We’ve been hearing great things about a place called the The Velo House in Tunbridge Wells for a while now. It’s a cycling café, bike shop and workshop that’s been getting some rave reviews so we had to check it out. I got there not a little bit dishevelled, extremely hot and in need of some sustenance having tackled some hilly Kentish lanes that can sure be tough when they want to be. Note to self: check out the elevation profile before attempting a new route.
Velo House was a welcome sight indeed as was the enticing menu. It’s a lovely airy, open space, housed in a former Nat West bank building. These guys have clearly thought hard about how to cater for the passing cyclist. You can park your bike in an outside area with a complementary bike lock, the tables are all covered with maps of the local area marked with popular cycling routes. Then there’s a bookshelf with essential cycling reading - back issues of Rouleur, books on cycling climbs and biographies of riders. Yep, I felt at home here!
Read MoreOnce upon a time, there was a friendly neighbourhood bicycle shop in South London. Then the big bad property developers came and evicted the cycle shop. But the cycle shop fought back and reopened in bigger, better premises. Life was good for the workers for 14 years or so, until new property developers came in the name of 'gentrification' and forced the company out once more. What would the poor oppressed workers cooperative do now? They got their heads together and came up with a plan: "Crowdfunding!" they exclaimed. And sure enough, one year later, Brixton Cycles looks set to live happily ever after with their brand new shop and café.
Read MoreIt's a marriage made in cycling heaven: East and South London coming together to create a cycling nirvana at Brixton Cycles. At the end of last year, Brixton Cycles - London's oldest workers' cooperative - faced extinction, but last weekend they emerged like a phoenix from the ashes when they launched their new improved shop, complete with a 'pop-up' café courtesy of Look Mum No Hands! Ride Velo went to check out the new premises and talk to BC's Lincoln Romain and LNMH!'s Sam Humpheson and Lewin Chalkley about their exciting union.
Read MoreSaffron Walden is a terribly nice market town in Essex, most famous for its yellow cooking ingredient, and more recently Jamie Oliver, who hails from nearby Clavering; but unrelated, other than by food! Hardly surprising then that a new saffron-yellow cafe should open up just off Market Square, in between Starbucks and Costa Coffee. But what's stirred up the residents is that it's a cycle cafe, the inspiration for which was actually the maillot jaune, and not the local crocuses!
Read MoreLook Mum No Hands! - an unusual name for a cafe - but, as it turned out, weirdly prophetic. In 2010, three friends who were into cycling, launched LMNH and, unwisely for a new business, had no plan for failure or running at a loss. Just like a small child learning to ride a bike, full of confidence and knowing no fear, the trio "opened the doors, and in they came!" Huge acclaim followed. Ride Velo met with co-founder Lewin Chalkley to discover their recipe for success.
Read MoreEver wondered what pro cyclists get up to on Tour when they're not actually riding? No, nothing smuttier than massages - the hours they spend travelling in between stages on tour buses are actually pretty dull. No booze, no partying obviously, and away from their families, until now all the cycling celebs could do was dream of making it to the off-season. That was until two Bens decided to find a way to relieve the boredom of cycling pal Nathan Haas from team Cannondale-Garmin...
Read MoreMy search to find the perfect cycling cafe continues, as Alan Sugar would say, and this weekend Ride Velo discovered London's hottest new contender for the title at the appropriately named London Velo. Not, as some might expect, in Hoxton, Shoreditch or even Old Street, but in south-east London's Deptford.
Read MoreCoffee and cycling go together like cleats and pedals - but why is coffee such an important part of cycling culture? There is some scientific evidence for improved performance in cyclists taking caffeine before a race. But apart from that, my view is that cyclists just like coffee, and guilt-free cake, of course.Coffee and cycling go together like cleats and pedals - but why is coffee such an important part of cycling culture? There is some scientific evidence for improved performance in cyclists taking caffeine before a race. But apart from that, my view is that cyclists just like coffee, and guilt-free cake, of course.
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