Byke Kultuur Never, Issue 4

Byke Kultuur Never

Issue 4, March 2001

Last updated 4th April 2001.

A quick photo-report from Bike Right 6.5 and a few links.
There will be more just as soon as I write it.

News

Following the collapse of the Open Road empire it was feared that the vast stock of unsold copies of Bycycle and Bike Culture Quarterly magazines would be pulped.
Fortunately this hasn't happened as Jim McGurn's new Company of Wolves has bought up the entire stock.
They are also organising cycling holidays and other cycling events.
Open Road's Encycleopedia also carries on as Jim's ex-partner Alan Davidson has bought that.
His new Encycleopedia outfit are also selling the Encycleopedia CD-Rom which was due out in May 2000.
It's unfortunate that those who've already paid Open Road for the CD-Rom will have to pay a second time if they still want a copy.
Ex-editor of Open Road's Bike Culture Quarterly, Peter Eland, has just issued the first edition of his excellent new cycling magazine, Velo Vision which continues with the quality we have come to expect from his previous work.
Closed Road recommends all our readers to subscibe to his wonderful publication.
Cycling photographer Jason Patient's brother, chef Trevor Smith is planning on buying yet another bicycle. Trev, who already owns a Kingcycle, a Windcheetah tricycle and a Cannondale tandem amongst others, is getting a Challenge Hurricane.
I rather like the look of the Challenge Distance myself as a replacement for my elderly Peer Gynt. The Challenge Distance appears to be an ideal touring bicycle for taller, heavier riders such as myself.
In a not entirely surprising move Velo Vision has copied Byke Kultuur Never yet again.
In a double-whammy, editor Peter Eland announced Velo Vision's decision to feature banner ads (months after BKN had featured them) and the Folding Society's latest issue features a review of his magazine with a link to the website.
Observant readers will have seen BKN featured in the previous edition from the Folding Society.
Cyclist Andy Heading has become the first Briton to win what has been described as the most gruelling sporting event ever devised. The photographer cycled 1000 miles over Alaska's inhospitable terrain in freezing temperatures. He was one of just four of the 125 entrants to finish the course, braving wolves and bears and suffering minor frostbite along the way.
The 36 year old left Anchorage just hoping to be the first European to finish the Iditasport Impossible Race which is open to cyclists, runners and skiers but when he reached the coast of the Bering Sea 26 days later, Mr Heading was neck-and-neck with an Alaskan rival. After an epic battle, the two cyclists crossed the line holding hands to become joint winners.
Mr Heading, from Matlock, Derbyshire, dedicated his victory to his best friend Andy Baldwin. They had planned to do the race together but Mr Baldwin was killed in a car accident in 1998.
A bit of a u-turn from the Ministry of Agriculture (MAFF), after telling cyclists and others to stay away from the countryside unless absolutely necessary they seem to have changed their minds.
They now say that cyclists can cycle on roads throughout the UK, during the foot and mouth outbreak as road cycling does not contravene measures to halt the spread of the disease.
Their website also includes information for cyclists who intend to travel abroad.

Kit Test

The Petzl Tikka headtorch uses 3 white LED's in place of a conventional filament lamp which means a longer life for it's 3 AAA cells.
The 3 LED's are much brighter than any I've seen on bicycles. Excellent for reading in bed during a recent power cut, it's real role is likely to be as a useful lamp for camping.
Expensive at Ł25, I got mine at CCC in Sheffield with 10% off, but if it's used as much as it's predecessor, a Petzl Micro, the savings in batteries will soon cover it.
Disadvantages; it's very fiddly to fit the batteries, the plastic switch isn't awfully positive and is probably the most likely point of eventual failure.
The Tikka also lacks the waterproofing seal commonly found on bicycle LED lamps.

Bike Right 6.5

Some photos from Bike Right 6.5 held at Longridge Towers School, near Berwick-on-Tweed, over the weekend of 23rd-25th February 2001.
The event, organised by the schools new bursar, cycling enthusiast Philip Stanbury, drew an eclectic mix of 29 enthusiasts from Scotland and all over England, riding conventional, folding and recumbent cycles.
Uniquely, I used the weekend to walk the path along the south bank of the Tweed.

Noddy & Snowman.

Mike Perkins, Sharon, Paul Stobbs, Bill Pearson & Pete Eland.

Trevor Smith on his Speedy.

Mike Perkins & cycling photographer Jason Patient

Sign on the National Cycle Trail on the south side of town.

Velovision editor Pete Eland takes action shots of Trev as he rides his Speedy on the snow covered ground.

Philip Stanbury having a go on the Speedmachine at the Open Road Try-Out Show earlier in the year, courtesy of BikeFix.

Coming soon...

Bike Right 007
Pederson outside a nightclub in Esbjerg, Denmark, August 2000.

Please view and sign the Guestbook...

Adverts.

Jason Patient Photography.
- Picture library
- Commissions undertaken
- Wide range of ready-framed pictures
  - Tel 01890 883408
  - email jasonpatient@lineone.net
SpecialBikes Ltd is a company dedicated to getting people with disability into cycling.
London Recumbents , where Trev's getting his Challenge Hurricane from, the official UK importer.

Coming Events.

There's a Folding bike gathering in Weymouth, 11-13th May.
Spokesfest are running a couple of events this year.
Over the weekend of 19th/20th May there's the Belvoir Weekend .
In the summer there's Spokesfest 2001 which will be held over 27th-30th July.
The Company of Cyclists are running a couple of events this year.
No CycleFest this year but Steve Andrews is running his usual alternative event, this year renamed 2001 A Cycling Odyssey over the weekend of 18th & 19th August 2001 at Snatchems End near Lancaster and a second weekend 25th & 26th August at Kirk Newton near Wooler in Northumberland not far from the Scottish Border.

Interesting Chain Links (honest).

Peter Eland's excellent new cycling magazine, Velo Vision also has an excellent website with news features updated daily.
An excellent, albeit very American online magazine, Bents Online is not what you'd think. It's about recumbents.
Open Road (ceased trading) published the excellent cycling publications, Bike Culture Quarterly & Bycycle and Encycleopedia. Have a look while you still can, just don't send them any money.
Everything you ever wanted to know about human powered vehicles on land, water or in the air can be found at the website of the International Human Power Vehicle Association.
The British Human Power Club is for cyclists who feel the need for speed and I don't mean amphetamines.
Editor of the BHPC, Dave Legs Larrington has a good page on recumbents which includes a favourite deity page. Deities include the usual as well as R.Ballantine and J.McGurn.
One of the best cycling sites on the internet, Mike Hessey's Folding Society, covers pretty much everything there is to know about folding bicycles.
Although it hasn't appeared for well over a year, Recumbent UK issue 7 is allegedly on its way according to Richard Loke. I believe him, he's got such a nice smile. For months I've been unable to get this link to work. oops!!! I carelessly left off the .HTML at the end. Mind you, it's not been updated since issue 5 went to the printers.
I spoke telephonically with Richard Taylor last year and every time he said the magazine was on the way but nothing appeared after the 5th edition, dated Spring 1999. It was a great magazine. The best of it's sort and better than many more commercial ventures.
Ex-editor of Bike Culture Quarterly (see above), Peter Eland's, Pete's Pages feature his Russian recumbent tricycle as well as his magnificent home-built-demountable-recumbent-tandem-tricycle and a big write-up on his Summer 2000 Tour which took in Spokesfest, Cyclefest and the Open Road Week in York.
Multimap.com: online maps to everywhere. Jolly darned useful.
Not cycling, The Fell Club for lightweight camping.

Previous editions of Byke Kultuur Never...

Issue 1, March 2000. Photo of a family of liegfietsers, Open Road policy statement and a few links.

Issue 2, April/May 2000. Jase, Mark and Neil recumbent at Elsdon cafe, links and spoofs.

Issue 3, December 2000. Some very good spoofs from Steve Andrews and loads of links.

This page created and maintained by Séamus D. King.
Comments to seamustuff@yahoo.co.uk
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Last updated 4th April 2001.
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