With political turmoil and the sad death of some of the greats of the music, art and entertainment world, 2016 seemed a bit bleak at times. But, as HG Wells once said, “Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair of the future of the human race.” So, while the year had its tricky moments, we were lucky enough at Ride Velo to see plenty of adults (and children) on bikes as well as ride a few ourselves. Here are some of our highlights of the year.
Read MoreBest Cyclist's Christmas Stocking Fillers
Only 10 sleeps until Christmas, but it's not too late to fill your loved one's cycling stockings. Forget boring bike lights and unimaginative inner tubes, we give you our top selections from a year's hard graft trawling bike shows and reviewing the latest offerings from books to energy boosters. Here's Ride Velo's best little presents for 2016 which are guaranteed to delight the cyclist in your life.
Read MoreThe Cyclist's Bucket List
Has watching the Tour de France inspired you to try some of the iconic climbs that the pros race up almost effortlessly? Maybe you've already attempted some of the better known ascent such as Alpe d'Huez and the Tourmalet? Tomorrow sees the publication of The Cyclist's Bucket List - A Road Bike Journal - a beautifully illustrated notebook with ideas to inspire you - from the Etape du Tour to climbing the Col de Aubisquel - and challenges such as taking part in a bunch sprint.
Read MoreDrink to the Tour de France!
Wine, art and pro cycling - three of Ride Velo's favourite things have joined forces with the collaboration of the Tour de France, Bicicleta wines and artist Eliza Southwood. Actually this is the third year that Cono Sur's Bicicleta wines have been official partners of the Tour, but the first time that Eliza Southwood has been involved; as designer of the limited edition bottle labels. Ride Velo managed to wangle an invite to the launch party where there was much to celebrate!
Read MoreSpin London 2016
What we love about bike shows is that however many we visit, they are always really different to one another. At this year's Spin, held at the Old Truman Brewery in trendy Brick Lane, we saw many of the same friendly faces - but there were also loads of new designers, manufacturers and retailers displaying their wares. And that's aside from the huge variety of guest speakers on offer throughout the three days too. Ride Velo not only heard Chris Boardman's very enlightening talk, but discovered some new brands of bikes to love and lots of clothing and accessories to die for. The only down side, we spent quite a lot of money! Thank goodness we'd cycled to the event or we would've bagged much more.
Read MoreTweed Run 2016
Luckily, my old chum Bunty knew a chap and sourced a ticket on this year’s spiffing Tweed Run for yours truly. It’s the 8th edition and rumour has it they sold out in 30 seconds flat! Higgins worked like a Trojan to prepare the velocipede, dusted down the Tweeds and packed a damn fine hamper to boot. Good old Higgins.
Read MoreEliza Southwood
Chatting to artist Eliza Southwood is like peeling an onion; her life story unfolds in layers, each perfectly independent of the other. Famous for her stunning cycling prints and commissions for the V&A, Sustrans, Rapha and more, I would never have guessed that her former careers included being a professional flamenco dancer and a horse stable hand in a Pythonesque anarcho-syndicalist commune in Tuscany! There is certainly more to this London-based producer of iconic cycling images than meets the eye...
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