The Bugle | Blast 433


Friday 10th April 2020
Turbo Edition

 
 
 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK


“Ordinary things merely annoy people. Inspired hatred is one more bit of evidence that bicycles are something great, something beyond the mundane – something worthy of grand animosity.” - Bill Strickland




BICYCLIST Of THE WEEK
Turning Right at the daffodils!

Des again leads the Tuesday Ride. Try not to notice he forgot his helmet or the grass needs cutting!

No, nothing will stop Des. Not even spending £20 at a charity shop for this little fella bought and stored for a rainy day. Well rain isn't the main issue right now for us lockdown cyclists.

More: https://anerleybc.org/a-very-different-tuesday-ride/


 

BICYCLE OF THE WEEK

Try fitting this on your average turbo-trainer?

Alex Moulton would have been 100 yesterday (April 9th) and his eponymous bicycle company will be bringing a newly refined version of his classic style to market. A challenging market. Nice to see the Moulton staff are almost all socially distanced.
Mark, have you ordered one yet?
http://www.moultonbicycles.co.uk/models/NSCENTURY.html


 

THE OTHER SMALL WHEEL MAKER TAKES ON COVID-19
Brompton is fighting for its life. This short dramatic video over at the BBC sums up the task of every British engineering company: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/embed/p0895r6n/52238256

The MD's last remark - people won't want to take the tube and that's an opportunity for us - has led Brompton to launch a  a new direct-to-home delivery service so you can start tomorrow - or at least next week: https://bikes.brompton.com/

Plus, of course, Wheels For Heroes: Brompton Crowdfunds To Provide NHS Staff With 1,000 Bikes: https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/wheelsforheroes
 



TURBOS-4-U
Very nice, but a tad expensive - plus where do put the bike?

Alternatively how about £120? Viv at this week's Zoom club meet offered a couple delivered to your door from he familiy's cycle shop. Or if you prefer something a little more exotic to train on for the next few weeks/months contact Viv and they will arrange something.

Meanwhile for those of you with Des' more value led nose - may wish to spend some of your enforced downtime making one. Here are a few suggestions from Mr Google:

"The total cost of this project was about $30 because I used scrap wood and found a free fan in a friend’s junk pile. If you go out and buy all the parts new you might as well buy the trainer it will save you time and headache. But if you are low on cash, have spare time and don't mind "recycling" old stuff this is for you"
https://www.instructables.com/id/Indoor-Bike-Trainer/

Or for something a little different:

"The rollers are standard 3″ PVC pipe with plywood discs pressed into each end. The discs are counter-bored to accept standard skate bearings. Off the shelf steel rod make up the axles. The 3 rollers and axle assemblies are mounted in a wood frame made from dimensional lumber."
https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Bike-Rollers/
 



CLUB MEETINGS
Last Monday's zoom featured the welcome return of Tina from the frontline. Pretty harrowing stories and a reminder to us isolationists what is happening out in the real world.

That's Viv's showing off her cassette in the middle. Good to see her helping her flatmate  to her A&E job by bike.

Next meeting open to all members is Monday at 8pm. An email will go out to club members about an hour beforehand with joining instructions. Get the Zoom app if you can - its a great way of having family meets in these strange times too.

PS The popularity of Zoom (up from 10 million concurrent meetings to 200 million) means they keep tightening security which has thwarted a few of you to date. Keep trying or drop me a line.

And if you aren't on the club member list and want to take part reply to this email.


 

DO YOU WORK FOR THE NHS?


Cycling UK (to which the Club is affiliated, is offering FREE membership. Which includes our required insurance:
https://road.cc/content/news/cycling-uk-offers-free-membership-nhs-staff-272465


 

OTHER CYCLING-UK NEWS
This photo and others were featured on Mail Online and the Mirror seemigly to show how cyclists were ignoring the safe distancing laws.

The problem was the photographer was using a powerful telephoto lens which 'bunched' riders together to apparently show something that was not true. If you check out the pages you will see the ssame technique used on other groups to create an entirely fictitious story and create a media storm.
Cycling-UK has complained to the press watchdog. But is this entirely justified? Could Cycling-UK be defending the indefensible?

While 2 metres distance is required for people walking or standing to keep breath droplets from a possibly infected person away from another person - what happens when you are riding?

Anyone riding shotgun will know when an upstream rider has a blowout (not of the tyre variety). That right - we ride deliberately in the slipstream of people in front. That 2 metre bubble isn't spherical anymore - it can easily include the rider at a greater distance behind.

So please don't ride in groups - which is the reason the Anerley is not riding at all.

 

FINALLY - MORE SAFETY BIKES FROM CAPT'N MARK

Above: Charles Davy path racer 1932
Below: Singer Apollo Safety 1891

Next week we will be featuring some racing stars from 1900 to 1914.


Meanwhile
Stay Safe