Recently in Commuting Category

Out for a Sunday constitutional walk to Richmond, I spotted strange looking metal channels running up the sides of the various flights of stairs around Barnes Railway Bridge

Initially I was a little baffled as to what they were for, but as you can guess from the title I found out that these are "bike channels" to help people wheel their bikes up and down the bridge and to the station platform.

Ingenious solution? I think they are, not just because it means not having to carry your bike up the stairs with the attendant risks of getting mucky.

In the bigger picture of managing the flow of people around the bridge, it means bicycles become far less of an obstacle as they flow up one side rather than being moving obstacles that get in the way of other people. Now some of you might bridle at this suggestion but, let's face it, no one likes having to negotiate their way round a cyclist lugging their bike up stairs.

It's also good to see a local authority working towards solutions rather than ignoring an issue, so well done the Hounslow!

Spotted this on Cyclefilm's twitpic yesterday from the annual bike trade uberfest that is Eurobike.

I love Lacoste. Currently on my most wanted list is their 60th anniversary Snoopy limited edition at Dover Street Market (more details pics on Fashionism).

The Fashion+Cycling Venn diagram has an increasingly large intersection.

In the UK Paul Smith+Rapha+Condor is the most high profile and globally, Puma and Chanel have both put out their own branded bikes.

I like the rack at the front of the Lacoste, the moustache handlebars and general styling, plus the increasingly popular belt drive (I'd love to try a bike with one, especially a cross bike). Not sure I'd want it in white though.

Stef reckons "it looks like a Globe done up as a ghost bike."

I'd take it in Black or a classic colour, definitely. But not without mudguards. What's the point in a commuter in the UK without guards? Even Chanel put guards on theirs.

Incidentally, that integrated seapost looks suspiciously like a Look one.

With the cold arriving in London, it looks like autumn has lasted all of a couple of days. London Cyclist Blog has got their winter motivating in motion, so I thought it my civic duty to do likewise.

Mudguards

Wet feet, rainwater splash, grit and sundry other forms of road grim are the constant companions of cyclists between November and April. The single best solution to minimising their effect is a set of full-length mudguards.

They may not be sexy but they massively reduce the amount of damp spraying off the frame and onto the rider. There's plenty of anecdotal evidence that they are a highly effective theft deterrent as well.

Clip-on guards will stop the worst of it hitting your back but as much water hits a rider when deflected off the seat and down tubes. I sometimes think that I probably get as wet from water coming up as down.

Cost: 20 pounds or so, plus a bit of labour if you get your local bike shop to fit them. It's cheaper than a pair of overshoes and not much more than waterproof socks but probably just as effective as either overall.

Gloves

There's plenty of cycle specific ones out there but the best pair of winter gloves I've got are some leather ones from M&S with a fleece lining.

I think they're pretty similar to these leather gloves from M&S

Barring torrential rain or extreme cold, I think leather gloves represent the best value protection versus durability for everyday use and you can wear them other than for cycling.

Hat

Finding the right hat makes a world of difference. It needs to be the right balance between warm and comfortable. For me there's one hat that has been fitting the bill for the last two winters: Rapha's winter hat

Jacket

There is no "right" jacket. Some days you want to go slow and keep warm, others you'll want to scream through the streets with the cold making your eyes stream as you get a good sweat on. Pick your jacket depending on the day and your mood.

Reflecting back on Cycle, the London bike show at Earls Court, I was reading Carlton Reid's thoughts over on quickrelease.tv and I think he's right about how the industry is missing a coming trend:

"Don't get me wrong, aspirational bikes are good and a show stuffed with stealth black hybrids and Dutch roadsters would turn off the techies, but if Joe Breeze is right, 'transportation bikes' will become a bigger category than the mountain bike was in the '80s and '90s. If so, the bike trade is in the pre-MTB phase of largely ignoring what's staring them in the face." - quickrelease.tv

But where I disagree is on what constitutes a "transportation bike". For me any bike has the potential to be a transportation bike rather than a specific style of bike, as seems to be the way they are presented at present. The brief that I would put together for one is less a feature of design as an ethic of use:

A transportation bike is any bicycle that can transport the rider and their goods safely between two points without requiring them to adapt their mode of clothing to do so.

Based on that I'd argue that the trend is a change in philosophy of use, rather than the specific type of bike in use. And coming back to Carlton's view that the industry is missing a trick this was most evident in the sector where I think there's scope for huge invention: accessories.

Looking around the show I didn't see many of those things that make life easy for people to use their bike for transportation everywhere: luggage, racks, clothing, lighting, mudguards. Maybe I wasn't looking hard enough.

There were a few items which I think are already ahead of the curve. For example, the Knog lights which I'm thinking of investing in. They've got what I'd call a "non-proprietary fixing" which I think is their brilliant USP: no need for an annoying bracket that only works with one brand of light and which is a right bugger to replace if it goes missing or gets broken/stolen.

You can buy them from the London Cycle Chic Shop from as little as 7 GBP.

Winter has finally arrived rolling across London with thick morning fog the last couple of days. It's even forced the thick Altura winter jacket out of the closet, although it's gone back in now that I've remembered just how much it makes me sweat. I think I may have to look at a softshell to replace it - Rapha and Howies are top of the list and I think we all know which one I really want. Better start saving then.

More importantly I'd better start training properly. I've noticed I've put on something monumentally stupid like 5kg since the summer and not all of that can be muscle. I've not even been out on my good bike since I flipped the stem and had my cyclefit. I would have gone out on Saturday but there's some last minute Christmas stuff to be done so I might settle for riding down to my mum's on Sunday if I don't go out on a club ride.

From mid-January I won't be doing my daily 30-minute-each-way commute which, ironically, may actually be beneficial as it will mean I'm not going to be too tired to train as a result of commuting. That doesn't mean I won't be cycling to work. Obviously I will be enjoying the five-minute blast up the road to work.

Tomorrow is another chance to commute in thick fog probably which is actually more fun than it should be, just so long as you don't get too distracted by watching your own breath condensing in front of you.