the roads.
2011 has seen 16 cyclists killed on the streets of London.
Resonance FM is devoting the entire weekend to its annual on-air Fundraising Marathon. Over 100 experiences, items, artworks, rareties and more – all donated by our generous supporters and all up for grabs this weekend.
The reason? We need the money. The cuts have affected us already and the future looks uncertain for all arts organisations including ours. Our content is offered to you FREE throughout the year, so if you like what you hear (or want to broadcast something better yourself), please dig into your pockets and offer a DONATION or BID IN THE AUCTION.
Among the lots for auction is a day in the team car of Rapha-Condor-Sharp. Sitting alongside the Directeur Sportif, you’ll get a unique view of the inside of a professional bike race in the Rapha-Condor-Sharp 2011 race calendar, e.g. the Rás, the Lincoln GP, Ryedale GP etc.
Normally this opportunity is only available to Rapha-Condor-Sharp ‘pink stripe’ members (£1,500 a year subscription), at a cost of £250 per day.
Other lots include a bass guitar lesson with John Paul Jones of Led Zepellin, Tracey Emin’s only sound work (edition of one), a fortnight in the Himalayas and other artworks, records, books and experiences.
More details at the Resonance FM website auction page (including item photos & descriptions and a live board showing current winning bids). Listen in until Midnight on Sunday evening – it’s a live broadcast marathon anchored by Jonny Trunk on Saturday and Bob & Roberta Smith on Sunday.
You can also phone in bids or donations on +44(0) 20 7407 1210 or +44(0) 207 089 2170 or +44(0) 207 089 2172 or email auction@resonancefm.com.
It was to Earls Court on Thursday for the trade and press day of the annual Cycle Show. It seemed there were fewer exhibitors than in past years, with Sunrace Sturmey Archer perhaps the most noticeable and from my point of view, regrettable, absentee. What the Cycle Show 2010 lacked in venerable British (now Taiwanese) hub gears, it made up for in cycle sport celebrities. Mario Cipolini was looking every inch the David of the cycling world, towering well over six feet tall, tanned, in skin tight jeans and a bucket of hair gel keeping each and every one of his golden locks in place. Eddy Merckx was doing sterling duty signing autographs on his company’s stand.
Here’s the pick of what I saw. Continue reading