Pete & Dave set off on Saturday 10th January to Addis Abeba in Ethipoia to begin their 3 month adventure but it didn’t start well! You can learn about that and other stories from their adventure here a the Team Bad website (click on the link):

You can sponsor Pete & Dave who are raising money for the Overgate Hospice in Halifax by visiting Justgiving.com/5000miles or by clicking on this link below:

Just Giving – MAKE A DONATION

Cheers.

We get loads of broken bikes through the workshop and sometimes they look like this poor thing:

Whether mangled by the elements or chewed up by the owner there’s something about the destruction that fascinates us, it’s like rubbernecking (Generally, any act of observation in a manner considered unduly overt or otherwise unseemly) for bike enthusiasts!

So based on this fascination of the broken we’ve started a collection of pictures on this theme and would welcome any pictures you might have, please email them in the usual way and we add them here:

CRUNCH Pictures

Wear your helmet but try not to use it.

Firth Cycles now has an online store where you (yes you!) can buy lovely things for your bike. Click on the screen shot below to take you there.

Johnnie Walker and I hope you like it. Its simple clean layout means it’s all about the products and not about the interest free credit, special offers or adverts for mobile phones flashing up all over the place.

Firth Cycles is a real shop run by real people and we wanted the online store to reflect that a bit. One of the first simple things we did was to put the address and phone number on the bottom of every page so you can contact us easily should you need to.

We are listing more of our products every day (except on Sunday’s when we ride our bikes) so please keep checking the home page or alternatively let us know what you’re after and we’ll do our best to sort it out for you. All the prices on the site are the same as those in the store so no surprises if you want to come and collect in person.

Enjoy.

Close friend, former colleague, all round nice guy and fellow mountain biker Dave ‘Dangerous’ Mitchell is giving up his time to cycle from Riga in Latvia to Tallinn in Estonia in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care. He’s doing it at the end of August and needs your help to raise some vital funds. The route, covering 530 challenging kilometres, links two beautiful capital cities in Eastern Europe following the Baltic coastline. More information on the ride can be found here:

Marie Curie Charity Ride – Riga to Tallinn

More importantly you can give a little here to help him on his way:

>>>>>>>>>>>PLEASE MAKE A DONATION HERE>>>>>>>>>>>

Alternatively you can donate to Dave’s charity ride at the shop or just send him a good luck message via this blog. Thanks for taking the time to read this; I know Dave will appreciate it too. Good luck buddy.

A sad set of photographs of a beautiful Bianchi 928 CARBON L that kissed the front of a car at about 30mph. The rider (and still riding) suffered a broken back, several weeks in hospital and some metal pins to add to his biological mix. He avoided being speared by the broken ends of the tubing by going over the car but used the well known ‘tarmac/skin’ method to slow himself down – ouch. If you ever wondered why you should wear a helmet, have a chat with this guy and his family who are all glad he’s here to tell the tale.

The BBC news said (amongst other things) that the budget would prove expensive for smokers, drinker and motorists. The best solution? Get a bike! (you knew that was coming right?). Give up the fags, drink less booze, buy less fuel and get out on your bike. Yeah drive a 3.5L V8 gas guzzling Landy if that’s your bag but commute on your bike when you can – balance it out. I get fed up feeling like I must ‘go green’ overnight but it isn’t practical for everyone to give up their cars tomorrow, if you ride your bike to work or to the shops once a week then it’s a start – and you’ll feel better physically and financially. Rant over.

We were so impressed with the recon job done on these PACE Air Force forks that we thought we should tell you all about it.

These beauties belong to Mr John Walker and are usually attached to his 1996 Bontrager Race Light which is currently in the workshop for some TLC (thats Tighten, Lube & Clean!). Since Pace forks were bought by DT Swiss they no longer service any models older than 2003 – a shame I know especially since (in my opinion) they are one of the limited brands that has a heritage that should be shouted about. Anyway, one man’s loss is another’s gain and that man is Tim Price who is now servicing the older stuff. He is based in Pickering, North Yorkshire, and be contacted on 01751 476815. Thanks Tim.

2007 ended in style when an interesting pair of recumbents came into the workshop for customers Dave and Helen Hart. Specially ordered from ICE (Inspired Cycle Engineering), the ‘Trice T’ models are an ultra-comfortable touring recumbent trike with rear suspension and the ability to fold up and fit in the boot!  As with all build-ups we have to test them (you’d expect nothing less!) and we were really impressed with how well they handle and as you can imagine they are also super comfortable with the laid back riding position. 

Check out the ICE website for pricing and parts.  This is Dave and Helen showing us how it’s done. 

Many thanks to them for their patience whilst sourcing the bikes and accessories, we wish them many happy miles of cycling. Click on any of the images for more pictures.

£50 million is up for grabs from the Big Lottery Fund and it could be invested in cycling and walking across the UK but only if you really want it.

Sustrans needs you to vote for Connect2 , one of four projects competing on ITV1 in the Big Lottery Fund’s: The People’s £50 Million Contest with the winner decided by public vote. Online voting will open on 26th November at www.thepeoples50million.org.uk and telephone voting takes place over the weekend 7th-10th December.

Do one of the following today so that they can remind you how and when to vote.

• Text CONNECT2 to 80010
• Complete the online form at www.sustransconnect2.org.uk (also has more information about the projects) or
• Call 0845 058 1373 to leave your contact details.

Go on then…..