mr benzie's bicycle shop was situated about half way down kyle street and comprised two 'huts' (for want of a better description) backed by a large rust-red shed in which all the repairs were stored, both before and after. mr benzie, judging by his accent, was originally from somewhere near aberdeen and best described as 'curmudgeonly'. there was little succour to be gained from asking him to fix a puncture; that was something you should be doing yourself. and woe betide the customer who brought in a dirty bicycle for repair.
one of his two huts featured the shop counter, the till, and a wide range of cycling's necessities. the adjacent hut was the showroom, featuring mostly 'proper' bikes. i had a sneaking suspicion that mr benzie was non-too impressed with 'ten-speed racers', because my father had no success entreating him to order one for yours truly. at least, that's what he told me. but what mr benzie's bike shop had in spades, was character and an atmosphere pervaded by new tyre smell.
generally speaking, i'm not particularly in favour of browsing through cycle shops, unless there's something specific i need or want. this corner of the hebrides is notable for a complete dearth of cycle shops, so you'd think, perhaps, that a traipse around the big city, now and again, would offer the opportunity to see what it is i think i might be missing. thus, when returning from our recent summer holiday, last week, mrs washingmachinepost and my goodself, stopped over for a night, en-route to the kennacraig ferry.
as befits one with an obsessive predilection for yuletide joy, mrs washingmachinepost was intent on acquiring as much tinsel and glitter enhanced paraphernalia as she thought citylink might permit aboard their coach. since my much-favoured drummers only shop recently found it necessary to move lock, stock and barrel from commerce street, to a rather anonymous industrial estate off the glasgow-edinburgh motorway, my meanderings around a crammed inner city shopping centre were considerably less focussed, intended as they were, to accomplish nothing in particular, while awaiting the check-in time at our overnight accommodation.
midst the christmas feeding frenzy, goaded even more so due to the unfathomable black friday phenomenon, i decided to take brief refuge within the premises of an un-named (by me) city-centre cycle retailer, with no intent whatsoever of making any kind of purchase. despite the widely, in-store advertised blackness of the sales promotions, there were but a handful of folks browsing the clothing section and one or two of the accessory racks. with the downstairs section dedicated almost entirely to the smaller accoutrements deemed necessary for a comfortable bike ride, i popped upstairs to browse through the extensive array of bicycles, ranging from eminently affordable categories, to the 'how much? end of the market.
up here, i was totally alone, with not a sales assistant in sight, though a helpful chap did eventually appear, to enquire whether i was in need of any advice. however, as previously mentioned, i had no intention of making any purchases, particularly anything as large as a bicycle. i had rather wondered why the boxes of cassettes downstairs favoured only shimano and sram, yet no campagnolo, but observing not a single vicenza-equipped velocipede upstairs, put such an ommission into a disappointing perspective. overall, there was nothing at all remarkable about this corner of cycle retail and that, quite likely, is the point.
having previously had to exit the buchanan street branch of the apple store, due to wall to wall crowds and a complete inability to get anywhere near their latest 16" macbook pro, you may think i'd consider it something of a relief to be left in peace close to several bicycles, and indeed, i would be hard-pushed to argue the point. however, it's a point that was probably not shared by the owners of this large national chain of cycle stores.
but, more to the point, why is this the case?
i can see that comparing a cycle shop with an apple store is a bit like matching oranges with concrete, but superficially, there is at least one thing they have in common: both display their wares in an orderly and ostensibly attractive fashion. however, apple had cordoned off one corner of their store, where they were about to conduct a masterclass of one sort or another. additionally, all of apple's computers, ipads, iphones and imacs were plugged in and available to try. the same could not be said about the cycle store. in fact, aside from a complete lack of atmosphere, the bicycle repository was totally uninspiring. and, as one happy to admit to at least a mild obsession with bicycles, if that was my impression, how did it come across to those about to take a tentative step towards cycling nirvana?
i am not aiming a pointed finger at this particular branch; it's a malaise that i think embroils more than just one outlet. there seems little in the way of enticement; no impressive mountain bike, cyclocross or road bike videos playing on large screen telly boxes; no in-house masterclasses or similar events and no attempt to create an atmosphere that would encourage folks to 'hang out', rather than just browse. the guys at 'drummers only' would always offer a coffee, talk drums and let me hit stuff without restriction.
sadly, i am nowhere near being au fait with current retail practice, nor indeed, in any position to offer an appropriate solution. it seems more than likely that the bradley bubble is ancient history, but i can't help thinking that, in common with the majority of cycle press advertising these days, it's very much a case of 'we make/sell these. buy one.' but in a very busy city, where even a shop selling particularly pricey swiss watches had more customers, clearly something is amiss.
maybe it's not simply the existence of x-boxes and playstations that is undermining cycling's future prosperity.
monday 2 december 2019
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................cycling, along with many other activities, complies with the seasonal order of things: apparel pretty much adheres to the spring/summer, autumn/winter rule of thumb, cyclocross bike sales are minimal in may, but admirably greater come the onset of autumn. and those long july evenings negate any necessity of affixing flashing lights to front and back of the bicycle. it is what we have come to understand, as natural and cyclical happenstances, to which we all must bear witness.
and, as a famous member of the cycling media, i am expected to stick to the programme, as it were, offering reviews, hints and tips as to the ideal garmentage for the time of year, providing dissertations on the best of illumination and hurling myself through the undergrowth, come end of september, effecting my finest sven nys impression. except, mostly, i don't; well not exactly.
as an ageing velocipedinist, i tend to be sat at home in front of the central heating, as the days shorten and the nights become darker, largely unwilling to subject myself to boy racers and unseen pheasants. and though i am often mistaken for sven nys (i may have made that bit up), i think my lack of competitive cyclocross experience might weigh against proselytising the cause. conversely, i am well-versed in the art of being blown hither and thither while being drenched in precipitation, examining the weatherproofing and breathability of some of the finest clothing on the planet. though it may be considered certifiable, i rather enjoy the last part.
and then, of course, there's christmas.
the inevitability of the most expensive, allegedly festive part of the year, is documented in oh, so many ways, pretty much all of which are going to lighten your bank account. those of us with families, few of whom have been converted to the way of the saddle, live in fervent hope that santa brings something other than a christmas jumper, socks, or a mesh bag of satsumas. disappointingly, the latter situation effectively means that any velocipedinal largesse is likely to be wasted on siblings, parents or children. and grandchildren are often too innocent to realise the worth of carbon handlebars.
however, my festive agnosticism, typically referred to as 'bah humbug', is largely unrecognised within the cycling firmament. i can think of no other reason for having been sent a christmas gift list as long ago as september. in mitigation, however, the sony channel started showing christmas movies at the end of that month, so perhaps it's me that's out of step?
as we head towards the end of november and the unofficially official beginning of the yuletide season, the arrival of christmas gift guides in my inbox is scarcely worthy of comment, in spite of which, i'm about to comment anyway. the bastions of london's imperial works have helpfully offered a considered selection of gifts for either the him or her in your life, thematically arranged by price, gender, cycling genre or season. and very much contrary to popular opinion regarding rapha's price of admission, there's stuff here for less than £50. happily, there's a couple of items in this section that meet with my exacting demands, bizarrely including an item that i have no earthly need of.
but i want one.
rapha's mini-bar bag looks to be the ultimate shizzle. available in a dark olive or stone coloured waterproof fabric, this compact and bijou item of versatile luggage can be (obviously) either attached to a set of handlebars near you, or worn about your person using the included strap. disappointingly, the rapha mini-bar bag does not look capable of enclosing a 3kg bag of green city jumbo porridge oats, and i mostly have no other need of cycle-related luggage. but ultimately, the heart wants, what the heart wants, particularly for a mere £45.
more pragmatically however, and highlighted by jess at rapha, is the frank green + rapha 8oz coffee cup, engineered to fit the average downtube bottle cage and capable of keeping a hot espresso, hotter for longer. however, on my wishlist for christmas, and expressly related to the potential christmas gift under discussion, is that eileen will open debbie's before 10am on sunday mornings. to quote from rapha's website "Every racer worth their salt has an espresso or two before the start and no club ride is complete without a stop at the coffee shop." i'm sure that sven would agree.
scarcely has a sunday morning passed without someone stopping in a car opposite the café and heading towards the front door. assembled for the grand départ at 10am, we have perfected the art of not sniggering when pointing out that the premises do not open until 11am. but it would be nice if it opened for christmas at 9:30am to allow for the aforementioned espresso.
for your convenience, i have linked below, to a pdf of rapha's christmas gift guide.
friday 22 november 2019
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................on the basis that i occasionally cold call cycle-related companies for either information or, perchance, review samples, i have composed a brief biography of thewashingmachinepost to accompany any electronic missive. aside from the obvious details such as where i'm based, what sort of subject matter is likely to be covered in these black and yellow pixels and any external approbation i may have received along the way, i feel it only pertinent to mention that, as far as i'm aware, the post is the longest running cycling blog in the world. having commenced these scribbles in march of 1996, even with my rudimentary grasp of arithmetic, that means over 23 years have passed from that initial pixelation.
of course, that leaves me a long, long way behind the 128 years of cycling weekly's existence, a magazine that first saw the light of day in january of 1891. however, even the comic is trumped in the longevity stakes by pearson's cycle shop in london town's east sheen. pearson cycles, it transpires, is not only britain's oldest cycle store, but simultaneously, the world's oldest cycle shop. founded in 1860 by tom pearson, the family's fifth generation (will and guy) now continues the business, with the simple aim of continuing to inspire people across the world to cycle more.
cycling, in my humble opinion, is just a tad too self-congratulatory when it comes to promoting its lightweight environmental impact. indeed, the bicycle is an emission-free vehicle, occupying considerably less space than its motorised counterpart, offering more than just a few collateral health benefits along the way. however, carbon fibre, from which a growing number of modern bicycles are hewn, is originally derived from oil. not for nothing did lotus bicycle and giant tcr designer, mike burrows, refer to carbon fibre as 'burnt plastic'. and though i have no research on which to base a satisfactory answer, what happens to all the old, broken or unused carbon frames? where do those go?
i'm tempted to come down very much on the side of steel, a material that can be re-used almost indefinitely, as indeed can aluminium, now that you come to mention it, but the former takes a substantial amount of energy to produce, while aluminium bears a somewhat tarnished environmental reputation given the method of extracting it from bauxite. having said that, both pale by comparison with the environmental costs involved in motor car manufacture. it's also worth mentioning that pretty much any named product in the 21st century, is bound to incur some form of negative environmental impact.
pearson, however, with their 160 years of experience, are particularly cognisant of this fact and have taken steps to lessen cycling's imprint upon the planet, having recently announced the release of a sustainably produced, quality range of cycling apparel. in their quest to ultimately achieve 100% sustainability, they have partnered with rapha's former head of research and development, simon huntsman and expert in sustainable outerwear, chris vandrill. both of whom are principally responsible for the company's autumn/winter collection.
as simon huntsman said, " Using Merino wool and recyclable fabrics such as nylon and polyester, we've have created gear designed to be durable and hard-wearing. This initial range promises to be 85% sustainable, but with plans to become fully sustainable within the next four years." it would be wrong to imply that hunstman, vandrill and pearson are the first to tread cycling's sustainability path, but if nothing else, it demonstrates that pearson (who, incidentally, have a superb script logo) are not solely entrenched in their impressive heritage.
and, much as i'm aware of my unabashed luddite tendencies, that's definitely a good thing.
pearson cycles autumn/winter range | the 160 year-old cyclist video
thursday 21 november 2019
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................though i congratulate myself on being an early-riser, i fear i may have been guilty of manipulating the truth. yes indeed, the radio alarm switches on just before 6am, in time to hear the latter portion of radio four's farming today, before the pips announce what i'd like you to think is the prologue to my breakfast-time. in point of fact, i like to luxuriate in the knowledge that i have no intention whatsoever, of arising before 7:17am. during this period of procrastination, i can doze, dipping in and out of little snippets of the 'today' programme.
to be honest, the most amusing part of the latter, is the business/financial section, principally on the basis that i barely understand a word of it. to illustrate my point, early last year, apple computer became the most valuable company in the history of the universe, worth over one trillion dollars, yet their share price dropped. the explanation for this inexplicable fact, was apparently based on the expectations of the anonymous analysts, whose apparently informed opinions are of far greater import than 'real' facts. ludicrously, because apple had now ascended financial everest, those analysts, could see no untrammeled future for continued and substantial gains; so the share price dropped.
nope, me neither.
additionally, though i have tried manfully to avoid any mention of brexit, following the result of the in/out referendum, sterling dropped substantially against the dollar, despite that fact that, at this precise moment, the uk is no closer to leaving europe than it was on the day following the referendum. why on earth would anything like this happen before anything has actually happened? as stated above, incomprehension leads to incredulity, and ultimately more than just the occasional snigger.
however, even my extremely rudimentary grasp of economics can handle the basis of our day to day monetary system, consisting of notes and coins issued as avatars of the gold bullion stored in the chancellor's basement at no.11 downing street. cryptocurrency, however, has me utterly confounded. the definition of the latter concerns an amalgam of cryptography, bitcoins, digital assets and something called the 'blockchain'. and now that mark zuckerberg's facebook intends to enter the fray with his 'libra' cryptocurrency, i'm beginning to believe in alternative dimensions.
however, for the many who follow in my footsteps of discombobulation, we have previously been able to push the concept of cryptocurrency to one side and get on with our lives in the real world. but, and i daresay it was bound to happen sooner or later, the odd child of the financial market is about to enter the velocipedinal universe, courtesy of uk-based toba electric bikes.
i will consciously and deliberately refrain from detailing the connection between toba and the demise of electric bicycle retailer 50cycles and its process of restructuring as a b2b distributor. however, toba now claims to be the the uk's first-ever bankless business, with cycles only available for purchase using cryptocurrency. while you form an orderly queue outside their front door, let me advise you that all transactions will be carried out via the bitcoin cash blockchain, with the issuing of 23 million tokens through the simple ledger protocol.
nope, me neither.
founder, scott snaith only made matters worse by stating "As you 'sync' an electric bike with a smartphone application and a digital wallet, the scope of the project becomes endless, as the bike essentially becomes not only a bike but a 'business'. It allows the customer to create their own network to sell the bikes with a QR code and receive tokens as rewards. These can then be exchanged for Bitcoin cash on the Cryptophyl exchange."
toba electric plans to sell bikes from spain's bh bicycles, including the atom cross, retailing at 0.263 bitcoin or 8.8 bitcoin cash.
nope, me neither.
wednesday 20 november 2019
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................many years ago, when north america had a mountain biking magazine called 'mountain biking', it published an article concerning the art and joys of riding unadulterated singletrack. this differs from the singletrack that would lead the hebridean cyclist on a circular tour close to kilchoman distillery. the singletrack that proved itself suitable for knobbly tyres and a gnarly attitude, consisted of what islanders would probably refer to as a sheep track; a thin strip of denuded ground sitting an inch or two lower than the surrounding tufts of grass. if north american sheep were responsible, they sure as heck travelled a lot further than the woolly farmland animals round these here parts.
at any rate, these lengthy stretches of north american singletrack promoted skilful negotiation of turns, defined as berms, punctuating seemingly endless gentle descents through stunning north american scenery. to do so creatively, speedy reactions were demanded from the rider, along with a sartorial ability to wear baggy shorts and a sweatshirt several sizes too big. but, at the conclusion of the short feature, the author explained that, rather than wallowing in this joy of velocipedinal excess, the whole point of the exercise was the ability to consume copious quantities of doughnuts and coffee, without concerning oneself with any perceptible weight gain.
that, however, is the special life set aside for north american mountain bikers, a lifestyle some considerable distance from that of the european roadie. we are of an altogether different constitution and temerity; in short, we are big and tough and strong, happy to inhabit our hard-won stoicism in direct public gaze. for us, particularly at this time of year, the ultimate outcome to be gained from several tough hours in the saddle, is the comfort to be acquired from warm and cosy outerwear brought to our attention by the chaps on the other side of the country. and at the risk of appearing dangerously contrived, endura's latest pro sl primaloft ii jacket in kingfisher blue, must surely be considered state of that particular art?
the past few days have distinguished themselves by dint of their surprisingly low temperatures. an unseasonal lack of wind across the principality has resulted in a series of crisp, frosty mornings, with scarcely a raise of more than a degree or two over the course of the day. and when that wind does rise to the occasion, it's not just mrs washingmachinepost's pizza that's chilly. road cycling's rich heritage, about which we are frequently reminded, consists of all manner of thermal clothing, much of which totally obliterates any weight savings from that nano-fibre carbon frame and top of the range componentry.
endura's primaloft jacket not only bucks that trend, but gives it a good hiding into the bargain.
although the folks in livingston contend that the jacket will maintain your core temperature even in deep winter conditions, it is versatile enough to adapt to the level of chill in your neighbourhood. ridden from bowmore, to ardnahoe, onto islay house square and ultimately to debbie's for lunch in temperatures of four degrees (probably lowered a smidgeon due to windchill) and i seriously doubt i could have been cosier. add to that, the fact that this warmth came without any weight penalty, and i believe i may just have described the archetypal win-win situation.
the full-length zip works both ways, though the lower portion is scarcely required to allow access to your jersey rear pockets, because endura have thoughtfully provided the primaloft jacket with three of its very own, plus a fourth, zipped security version. the cuffs are tight, precluding unwanted draughts from invading, while the windproofing keeps the primaloft aided cosiness from leaving unnanounced. in the face of unforecast rain, i accessorised with an fs260-pro adrenaline race cape; the joy simply increased. my only complaint concerns the lack of a collar loop with which to hang it on the back of the cupboard door.
so, before anyone accuses you of failing to ride in unbecoming weather, i have posted the link below.
endura's pro sl primaloft jacket ii is available in sizes ranging from xs to xxl, in either black or kingfisher blue. price is £139.99.
endura pro sl primaloft jacket
tuesday 19 november 2019
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