Written by Balint HamvasPosted in urbanJune 14, 2009
I arrived about an hour prior to the start of the event. A recent anke injury prevented me from participating but I was still curious what it was like. The organizers were gathering already and were busy handing out flags and other paraphernalia.
The police were there already to make sure that everything goes smoothly. Obviously, mostly cycle-mounted officers were there. Their bikes weren`t really fitted with any super-special equipment, however one of the bikes was fitted with this cool light and a siren. It soon turned out, however, that the unit is out of order and even if it worked, a whistle is a much more effective tool to draw attention.
There was an assembly zone north of the Apollo Statue, where riders could change clothes and prepare for the ride. These young lads, Hartwat and Adam were waiting patiently for their first naked ride.
Though the start was still almost 30 minutes away, some folks were already happily naked. Impressive hairdo, by the way.
Police cyclists led and closed the big mass of mostly nude and unanimously cheerful riders.
Not long after the advertised 3:30pm start date the ride set off. There were all kinds of people. Some were masked, some wore silly costumes. Bicycle-wise, there were also all kinds of rides: mountain bikes, serious road bikes, hybrids, pimped monsters, unicycles and even some trikes. They were to tackle 6.2 miles around Central London so I had more than an hour to kill before they were to arrive back to Hyde Park to cross the Wellington Arch.
It took them 80 minutes to complete the loop and they arrived back via Park Lane in one happy, joyful (and naked) crowd.
He obviously missed the point.
Once everyone rode through the Wellington Arch, the crowd started to dissolve. Lot of people remained naked or semi-naked and had a great time chatting about the ride they just completed. Some folks used all the attention to show their talents, like this pedalling musician guy. He should have tried Britain’s Got Talent.
The whole event seemed to me a weird mixture of a Critical Mass ride and an erotic show. It managed to retain the philosophy of the Critical Mass rides where they promote urban cycling, calling the general public’s attention to the vulnerability of cyclists, using nudity as a means to an end. But the most of the crowd, in my opinion, were more interested in seeing tits and dongs than to switch from driving to cycling. Still, it is the least the rider’s fault, so kudos to everybody, who had the courage and rode along.
Written by Balint HamvasPosted in urbanJune 11, 2009
I moved to London in January and I knew immediately, that I need a bike to commute. I looked around on the market to find the most suitable bike for my needs. What I was looking for was the following:
- Simplicity – I used to ride a fixed gear bike back home in Budapest and I loved the fact that I didn’t need to bother with derailleurs, cogs cables and the likes. I didn’t want a fixed gear bike this time though as I needed time to get used to ride on the other side of the road and I didn’t want too much distraction.
- Black – I wanted a black bike, as simple as that
- Affordable – I didn’t want to buy an expensive bike because if you fork out £900 for a commuter bike, you get reluctant to chain it anywhere so it kind of defies the purpose of an urban bike.
All these and my bias towards Trek (I have a Trek 8500 mountain bike and a Trek 1.2 road bike) pointed towards the Trek Soho S. It was single speed, it was black, sleek, beautiful and under £400. So be it, I thought
Due to my height (6’4″) I opted for the 22″ frame and it was a good decision, the size is perfect and allows me to transform my pedalling efforts optimally into speed. The handlebar was a bit too wide but I had had cut some 2″ from each end, it makes navigating through traffic much easier.
I really like the drivetrain’s specifics: 44T in front with a 17T freewheel in the back. For me, it is the perfect solution, I can pedal up almost everywhere (to be fair, it can be tricky when it gets really steep) and I don’t necessarily need to start freewheel when a smaller descent starts. The brakes are performing really well, especially after the first two weeks. One feature I love is the chainguard which allows me to don’t care about my pants and I don’t need to tuck it under my socks anymore which makes everyday cycling much easier, at least to me.
The bike was performing flawlessly for about two months when suddenly the left pedal broke into two pieces. Closer inspection revealed that it had a plastic body, so it shouldn’t have been a surprise. Still, I was expecting a bit more than that.
I had another problem with the bike: the crankset started to clack and it started to feel funny during pedalling. My unfortunate ankle injury prevented me from taking the bike back to the shop to see what the problem could be but again, it’s a bit annoying that something so essential as a crankset or a bottom bracket starts to have problems after 5 months of use
My overall opinion of the bike is that the design and the riding capabilities are excellent, however using better components in certain places might have saved me a lot of trouble.
Written by Balint HamvasPosted in otherJune 9, 2009
