CycleClips 19 August 2011  19/08/2011

View this email online. CAMPAIGNING COMMUTING FORUM GROUPS OFF-ROAD TOURING Dear Supporter     Having our cake - and eating it! This afternoon over 600 CTC members will round off their cycling week in Suffolk with a Birthday Tea in celebration of CTC's 133rd year. CTC Vice President and Chair of Council David Cox will preside at the tea party which celebrates our founding each year. The Birthday Rides at Framlingham have been a resounding success thanks to the efforts of CTC Suffolk and CTC Holidays and Tours. There is apparently barely a cake left in the county! CTC Chief Executive Kevin Mayne said: “This week is part of the great traditions of the Cyclists’ Touring Club, people of all ages and backgrounds riding together.  Members have told us all week how much they have appreciated the work of all the volunteers, our thanks to everyone involved.”   CTC paves the way From the earliest days of CTC in 1878 up to the present day, the organisation has lobbied for better roads for cyclists.  The Guardian’s Bike blog examined the way the road network evolved as a result of CTC's campaigning. Cycling journalist Carlton Reid said: "Many motorists also assume that roads were built for them. In fact, cars are the johnny-come-latelies of highways". He also tells how CTC member William Rees Jeffreys was foremost in improving in road surfaces and was “described by former prime minister David Lloyd George as ‘the greatest authority on roads in the United Kingdom and one of the greatest in the whole world’”.  Carlton is currently writing a book on the subject.   Scouting for bikes Fear of bad road surfaces didn’t put off a group of scouts from Uganda who arrived at the recent World Scout Jamboree in Sweden by bike. After being selected for the event, they thought they wouldn’t be able to afford to go – until they came up with the idea of riding there.  Political troubles in north Africa meant that in the end they flew to Italy and rode through mainland Europe.  As they explained on arrival in Sweden, the main challenge was the weather – cold and wet in northern Europe but apparently Italy was too hot!  And in neat reversal of the usual bikes for Africa scenario, they left their machines in Sweden and flew home.   A machine to treasure Namayanja Joelia, 14, also from Uganda, was one of the winners of the recent International Bicycle Fund’s 2011 Student Bicycle Essay Contest. Her piece, entitled ‘Bicycle: A Machine To Treasure, A Machine To Promote!’, examines the environmental and economic benefits a simple bicycle can bring to a community. Meanwhile, Jane Madembo from Zimbabwe describes how a bike liberated her from the unwanted attentions of men!   Star spots Last Sunday saw the Olympic test event for the men’s road race, which was won by Mark Cavendish. Despite widespread road closures, which caused motorists grief, and the large amount of race security, two hapless riders managed to find themselves inadvertently riding next to the pros as the race passed through Richmond Park! The Manx Missile is not the only star who might be spotted riding through the capital as Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were seen last week going into a branch of Halfords in west London!   BMX bandits If road racing isn’t your thing, you might be more interested in this afternoon’s UCI BMX Supercross Olympic Qualifier, which can be seen from 4pm for free on Extreme.com.  Or you might prefer the awesome skills of Scottish legend Danny MacAskill as he performs stunts in an industrial wasteland on Channel 4’s Concrete Circus. If you want to perfect your own BMX skills, the newly-built CycloPark in Kent would be the ideal spot.   Double parking bike CycleClips reader Nick Winckler came across this unique bicycle, simply called ‘The Bike Lock’, by designer Sang Min Yu. The bike’s handlebar can be detached from the frame and used as a modified bike lock. It also functions as a stand to park the bike when indoors. Not yet a prototype, the design looks to be an exciting way to combine form with function, eliminating the need to carry a heavy duty lock around.   Museum pieces For sedate holiday activity, the National Cycle Collection in Llandrindod Wells is hosting special talks and tours during its Victorian Festival week from 22 to 27 August. Cycle historian Mike Baker will talk on ‘The Rise and Fall of the British Cycle Industry’ on Tuesday 23 and Thursday 25 August. The museum will be open daily from 10am-4pm during that week. Admission free to CTC members.   Stop SMIDSY Bike Club Cycle Champions Follow us on Twitter Join us on Facebook CTC Holidays availability If you have any feedback on CycleClips, please email publicity@ctc.org.uk. If you are a CTC member and you would like to subscribe to CycleClips, please email your membership number and request to membership@ctc.org.uk. If you wish to unsubscribe from this newsletter, please click here. To view the CycleClips archive, please click here.

Created by  julie.rand@ctc.org.uk  on  19/08/2011