there are many innovations that have become part of the clichéd 'cycling's rich heritage', a few of which which have but passed into the great bike shop in the sky, but many still form a part of contemporary velocipedinal life. for instance, we still refer to the various parts of the double-diamond frame as 'tubes', despite the majority of carbon frames consisting of two halves stuck together. almost gone, yet not forgotten, are the lugs once beloved of framebuilders worldwide. it is entirely conceivable that there young cyclists amongst us who believe the word lugs solely to be scots slang for ears.
if the industry has its wicked way, it won't be too long before continued use of inner-tubes will probably categorise the user as a dinosaur, in the same manner as guitarists who fervently defend the valve amplifier as every bit as worthy as a vinyl, long-playing record. and though having taken advantage of such benefits myself, in my younger years, i cannot recall having seen any cyclist wearing cycle-clips for many an aeon.
for those of you currently sporting a quizzical expression, let me advise that cycle-clips, in their original form, consisted of two open-ended circles of springy steel, employed to keep trouser legs away from oily chainrings. the advent of cycling-specific 'skinny jeans' has all but removed any need for cycle-clips by even the least sartorially aware commuter. but there may be a case for celebrating the existence of cycle-clips, particularly when they serve as a catalyst for the worldwide cycle trips of author, nick raistrick.
assisting his father to tidy a house that has grown too big for his parent, while perusing the many items stored in the attic, he comes upon an envelope left by his grandfather and addressed to him. "It contains two items. The first is a tourist guide to Japan [...] The second item is a pair of bicycle clips. ... There is no accompanying letter to explain the significance of these items, nor whether they are linked in some way."
it's doubtful that the author is the only one amongst us querying "Why bicycle clips? What's the Japan connection? but their existence and the fact that thay appear to have been aimed in his direction, forms the basis of the next 300+ pages. "Naturally, I will try to solve the mystery of the envelope. I will document the journey. More than this, I will allow myself to be guided by the discovery, which I take to be a sign."
though the author never quite defines quite what he does to pay the bills, the chapter heading following the envelope's discovery, pays tribute to a joni mitchell song: 'paved paradise, put up a parking lot', taking us to africa, or, to be more precise, tanzania where, ostensibly, our journey begins with raistrick's apparent obsession with a phoenix bicycle. "..."I couldn't get it out of my head. It's an old-fashioned, 'sit up and beg' kind of bicycle, solid and sensible, with a wide, sprung saddle and upright riding position."
if the book's title had not already appraised you that it would contain little in the way of lycra and twelve-speed gear sets, the appearance of the phoenix will surely have sealed the deal.
for those of you (us?) who consider ourselves to be the bees-knees when it comes to cycling apparel and state of the art carbon-fibre, the bicycle clip diaries will act as the perfect mirror to our pelotonic aspirations. for though the author willingly admits to occasionally inhabiting our midst, it is the more utilitarian approach that floats his boat. and in the quest to discover the connection between cycle-clips and japan, he artfully highlights the foibles of those in danger of taking themselves too seriously and those in thrall to the car.
"Over the years there was an increase in motor vehicles at the hostel and the ambient noises changed. ... I was teaching a few yeards away, along with the higher pitched sound of ... battered Toyotas and Datsuns with questionable service histories."
from the hostel in tanzania, his documented quest takes him to zanzibar and the acquisition of a bubble-wrapped 'phoenix' bicycle, to yorkshire, where he visits relatives who might just be able to shed some light on the envelope's contents. this trip includes confirmation that, though no longer aboard a phoenix ("...because I have a feeling that [it] wouldn't like it"), he has not sold his soul to the mamils. "What kind of barbarian would use energy gels when there's the option of a flapjack?"
nick's bicycle explorations include musings on the brompton ("Non-cyclists think they are overpriced novelties for the smug, elitist, metropolitans"), a trip to berlin ("It should therefore come as no surprise that this is a place where cycling with cycle-clips - or Fahrradklammer - is still fairly normal.") and onto colombia, where he introduces us to Ciclovía, an event when they ban cars so that people can cycle on car-free streets.
the diaries, however, do not end there. nick raistrick takes us to the caribbean, to china and ultimately to japan, where he encounters the very antithesis to commuting on a phoenix, the rapha club. "It's a bit rich that you can call it a cycling club...that a company which started out in 2004... referencing a 'golden era' of cycling it had nothing to do with, calls itself a cycling club."
i'd love to tell you whether the author's travels bring him closure over the matter of that envelope with its japanese brochure and cycle-clips, but that would inevitably spoil your own journey. this is a truly excellent book, written in an easy going, easily read style, with more than enough features to keep even the most restless intrigued. he has a delightfully self-deprecating sense of humour and is every bit as enthusiastic about bicycles as any one of us. this is one of those gems that could easily have been missed, a state of affairs that would have left every one of us so much the poorer.
"Perhaps the bicycle clips were meant to teach me a lesson. Slow down."
the bicycle clip diaries is available in paper back from nickraistrick.com, while the kindle version is available from amazon
tuesday 2 june 2020
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