As another week for us mere Mortals draws to a close, we have news from the WCR Grand Tour, some of which may be of interest for anybody near London who has been following our riders since they began their race around the World earlier this spring.
Oh man, what a let down!
Ppssssssssssssssscchhhhhhhhhttttt. Darn.
Sooner or later every cyclist is likely to experience an unplanned tyre deflation episode. Whether due to a lack of dilligence and subsequent navigation through a patch of broken glass, or even a wanton stab through the sidewall from an irate property owner whose fence you’ve adorned regardless of signs to the contrary, the outcome is equally irksome.
No need to bestride your bike before reinflation has been achieved. Granted, it is possible to ride on a flat tyre, but this is likely to lead to further damage to the bike, and quite possibly even the rider.
Given the unlikelihood of experiencing a puncture outside a friendly bicycle shop during opening hours, you’re going to have to get your hands dirty. Or at least, as dirty as your bicycle wheel. If your steed is a filthy neglected object, your mitts will get just as grimy. A clean bike is easier to repair just as it is more pleasant to ride.
Long Distance Touring by unicycle makes numb hands a thing of the past.
As readers of the Brooks blog must be only too well aware, in about a month now London will be the starting point for perhaps the most ambitious and dramatic cycling event the world has yet seen.
It’s true to say that most individuals attempting to break the world record for Fastest Circumnavigation of the Earth by Bicycle this year will hit the start button of their stopwatches on February 18th somewhere in the English capital.
(editor’s note: the following is the charming diary of five young people from Birmingham who approached us to support their charity ride from Birmingham to Berlin to raise money for Cancer Research UK. A video of this adventure is soon to follow.)
DAY ONE – BIRMINGHAM TO LONDON
Brooks England is a proud sponsor of the London Tweed Run this coming Saturday. The Tweed Run raises money for Bikes4Africa, a great charity that donates bicycles to children in Africa who would otherwise have to walk for miles every day to school, keeping them from arriving late, exhausted and unable to concentrate.
blog.brooksengland.com
The Brooks Blog will begin posting 1 Nov 2010. With the Brooks Blog, we will attempt to collect, catalog, and comment upon the influences and atmosphere that accompany our experiences in the ongoing care and curation of one of cycling’s oldest brands, and on the way, share with you how the world looks to us from the inside of the factory looking out.
