a KSA business to business publication phone: 0191 488 1947 e-mail: [email protected] published April . 2010

Luddite loonies threatening track race spectacle?

re-runas the UCI again meddle with designon it smacks of acards Verbruggen - Obreee style game A story that broke during the World Track Championships in Copenhagen could have its roots in office politics played out when previous UCI president Hein Verbruggen set about changing the look and the ride of in sport. Since their inauguration, the UCI have been minded - some say very bloody-minded - to be involved in controversies and deliberations on the eligibility of bicycles being used in sport. It’s no new game for them, writes Peter Lumley, beginning with a ban on the , a favourite of several times holder Oscar Egg, because he rode in a laid-back, reclining position, while getting the job done. A rider, pedalling a bicycle on a race track and entertaining the public.Yet banned for all that. The best UCI hatchet job - till now, of course - came with them grabbing Graeme Obree far too painfully for it to be called anything like decent, or even necessary. They showed, that as a cycle A bundle of document flying from a flapping bicycle in Switzerland could be race organisation they hardly cared (nor from a think tank meeting on racing held locally. A rider, resplendent in a care?) one jot for ingenuity or for the green, white and orange jersey with bulging back pockets, apparently didn’t notice the commitment that style and a happy flurry of documents as he twiddled towards Place de la Gare in Aigle. Before handing storyline brings to encourage wider public the recovered papers to Authorities, a local man noted some of the content and support for cycle race disciplines. Truth comments. Among these was an illustration with the caption . . “without diffulty all race is the UCI organisation carry a style that bicycles could resemble this style and we . .” Keen eyed readers may notice it is a is so very much akin to heavy gangster- very good likeness of the ace racer W. H. Bardsley who was competing with A. A. Zimmerman (champion of the world) at a meeting near Bristol in 1892. ism. It is certainly the case that moves played out under the 1991 - 2005 UCI president Hein Verbruggen demonstrated an arrogance that ought have left the former chocolate bar salesman choking on his very next mouthfull. Mooted to happen again, it’s designers, riders and new Buff for the shop the public who will be chewing on the distasteful mess mess off the UCI menu. Here are new designs set to help cross your During his time in office, rulings appertaining to rider equipment specification put industry figures into deeply mired palm with silver this coming autumn. Recently confusion that actually brought financial disaster for specialist makers. Apparently people bright enough to know that shown to the Trade by Buffera, order time is science and technology is an appropriate bedfellow for inherent ability, commitment, training, aptitude and skill, are a upon you! [email protected] target for lowering to a “sameness” that the UCI call a level playing field. Verbruggen diligently worked on that personal ideal after the Olympics in Atlanta, and then hammered away to degrade the modern bicycle and modern designers involved in their art. For all the super machinery around today, the result of UCI meddling - and meddling it is - has left the race arena spectator with a very diminished opportunity to see a flow of exotica in bike design, such as modern design thinking could otherwise deliver. In times when spectacle in sport is an important part in attracting public following and sponsor- ship, the UCI quite frankly, blew it big time. Now the London Olympics are their target. Patrick McQuaid appears hell bent on bringing a similar dose of grey and meaningless attitude to the fore. This man, who has a cycling competition background, should surely help deliver better for the fans of cyclesport? His public warning to national cycling Federations in Britain, and Australia show that the UCI is unhappy to see advances in technology. Such an attitude is hardly welcoming to the paying customer. That Pat McQuaid menaces his view does little to assure those who care about that the UCI can be trusted to do anything but stunt innovative development. In Copenhagen he said that the Olympic Charter is threatened, that UCI rules are flouted and cutting edge technology and equipment is, well, evil. Remarkably adept at changing goalposts, the UCI has “form” on altering their “rules” without too much publicity. After Graeme Obree had eclipsed the nine year old one hour record and also won Gold in the World Championships for the , the UCI worked covertly to rule out any further advances into the history books by the ingenious Scot.

office: Trade & Industry, 97 Front Street, WHICKHAM, “I must say that if it wasn’t for being at Innovation For Extremes and Tyne & Wear NE16 4JL winning the Award in 2007 I wouldn’t have been where I am today” office phone: 0191 488 1947 e.mail: [email protected] internet: www.tradeandindustry.net mthe winning move publisher & editor: Peter Lumley e.mail: [email protected] Jan-Fahrenheit Betros from Sweden, the founder of advertisements: Kate Spencer Röjk Sportswear, was the winner of the Designer e.mail: [email protected] Award at Innovation for Extremes in 2007. Since then, he tells that a lot of people have been enquiring about Röjk from the UK. Brand awarenss has grown fast on the home market,

longest running trade journal for the starting with just under 20 retailers in Sweden, and one in sector, launched as the first UK bicycles-only . For the coming product year there are 80 retailers in Sweden, Trade magazine. still the one in France and with organised distribution to Japan”. Their next job is to attract distributors for the UK market.

longest running trade journal for the Röjk Sportswear are based in Hägersten Sweden sector,Outdoor Trade & Industry derives telephone: +46 (0)70 419 38 05 from the original outdoor business magazine Camping & Outdoor Leisure Trader www.rojk.se please note - if we are not answering, we are most probably out skiing

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Jeden Monat fuer den ganzen britischen Markt erhaeltich. Für Hersteller. Für Lieferanten. Für Röjk Primaloft Socks in Pink Haendler. Für Verkaeufer.

distribuito ogni mese all'intero Skisocks M-W Mumien blue mercato britannico. Ai fabbricanti. Ai distributori. Agli agenti.

distribuido mensualmente por correo a todos los interesados en el mercado Britanico: fabricantes, agentes, distribuidores y tienda expédié mensuellement par Supafly in Pink courrier à tous les intervenants du marché britannique: fabriquants, agents, distributeurs, magasins. copyright for some material appearing in this The next Innovation Design issue or on the company website may not be vested in KSA. It is advisable to request Röjk Super Liners Prize winner is at Lancaster permission to copy, broadcast or hold in any form of retrieval system, any works from University Management these journals. The infringement School, April 28. of copyright is unlawful and a prosecution may follow. Tickets for the Conference - © KSA 2010 contact Mary Rose on [email protected] the “what’s or call +44 (0)1524 594214. up doc.” column gearing up for opening for caravans & Most things just don’t happen by Eurobike at Friedrichshafen has some innovative changes accident even though an odd motorhomes for visitors for the September 1 - 4 opening. A large e-bike test Batribike has introduced a new incident along the way can shape ground and the The Bike Fashion Show, being staged in the East lightweight folding electric bike, the the outcome of many an intention Foyer for the first time, gives cycling’s manufacturers even more Micro, and it’s reckoned to live up to - and that’s where you come in: space. can be tested on a large test track on the 500 its name as it is compact when folded Feed your news into the loop! meter street with a 1-in-8 gradient toward the eastern car park. and lightweight too! Everything about MAY issues The expanded Messe site now comprises 14 halls and two this bike has been designed to save outdoor exhibition grounds, “things are looking extremely good, now building! asap please weight and space. Weighing in at just 9.5 kg both for Eurobike and for the Demo Day on August 31” says project (21lbs) including the battery and motor, and easy to carry. JUNE issues manager Stefan Reisinger. Claimed range of up to 15 miles on pedal assist making it suitable Getting ready for the Tour Travel tip: The Ryanair trip from Stansted now looks a thing of for leisure users and commuters alike. we’ll be on the travel trail with the past - the airline is no longer flying into Freidrichshafen. Caravan owners and those with smaller bikes that go into the boot, or motorhomes have in the past found rack on the motorhome. themselves with a problem if May 27 is wrap day. they wanted to carry a bicycle, the editorial desk is at: when a rack was not an option, [email protected] and with weight and space at a premium. The Micro with its take the green route: weight, compact folded size and specially designed holdall have your next copy fits easily into storage lockers. delivered direct to your On the Micro the integrated desk in PDF format front LED light is operated by the e-mail: same magnetic chip key that starts [email protected] the motor, and that helps give the please put the word send Micro definite gadget cachet. - the PDF is sent free! - details at www.batribike.com April 2010 page 3 powermonkey eXplorer Ralf Bohle R.I.P. wins hearts & minds A Hampshire-based manufacturer of The man who raised Schwalbe to be an portable chargers has received the undisputed European market leader has died at the prestigious red dot award: age of 75, after a long illness. Ralf Bohle set design 2010 for their standards:, he campaigned for the bicycle as a powermonkey- means of transport and he initiated industry leading solar eXplorer, a portable innovation. Frank Bohle, sums up his father’s work: charging charger for “Everything that constitutes the Bohle Group with option; adaptors mobiles, PDAs the Schwalbe brand today exists due to his efforts, for electric mains and other 5V his ideas and his vision.” worldwide; or power digital devices. In 1955, the premature death of his own father from your USB port Over 4,200 saw 20 year old Ralf Bohle becoming a business- products were in the man far sooner than planned. The first successes of competition, where previous the German economic miracle was happening and winners have been Apple, Nokia, the majority of Germans still needed low-cost adidas and Mercedes-Benz. bicycles for commuting. The Bohle family had long With a solar-charging option, the experience in producing bicycles and bicycle parts powermonkey-eXplorer is favoured by and now, under the leadership of Ralf Bohle, the business & leisure travellers the world over as company began exporting German bicycle parts and motorcycles all over the world. well as British troops. It gives users sufficient power to recharge a At the beginning of the 70’s Ralf Bohle started a new venture. Meeting with a South Korean tyre mobile phone up to three times (iPhone 1½ times) and will also producer he founded the Schwalbe brand, and from 1973 onwards, promoted an ever-closer recharge just about any small electronic device including iPods and partnership of two family-owned companies. The Germans became responsible for development, PS games consoles. marketing and distribution, and the Koreans for production. From then Ralf Bohle remained loyal to powermonkey-eXplorer retails at £65. www.powertraveller.com the specialised trade as the sole partner of the Schwalbe brand, today the bicycle market is one of the few industries in Germany where that specialised trade has been gaining market share. In 1999, son, Frank Bohle and son-in-law Holger Jahn, joined the board of directors and since 2002, a dozen years or so after investing in the company’s international headquarters and large logistics center in Reichshof-Wehnrath. In tribute, and on behalf of the company workers, personnel manager, Jürgen Krischke, said of Ralf Bohle “through his kind, down-to-earth and wise manner, he created a great role model for us. We could always rely on his willingness to listen and to help, he will always remain our boss – a very special type of Boss.”

go shopping for shop ideas Retailers looking to boost their margins should head to the easyFairs Retail 2010 show happen- ing at London’s ExCeL May 5-6. Among the sights and sounds will be industry experts gather- ing to deliver a seminar programme explaining exactly how retailers can make the most of the market. Floor planning, digital displays, sustainability challenges and solutions are just some of the hot topics that will feature on the Retail learnShops agenda. People in the know will demon- strate techique and understanding of how shop arenas can be made to work better. Angela Wright, colour psychologist from Colour Affects will be discussing how colour psychology works and why it is so crucial to success in retailing. William Anderson, a trainer from The Teams Works, whose methods are underpinned by psychology, will discuss how you can control cus- tomer attitude and how you can use ‘the senses’ to engage the customer. On day one, Team Works will cover why retailers must make emotional connections with customers. Using knowledge from neuroscience, William Anderson will show why and how to do this. On Day two he will discuss the multi-sensory retail experience, explaining that by turning on all the senses, retailers will make more sales. “Senses can really engage the cus- tomer, improve impact and make them feel even better about their purchase. You will learn just how much control you have over customer attitude and attention using the Power of Priming. If we can delve inside the mind of our customers and understand how their brains work, we are better able to engage them, even control their behaviour!” reckons William Anderson. According to Craig Phillipson, managing director from Shopsworks, floor planning is the for- gotten child of the retail design process. “Making floor space work as hard as possible in a retail Pell & Parker Ltd outlet can often be overlooked in the desire to create a visually stunning masterpiece,” he said, WHOLESALERS TO “but if you don’t get customers within 1.2 metres of the product or service, they won’t buy it.” THE CYCLE TRADE Craig Phillipson will be highlighting the importance of floor planning in the design process and will explore the four key principles of planning: 1.Equalising the value of space, 2. Directing customers through the space, 3.Sightlines, angles and access, 4.Categories and adjacencies. distributors Get your own shop evaluated - Craig Phillipson is inviting visitors to bring along photos of of new their own stores to be assessed. cycles It’s more than a buzz-word, “green”, so addressing the matter of ecological balance, Peter from Dawes from 4GDesign and Martin Jones from De Montfort University will be explaining how a new ‘one-stop’ sustainable retail design, development and installation service will enable retail- TRIKES - - TAG-A-LONGS ers to achieve carbon management goals through good sustainable design. The business Wheels - Rims - Tyres - Tubes - Locks - Saddles - Mudguards - Lights - Chains efficiencies it can drive offer a real competitive advantage to all retailers. Chainsets - Pumps - Lubcricants - Helmets - Pedals and much more MANGO CRUD PYRAMID WELDTITE Find out more about easyFairs Retail 2010 learnShops theatre or to register for free admission please visit www.easyfairs.com/interiorfitout-uk phone us on 01733 810 553 or 01733 810 554 You may also telephone 020 8622 4456. fax 01733 810 540

Thorney Road, Milking Nook, Newborough, Peterborough, PE6 7PJ April 2010 page 4 more product - Made in Britain from Team kit to shop rail along with a ‘bespoke service’ for riders. Affordable Merino The company was founded one year ago by two avid cyclists, now the Yorkshire brand Shutt Velo Rapide is taking the cycle clothing industry by storm, offering stylish and affordable merino Sportwool cycling jerseys. Shutt recently extended its product line to include a range developed specifically for women, including new jersey designs, shorts, tights and accessories. Shutt’s cycling jerseys are made from a fabric called Sportwool. A EU MADE. natural response to lycra, it is designed to keep you cool when it’s continuing the search for hot, warm when it’s cold, and has very high wicking capabilities. As a product, we highlight British- result of their jerseys turning heads on the road and winning rave made cycling clothing from reviews in the press, Shutt were approached at the beginning of the Shutt Velo Rapide. year by Elite British Cycle Team Orbea-For Goodness Shakes! (www.orbea-forgoodnessshakes.com) to supply the team kit for 2010. Shutt’s managing director Simon Warren is ecstatic: “We are all keen cyclists at Shutt VR and to be approached by a professional team is a real vindication of all the hard work we put in last year. We really want to see the team winning races with their arms aloft this year.” Peter Bragg, Shutt’s market- ing director explained: “Our garments feature classic designs, signature colours and are made in the UK, all of which appealed to the Orbea-For Goodness Shakes! management team.” The end result is that, with the race tested designs, Shutt can improve the quality of the clothing the team uses, while also providing customers with the best in British-made cycling clothing. During a ride in the Another unique feature of the Shutt cycle clothing company is their ‘bespoke service’, Yorkshire Dales, avid cyclists Alex Raistrick and something which means customers can tailor their jerseys to their exact taste. Simon Simon Warren decided to Warren explains: “Because we manufacture locally and have a large selection of colours create their own brand of available, we can create many hundreds of combinations for customers. The turn-around for well designed, high quality the bespoke service is expected to be around seven working days – pretty quick for some- cycling garments in thing a rider can design themselves.” Sportwool that do not cost Shutt VR is selling predominately via their website but they are also enlisting a small a fortune. They source all number of specialist retailers around the country. their materials from British www.shuttvr.com manufacturers to create the best in British-made e-mail [email protected] cycling clothing. or call 01943 601031 when bad roads were quite the norm . . and wool clothing was supreme. Peter Lumley raids his bookshelf NOT MUCH CHANGES - DOES IT! It’s the beginning of organised THE ADVICE ON CLOTHING IN 1894? “wear wool”. outdoor activity surrounding “A medium thickness long pure wool Combination Garment is best” is the advice coming from His Grace the Duke of the bicycle: everything from racing to Beaufort “The bicyclist will in many cases fly light in the matter of luggage, and trust to chance for those changes which may be necessary. leisure and travel. A book for the well And he has always the option of retiring to bed should he be unable to obtain dry garments in which to sit up”. heeled appears, yet so much of what is But the cautious rider who has once suffered from the inconven- a very cleverly arranged telescopic razor, a looking glass, a tube of on these pages from 1894 can so easily ience and discomfort experienced by the man who travels without a shaving soap, a comb, and a toothbrush. apply in the modern world when people change, more especially if such articles as are made of cotton Some handkerchiefs of small size, not too thin, and carefully go outdoors for recreation. fabrics, will take care to provide himself with at least one complete marked with the full name of the rider, are very useful for anyone who The Badminton Library of Sports & change of undergarments. “One of the best and most convenient is given to touring a great deal. That means that when left to be Pastimes editor was His Grace the Duke forms found is the long pure wool Combination Garments, now washed at any hotel, they are easily identified. These handkerchiefs of Beaufort, KG with Alfred placed upon the market by the Sanitary Woollen Company of 42 will roll up in the Combination garment. One neck wrap should be E. T. Watson giving assistance. The Earl Fore Street, Messrs. E. Ward of Eldon Buildings, Bradford, and either worn or carried in the pocket to put on when stopping, and of Albemarle and G. Lacey Hillier also some other firms”. another may be with great advantage carried in the luggage for use in contributed to the way of wheels. A medium thickness Combination will roll up very small, and when the evenings. That’s to help being smart of course! Their written work of 1894 describes put on, it completely clothes the body from neck to ankles in dry Clean stockings will also, of course, be necessary and the articles the majority of country roads as being woolen attire, over which damp woolen things may be put on again will easily roll up into a long bundle in a piece of waterproof, without danger, if not without some little discomfort. The Combina- composed of unbound stone surfaces purchasable at any waterproof or india-rubber shop. The bundle thus tion garment affords that complete change which will ensure made may be held together by a couple of stout india-rubber bands, that presented a considerable hazard to immunity from colds and chills, and it can be carried with ease, wrapped in the square of waterproof, and then affixed with straps to the emerging breed of cyclists. even by the bicyclist, as it will roll up into a small package and can the handle; the whole will make a sausage-shaped parcel,. This will Signposting is haphazard and consists of be placed along the handlebar of the bicycle with a couple of straps. ride safely anywhere if properly strapped on or placed in a Nagel milestones and finger posts found only As it is of a very soft texture, most riders can sleep in it at night, carrier, care, of course, being taken that it does not interfere with the on the busiest highways. Disaster instead of using an ordinary nightshirt, always a bulky matter to action of the brake. This parcel will also be found to answer a double awaited the unwary cyclist if a steep hill pack up when space is limited. purpose, as it affords a very comfortable rest for the legs when they was encountered in unfamiliar territory. The fact of the woolen underclothes being a notable protection in are put over the handles for down-hill work. Through the efforts of the Earl of case of damp sheets is also a strong recommendation for its The rider who ventures far afield with this limited outfit will have to Albemarle, a start was made in erecting adoption by the tourist. So, the bulk of the kit is materially reduced exercise a little care in his proceedings; get out of his damp a definitive system of warning boards. In by making one article serve in place of two or more; and if the underclothing and get into his dry Combination as quickly as possible. 1883 the Cyclists’ Touring Club agreed to Combination garment be only used in the evening and at night, and, Over it he may, if necessity requires, safely put on his damp shirt - of share the cost equally with the NCU of of course, not ridden in, it will serve very well for the week. course supposing it to be flannel - whilst the dry neck wrapper should purchasing a stock of Danger boards. The kit carried must include toilet requisites, such as toothbrush, be put on under the band of the shirt. The boards read ‘To Cyclists this hill is hair brush, comb, and razor. Of these the hair brush if often omitted, The dry and clean stockings, which should be kept for this purpose Dangerous. National Cyclists’ Union, as the rider wears his hair short, and the comb suffices. Some very and not used for riding in, will prove an immense comfort. They excellent little cases known as the ‘Cyclist’s Pocket Dressing-Case’ Cyclists’ Touring Club’. In 1894 CTC should be long, and the wearer should draw them up as far as they are obtainable from the ‘Cyclist’ office, 12 Smithford Street, will come over the knee; thus next the skin all over, he will have a dry assumed full responsibility and all new Coventry. This miniature dressing case is four and a half inches change”. signs bore only the subtitle ‘Cyclists’ long; one and a half inches wide; just 1 inch thick. It takes little Touring Club’ after the NCU found the space in the bag or package, and contains a exercise to be more than they could afford. “England may be looked upon as the Home of Cycling” words from The Badminton Library of Sports & Pastimes - 1894 April 2010 page 5 more of their large offer a Derby day does it again for the specialist retailer Traditionally there has always been a show-style start to the year for the retailer sector who have their wares shipped from Moore Large. More recently the Derby company has concentrated on bringing product awareness to the fore, with a full blown conference set-up that involves one to one opportunities for makers and the market interface where close dialogue is encouraged. The ML seminar style approach brings Retailers the chance to tweak their appreciation of products, to involve themselves with not only the mechanics of the offer but also the way the producers themselves identify their merchandise against the buyer’s want and need. That is a crucial part of the way this long-running family based business approaches the bicycle market. With the Derby based company a direct link back to producers is established through the brand manager set-up, and that connects foward to the retail territories through the area sales managers on each patch. For this season the sell-in campaign has also seen managing director Nigel Moore move closer to the coalface, and during the seminar time and subsequent open days at Derby, he was consistently on the floor with Suppliers, the sales teams and the The Derby showroom holds the Moore Large bicycle collection in a way that brand managers. Earlier in the year he had indicated the desire to get a much closer personal helps retailers compare model to model, kids ranges to adult pro style rides handle on how the market was reacting, taking the opportunity after senior management changes for the business. Moore Large are as complete a bicycles and parts trading operation than you will find in Britain, even across Europe and elsewhere probably. They have proved to have a very good shelf-life, with an unrivalled inherent understanding of market needs on the UK front and offers from the global supply line. Crucially, Moore Large can - and do - demonstrate their feel for the two wheel business with a product portfolio that stretches from the pre-rider and Bumper age right through to the I zip-along electric assisted journey taker. The ethos at ML is that not only do brand managers and staff serve the market, but ride and race - success- fully - with the kit they handle in their day job. That helps make more than a large difference.

above: Adam Biggs was given his head to come up with a road and race marque which would Product design and development is a Mike Poyzer below: Some came appeal to dealers and the rider alike: Forme speciality, his Onza brand a brainchild which grabs and dipped their toes evolved. It has a build and specification that is attention through pedigree and and extreme fit for in a Lake. The attracting good interest and plenty of orders. There purpose build. With Zoot, the 24” market need is technical shoe market is a well positioned price point through addressed with a bike having true trials geometry but is more than just a the collection, along with the promise that this the style of an oversized BMX. Alloy frame, “slip this on” sale. It’s is a brand with bricks and mortar exclusivity. horizontal drop outs, disc mounts and Onza forged one that benefits with and below: headtube The frame has built in pivotal seat fitting careful fitting to the and the geometry is well tested by real users. foot.

the Currie take-away It’s an almost continuous round of global travel for Rob Kaplan (left) who has a top number with the IZip brand. He brought along the latest Currie model, Urban, which gets an airing in the pictures here.You can guess where the battery store is on this folder. ML have every confidence it’s a winner. April 2010 page 6 time for some tree hugging? it’s a time to go visit a world where Clusters are far from a last stand never take trees for granted, even though some may end up only as smoke and ashes, writes Peter Lumley. Trees have life, form and colour, and they grow so well in Perthshire the region is called Big Tree Country I’m not exactly sure when I first became aware of Perthshire, apart from stopping off in Perth itself on a journey north - there was a a great fish & chip shop on one of the last streets as you left town. Next haven on the A9 slog could be Robertson’s shop in Pitlochry, a great place to to raid. We’d pick up a Single Malt, possibly double that, all according to how much was already stowed with the luggage, and head on northwards or turn left and head along the Road to the Isles. Then came 1974 with a pair of us striding into town after passing through the Mains of Derby, and the higher ground west of Kikmichael, where little green stalks stuck out of the ground. That was in March and the hare was still white, only lost to view when scampering across old snow laying on the rutted heather. Today that stretch of our ’74 Coast to Coast trog is a rather thick swathe of forestry with a deer fence or two for protection - and judging by the deer that are on the ground, quite needed. Up there you finally come to a high, rickety stile that bypasses the locked gate and then it’s downhill all the way to town. From Pitlochry you can move on in just about every direction on the compass, all the time being very close to the heart of Big Tree Country. Pitlochry is a great honeymoon location, and even at times like that there’s still something special about being able to go to many a place and hug a tree, where no-one is going to look sideways at you. The locals are proud, and rightly so, of all the timber that roots so well herea- bouts and thrusts skywards. I was amused, on a recent trip, to hear the man say that it had been thought that Perthshire grew the tallest trees in Europe: “and then some fool got to measuring them”. this gateway and the little homestead with its collapsed roof is Trees, water, and the soaring land- still more or less as when I first photographed it 25 years ago. But marks that rise Schiehallion-like to the the tree has stretched higher and spread a bit wider. sky on the west of the A9, they are good reasons to base your day in the country in Perthshire. That, and people. Of Perthshire in total, around 13% - that’s a whopping 90,000 hectares - has a tree of some dimension or other growing there. A lot are quite old, set in their ways and play at being a home to scampering squirrels or fluttering featherlings. Eppie Callum’s Tree near Crieff is an ancient oak into which Rob Roy MacGregor is said to have clambered, to avoid capture. Among the rearing trunks and the branches that scatter high into little twigs, over a fifth of the Top 100 Heritage Trees of are found in the clusters across Big Tree Country. Checking out the Clusters is how you can get to see there’s more than a Queen’s View or the summit siting of Victorian observatory habits in the county. You can branch out to visit places like Scone Palace, where the Kings of Scotland were crowned. In the grounds here a pinetum was planted in 1848 and now has many western hemlock and with soaring, noble fir positioned in avenues. Look for the Sitka spruce, four of them noted for their sheer size and uniformity. Straddling the A9 and the River Tay is the Dunkeld and Birnham Cluster - with the great Parent Larch a wind-pruned near timber monster that soars past the clock of the tower at Dunkeld’s cathedral. It’s part ruin and part a parish church, this, with inside the splendid tomb of Alexander Stewart, the notorious Wolf of Badenoch. It is much more than the man really deserves, reviled and a virtual terrorist, this brutal son of King Robert II, is remembered as one of the blackest, most evil characters, in Scotland’s history . Of a more gentle nature, locally you find the Birnam Institute, home to the Beatrix Potter Exhibition & Garden. ‘The records at lofty heights Tales of Peter Rabbit’ came from the Record breakers such as the tallest hedge in the Big Trees at The Hermitage, Dunkeld, they make great lady’s childhood holidays spent along the world and featured in the Guinness Book of Records, the squirrel race tracks. below: Leisure biking by the sunny Tay banks of The River Tay. It began in 1983 Meikleour Beech Hedge is around 30 metres high and 530 pictures courtesy of Perthshire & Kinross Council after Beatrix Potter wrote to a friend and metres long. The oldest living organism in Europe, - introduced him to Flopsy, Mopsy, estimated to be around 5000 years old - is the Fortingall Yew Cottontail and Peter, the little rabbits that within the churchyard at Fortingall. It’s also recorded as being have since been loved by generations of the largest yew in Europe with a girth of 17 metres. The children all over the world. Characters widest conifer in Britain is a Wellingtonia at Cluny House from the books were inspired by local Gardens, reaching an impressive height of 39.5 metres with a girth of 11 metres. One of the tallest trees in Britain is the worthies, it is said, most famously Douglas fir near The Hermitage, at 64.5 metres high. including Mrs Tiggywinkle, probably Someone got out their tape measure and found it had a rival inspired by a Dalguise washerwoman. in another conifer growing further north. The tallest Japanese Further north, Blair Atholl has it’s tree larch in Britain is one of a selection of stunningly impressive Cluster, at the fortress of Blair Castle. trees to be found in Diana’s Grove at Blair Castle, the tree You can tour thirty rooms of the castle to measures 44 metres high with a girth of 3 metres. see a rich impression of Scottish Does this amount to a whole lot of matchsticks sitting there ( to next page all tied up and just waiting . . . March 2010 page 7

On the Road to the Isles one day in 1866, Queen stopped her carriage and took a long look at a lovely view into the west along Loch Tummel. Thousands of people, coachloads in fact, have taken to do the same . . it’s worth it! life from over seven centuries. It’s not all fine pictures and furniture, as the arms and armour show, this is Clan Murray country, and the family’s castle also provides the garrison for the Atholl Highlanders, the private army of the Duke of Atholl. The force is noted as the only legal private army in Europe. The Diana’s Grove Grand Fir rises 206 feet (62.7 m ) from the grounds of the castle and probably the second tallest tree in the . There are more Clusters spread about the place in Perthshire, and they all are well signed in the county’s tourism profile. A little less known - that is to those uninitiated in the art of discovering little gems - is Enochdhu, which sits as close to the meandering River Ardle as a road should twist and turn. You are east of the A9, out of Pitlochry and close to picture courtesy of Perthshire & Kinross Council Kikmichael and the Spittal road that comes from Blairgowrie. This is hiking and biking country at its best, hilly enough to be interesting, a rolling arable land mixed with forestry and some rock. It’s quiet enough to really let your senses air. At the right time you can see capercaillies - the largest species of birds resident in the Perthshire pine forests - spot deer, red squirrels, pheasant and finches, even the odd farmyard rooster and his harem. Hereabout it’s said some Danes caught a cold, but it’s a huge boulder and the standing tall headstone that amaze. Sited near the edge of the Dirnanean Estate, they top and tail one of the longest “graves” you’ll ever discover. And if it really is the “last resting place” of a warrior then he was some big man. Or perhaps, in battle, he had been chopped into so many pieces that his mourners thought it best to spread him around a bit and dug a longer hole. Yet it could all be something quite different, of course, as Celtic folklore tells the story of a wise Irish leader who came to stay, so then perhaps that’s a clue? A son of that leader was Ard-Fhuil, which over time has been corrupted to Ardle, the name of the strath that you are in at Enochdhu, a couple of miles to the west of Kirkmichael. Here, year on year at about the same time by a few days, families arrive back after a holiday in South Africa. It’s taken quite a few wing flutters since they left during late summer before, but sure as eggs It may be in a churchyard full of gravestrones but the Yew tree at Fortingall still is eggs they come back. They come to join other residents here: The Finch family, among makes it as Europe’s oldest living organism. Even after 5,000 years or so of quietly them the Greens, the Chaffs and the Golds, who all come home to dine. growing, it’s still going to outlast anyone that’s even likely to be born no time soon. The careful monitoring by cctv confirms families are doing their family thing, flying in to And Yew can take it, that’s the plan, hardy is hardly the word for it. build little mud homes stuck to a wall or planted on a beam. Eggs are laid, hatched and turn to become beaks gaping receptacles - food caught on the wing. Tulloch is this birdland holiday home that is Malc and Jackie’s patch, humans happen by, and roost, too. It doesn’t get better anywhere, this Perthshire patch is a grand place to be and you don’t have to take Queen Victoria’s word for it. She may well have enjoyed a lovely view into the west along Loch Tummel in 1866 but with beauty being in the eye of the beholder, as they say, the Road to the Isles has more than a little going for it. It can be a different world on the days with temperature inversion plays it’s smoky mirrors game on the water for breakfast, and as the hours shift, lingering with a pair of binoculars can reveal more than the line flicking fish seeker. Forget the ducks and drakes, swans even - more exotic species can be found. Along Tummel’s south shore I once pitched my Akto among bracken, above a tree-line but close enough to see clearly the nesting Osprey that came back and forth all evening to a home placed in the struts atop a pylon. The line of the transmission cables that join pylons to loop up and over the hill are the only give-away to that location, but find it and you can spend hours listening to a burn tinkle past while watching from close, the feathers fluffed and preened as roosting time nears. This is not in a Big Tree nesting site, but it’s certainly an Osprey in Big Tree Country and an enquiry at any Perthshire tourist information centre can point you to a place to park up to watch for Ospreys on a fishing mission. You can go hug a tree, too, or simply relax on a grassy bank and listen to all those trees growing.

Gold, Chaff and AS MENTIONED IN THE FEATURE. Green make the most on a Finch For your whisky: From Robertsons a mail order option is available to UK resi- family party at dents, “Lost” distilleries and “Silent Stills” are a speciality. Tulloch. The big one http://homepages.which.net/~a.robertson/shop.htm is cousin to a b&b - Guesthouse: Tulloch Guest House Enochdhu, PH10 7PW chicken or possibly telephone: 01250 881 404 http://www.maljac.com/ a pheasant that has for tourist information, events and other help: given up on sifting www.perthshirebigtreecountry.co.uk sheep trod stubble. THE UCI TRACK RECORD April 2010 page 8 Britain outflanked a film to watch The UCI was founded April 14, 1900 in Paris, on the back of a dislike for the UK. It replaced the International Cycling Association about the man that since 1892 had been the launch pad of cycle race control, their mission being to establish a common definition of amateurism and to the UCI loved to hate organise world championships. Graeme Obree’s real-life conflict with the UCI is UCI took over after a row, on whether Great Britain should be allowed portrayed in the film where the organisation is named as the ‘World just one team at world championships or separate teams representing Cycling Federation’ and the famous rainbow emblem shown in the film England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Britain was outflanked not al- as sash-like across his winner’s jersey. The Old Faithful machine, his lowed to join the UCI until 1903, excluded from the organisation under riding style and the very cheek of his taking on the world in his own arbitrary conditions they imposed. All at a time when Britain built the way, that’s the story. The sickening smugness of the officials he faced world’s most technically advanced bicycles. are well captured by the producer, showing the depths plummeted in Developing a handle on the human element of cycle competition be- order to stop him from competing. came the UCI mantra, although their association with the dope side of While the film omits many of Obree’s achievements and background the sport has been tortuously confusing. Their style leaves neither by- that a seasoned cyclist would find fascinating, it succeeds in being a stander nor riders enlightened, bringing no advantages or progression truly inspiring story about one man’s extraordinary over of awareness that favours bicycle race activity in the public’s mind. adversity. Buy the dvd @ Amazon.co.uk Relatively current press comment cites high level UCI management as being “a laughing stock, happy to shake athletes’ hands and give them medals ... but in the fight against doping lacking assertiveness and a the age and hour of the preying mantis will to change things.” It’s reckoned that Frank Dodds rode 26.508 km (something over 16 miles) in 1876 on an Old Ordinary - taking sixty (source: http://www.spiegel.de/sport/sonst/0,1518,508744,00.html) whole minutes for the task. The current UCI one hour record belongs to Ondrej Sosenka, riding 49.700 km (30.882 miles) a On the equally serious matter of bicycle design there is an even less small vertical frame height to stay within UCI regulations, with an unusual saddle position. Graeme Obree has actually ridden endearing scenario: the UCI has managed, and continues, to elicit con- further in an hour on the track - but the UCI responded by outlawing his praying mantis style and erased the epic from their siderable angst as they move against the art of innovation and advances acknowledgement.. in technological thinking. The whole world (the UCI apart) was amazed, Franceso Moser is said to have been inspired by Obree’s bike and wanted a copy; the bike he rode on his record had a thrilled and intrigued by the innovative “Old Faithful” home-made bicy- praying mantis handlebar and Obree-style frame, along with a modified a chest pad. Riding at altitude in Mexico City, this was cle and the outstanding athletic performances that Graeme Obree before the UCI rule altering outlawed the Obree praying mantis style. brought to the track racing scene, yet the UCI chose to make him a Graeme Obree invented the way to go faster with his riding style and it took UCI rule altering - or bending? - to beat him down. whipping boy. Without his unique style and approach - and despite all the UCI’s myopic efforts since - most modern time-trial bicycles would The film The Flying Scotsman, capturing the thrill of innovation and not have been developed. His powerful efficiency on the boards at track meetings now just a memory. imagination at work in the mind of a cycling phenomenon, also por- trays the bigotry that oozed from UCI management. Headed up by Hein Verbuggen, the Union went about the task of ripping the heart out of the “let’s ban the sloping top tube” - a cranial woolliness bicycle track race scene. That it all may develop the same way again “It was a game of brinkmanship,” Obree recalls. The fate of Britain’s place in the cycling record books is a threat, bringing ahead of the 2012 Olympics wide media coverage, had hinged on an almost secret meeting of the UCI clan, who kept lips tight for an indecent age. In Graeme Obree’s and especially where a controversial angle can be thrown into the bear pit of the press dailies. words: “British official Ian Emerson, vice-president of the UCI, was party to the decision about my bike and riding It must please the former UCI boss, now sitting as an honorary mem- position on the night before. They did not transmit it to us until the morning, when we got there at the track”. ber of the Olympic International Committee, that his successor Pat “It happened then that we decided to ride any way. Hein Verbruggen walked out on the track and I just aimed right at McQuaid is attacking those cycling communities currently enjoying a him. If he hadn’t moved out of the way I would have smacked him”. Later - and cynically? - it is reported that Verbruggen winning streak after striving to excel in the track racing discipline. The lamented “if only Graeme Obree would just ride with the more conventional winning habit has fuelled a bountiful UK following for bike riding at all handlebars, there would be no problem”. levels, even though so little of what takes place in a carries NO JOKING! The very public spat by the UCI, acted out before a world arena, left bike-building The UCI sponsors world much weight on the lanes and the paths that are the average cycling visionaries and the public-linking high-profile cycle sport commentators on tv and in participant’s playground. championships for artistic The question for many at Trade, industry and rider level asks if cy- the press, bemused on the day. In the flesh, they had experienced UCI cranial cycling - a form of competitive cle sport can afford the moral highground attitude of president Patrick woolliness that hinged on very vague ideals, selfishness and a warped thinking where athletes McQuaid? An ill tempered outburst on those countries who are invest- about what makes a race bicycle. Revealing and stressful, it’s hardly cricket! perform tricks and gain points ing in competing rider and their needs - be they physical, mental or (as from: http://www.bicycling.com/article/0,6610,s1-3-9-2821-1,00.html) on specialised, fixed-gear technical - does nothing for the brand image of cycling, at any level - Graeme Obree has not been the only victim of the UCI’s zero tolerance towards bikes in a format similar to ballet or gymnastics. Honest. Olympic or otherwise. modern technologies being exerted in bike design. One of the real gems of the Equally his latest actions appear to pander to the rustic ideals of the Verbruggen led onslaught on bicycle innovation was a UCI scheme to ban the slop- former incumbency; strange, seeing the OIC have some pretty firm ideas ing top tube in frame design. He and the henchmen were obviously keen to ban of what Olympism is about: “...the Olympic Charter is the philosophy of history: sloping top tubes in bicycle design were around before 1893. The new UCI life, exalting and combining in a balanced whole the qualities of body, will and mind. Blending sport with culture and with education, Olympism rules would go further and frustrate designers and those who understood the rel- seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational evance of new scientific and industrial thinking. Technology put on the backburner. value of good example and respect for universal fundamental ethical Come 2010, and coinciding with the World Championships, the UCI principles”. again struck a match to try fire up their squib. It doesn’t take rocket science to see The UCI, it seems, argue a slightly different view to the Olympic Char- that meddling in how designers link their technological thinking with honest engi- ter - the Union appear to see no virtue, nor do offer support, for the way neering ability can sometimes cause a backfire. The industry that is cycle sport and the means by which innovation is brought into play on the route to cannot afford to give credence to seemingly myopic groups of people, as previously the winning line. Spitefully, the UCI work to degrade universal funda- headed up by Hein Verbruggen, that looks ready for the re-run. They may well mental ethical principles when these apply from the designer’s table or delight in playing games designed to amused the gnomes, goblins and leprechauns in the cauldron of technological engineering. For sure, the UCI would be unbeatable in any competition for an Ol- at the UCI court - but who loses? Cycle sport, along with the bicycle business, the paying spectator, and those who care about cycling, that is my guess. ympic Gold in Sheer Obdurateness. Peter rl

for going where you’ll find some going . . . a true do-it-all Salso will tell you their Vaya is a new road adventure bike they’ve designed to take on any surface that road-riding bike. someone may consider is rideable. You can take it that the odd cobbled route or a bit of up and down on crushed rock, Features: Classico Cromoly butted shale or slate won’t be a problem. tubeset frame that is available in 8 The Vaya will serve well for everything from wet weather commutes to full-on touring, sizes! Fits riders from 4 foot 11 inches to being made in Salsa Classico CroMoly. The plot is loaded with braze-on’s for 6 foot 5 tall! Optimally designed to tame mudguards, luggage racks, and lowriders. It comes your way from Ison. any road surface. Featuring the beautiful The smallest sizes use 26" wheels to provide better fit, improved standover and functional Fargo dropouts and clearance, and to eliminate toe overlap. The larger Vaya sizes use 700c wheels, chainstay mounted disc brakes. Easy both crafted with geometry that’s designed to stop the handling from being twitchy, rack and fender mounting with and a pleasure to ride while loaded or without luggage. clearanace for 43c tyres. (Two smallest Salso are confident they’ve designed a machine that’ll be a joy to ride on the sizes specced with 26" wheels). longest day, linking tarmac to gravel, pavement to dirt - the Complete Bike, in fact. Available as frameset only as well. www.ison-distribution.com phone 01353 662 662 April 2010 page 9 ARMCHAIR CYCLING taking a book or two for a comfortable ride I have to admit that I’ve done nearly as much reading about cycling these last ten days, as I have taken to riding the bike. The good thing is that I’ve not had to lather up the near-local Crawleyside to come back from Stanhope. Nor have I managed to get lost as do some of the pages that turn in the remake of the travel series and rides from our Industry’s earlier age guruh, Harold Briercliffe. For some reason best known to the book designer some passages get truncated by information spreads, to then pop up as you search onwards, as with a finger stabbing across a sheet of a Bart’s Half inch. Those were the maps bike tourists loved as no other since, ones that would have been packed by Harold Briercliffe as he travelled to research his six part English Universities Cycling Touring Guides. Published from 1947 to 1950, the pages of these books have now guided a new age rider on bicycling trips that feature in the BBC series Britain by Bike, hitting screens shortly. a magazine like no other But before moving on to that title, though, I must tell you about Cycling World. This long- running publication helps readers discover how they can enjoy a relaxing session with wheel life happy-nings. Unique in the cycling magazine market there’s no rush and tear, no sporty me-too lycra imaginations running riot. Just one cycling turn-on after another for people who don’t need to yesterday and today, meeting on a bicycle get out and about with a heart monitor strapped to their chest or a handlebar computer telling them they just aren’t really getting along so fast after all. Cycling World is about cycling for pleasure, with leisure the by-word. Stephen Dyster and a lady by the name of Jo Emin can give you more information on how you can mix it bunny hopping coppers on the pages of this day-brightener. It’s a leisure enthusiast and entry-level all in one, and you just ought to get close and have a read. < CPL Media - 01227 784079 or [email protected] > spotted in Leicestershire So back to Howard Briercliife, himself a one-time contributor to the pages of the Cycling A specially marked-up blue and white Haro F3 bike is on the beat at World magazine, a Cape Wrath Fellowship founder, and accomplished authority on things school safety sessions. Officers working with the Leicester Police Force find two wheel. You’ll be hearing that name a lot, for that series of cycletouring books he they not only break down barriers when police meet young people on the streets wrote inspire authour Jane Eastoe, who looks at the mechanics and the history side of and in parks, but are great for a bunny hop or two to impress. things. She’s joined by Clare Balding - another who is encouraged by Harold’s words to go After using high specification mountain bikes for many years the bikes explore Britain, and do it for a Lion Television series. are a new move so that during visits to schools, officers can give advice on In the filming and on the road Clare Balding uses one of Harold’s very own bicycles and checking bikes for safety, carrying out road manoeuvres safely, and bike with it takes you along a good number of rides that will keep people happy for half a day security, to a different cycle-attuned mix of youngsters. The Haro Bikes have or a week, exploring our Island. been supplied free from UK Distributor Moore Large. Brand Manager Adam Britain by Bike is a good way to remember that Harold Briercliffe was an industry figure Garner says that the company is delighted to be involved in a great project. who spent 22 years as editor of the Motorcycle & Cycle Trader magazine. He could “Haro is one of the biggest bmx brands in the world so we hope this will identify product and people from an era when bicycle riders in Britain weren’t sidelined nor translate to enhancing respect between the police and Leicestershire’s youth. threatened from the road. Guided by him to discover likeable byways, Clare Balding We look forward to supporting Leicestershire Police force over the coming writes she had time to stop and stare, to fall in love with with the country’s landscape and months and watching the project make a positive influence on the local commu- to have the real thrill of riding a bicycle, rushing madly downhill with the child-like thrill that nity.” Moore Large’s Adam had her shouting ‘Whoopeee’. published by Batsford. isbn: 9781 906388713 Garner selected the Haro F3 www.anovabooks.com model as it is one of the best all red spot cycling round bmx bikes in the brand Author Simon Warren writes of “lung busting collection. city centre cobbles” and the enticing loneliness PCSO Vince Preston, from of a ride in Aberdeenshire that he rates 10 out of Oadby and Wigston local 10 in his book 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs. Not policing unit, said bmx bikes had his only 10-10 listing it is the words “the Lecht is definite advantages when a true monstor of a climb through the Cairgorms” dealing with younger members that bring home the feeling that here is not of the community. He added: “It somewhere you really need to be, unless you are is a size the children can get on, something of a masochist, of course. and it helps us build a rapport Simon Warren is convinced that overcoming with them. Kids are more open the pull of gravity is the purest cycling to speaking to you than if you challenge, and has gone out of his way to are on a larger bike or on foot discover and ride a hundred of the hills that are patrol. In the majority of cases a spread around our land. Inspired by the likes of bmx is quicker than a mountain Graeme Obree and Greg Lemond, Simon goes upwards on bits of tarmac that sensible people would prefer to coast down. Count me in to that way of life! bike, it’s easier to manoeuvre.” Although having a preference for fens roads and a fixed wheel, I have to admire the And bikes are not only for diligence and suffering that has gone into this work and promise to go and have another community work with young- look at Crawleyside, sters, says PCSO Preston . published by Frances Lincoln. isbn: 978-0-7112-3120-7 out of Stanhope. This is “They are valuable aids to www.franceslincoln.com the torture chamber catching criminals, if we are in a where Daryll Webster car, then they can hear you a mile off, but on bike you are virtually silent. My won a National patrol area has lots of alleyways which I know and can use, so often I can get to Hillclimb Championship an incident at least as quickly as colleagues in a car. And while you are on gold and proved that patrol, you can communicate with members of the public which you can’t do if even a hill with a little you are driving past in a patrol car” Obviously a real sleuth, Vince Preston downward slope in the explains you can also see and smell more than being in a car. middle is still the place Reports to a local Force Station say that a man dressed in hi-vis clothing has where sane people will been seen riding over ramps, tearing across the local skatepark and hurtling tarry a while. Stop, across dirt jumps. Later he was then observed disappearing along singletrack in admire the lovely a popular part local woods. Investigating officers are looking closely at cctv scenery and sit out a images in the hope they can be sure the bmx style bike has a s 3+ tube recovery session on the sheep cropped Chromoly Frame, with 3-picece cranks, 25-9T ratio gearing, U-Style brakes on roadside verge! both the front and rear, 4 stunt pegs and the full 360 degree gyro! No-one says it’s stolen. Yet. Crawleyside, Stanhope April 2010 page 10 430.000 km with his bikes www.tilmann.com TOP TO TOE - it’s the long ride for anyone who knows Italy, it’s a long ride from the Dolomites and the Tyrol to the bottom of the country at Calabria, the “toe of the boot” on the map of Italy. That’d be an ambitious venture for a bike rider, but what if that stretch of country was just a small part of the journey and you were beginning at Nordkapp, Norway, to head for Invercargill, right at the bottom of New Zealand. Some trip, hey! but just a part of life for one man & his bike I met Tilmann Waldthaler quite some years back at IFMA in Cologne. With Bath shop owner John Potter, the three of us shared a happy time chatting bike tourism and what it means to get away and tour to your hearts delight. John and I had only recently then come back from a trip around southern Norway, on a couple of occasions sticking our bikes on the train to get to the other side of Hardangervidda. We’d sampled the cycle QUESTION: What is it about your bike route that is Rallarvegen (Navvies’ Road) and zig-zagged right down to Flåm. This ride borders on the largest plateau in Europe, with that is different than most? snow, Hardangerjøkulen glacier and the famed a cold year- only indoor cycling velodrome in the country, reckoned to be the fastest track in New Zealand. ANSWER: It is a Koga Miyata with a round alpine climate. When he reaches there Tilmann will find Invercargill has a touch of Britain about it, with streets in Rohloff Hub. That’s reason enough to No excuses, even in those days we knew how to tour-easy, the city named after rivers such as Dee, Spey, and Tay; the Tyne, Thames, Mersey and Eye. be very happy when riding. but Tilmann Waldthaler isn’t into that sort of cop-out, though. The first trip Tilmann Waldthaler relates brought him from In a Sean Caffrey Through the Ringer He’ll ride a journey from an almost certain snowy send off in the Antarctic and north to Spitzbergen in the Arctic, so - to a interview, Tilmann Waldthaler was northern Norway and make it to Bodensee just in time for Eurobike. There, I expect he will be degree, he’s been this route before. But that earlier journey asked: “What is the one piece of almost unbearably enthusiastic about the happenings on his trip to then . . . and tease us all, was a four year apprenticeship on a bike through many cul- equipment you never expected to talking about the bits to come between southern Germany and a sea-surrounded southern edge of tures and experiences. “I had the best chance ever to get to need and now never leave home New Zealand, some time later in his wheely happy life. know myself much better” he tells. without?” ANSWER: “The Internet”. The plan is to end this long ride on his 70th birthday at Invercargill, the place with the For the first ten years of his bike travelling he had worked as a pastry chef and as a cook, his qualified professions. He then began working as a photographer and writer. “It was easier as a journalist to Tilmann Waldthaler’s convince people they’d receive something back from me during and blog: March 2005 “travelling brings people closer together...” after my trips, following some sponsorship gained.. “As a pastry chef “I started this morning from Dubrovnik, to ride up to the place which has been bombed to bits during the war. There used all I could offer to sponsors was some culinary help or perhaps some to be a chairlift or a cablecar going up onto the mountain. On my way up there another cyclist called out my name as we passed strawberry tarts: and that didn`t interest very many potential sponsors! each other. It’s surprising when people call out your name in a for- eign country, it’s just a little unexpected! It’s happened in Chile, Bolivia and in Australia as well. Thierry Delculee has been on the road with a good friend of mine in South America, so he most probably realised who the hell I am. I talked to Thierry in Dubrovnik about the places where I am headed - Albania, Turkey and Pakistan. I am always looking forward to meet people like him as there are lots of positive vibes, fantastic stories, adven- ture and freedom in the minds of people like him. A close look at his equipment explains the rest. The adventursome people do not dream about adventures but are on the road living their own dreams and dreaming also a little bit for others. I hope Thierry always stays the way he is, and keeps the wheels turning. pictured: Thierry Delculee in Dubrovnik

America, the Arctic, Africa - no place is safe from having Tilmann Waldthalder turn up on his bike! above: The awesome Grand Canyon. left: in the Arctic with a Swedish film crew. below: his wife Renate helps keep him on the rails when his cycling passion turns to pedalling away into the sunset. They first met in the Sahara, and now make a perfect match.

QUESTION: “Imagine if the bicycle had never been invented, how do you think your life would have gone differently”? ANSWER: “I’d most probably be very dead by now!!!

less the hotel, more the kit for being independent “I always take a tent with me for reasons of security and independence. I just never know where the hell I`ll be sleeping every night as I try to avoid hotels most of the time. Currently I am using a Vaude Space II tent. It sleeps two comfortably and gives me more room to take care of my belongings during any hazardous part of a journey. It’s my home anyway. The choice for a sleeping bag means using different models according to the climatic conditions I am travel- ling through. In the northern and southern regions I am using a Vaude Kiowa Extreme 220, for nights down to -9°, it’s an 80/20 down filling. Along the Equator I don’t get to using a sleeping bag at all, only a light blanket, and that’s more than adequate all of the time. Luggage is based on the Vaude range, with models being different as I am testing different materi- als on the road. From Norway I’m starting off with waterproof materials and welded panniers”. Over time Tilmann’s main sponsors have been Koga Miyata, Vaude, Rohloff, Schwalbe and Giro, gear for green leisure habits and independent travel April 2010 page11 they do it all ways . . . Bath Racecourse hosted the annual lightweight camping meet of The Backpackers Club, a time for the activist and some sections of the Trade to share time to discuss ways of going about their leisure business in the “green” way. The April weekend networking topics compared the joys of gossamer fabrics and an approach to nano-tech camping kit, bringing a focus to new market trends and gizmo introductions. It’s an occasion when people don’t just amble in, either - the two wheel approach has gained increased popularity with the group since the Club’s founding. Hiking and biking with a tent are pretty close bedfellows. The Club has rolled along the greenways and the tops since 1972 with members looking for ways to innovate and try new product offerings whilst expanding the scope of their activity. Backpackers Club do their thing on weekends as well as on multi-day tours, and alongside the tradition of boots - or trail shoes, Wellingtons, too - and walking poles even the recumbent, pictured here, come into play. Having a set of wheels to carry all even allows the rider to nap at the wheel when parked up. Alan Carter, the Midlands enthusiast in the picture, reckons he’s cracked the problem of balancing his lightweight tent living whilst enjoying a “green” travel ethos that doesn’t contribute to the nation’s carbon footprint. There is a good number of Brompton folders among members at the regional meets riding on the lanes and byways, both in the UK and on continental tours. Mountain bikes even come into it! A year away, the Backpackers Club 2011 agm meeting is at Stanhope in County Durham, on a May weekend that should be greeted with some of the best flowering hay meadows in all of Britain. More naturually coloured than any bulb field, a landscape coralled in drystone walls is just one of the rolling Weardale attractions. The 2011 Dales Outdoor Weekend happens in Stanhope, from May 6 to 8. SNUGPAK LAUNCHES A new Range of Innovative Stoves for 2010 RUCKSACK COVERS Part of the brand new travel

accessories collection Cheshire based Go System have five new and Following from the successful launch of its new innovative stoves to their range in 2010. Three cartridge stoves and two remote feed stoves. collection of travel accessories, top British outdoor brand, Snugpak, has unveiled the new CARTRIDGE STOVES: The range of rucksack covers to further complement lightest in the range is the Go the handy selection of travel products on offer. System Fly. Made from Titanium The travel accessories range, which has been this will be the lightest cartridge extremely well received by outdoor, travel and stove on the market. Weighing just 50g! This stove will answer military retailers, includes travel washbags, the growing need for lighter pillows, microfibre towels as well as utility bags weight kit and is perfectly suited which are ideal to pack either on a holiday or a to weight conscious backpackers. camping trip. The new addition to the range, available from stock since February, is the REMOTE FEED STOVES: The Sirocco is a Aquacover, a comprehensive collection of ruck- stable ‘large footprint’ performance stove ideal for family camping when stability is all sack covers available in a important to prevent any pan variety of sizes and colours. spillages with children The covers can fit any rucksack from 25L to 100L and around. The stoves are available in five different sizes to ensure a perfect Auto-start piezo igniter fit. All the covers are waterproof and are elasticated means a flame is only a click around the edges to ensure a snug fit, as well as a away. The Sirocco also folds up neatly for easy storage and transportation. Velcro attachment system and cord and cord lock to further secure the cover. They come complete with The Appollo is the largest of the new stoves and has a built in their own drawcord stuff sack to neatly pack the wind protector. It includes a remote auto-start piezo igniter cover away when not in use. The Snugpak attached to the top of the hose. This stove can operate on rucksack covers are available in olive, black, liquid or vapour gas via a braided hose and pre-heating tube. desert tan, camo and high visibility and have an Venture SRP £24.99 SRP from £8.95 to £14.45 Scion SRP £29.99 Sirocco SRP £34.99 to contact Snugpak telephone: 01535 654 479 www.snugpak.com Apollo SRP £49.99 To contact Burton McCall further information phone: 0116 234 4611 [email protected] [email protected] April 20l0 page 8 check out Archives to 2004: www.tradeandindustry.net / editors desk

HERE’S A COMMISSION EARNER hybrid, trekking Dawes and junior offers offer ETA Last year introduced their insurance Barrosa range of entry level bikes. Spurred by the reception to the value for money range, hybrid, to dealer trekking and junior bikes were added in January. Barrosa Acapulco Dealers sare now being invited to take a closer look at network the collection, and profit from the current incentive offer. Teaming up with the Environmental The no frills range offers a good balance between value with a quality level any IBD Transport Agency sees would be happy to stock. The range uses only Shimano or Sram gearing, good quality Dawes Cycles giving free third componentry and a mix of alloy or steel frames depending on the party cycle insurance with Barrosa Milan price point. every Touring, Sportif or worth at least £25. Ladies 10 speed Fast movers are the Milan 18 speed equipped trekking bike The third party offer is another incentive to bolster the and Acapulco 21 speed ATB both of which retail at £199.99 “Touring Specialist” retailers as well as offering a new and are available in gents and ladies versions. There’s a concept to all its dealerships. Retailers can sign stocking-in deal with extra discounts based on taking customers up for fully comprehensive insurance for their new or existing bicycles, regardless of brand. from 5 to 20 units, available with extended credit Dawes sales director, Julie Hayward said “We have terms. teamed up with the ETA as we believe the package they visit www.barrosabikes.com offer is one of the best currently on the market.” or call the Dawes sales office The unique insurance includes many features and on 0121- 7488050 benefits all under a single comprehensive policy that can also help the retailer increase their profits and create closer links with their customer base. As well as maintaining close customer care, in the unfortu- nate event that the customer’s cycle is stolen you are more likely to be their point of contact for their replacement. The full insurance package is probably one of the most comprehensive covers on the market and includes the following benefits: New for old replacement - Covers for theft, accidental damage and vandalism. (Race cover included); Replacement cycle - Cycle hire with up to £250 to spend on a hire bike following an approved claim should the bike be stolen or damaged; Free Cycle Rescue worth £35 - the unique breakdown service for cyclists; “Get you home” cover - Will pay for a taxi if your bike gets stolen or damaged; Personal accident cover up to £20,000 - compensation should you seriously injure yourself whilst cycling; Third Party insurance up to £1 million; Worldwide cover - Your bike is covered for theft or damage anywhere in the world. 90 days European cover & 60 days Worldwide cover; Up to 40% no claims discount; Folding bikes automatically receive a 40% discount off the standard premium. Commission is earned on each full policy sold and all that’s required to operate the system is internet access. Dawes have produced window stickers advertising the scheme as well as a “by the till” leaflet display which lists the key features of the insurance. contact your Dawes Account manager or Dawes sales office (0121 7488050) to organise your store login and to see the operating procedure. on a £10,000 charity ride With three close friends, Julie Hayward, sales director at Dawes Cycles, began fundraising for the Marie Curie Warren Pearl Hospice in Solihul after her mother, Lilian Goodfellow, was diagnosed with breast cancer. The Lilian Goodfellow Group of Friends have so far raised over £150,000 and for 2010 they have decided to do something completely out of character- take to the roads on their bicycles! With fifteen of their friends the girls aim to cycle from Windsor Castle to Paris, from May 27, for the 205 miles trip. They aim to raise a minimum of £10,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care. Julie’s colleague at Dawes, product manager Lawrence Cox is the only guy taking part in the cycle challenge alongside his wife Jaci who had breast cancer 10 years ago and was given the all clear in 2005. Lawrence said “I am in total admiration for what the girls are doing. None of them were avid cyclists before taking on this challenge so seeing them change their lifestyles to get themselves into shape after a harsh winter is inspiring and impressive”. Julie Hayward says “we’re all working hard around our work and family commitments and all we need now is to receive as much sponsorship as possible so we can reach our target. We’ve had fantastic support from several businesses, such as the people at Sat Map who are providing us with on the bike navigation system, and of Dawes Cycles.” to make a donation to support their fundraising: log on to the LGGF Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/lggf