Ride25
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Ride reports, stories and news from the road.
3 August 2023
Riding for a Brighter Future: Ugandan orphans take on the UCI Cycling World Championships
In the world of cycling, the UCI Cycling World Championships is an event that attracts the best riders from across the globe, all vying for success on the grand stage. But this year’s championships will be particularly remarkable, as it marks a significant milestone for two young adults from…
12 September 2016
Stop Faffing, Get Riding! — A pre-ride checklist
Almost every morning of every Ride25 cycling holiday there’s a group who take twice as long as everyone else to get on the road. Often one rider will be blamed for the delay – occasionally this is fair, but most of the time they’re an unfortunate scapegoat and it’s actually a group effort. We’ve…
9 September 2016
Competition! Damson Audio HeadBones – the bluetooth bone conduction headphones
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ENTRIES, THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED! We’re happy to announce a competition in partnership with Damson Audio, a Yorkshire-based tech company offering a range of exciting and innovative audio and visual gear. We’re interested in HeadBones in particular because their technology…
29 August 2016
Cycling in Italy: Geneva to Milan Highlights
The August bank holiday weekend is one of the last bastions of British summer (aka the brief fortnight of consecutive warm and sunny days we get once a year), and marks the end of the year’s holiday for many of us. So what better time to fantasise about next summer’s rides and kill two birds…
25 August 2016
Progress Versus Tradition: Concept Bikes and Bike Design
Take a look at some of the bikes below; you’ll probably agree they’re pretty unusual. Source, with information about each one – We sometimes see alien bikes like these being showcased at a bike show, and wonder exactly what we’re looking at. Which made us wonder… What are concept bikes for? In…
11 August 2016
Helmets. Do you wear one? — Part 2: the dust settles
We knew helmets were a controversial subject in cycling, but we didn’t expect so many people to feel quite so strongly about it! Across the Ride25 blog and social media channels there were a whopping 82 comments on our post about whether you should wear helmets. We pulled together a select few…
29 July 2016
Helmets. Do you wear one? — Part 1: Cases For and Against
At Ride25 we advocate wearing a helmet while riding, but this is one of the hottest debates in the cycling world and there are compelling arguments on both sides. This post rounds up some of the reasons for and against, because although we recommend wearing one, our opinion is that the most…
18 July 2016
Cycling shorts: what your money gets you
With most cycling purchases it can be hard to distinguish whether you’re paying for genuine quality (like when you buy a Ride25 holiday 😉 ), or whether you’re paying for a brand name (no names mentioned!). Often the reality is somewhere in the middle, but there are certain products that really…
11 July 2016
The Ride25 Italian Cycling Phrasebook
Ciao! Italian is the next in our cycling phrasebook series, which started last month with the French phrasebook. Now you’ll be able to order yourself a beer, tell a mechanic about your puncture, or ask where the nearest hill is on legs 3 and 4 of Ride25! (That’s Geneva to Milan and Milan to…
30 June 2016
The Ride25 French cycling phrasebook
In the run up to the Tour de France – and in appreciation of French cycling in general – we’ve created a comprehensive phrasebook of French cycling terms. This will come in handy next time you’re riding in that beautiful country! We’re even offering a printable version that you can fold up and put…
26 June 2016
Two Incredible Ladies! Weekly Round-up #59!
This week’s round-up features two incredible female cyclists, one from the modern era and one from the 1930s, but both of whom have contributed to the momentum surrounding women’s cycling. It also includes a kooky bike design and an act of reassuring brotherhood from London. The text on the top…
19 June 2016
RIP Sadiq Khan’s Inbox! Weekly Round-up #58!
This week’s round-up features a gadget based cycle safety campaign, a great course breaking down the barriers between HGV drivers and cyclists, a wildly reckless Mancunian, an incredible Japanese cycling event, Lizzie Armitstead’s recent big win, and an inspiring story about a paralysed MTB rider…
16 June 2016
The Last Minute Father’s Day Gift Guide!
Father’s Day is this Sunday! If you’ve forgotten to get something for your old man there’s still time or, if you’re the dad, there’s still time to drop a subtle hint to your offspring that gifts are due. Why not tactically leave this blog post open on the family computer, for example? We’ve chosen…
10 June 2016
Free Locks and Nudity: Weekly Round-up #57
This week’s round-up covers a lot of ground. It features information on how to get free gold standard locks (but to reach the nudity part you’ll have to read all the way through to the end!). It also covers some intrepid school children, the creative flair of UK cyclists, and a look at the…
5 June 2016
Fat Lad at the Back properly meets his match
For those that have read my other cycling blogs (here, here) you will know I probably qualify as the world’s most reluctant cyclist. Much to the chagrin of many real Lycra clad road warriors I don’t actually like cycling long distances up hills and know very little about the technical side of…
2 June 2016
A Two Week Bumper Round-Up! #55 and #56
This week’s round-up features a curious commute crossover opportunity, a look at London’s super popular superhighways, a woman on a mission to raise the amount of female cyclists, and changes to Finland and the Netherlands’ cycling culture. It’s also a special fortnightly round-up because most of…
25 May 2016
An interview with Paul Doffing: song singer, pedal pusher, world walker
Paul Doffing piqued our interest when we read about his Freedom From Fuel tour earlier this year. This is a combined bike and music tour that started in 2012 and has racked up over 16,093 km of cycling and 100 shows so far. Paul “cancelled his lease, relinquished his possessions, and set off”…
20 May 2016
How do Deliveroo Riders Behave in Your Town? Weekly Round-up #54!
This week’s round-up features Deliveroo analysis, good news for middle aged male cyclists, a heartwarming cycling scheme, calls to give cyclists more priority in road design, a look at some cycling inventions, and two Giro updates (one usual, one unusual). The top image is a Deliveroo cyclist…
13 May 2016
Out With One Mayor, In With The Next! Weekly Round-up #53
This week’s round-up features Boris Johnson and Sadiq Khan, a guide on how to cycle to work in the summer and some convincing reasons to do so, an update on the Giro d’Italia, and some incredible technology that could change the way we think about bike lights. The top image is from a Reddit post…
13 May 2016
How to Cycle in the Hot, Sunny Weather
Scorching temperatures around the UK have got the tabloid press in a frenzy. “HOTTEST MAY in FOUR YEARS”, exclaims the Express. Groundbreaking news, we’re sure you’ll agree. So although today the weather seems to be back to its grey, drizzly usual, we thought we’d write a guide on how to ride…
13 May 2016
BikeBox Online VeloVault Winner
Over 2000 people entered to win the amazing VeloVault from BikeBox Online, but there can only be one winner. Congratulations go to Liz Trebilcock from Cornwall in the UK (who is currently cycling in Lanzarote… lucky thing), who is the… VeloVault Winner This is Liz in Lanzarote this week out riding…
29 April 2016
Strava’s Global Bike To Work Day: Get Involved!
Momentum is building to have a dedicated day to commemorate cycling and its benefits. In March the World Cycling Alliance began campaigning the UN to designate an official World Bicycle Day. Their reasoning is that the way cycling delivers on the UN Global Goals (“reducing megatons of greenhouse…
28 April 2016
How to plan a bike tour
Written by Ness Knight, Endurance Adventurer It’s two days into my recce of a new cycle tour route through three countries and I jolt awake with a start. It’s 1.37am, my pen is stuck to my arm and I’m still holding the notebook I must have been writing in when I fell asleep earlier that…
27 April 2016
Ever wondered which muscles activate when you’re riding? Weekly round-up #51!
This week’s round-up features your leg muscles, Tokyo’s cycling culture, a poll about flying with bikes, indoor cycling, outdoor cycling in Athens, and an impressive tale of adventure. The top image is quite interesting – it shows which muscles in your legs are in use throughout each rotation of…
21 April 2016
What Are The Best Bike Lights?
Now that the days are finally getting longer, we’ve decided it’s the perfect time to do a post about the best bike lights! We agree with Brad below that the sun (?) is the best light, but once dark sets in it’s important to be illuminated and visible. But with seemingly endless options available…
19 April 2016
Re~Cycle Your Bike At Halfords
If you have an old bike or two being swallowed up by cobwebs and dust in the shed, or are upgrading your bike for the coming summer of riding then we need your help. Ride25 and Halfords have teamed up with Re~cycle to make sure that all our old bikes find a new home with…
18 April 2016
Perhaps the most pro-cycling mainstream politician in the UK: weekly round-up #50!
This week’s round-up features Strava doping, London mayors, a law firm for cyclists, Ikea cycling and a 100 year old rider! The top image is a creative twist on a sign separating bike lanes and footpath, which was added by a budding street artist. Seeing the bottom half of the sign puts a lot of…
12 April 2016
Only his hands, eyes, mind and body, a saucepan and a pair of roller blades: weekly round-up #49!
This week’s round-up features a new TV channel about cycling! As well as 3D renders of people’s sketches of bikes, pro-bike architecture in Norway, a story about women’s cycling, and a look at Graeme Obree’s new film. The top image is from a Reddit thread titled ‘African roads are not for the…
8 April 2016
Das Fahrrad: A Book That Will Make Cycling Holidays Easier
When you’re on a cycling holiday abroad, there’s always the lingering fear that some part of your bike will break and you won’t be able to explain to the people at the bike shop what’s gone wrong. But thanks to a fantastic book that translates over 200 bike-related words into 5 languages, this…
5 April 2016
A long, hard day: weekly round-up #48
This week’s round-up features creative fundraising routes, Chris Hoy’s Le Mans announcement, good news about the safety of cycle share schemes, rubbish news from London, and an April Fools' joke that had us going. The top image is from a Reddit post whose title sums up our opinion on the pictured…
29 March 2016
1.00001204 marathons: weekly round-up #47!
This week’s round-up features a look at the women’s race of this year’s TDY (and its hefty prize pot!), concept bikes both sporty and musical, stories of how cyclists can demand better conditions in their city, and perhaps most importantly, cute pictures of dogs. The top image is what happens when…
25 March 2016
The Top 8 Cycling Holiday Destinations in Europe — According to Strava
With a little help from Strava’s 2015 insights and heat-maps, we’ve put together a list of the top 8 cycling holiday destinations in Europe. Between them these places have something to appeal to every kind of cyclist, from the club rider looking to ride a century in every country they visit, to…
21 March 2016
More Concerns About Mechanical Doping: Weekly Round-Up #46!
This week’s round-up features mechanical doping, a map of the UK’s cycling clubs, a company encouraging cycle commuting correctly, World Bicycle Day, and some incredible cycling achievements in Taipei. The top image is from a Reddit post poking fun at recent concerns about the prevalence of…
14 March 2016
Are cyclists racing on London’s streets? Weekly round-up #45!
This week’s round-up features a seriously flawed anti-cycling argument, an inspiring suffragette bike ride, telephone booths turned into bike repair stations, the 10 best cycling spots in the UK, the 5 best fat biking spots in the world, a warning about bike crime in London and, to finish…
8 March 2016
Pedal Bites: Healthy and Natural Cycling Nutrition
Riley Kamsler is a chef, cyclist, and founder of Pedal Bites – a new company offering handmade cycling nutrition products for before, during and after bike rides. We spoke to him about the Pedal Bites journey so far. The Range Bags of muesli, energy bars and energy balls, all packed with fruits…
7 March 2016
Five golds mean top spot for Great Britain! Weekly round-up #44
Our story of the week We’ve started with the top story this week because it’s that good. Great Britain has taken five gold medals at the UCI Track Cycling World Championships in London, putting us comfortably in top spot: Laura Trott took the first gold of the championships in the Women’s scratch…
4 March 2016
Indoor Cycling: 5 Great Turbo Trainer Workout Choices
Cycling outdoors is wonderful but sometimes the weather, traffic and time constraints can make indoor cycling a more appealing prospect. We’ve rounded up 5 of the best indoor cycling resources to make the inevitably gruelling workout that little bit more bearable! So get out your turbo trainer…
4 March 2016
Queen Of The Mile – Review
Written by Ness Knight. If there is one thing that gets me fired up to get out the house and into the saddle when I’m feeling the dreaded winter chill, it is following the inspirational women who eat, sleep and breathe cycling and outdoor fitness, sharing their stories of the highs and lows of…
3 March 2016
ASSOS Bib Tights Competition – Winner
We had a huge response recently to the ASSOS LL. HabuTights_s7 competition, which wasn’t really a massive surprise as they are a great piece of kit and the cold weather just keeps coming – well if you are in the Northern Hemisphere it does…. maybe our friends in Australia and Singapore might have…
1 March 2016
Evidence-based Bike Fits
We regularly find that many riders are happy to spend thousands of pounds on their bikes and their cycling gear but neglect to invest in a proper bike fit. (A classic case of all the gear no idea perhaps!) A bike that is fitted to your body and riding style can significantly improve your…
29 February 2016
Two incredible feats, two feel good stories: Weekly Round-Up #43
This week’s round-up features two incredible feats in completely different types of cycling, a bicycle-based tour of the USA by an American musician, a couple of feel good stories about cycling’s ability to empower people around the world, and a warning to cyclists about a sneaky new technique…
23 February 2016
Cyclists, stay awesome. Weekly round-up #42!
This week’s round-up features incredible bicycle dancing, unusual new bicycle designs, two novel ideas that hope to contribute to a paradigm shift in city design, and some great news for British Cycling. The top image comes from a Reddit post by user Tatch, which shows a lovely sticker spotted on…
22 February 2016
Win a copy of ‘The Modern Mamil’!
‘The Modern Mamil’ // Ride25 Book Competition The Modern Mamil is the perfect book if you are a MAMIL (or indeed MAWIL). Written and illustrated by Spencer Wilson (who we spoke to recently) and Joel Rickett, it’s essentially an A to Z of over 150 definitions of cycling terms presented through…
15 February 2016
Bumper round-up! Volumes #40 and #41
Due to a brief site blip we missed last week’s round-up, so we’ve combined two into one bumper post! What a treat. The top image is of a duvet that’s perfect for the cyclist who can never quite put their bike out of mind. We wonder whether sleeping under this leads to dreams of race…
11 February 2016
Queen of the Mountains: empowering cycling clothing
A fantastic new range of women’s cycling attire has caught our attention this week. Queen of the Mountains, founded by Alicia Bamford, aims to encapsulate in its products the positive, invigorating and life affirming aspects of cycling. The brand’s performance cycling clothing is designed to…
8 February 2016
Peak Performance On A Multi-Day Cycling Holiday
Written by Ness Knight, Endurance Adventurer You’ve tackled your first 10k run, tried out a one day sportive, or decided that your routine training and fitness rides are just not quite stacking up to the type of challenge you feel you are capable of. Your next step up from a half or one-day event?…
5 February 2016
The Modern MAMIL: a review of the cyclist’s A to Z
The Modern MAMIL, available to buy now, is the logical result of the friendship between Spencer Wilson (who we spoke to last week) and Joel Rickett: one an illustrator and designer, one an author and publisher, both cyclists (and both MAMILs). Open the cover and you’re greeted with delightful new…
4 February 2016
Come and see Ride25 at The London Bike Show Feb 2016!
If you’re in the London area between the 11th-14th February (i.e. Thursday – Sunday next week!) please come along and have a chat about cycling holidays with us at Ride25 at The London Bike Show 2016 at ExCeL centre! Get a free cycling cap if you come and see Ride25 at stand LB1251! If you come…
4 February 2016
New NEOS Cycling Accessories
We recently bumped into the CEO of NEOS cycling who was so passionate about his new range of cycling accessories we thought we must get some more information and take a look at what he has on offer that might be relevant for our Ride25 riders. NEOS cycling have a range of products that we thought…
2 February 2016
Activism and adventure: weekly round-up #39!
Welcome to this week’s round-up, featuring weird and wonderful bikes, motorised scandal, cycling activism in Rome and Sydney, and a coast-to-coast adventure in America. The kooky bikes above and to the left come from a Reddit thread, where they are introduced with accurate caption “the longer you…
29 January 2016
An interview with Spencer Wilson: father, illustrator, MAMIL
Spencer Wilson is a father, illustrator, cyclist and the co-author of The Modern MAMIL – an upcoming A-Z guide to the secret lingo known only to the most hardcore of cyclists. We spoke to him ahead of the release of the book. As a self described “jack of all trades, master of none” at school…
26 January 2016
They don’t respect any rules, usually. Weekly round-up #38!
This week’s round-up features driverless cars, electric bikes, a new world record, a new job for a former record holder, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. What’s not to love! Top image is from a Reddit post by user _NotSoBlue, and is aptly captioned ‘why does this happen?’. As well as anger about which…
20 January 2016
A Guide to Foot and Ankle Pain On Multi Day Bike Rides
One of our Ride25 tour crew, Paul ‘Smudge’ Smith (who is an all-round cycling guru/professional bike fitter/bike mechanic/rock tape expert/biomechanics trainer) talks us through the common causes of foot and ankle pain on cycle rides and multi-day cycling holidays… Foot and ankle pain can be the…
20 January 2016
Baby it’s Cold Outside: Safe Winter Cycling Advice
We touched on winter riding in November last year but, given the unusually mild winter we had, it wasn’t particularly pertinent. Now with parts of the country finally experiencing snow and icy temperatures (as cold as -12° in some places!), it’s become relevant once again. Cold snap – Instead of…
19 January 2016
I Want to Ride my Icycle: Weekly Round-up #37!
This week’s round-up features a feel good introduction followed by futuristic robots, controversial claims, political posturing, and two awe-inspiring rides which occurred over a century apart. The top image comes from a Reddit user in Latvia whose bike spent a cold and lonely night outside. Along…
11 January 2016
Bikes: good for business! Weekly round-up #36!
This week’s round-up features wind chimes, overhaul of NYC cycling infrastructure, two theses that put cycling in a good light, archaic attitudes from an Australian state premier, and a feel-good story for the cycle commuters among us. The top image is taken from a Reddit post by user MonkeyEvil…
10 January 2016
How to set up Strava on an Android phone
This is the first part of a series that will cover getting Strava set up on your mobile, and exporting routes from Strava to various Garmins. We’ve sung Strava’s praises a few times before: it’s a fantastic app that will bolster your cycling once you get it set up correctly. Quick navigation…
7 January 2016
Essential Cycle Tour Kit List and Food Plan
Written by Ness Knight. When it comes to preparing your kit for a cycling holiday or tour, you can go round in merry circles trying to figure out what is important and what is just plain unnecessary. We’ve all done it before; crammed a mountain of gear into our bike boxes and backpacks ‘just…
4 January 2016
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Weekly round-up #35!
Welcome to the first round-up of 2016. We hope you had a fantastic Christmas and New Year, and that some of you were lucky enough to receive cycling gifts and gadgets in their stockings (especially those whose loved ones read our Christmas gift guide for cyclists!). We’re milking the end of the…
22 December 2015
Horse and Velo: how to ride safely around horses
As cyclists we spend a lot of time involved with (or at least exposed to) efforts to get drivers to be more considerate to people on bicycles; it’s good to educate ourselves so we can return this courtesy to other road users. After all we all enjoy riding the same roads! To this end, the…
16 December 2015
Sign on the dotted line..! Weekly round-up #34!
We had a flurry of activity on the blog early this week so we pushed the round-up back a couple of days. We hope you didn’t miss it too much! This week features some cracking stories from around the globe including two important petitions, an inspiring ride organised by the prince of Thailand, the…
16 December 2015
Indoor Wattbike Cycling Training
We take a peek into the world of indoor Wattbike training. Ride25 Team Leader, endurance cyclist, performance cycling coach, Wattbike Technical Instructor, Pro Mechanic, and Director of Surrey-based RollingDynamics, Mark Dressel talks to us about the benefits of supplementing your outdoor riding…
14 December 2015
Previewing The 2016 Tour de France
There are still more than six months to go before the 2016 Tour de France. However, with the route announced and the expected field of competitors already known, it’s never too early to look ahead to the competition. After all, it’s always nice to have an advance look at the action, especially if…
14 December 2015
The Christmas gift guide for cyclists
If you’re looking for some late-in-the-day inspiration for Christmas presents suited to cyclists, look no further! We asked around the office for suggestions from cycle-friendly stocking fillers, all the way through to sleigh-stoppers that will make any cyclist’s Christmas complete. Stocking…
14 December 2015
Causes Of Back & Neck Pain When Cycling
We asked Paul Smith (Smudge) Ride25 crew chief and owner of Cyclometrics, to continue to educate us on the main causes of rider aches and pains whilst on multi-day cycling holidays. Here is what Paul has to say about some of the main reasons back and neck pain occur whilst cycling on multi-day…
7 December 2015
Should cyclists pay their way? The never-ending debate! Weekly round-up #33!
This week’s round-up features two separate stories about Boris Johnson (one also featuring Alan Sugar!), information about Chris Froome’s performance data, and a case of Cupid getting it right. The top image is from a reddit post by user FKYS and shows some truly shocking bike lane surfaces. We’ve…
4 December 2015
How to organise a corporate cycling challenge
At Ride25 we’re proud to organise bespoke cycling holidays and challenges for the employees and clients of some fantastic companies. Google, Facebook, SkyBet, Crowdcube and Mace are just some of the names we’ve worked with in the past year, with rides ranging from 1 day rides in the UK to a…
1 December 2015
High-end, high performance cycling gear: is it worth the money?
Ride25 were lucky enough to attend the Rouleur Classic 2015 Cycling Emporium in November. At the event we met lots of interesting cycling-related brands and businesses – one of which was ashmei. ashmei is a British-born sportswear brand renowned for selling high-end, high-performance sportswear…
1 December 2015
Best Training For A Multi-day Cycling Trip, Holiday or Event
Multi-day Cycling Training Camp in Majorca -its easier than you think when you let someone else take the strain! The nights might be drawing in, but that doesn’t stop us dreaming of next year’s cycling adventures. If you are tempted by a multi-day cycling holiday with Ride25, but are a bit unsure…
30 November 2015
Cyclists, give yourself a pat on the back! Weekly round-up #32!
This week’s round-up features some feel-good justifications for cycling, shocking footage from an airport, the Minhocão (you’ll have to keep reading to find out what that means!), and more. The top image comes from a great campaign being run by the council in Manchester which hopes to convince…
27 November 2015
New cycling blog: Vamper.cc
It was great to bump into the guys from Vamper.cc at the recent KitBrix 2015 winter product launch at the amazing Rockets and Rascals cycling cafe in Poole. You can read their blog about the event here…. We thought we’d ask them all about Vamper.cc and what they are trying to achieve with their…
23 November 2015
Combining cycling with video games: weekly round-up #31!
This week’s round-up features video game level cycling technology, exploration of cycling as a force for global good, cash opportunities from cycling, and a great exhibition. The top image is a fabulous piece of bike path decoration in Washington DC, snapped by a Reddit user. Quirky little…
23 November 2015
How to train for a 161-km cycle ride
Written by Ness Knight. Having cycled across the USA solo I’m often asked for advice on training for a long distance cycle and the general gist of my answer is ‘Ride your bike, ride it some more, and then ride it longer’. You can’t get away from the need to push out miles in the saddle…
23 November 2015
What Are the 3 Main Causes of Knee Pain for Cyclists?
We approached Paul Smith from Cyclometrics for some expert advice. Paul is one of our long standing crew members (commonly known under his nickname ‘Smudge’) and has led rides from Leeds all the way to Rome this year (several times!!). He is an expert on both the mechanics of the bike and also…
22 November 2015
A welcome U-turn from Eurostar
At the end of October we wrote about Eurostar’s plans to change their bike policy. In the meantime a flurry of feedback erupted from a huge variety of sources, from the CTC to Bojo, eventually leading them to reconsider their decision. Image linked to article – The proposed changes would have made…
16 November 2015
The billion dollar bike path: weekly round-up #30!
This week’s round-up features ambitious but fascinating cycle path designs, winter cycling decisions, an excellent flashmob, and a welcome U-turn from Eurostar. The top image is of a bicycle blender made by a co-op somewhere in the USA, posted by user Mahoolihan3301. Another great example of the…
9 November 2015
The transport of clowns, buffoons and Boris Johnson: weekly round-up #29!
This week’s round-up features great reports by Sustrans on cycling attitudes, a breakdown of the effectiveness of hi-vis, bike towed caravans, and some classic anti-cyclist vitriol. The top image comes from a Reddit post by ‘RogueBagel’ who has photographed an interesting addition to a bike lane.…
7 November 2015
Arnie Watch, part 2
Back in May we wrote a tongue in cheek post about the Daily Mail’s enthusiastic obsession with following Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cycling habits in excessive detail. Between July 2010 and May 21st 2015 they racked up an incredible 22 stories on the topic of Arnie’s bike rides. We thought that rate…
6 November 2015
An interview with Oli Broom, the Slow Cyclist
This week we spoke with a man who’s traded in the Lycra and Strava segment record attempts that most of us are familiar with, and opted instead for a more relaxed and rustic approach to cycling tours. Oli runs The Slow Cyclist – a touring company combining his skills and interests as a former…
2 November 2015
Scorchers and penny farthings abound! Weekly round-up #28!
This week’s round-up features political intrigue, a material that could change the rules of the cycling game, some kooky concept bikes, and tales of scorchers – keep reading! The top image comes from a post by the excellently named Reddit user ‘Spycegurl’, and shows a spooky Halloween themed bike…
29 October 2015
Tour de Mace: the Brompton Challenge
We recently wrote about the Tour de Mace ride, describing the group’s spectacular arrival at the Lee Valley velodrome in Stratford (where Bradley Wiggins broke the UCI Hour Record in June). After the champagne reception, award ceremony, buffet, photoshoot with Nico Roche and opportunity to ride…
26 October 2015
Watch out! Changes to Eurostar’s bike policy imminent!
Edit: this decision was overturned. See our more recent blog post to this effect. In this week’s round-up we mentioned Boris Johnson’s disdain at the upcoming changes to Eurostar’s bike policy, which he called “a backward step, which undermines Eurostar’s green pretensions”. Disapproval has also…
26 October 2015
It will take a complete cyclist! Weekly round-up #27!
This week’s round-up features infrastructure news from Oslo and Vienna (more exciting than it sounds!), speculation on cycling utopia, Froome’s verdict on the 2016 Tour de France route, and some very eccentric route planning. The top image is from a Reddit post by user Nonchalant_Elephant, and…
19 October 2015
Using an attack on cycling as clickbait is “inevitable” – weekly round-up #26!
This week’s round-up features Boris and the church kicking off about various bike related topics, a BAFTA nomination, and a fantastic response to negative stories about cycling in the press. The top image is from a Reddit post by user phstoven showcasing the entrance to the bike storage room at…
16 October 2015
Tour de Mace: the ride and arrival
On 24th September the Tour de Mace, a 402 km fundraising ride from Manchester to London, finished at the Lee Valley velodrome in Stratford. Over 40 cyclists made their way through rain and shine (but mainly rain) and, while the event didn’t receive the nationwide fanfare and TV coverage of its…
12 October 2015
A rethink may be necessary: weekly round-up #25!
This week’s round-up features stolen carrier bags, bamboo car-jackets for bikes, bike lanes, a look at longevity of Dutch cyclists, a cool piece of cycling tech, and a great piece about arguments regularly deployed against cyclists. The top image is a great letter in a newspaper discussing the…
5 October 2015
A cycling hat-trick from France! Weekly round-up #24
This week’s round-up features route planning software for cyclists looking to conserve energy, three excellent schemes in France, one more in Toronto, and an inspiring story of a husband & wife tour. The top image is an extremely ambitious piece of cycle infrastructure in Budapest. We’re not sure…
2 October 2015
Flying With a Bike
Going on a cycling holiday abroad and flying with a bike can sometimes be a hassle, especially when each airline has its own bicycle policy and excess baggage charge system. We’ve heard some horror stories of people’s experiences trying to travel with a bike, so we thought we’d put together a…
28 September 2015
Cycling all over the world: weekly round-up #23
This week’s round-up features hair-raising mountain biking, a gift for the Pope, examinations of the role of cycling in African countries, and much more. The featured image is from a Reddit post by user JonTheDoors, in which he proudly shows off the ‘view’ from the top of Holme Moss, a peak in the…
21 September 2015
Guerrilla flower pots and self-driving bikes: Weekly round-up #22!
This week’s round-up features self-riding bicycles, a cool new cycling start-up from Amsterdam, and some attempts by riders and policy makers to improve cycling in big cities. The featured image comes from a post on Reddit NattyBumppo expressing amazement at a cycle rack in Japan where none of the…
18 September 2015
An interview with Guy Cox, who rode Milan to Rome on a Brompton
Riding 628 km in 4.5 days is no easy feat, especially when it includes 8,352 m of climbing. And especially when you do it on a Brompton. So we were just as shocked as anyone to see our good friend Guy return for this year’s Milan to Rome leg on his slightly modified 10 year old…
14 September 2015
Keep your eyes peeled when riding! Weekly round-up #21
This week’s round-up features the Tour of Britain winner, a cautionary tale for cyclists, Mark Beaumont on MAMiLs, and a 70 year old’s excellent adventure. The featured image comes from Reddit, where user ‘PotatoMerchant‘ flaunted the gorgeous cycling weather in Ireland. Predictably the comments…
9 September 2015
Abhideep Virk: builder of bespoke bamboo bicycles
Back in early June one of our team stopped for lunch at a trail-side café near York. While they ate, one of the group got up and started chatting with a guy who’d emerged from a shack on the other side of the grounds, carrying a very intriguing bike. The man was Abhideep ‘Abz’ Virk, owner of his…
7 September 2015
Good and bad news for cyclists in London! Weekly round-up #20
This week’s round-up includes a few stories of cycling developments in London, and two excellent adventures either being planned or already under way in India and America. Two weeks ago we wrote about London’s upcoming East-West Cycle Superhighway, and this week’s featured image is a screenshot…
5 September 2015
An interview with Jill Wilkie: a Milan to Rome Pioneer
Jill Wilkie wouldn’t really call herself a cyclist. She joined us on the Milan to Rome Pioneers ride this June – a 4.5 day ride covering 724 km and climbing 8,298 m – making the latest addition to a lifetime of cycling: to and from school as a child, to and from university as a medical…
4 September 2015
The inside story of my Dragons’ Den experience!
Chances are if you’re reading this, you’ve probably seen John Readman’s (Ride25’s CEO) appearance on BBC2’s Dragons’ Den. If you haven’t, and want to take a look, you can here… The 10-minute edit that you saw of Ride25 was just a fraction of what went on behind the scenes, so here’s his inside…
4 September 2015
The World Bicyclist: fast enough to see the world, slow enough to meet it’s people
Patrick Martin Schroeder, the self-proclaimed world bicyclist and modern nomad, is a welcome beep on any cyclist’s radar. We asked him a few questions about his massively impressive touring history which he answered with a patchy internet connection somewhere in Central Asia. Since 2007 he’s…
1 September 2015
Dragons’ Den Ride25 Pitch — “Unedited”
We have had lots of positive feedback since our appearance on Dragons’ Den – and Peter Jones seems to have also taken a bit of a battering on social media as a cyclist-hating petrolhead – I think he may also be a victim of the BBC Dragons’ Den editing team! I thought I would share…
31 August 2015
The self-described biggest bike-lane sceptic in government: weekly round-up #19
This week’s round-up features an exciting piece of Ride25 news, some confusing signals for cyclists in Australia, and attempts to increase cyclist numbers in the UK and India. Firstly, if you somehow missed us shouting from the rooftops, Ride25 had the pleasure to pitch on Dragons’ Den yesterday…
28 August 2015
Common cycling aches and pains
As part of the Ride25 Crew and a professional bike fitter for Cyclometrics and member of the International Bike Fitting Institute, Paul ‘Smudge’ Smith covers some of the common issues affecting Ride25 riders on multi day adventures. I have been a member of the Ride25 team for over a year now…
26 August 2015
A place for everything and everything in its place. — Are you ready for the ride?
Having a place for everything and everything in its place saves time (and sometimes opportunities too). Do you know someone (perhaps yourself!) who spends ten minutes looking for their gloves, pump every single ride? Or a friend who every time they leave the house, must turn it inside out…
26 August 2015
Pilates & Cycling: A match made in heaven
Aching lower back? Tight hip flexors, shoulders feeling hunched? Pilates might just be the answer! One of our Ride25 Pioneers, Tricia, raves about Pilates (particularly the reformer dynamic version) and throughout the last 8 years she has found one trainer who challenges her core like no other.…
25 August 2015
Cycling photo tips with Nigel Clarke: capturing the essence of cycling
Nigel Clarke, over at Boxfish Photography, joined us on the recent Ride25 DTZ Alpine Challenge. He’s a fantastic photographer, and we asked him to put together a few posts outlining his top cycle photography tips. Here’s part 1. ‘Cycling’ and ‘Photography’ Two words that individually, make me…
25 August 2015
Cycling Cinema: a review of ‘Cyclists Special’
A charming public service broadcast from 1955 which now acts as a time capsule showing that despite technological developments, our motivations for cycling have hardly changed. The film begins with cyclists converging on Watford Junction station to catch the Cyclists’ Special, a train promising to…
24 August 2015
Slough’s shortest bike lane and possibly the world’s biggest bike ride: weekly round-up #18
Welcome to the new and improved weekly round-up. In the week’s hiatus since volume 17 we’ve re-jigged the format slightly and brought in some new features. This week’s featured image comes from a reddit post by user Jedrekk, titled ‘it rained a bit in Budapest yesterday‘. Commentators on the post…
23 August 2015
Dragons’ Den & Ride25 Cycling Holidays!
Yes, it’s official! Next Sunday 30th August 2015 you will be able to tune into BBC2 to watch Ride25 pitch our cycling holidays and supported cycling tours business to the five ‘Dragons’ on the hit show. The eagle-eyed amongst you may have spotted Ride25’s CEO, John Readman at the end of tonight’s…
21 August 2015
Operation Grand Old Duke of York
One of the riders who has signed up to our RAFBF Brompton Bicycle Challenge to commemorate 75 years since the Battle of Britain must be a glutton for punishment. Not content with doing Paris-London in four days in September, he has also pledged to complete a suitably grim fundraising challenge…
21 August 2015
Question on the blog: travelling with a bike
We’ve had a question on a previous blog post about the logistics of travelling with a bike, so we thought a quick refresher wouldn’t go amiss! There’s a guide to packing a bike into a Polaris Bike Pod Pro on our site, complete with video: Jet2 also have a good guide that details packing your…
20 August 2015
The continued adventures of the Fat Lad at the Back!
A few Sunday’s ago I was privileged to take part in the Prudential Ride London 161 km adventure around London and the Surrey Hills as a press officer for Ride25. This was to be my 4th big ride of the year and it was without doubt the one I was least prepared for having indulged…
12 August 2015
Biking and working: full time jobs
This is part 3 of our biking and working series. For this instalment we got in touch with Rob King, MD of bicycle delivery company Outspoken! Rob first appeared on our radar when we featured in an article called ‘Why cargo bike deliveries are taking over the UK’s cities‘, where his company was…
10 August 2015
Bike ramps and re-branded Boris Bikes: weekly round-up #17
In this week’s round-up we look at cycling tech, both real and fictional, as well as looking at some more good news for cyclists in London! This week’s image comes from a post by user usd on Reddit. Commentators on the post were mainly telling the guy in the photo to be more careful next…
2 August 2015
Now you can study cycling at university! Weekly round-up #16
In this week’s round-up we take a look at new bike routes in Europe, new bike tech aimed at getting kids cycling earlier, and some cool cycling stories from around the globe. Leg&Go We’ll start with Leg&Go – a slick new bike being described as ‘Everything a first bike should be!‘. Check out the…
2 August 2015
Le Tour de France: the cycling heart of a nation — The History of le Tour
The origins of the Tour de France read like the beginnings of a slapstick comedy, with a plot grounded in political intrigue and good old fashioned revenge. The setting is Paris at the turn of the 20th century… Public domain // Wikicommons __________ The first scene takes place at an event…
28 July 2015
Cycling from Geneva to Milan: a diary of day 4, Como to Milan
The final stretch! A gentle 145 km jolly around Lake Como, then south over a fantastic climb, through picturesque Italian countryside and towns, and into Milan: the Moral Capital of Italy (or so we’re told!). Today’s planned mileage and elevation were 143 km and 2,996 m respectively. The…
27 July 2015
Stop being a wa*ker! Weekly round-up #15
This week’s round-up covers the Tour (of course!), the sad but seemingly inevitable hostility between drivers and cyclists, and an interesting method of attempting to dismantle it. It’s unlikely you missed it but, just in case, we’ll start this week’s round-up with the excellent news that our very…
24 July 2015
Cycling from Geneva to Milan: a diary of day 3, Airolo to Como
After yesterday’s monster climb, we had the pleasure of spending most of day 3 descending. It was also the first day we’d be cycling in Italy: the combination of lakeside cycling, gelato, and balmy temperatures made it an inviting prospect! Planned / actual distance and elevation for the…
19 July 2015
Changing lives, one pedal at a time: weekly round-up #14
This week’s round-up focuses on the positive impact cycling can have on various subsets of the population, and a look at a great scheme that aims to let people give something back by getting involved in the planning and implementation of cycling infrastructure. Bike to school Rutland Cycles have…
19 July 2015
Re~Cycle – You Enjoy A Ride25 & We Send A Bike To Africa On Your Behalf
For every person who takes part in a Ride25 event, Ride25 donates £20 to Re~Cycle. Funds donated by Ride25 for Re~Cycle help get bikes to people like Theresa… Theresa is 24 years old and lives in Akete (Ghana) with her two siblings. She is a seamstress by profession and learns her trade in Wenchi…
14 July 2015
Cycling from Geneva to Milan: a diary of day 2, Sierre to Airolo
Day two of the trip saw us continue along the valley we mentioned in part 1, up the river, gradually approaching the formidable Nufenen Pass which would be our crossing over the Alps. Planned / actual distance and elevation for the day: 116 km / 120 km & 3,039 m / 2,633 m And the map: A…
13 July 2015
Dogs are still a cyclist’s best friend! Weekly round-up #13
It’s primarily a touring themed round-up this week! Expect dogs joining their owners on tours, philosophy into the nature of riding, and philosophy into eating while riding. We’ll begin with the latest novel variation on touring to make the news: Image used under fair use and linked to source…
9 July 2015
Cycling from Geneva to Milan: a diary of day 1, Geneva to Sierre
Today’s account follows yesterday’s travels and wanderings (see the Prologue). A great day of cycling in Switzerland and France (then Switzerland again!) to start the trip. Lakes, mountains, hills, espressos and chamois butter… Planned / actual: Distance (km): 155 / 162 Elevation (m): 1,758 /…
8 July 2015
Geneva to Milan: prologue
I’ve just returned from leg 3 of Ride25, which is among the best cycling I’ve ever done: 4 rewarding and picturesque days winding around lakes, through valleys and over mountains, toward cool pints, great meals and comfy beds. The trip began in the lakeside city of Geneva and ended outside the…
7 July 2015
Biking and working: from the road
Last week we wrote about an over-the-top piece of engineering carried out by Havas, which saw a full office desk mounted onto the front of a bicycle: a stunt accompanied by the #BikeWhileWorking hashtag. It got us thinking about the roles of the bicycle in people’s work lives (varying from…
5 July 2015
Now you can do McDonald’s drive-through on a bike! Weekly round-up #12
Excuse the absent round-up last week – our resident blogger was riding leg 3 of Ride25: Geneva to Milan. (Check back later this week for a write-up of that!) In the meantime, Tour de France fever has begun to hit fever pitch. The BBC has a great piece about Utrecht’s hosting of the Grand Depart…
26 June 2015
Biking and working: desk jobs
This striking contraption is generating buzz in various online news outlets. Accompanied by the hashtag #BikeWhileWorking, the bike is an effort to celebrate Chicago Bike Week (12-19 June), and also to celebrate (and hopefully improve) the city’s recent award of 6th most bikeable in the US. Scott…
24 June 2015
Strava Local: data-driven City Guides
We’ve written before about Strava’s excellent use of data, and their new City Guides represent another fine addition to their suite of features. The guides each include several curated routes based on popularity and frequency of riding, and will show you the best cycling the various destinations…
22 June 2015
Riding solo, unsupported, through the whole of Africa: weekly round-up #11
This week’s round-up looks at cycling in Silicon Valley, the impact of electric bikes on various services, bionic cyclists, and hugely ballsy cycle adventurers. Google are taking it upon themselves to make cycling a viable transport option for the tech geeks over at Silicon Valley. Citylab reports…
17 June 2015
The Rules of Cycling, according to the Velominati
Cycling is many things to many people. For some it is a means of activism; others a means of keeping themselves or others integrated in society. For us, it is about the glory of suffering. It is about your mind saying shut up to your body, when your body says stop. About acknowledging, as the pros…
14 June 2015
To taste the real sweets of the cyclists’ existence: weekly round-up #10
This week’s round-up features our esteemed monarch, a man who is attempting to bring cycling to the elderly, cycling habits of the Victorians, and unicycles. What a treat! Yesterday, the Queen celebrated her official birthday (her actual birthday is April 21st, and she turned 89 this year). As is…
8 June 2015
Dogs are a cyclist’s best friend: weekly round-up #9
Another delayed post this week – we wanted to wait until Bradley Wiggins’ attempt to break the world hour distance record was successful. The confidence that Wiggo had been displaying in the run up to the event turned out to be well placed: he smashed Alex Dowsett’s previous record of 52.937km…
5 June 2015
Nick Mitchell: the man who wrote the book on Land’s End – John O’Groats
After speaking to Bill Phelps in part 2 of our Cycling Champions series, our spotlights turned homeward. We wanted to speak to someone who has real experience with the best routes the UK has to offer cyclists, so who better than Nick Mitchell – author of the book on the Land’s End to John O’Groats…
5 June 2015
Stravistix: a suite of cool enhancements for Strava
Stravistix is a great Chrome plugin that ‘adds missing features’ to the Strava website, and offers ‘new performance data and improved ergonomics’. We got in touch with Tom Champagne, the man who put it together: When asked about his cycling background, Tom says that he “doesn’t have a…
1 June 2015
Broken legs and nudity: weekly round-up #8
As with volume 4, we held back on this entry until the Monday after a big event. Hopefully you didn’t miss us too much! We are referring, of course, to the Giro d’Italia, which finished yesterday evening with a victory for Spanish cyclist Alberto Contador. This marks his second Giro win: he was…
31 May 2015
Trying out the iconic Brompton Bike!
On the 8th September 2015, a group of intrepid riders will be setting off from the Eiffel Tower on the RAFBF Battle of Britain 75th Anniversary Brompton Bicycle Challenge from Paris to London. As the event title suggests, they will be doing it all on a Brompton bike! Brompton have very kindly…
28 May 2015
1moreChild reports back
You may remember that back in March this year, three colleagues of one of our Ride25 Pioneers (Jules Pancholi) from Soho-based, healthcare agency, Nitro Digital, visited Uganda to share their digital knowledge with a group of students aged 16-18years who are being supported under the 1moreChild…
26 May 2015
Over the Alps in a rickshaw: a chat with Bill Phelps
In part 1 of our Cycling Champions series we spoke to Amanda Sowerby, who helped to deliver Sustrans’ UTravelActive project in Leeds. For part 2, Chris spoke to Bill Phelps, a man who holds the proud accolade of having ridden a rickshaw over the Alps to Genoa to join the G8 protests in 2001.…
26 May 2015
#AfricaSolo is a success!
Mark Beaumont has successfully broken the Cairo to Cape Town record We wrote at the start of April about an amazing attempt by Mark Beaumont to set another cycling record, after having held the record for fastest trip around the world between 14th February 2008 and October 2010, when it was beaten…
24 May 2015
Banning all of the cars: weekly round-up #7
This week’s round-up looks at some novel experiments in reducing dependence on cars, everyone’s favourite combination of bikes, beer and barbecues, and a touching tribute to Eileen Gray. Two years ago, an average neighborhood in the South Korean city of Suwon embarked on a radical experiment: For…
21 May 2015
Arnie watch!
We recently noticed the Daily Mail’s enthusiastic penchant to report on Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cycling habits. Since July 2010 there have been an impressive 22 stories detailing Arnie’s pedal-powered movements on their website. We’ve put together an interactive map that lets you explore his rides…
20 May 2015
Seizing the 6 Surrey Hills
A group of Ride25 riders who will be joining us on the Ride25 Milan to Rome tour in June decided to arrange a training ride last Sunday to get together for a bit of group practice around the 6 Surrey Hills. Some of them had never met before so it was a great opportunity to get to know each other…
17 May 2015
Solar Freakin’ Roadways! Weekly round-up #6
This week’s round-up takes a look at the Giro d’Italia, the age-old rivalry between Oxford and Cambridge, forward-thinking infrastructure design, and the bicycle’s role as a stress-reduction technology. The world-famous Giro d’Italia is in full swing over in Italy this month. Cycling News are…
10 May 2015
You and me baby ain’t nothing but MAMiLS: weekly round-up #5
Welcome to this week’s round-up, featuring Wiggo, MAMiLs, cycling solutions for the elderly, and an update on Mark Beaumont’s journey through Africa. We’ll kick off with two stories about UK cycling’s golden child, Mr Bradley Wiggins. The first of two revelations, as reported on the Guardian, is…
7 May 2015
Arundel Mandible Carbon Bottle Cage Review – Cycling Product Review
Andy Stoneman, a husband to Hannah and a Dad to two great girls aged 9 and 11, is a graphic designer and creative director at his own business ‘inspiredby’. Until 2010 Andy was a keen motorcyclist and weighed 18stone. Then approaching 40 he decided to lose some weight and got addicted to running…
5 May 2015
Tour de Yorkshire 1 day sportive review
John Readman, CEO and co-founder of Ride25, took part in the Maserati Tour de Yorkshire Sportive on Sunday 3rd May which was designed to give sportive riders the opportunity to experience the Tour de France legacy and to pave the way for the pro riders who were setting off later in the day. Here…
3 May 2015
Which party should cyclists vote for? Weekly round-up #4
This week’s round-up features the race taking Yorkshire by storm, David Cameron and his election chums, and efforts by various cities to increase engagement with cycling. We kept it back until Sunday so we could include the results of the Tour de Yorkshire, which took place this weekend. Lars…
2 May 2015
Being grateful in Yorkshire!
One of our riders, Tricia, who rode on last weekend’s Ride25 Tour de Yorkshire (who has cycled 2 other Ride25 legs so far and will be joining us for our Milan to Rome leg in a few weeks) gives her account of the day… Is happiness really linked to how grateful we are? It certainly was for me…
27 April 2015
By ‘Eck – Yorkshire doesn’t disappoint. — Rider review of the Ride25 Tour de Yorkshire
Martin Spiller joined us for the 1 day Ride25 Tour de Yorkshire at the weekend. Here is his review of the day… I think it is fair to say I am to cycling what I am to catwalk modelling. So much so that when I undertook Ride25’s London to Paris Marketing Cycle last year, most…
27 April 2015
UK Cycling Events Ideal Training for Your Ride25 Adventure
At Ride25 we focus on international cycling holidays and adventures, we do organise a single one day Ride25 Tour de Yorkshire (invite only) event annually, which was last weekend. Check out the gallery if you want to see the pics. We don’t plan on organising any more and want to keep focused on…
27 April 2015
Re~Cycle Sponsored Cycling Challenge
For each person who takes part in a tour, Ride25 makes a £20 donation to Re~Cycle. Each donation enables Re~Cycle to rescue an unused bicycle in the UK and ship it to Africa, where bicycles transform lives. You can join the Re~Cycle team on the Ride25 Geneva to Milan tour this September (19-25th).…
22 April 2015
Test Ride A Brompton Bike
Have you ever wondered what riding a Brompton is like? Would you even consider riding one all the way from Paris to London? Well that is exactly what 100+ riders will be doing to mark the 75th Anniversary for the Battle of Britain and to raise money for the RAF Benevolent Fund in September 2015.…
22 April 2015
Could Volvo Life Paint be the answer to our night cycling problems?
As anyone that cycles in the city will know, as soon as the sun sets, you need to be on your guard if you’re making tracks through the night. London cyclists are particularly prone to the odd prang, altercation and even accidents with more dire consequences and as cars are using London roads built…
17 April 2015
Stricken ducks and bike lanes paved with gold: weekly round-up #2
This week’s round-up features an unfortunate accident, beer, politics, and an incredible adventure. A strange scandal unfolded in Portland when a rider struck and killed a mallard and failed to stop, despite efforts by onlookers to catch his attention. The stricken duck struck up a debate among…
14 April 2015
Cycle with Olympic Cyclists at Herne Hill velodrome
#DoubleGoldTour – London to Paris Bike Ride – Masterclass Invitation Ride25 and The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust are really excited to invite you to our Double Gold Tour masterclass with Rebecca Romero and Shaun McKeown on Thursday 14th May! Click on their pictures below to find out a little more!…
14 April 2015
In Love with Cycling and Mallorca
A Rider's Review of Sunvelo – Mallorca Cycling Holidays It’s early April and there are lots of long and wonderful rides ahead including the Pioneers ‘Milan to Rome’ leg that I know many of us are doing in June. The 4th leg of our 25 legs to Sydney. So, am I feeling bike fit…
13 April 2015
Adventure report: #AfricaSolo
An attempt at the record for fastest ride of the 10,000km between Cairo and Cape Town Mark Beaumont began an ambitious undertaking on 10th April, attempting to add the fastest journey from Cairo to Cape Town to his list of world records. He held the record for fastest trip round the world…
13 April 2015
What you see when you win an international cycling race
As an amateur cyclist, I have always been curious about what it feels like to be a pro-athlete. I wonder about how their days are structured, what they eat, how they cope with the strains of training. I’ve also wondered what it must feel like to win. I can’t even fathom being the world’s very…
10 April 2015
Fancy riding a full lap of the UK coastline? Weekly round-up #1
This week’s round-up features the Tour de Yorkshire, an update on the effort to ride the most miles a year, and a slick new bike design. Good news first! Our cycling news round-ups will now be weekly. The fortnightly round-ups have proved successful, but it turns out there’s a lot more going on in…
5 April 2015
Training for a Ride25 part 4: troubleshooting
Welcome to part 4 of the training guide. If you missed parts 1-3 you can find them below: Testing the waters Mapping rides Scheduling rides This instalment looks at evaluating rides, checking they’re progressing according to your goals, and ways of troubleshooting any problems you may come across.
3 April 2015
Easter 2015 Cycling Selfie Competition
WIN ONE OF THE NEW RIDE25 CYCLING CAPS Will you be out riding this weekend? Hopefully the weather is sunny and you can leave the winter bike in the garage and dust off your favourite steed! Share your adventures with us…. and you could win a Ride25 cycling cap. All you have to do is…
3 April 2015
EUROPEAN CYCLING HOLIDAY HOT SPOTS
The good, the bad and the ugly of cycling holiday destinations There’s a saying that inspires me, it hangs in my lounge and reads ‘If you don’t climb the mountain, you can’t see the view’. I can’t say I’m naturally built for climbing but my love of the two wheels machine has taken me to places…
1 April 2015
5 tips for a multi-day cycling holiday with Ride25
We’re very excited that our summer bike tours are now only a number of weeks away. We have cycling holidays in Italy, Switzerland, UK, Vatican City (the world's smallest country) and France coming up and if you are booked on these, here are a few tips to get maximum enjoyment out of them. The most…
28 March 2015
Cycling in the face of adversity; the Afghan women’s team
In many cases, attracting frequent criticism and even violence whilst cycling might be cause to put you off ever getting on a bike again but not for the Afghan women’s National Cycling Team. Women’s cycling in the UK is a growing movement and more and more of us are seeing the value in getting on…
27 March 2015
The Fortnight in Cycling Vol 9: Arnie and Easyjet
Arnold Schwarzenegger took to the streets of Melbourne by bicycle last week, sparking a Twitter storm: His helmet-free ride has sparked minor controversy as it’s illegal to ride without one in the country, and also picked up coverage on the Daily Mail who, bizarrely, ran two similar stories last…
23 March 2015
Strava Labs: cycling meets big data
Strava have launched a cool new feature on their site, called ‘Strava Labs‘. The page is a hub of projects that people have made using the ever-growing dataset Strava maintains, comprising all rides logged by its users. They come with the caveat that “these projects are independent of Strava…
21 March 2015
Activbod – new skin and body care range
For those who love to exercise – and are keen to stay healthy on the outside too – there is a new skin and body care range, activbod, designed by active people for active people. Working out can take its toll on the skin, with wind and rain, regular sweating and frequent showers all playing…
21 March 2015
Re~Cycle – New lives from old bikes
Since they began in 1997, 60,000 bikes generously donated by people in the UK, have now been sent by Re~Cycle to Africa where they have changed and continue to change people’s lives. The new owner of the 60,000th bike is Stephen, aged 16 in South West Kenya. Here’s Stephen’s story… Stephen was…
19 March 2015
The Rise of Cycling in the Middle East
The Middle East is growing in popularity for pro-cycling tours for many reasons. This year a new stage race in Abu Dhabi will be held in October for the first time following successful tours of Dubai, Oman and Qatar in previous years. The weather alone, during our cold European winters, must be an…
19 March 2015
Training for a Ride25 part 3 — Scheduling rides
This instalment of our Ride25 training guide will focus on creating a sensible training schedule to help achieve your goals. If you need a hand setting goals check out our New Year’s Resolutions post, or for help mapping rides check out part 2 of our training guide. I mentioned in part 2 that to…
16 March 2015
Our Ride25 Network heads to Uganda to teach kids essential IT skills
Lorna North Ride25 is an avid supporter of 1moreChild – a small charity in Uganda that helps take children off the street and gives them everything they need to enable them to go to school. We ride around the world to raise money for the charity and have so far completed rides from London to…
13 March 2015
THE FORTNIGHT IN CYCLING VOL 8: Awareness and converted railways
There’s some great stuff in this cycling news round-up. Inspiring and uplifting, just how we like it. Firstly, Bicycling.com reported on the excellent efforts of Texan Gene Novogrodsky, who completed his 5 day, 483 km “Spirit of ’76” ride earlier this month. The purpose of his ride was to…
4 March 2015
Training for a Ride25 part 2: Mapping rides
The focus of this instalment of our Ride25 training guide is planning a fun and productive set of training rides that will be in line with your goals, and each ride of which will present the right mix of challenging and achievable. If you read part 1 of the training guide series, well done! That…
1 March 2015
Boris bikes are changing colour! London cycling goes from blue to red
Lorna North The blue Barclays bikes have, over the past few years, become a real part of the London landscape. We have become accustomed to blurs of blue whizzing past us whether it be down Piccadilly carrying a suited businessman in a helmet or a wobbly tourist riding through Hyde Park. But…
27 February 2015
The Fortnight in Cycling Vol 7: Stickers and Records
Activism begins this week’s edition: another case of people taking action against the sad but seemingly inevitable rift between some drivers and some cyclists. This time it’s relatively mellow activism, however. Just a simple sticker that says ‘I parked in a bike lane’ for (you guessed it) cars…
19 February 2015
Re~Cycle Project Update
For each person who takes part in a tour, Ride25 makes a donation to Re~Cycle. Each donation enables Re~Cycle to rescue an unused bike in the UK and get it to a person in Africa, where bikes transform lives. Cycling with Ride25 and the donations we make to Re~Cycle help people like Mirriam……
19 February 2015
Tasty energy ball recipe for long cycling trips
Lorna North Being light of pocket is normally a good thing if you’re a cyclist but not if it’s because you’ve spent all your money on the expensive energy snacks at the bike shop. Staying fuelled on a long ride is a pricey business. I swear a packet of fancy, sciency endurance nibbles cost about…
12 February 2015
How to cycle downhill on a road bike in style
Lorna North Everyone always talks about their dread of going up the big hills. Feeling like your lungs will burst and your legs will drop off. I too share that dread but also know that I can reduce it by getting stronger and fitter through lots of training and miles on the bike. One thing that…
4 February 2015
The fortnight in cycling vol 6: Boris and Lance
Great news being reported in BikeBiz last week: Boris Johnson, the divisive mayor of London, has received the green light on his plans for flagship protected cycle highways running through London. Despite small objections and concerns that the plans would be interrupted by interest groups, the…
3 February 2015
Cycling Champion: Amanda of UTravelActive Leeds
I’ve had the pleasure of working with Amanda numerous times as a volunteer at UTravelActive, which is the Sustrans operated scheme she works on. She kindly agreed to answer a few questions and to pioneer the ‘Cycling Champions’ series on the Ride25 blog. The first question in the transcribed…
2 February 2015
Training for a Ride25 part 1: test the waters
My name is Chris and I’ll be riding my first Ride25 in June, on the Geneva to Milan route. I’m excited and daunted by the elevation and distances but equally determined to smash it: I’ve cycled further but over flatter terrain and have tackled similar elevation profiles but over shorter distances.
30 January 2015
Who is the winner of our Ride25/Wiggle competition?
As you may know, we’ve been running a competition (alongside our friends at Wiggle) to win a Ride25 Cycling Holiday for 2 people. We had an amazing response to the competition, with thousands of people entering the prize draw via social media and on ride25.com. The competition has now closed and…
24 January 2015
The fortnight in cycling vol 5: Game shows and gyroscopes
An Australian game show has caused uproar among cyclists by asking contestants to name “something annoying that a cyclist might do”. The show, Family Feud (similar to Family Fortunes) sees contestants score points according to how many members of the public also chose their answer. According to…
21 January 2015
Tour de Yorkshire Route is announced!
The very first ‘Tour de Yorkshire’ in May 2015 will start in Bridlington and finish in Leeds. Today, the route for the inaugural Tour de Yorkshire was released, with its ‘Grand Depart’ in the seaside town of Bridlington and the finish point at Roundhay Park in Leeds. The tour will take place…
20 January 2015
Our Ride25 Pioneers fly the Ride25 flag in New Zealand!
Not only are they gearing up for their 4th Ride25 leg in June this year (from Milan to Rome) but three of our Ride25 Pioneers* are currently cycling their way around the stunning landscapes of New Zealand on a three week self-organised cycling adventure (donning their Ride25 cycling shirts of…
19 January 2015
A Re~cycle Case Study – Antony from Zambia
For each person who takes part in a tour, Ride25 makes a donation to Re~Cycle. Each donation enables Re~Cycle to rescue an unused bike in the UK and get it to a person in Africa, where bikes transform lives. We thought you might be interested in hearing about a recent case study from one…
14 January 2015
Cycling Training Advice – Keeping Motivated
We’re two weeks into 2015 and the usual platitudes are being passed around with abandon: we’ve all got the January Blues, we’re all broke, we’ve all put on pounds over the Christmas break, and we’re all going to fail our new year’s resolutions. All absolute rubbish. This year we’re choosing a…
13 January 2015
Cycle to Paris or Sydney! Full article published in Adventure Travel – Jan 2015
Here is the full article which featured in Adventure Travel’s 115th edition in January 2015, written by Adventure Travel Editor, Rosie Fuller…. You don’t need to quit your job to cycle from the UK to Sydney – you can do it in stages. Rosie Fuller finds out more about Ride25… “About four years…
12 January 2015
Ride25 feature in Adventure Travel Magazine!
Flick through the latest copy of Adventure Travel Magazine and you will find (on pages 56 & 57) a great write-up of one of our London to Paris tours. In the article, Rosie Fuller, editor of Adventure Travel, recounts her experience of pedalling from London to Brighton after she joined us for the…
6 January 2015
The fortnight in cycling vol 4: adventures and Bono
Welcome to 2015! We hope it’s treating you well so far, and that you’re hatching a healthy amount of cycling plans for the year. The first section of this round-up aims to inspire this planning, and we ourselves were inspired by a fantastic image posted on twitter by Cycle Traveller on the 1st of…
31 December 2014
Cycling Cinema: a review of ‘Belleville Rendez-vous’
At the start of December we reviewed ‘Bicycle’, a documentary film exploring various aspects of cycling. This inspired a hunt for other cycling related films – a hunt which unearthed Belleville Rendez-vous: an animated and surreal film revolving around a group of Tour-de-France cyclists. The…
30 December 2014
The fortnight in cycling vol 3: crackdowns, Kickstarters, equality
Welcome to volume 3! We hope you had a great Christmas and that Santa brought you all the snazzy new cycling gear you asked for (and that you can still fit into your Lycra after hitting the mince pies!). Police in Melbourne are cracking down on cyclists! Before you get the pitchforks out, though…
26 December 2014
Road Bike Party 1, 2 and 3
Martyn Ashton is a former British and World Champion mountain bike trials rider, stunt rider and team manager. He started riding professional trials in 1993 and is often described as a cycling legend. He has been credited with turning trials from a niche form of riding into the sport it is today.…
23 December 2014
Re~Cycle, A Bikes For Life, Not Just For Christmas
When you give someone a bike you give them more than a bike, you give them better access to school, work, the farm, the nearest market and health centre – you’re actually giving them better life chances. For every single person who completes one of our cycling holiday challenge tours, Ride25 will…
22 December 2014
Battle of Britain 75th Anniversary
Several months ago we were very excited to be approached by the RAF Benevolent Fund to join the selection process to help them run an amazing cycling event. The idea was to cycle on Brompton bicycles from Paris to London in 4 days, we loved the idea from the start. We pulled together all our…
12 December 2014
The Grandest Grand Départ Ever!
Yorkshire.com has provided a perfect summary of three magical days for the UK. The events of the UK stages of the 2014 Tour de France went off without a hitch. Thousands of people were captivated and lined the route in its entirety from its start in Leeds through to Harrogate in stage 1, from…
11 December 2014
Strava Art Competition
Do you fancy yourself as an artist but are better with a bike than a paintbrush? Why not join the latest craze to sweep the cycling nation and try a bit of ‘Strava art’. If you are a reader of the cycling press you can’t help but have noticed this recent craze whereby certain routes that have…
9 December 2014
THE FORTNIGHT IN CYCLING VOL 2: Helmets, backpacks, and round the world trips
Some interesting goings on in the cycling world since the previous volume! Hövding This funky piece of kit made the rounds earlier in the year, but it seems like a good inclusion for this cycling round-up. It’s a novel spin on the traditional bicycle helmet created by Swedish design students Anna…
2 December 2014
Cycling Cinema: a review of ‘Bicycle’
I admire the creation of this film. Cycling is a fantastic pastime and method of transport, as I’m sure readers of this blog will agree. Bringing together the various elements and aspects of the entire history of cycling is no small undertaking, nor is presenting it in a digestible 90 minute format.
24 November 2014
The Fortnight in Cycling vol 1 — lights, camera, selfie
Welcome to a new segment on the Ride25 blog – “The Fortnight in Cycling”: a round-up of interesting and exciting developments in and around cycling. If you’ve got anything that you think should make an appearance, drop an email to cl@ride25.com! The Ghost Peloton goes viral First on the list is a…
24 November 2014
France en Vélo – St Malo To Nice by Bike
At Ride25 we love cycling across France and we normally cycle from the UK (Leeds, Manchester and London) to Paris, then we continue our journey from Paris to Geneva which takes in some amazing scenery and beautiful cities. Have a look at our full Paris to Geneva cycling tour route & itinerary…
15 November 2014
£200 off Ride25 cycling holiday tours
£200 discount on your ride We are very excited to be running a special £200 off promotional offer for anyone signing up for their first Ride25 cycling holiday tour. We are basically doing this at cost, as we are that convinced you will want to come back and take part in more Ride25 Legs (and…
15 November 2014
NEC Cycle Show — Cycling Holiday Competition Winner — Ellen Bryan
We recently ran a competition to give away a cycling holiday tour of your choice. We launched the competition at the Cycle Show at the NEC with a mobile text–to-win prize draw and then followed this up on our website, the Ride25 Facebook Page and Twitter page. We are very excited to announce that…
31 October 2014
Cycling art for Christmas gift ideas — (Visit ‘Spoke London’)
Ride25 love Cycling Design and Art just look at our office (and website) With the countdown to Christmas well and truly under way, you are probably beginning to think about the presents you are going to buy for your nearest and dearest. If you have started searching for cycling related stocking…
31 October 2014
Cycling First Aid on the Road
What do you do when your mate falls off? We recently shared the video below on our Facebook and it was very popular amongst our 9,000+ Facebook fans. Lots of people shared it and commented on it, with comments such as “it’s easy to watch it and go ouch… that must have hurt..” On a…
28 October 2014
How to Plan and Recce a Cycling Trip — to make it a perfect cycling adventure
4 days, 1,287 km by car, 402 km by bike, 2 plane rides & 4 train journeys… That’s what it takes to recce a Ride25 route following weeks of research online, a lot of reading, a lot of dead ends and even more trial and error. Finding the best route to travel through a…
21 October 2014
London to Brighton by Bike … and then some
I’m sure we signed up for a London to Brighton ‘exploration’, so how on earth have we ended up here, swigging champagne under the Eiffel Tower? A beautiful Autumnal morning, fresh but bright, saw a group of nervous strangers mingling for registration around 7.30 am at the iconic Horse Guards…
19 October 2014
Winter Cycling Training Camp in Majorca February 2015
Here is a great way to prepare you for your next Ride25 cycling tour holiday. A great chance to improve your fitness and become more comfortable riding with others. It also gives you experience of riding alpine hills, and the chance to chat with experienced riders about riding techniques, training…
9 October 2014
Ride25 London to Paris – here they come!
We are pleased to announce that the latest set of intrepid Ride25 explorers set off from London this morning, embarking on their 3 day cycling holiday from London to Paris. The group of 50 cyclists are mostly clients, colleagues and friends of Econsultancy, Marketing Week and Festival of…
24 September 2014
Ride25 on front cover of Cycling Active magazine!
Drop in to any good supermarket, book shop or newsagent at the moment and you’ll find Ride25’s CEO, John Readman, emblazoned across the front cover of Cycling Active magazine! Over a 6-page spread (and front cover pic!) Cycling Active has covered John’s weight loss story and how he lost 5 stone…
17 September 2014
DAY 5 DIARY: LEEDS TO PARIS BIKE RIDE
Here is the final chapter of Mike Donnellan’s diary which follows his progress from Leeds to Paris on a bike with Ride25. Mike completed the journey last week. Thanks to Mike for writing up his experiences and sharing them with all of us. To read his diary from the beginning, click here. Day…
16 September 2014
DAY 4 DIARY: LEEDS TO PARIS BIKE RIDE
Over the last few days, we have been charting one of our Ride25 rider’s progress as he pedalled his way through the UK on the Leeds to Paris bike ride. On this diary entry, Mike Donnellan makes the journey across the channel for Day 4 of his Leeds to Paris cycling adventure… Day 4: Brighton to…
15 September 2014
DAY 3 DIARY: LEEDS TO PARIS BIKE RIDE
Over the last couple of days, we have been posting blogs of Mike’s Diary. Mike Donnellan is one of our latest Ride25 riders who conquered the journey from Leeds to Paris last week. Mike has kindly given us permission to publish his diary of the journey – charting the highs and lows of his…
13 September 2014
DAY 2 DIARY: LEEDS TO PARIS BIKE RIDE
Here is Day 2 of one of our latest Ride25 riders, Mike Donnellan’s personal account of his Ride25 Leeds to Paris bike ride which he completed last week. To read Day 1 of Mike’s Diary, click here. DAY 2: Ashby De La Zouch to Thame. Thursday 4th Sept, 2014 Distance covered – 155 km Duration –…
12 September 2014
DAY 1 DIARY: Leeds to Paris bike ride
During our Ride25 5 day bike ride from Leeds to Paris last week, one of our riders, Mike Donnellan, found the time each night to compile a daily account of his experience. Over the next 5 days we will be sharing the highs and lows of each day of Mike’s personal diary on his cycling journey…
10 September 2014
Ride25 is featured in Cycling Weekly!
“When I say the trip involved the best four days cycling I have ever experienced, I am not exaggerating” Henry Nixon, Cycling Weekly This fabulous quote has been taken from the latest Ride25 story to be published – this time, in the popular magazine, Cycling Weekly (Edition 4th Sept 2014 on pages…
10 September 2014
Leeds to Paris on a bike: TICK!
We are pleased to announce that the latest set of Ride25 adventurers arrived in Paris on Sunday after their epic journey from Leeds. This particularly tough ride saw the riders cover 483 km in the first 3 days – notching up a total of 692 km to arrive at the Eiffel Tower on Sunday…
10 September 2014
New world record for cycling across Europe!
Ride25 would like to say a HUGE congratulations to James Bowtell and his Velo7 team who have smashed the Guinness World Record for crossing Europe by bike in just 37 days (beating the previous world record by a massive 7 days). Ride25 were proud to offer support to James and his team prior to…
4 September 2014
Review of Day 1: Leeds to Paris Cycling Tour
20 cyclists are currently cycling on the latest Ride25 cycling tour from Leeds to Paris. They are raising money for the homeless charity Simon on the Streets of which their General Manager, Helen Beachell is joining them (as one of the support staff). Here she gives her review of Day 1 of the…
3 September 2014
Our latest Ride25 cycling tour has departed!
And they’re off! This morning, 20 riders set off on their cycling adventure from Leeds to Paris. The riders met in Park Square early this morning ready to embark on their 5 day cycling challenge. There was a mix of emotions in the Square – some riders were quietly confident, others a little bit…
22 August 2014
Ride25 – in the news
Ride25 and our cycling tours have been featured in various places over the last few months – from online to print, magazines and newspapers including The Times, BikeBiz, The Yorkshire Post, to name but a few. We’ve even had the chance to meet the Prime Minister, David Cameron, for a quick cup of…
20 August 2014
Win a signed copy of fab new cycling book – ‘Get on your bike’
We are very pleased to be giving away, to 2 lucky winners, a signed copy of Rebecca Charlton’s new book ‘Get on your bike’, published by Bloomsbury books (and available to buy from Amazon) which she has co-authored with Robert Hicks and Hannah Reynolds. About ‘Get on your bike’ ‘Get on your…
1 August 2014
Strava addict chats about getting his cycling fix in California — with the Rapha Cycle Club
Businessman Paul Berney (co-founder and Managing partner at mCordis) and friend of Ride25, explains how he gets the miles in on his bike even when he’s miles away from home (and his bike)… Completing Strava challenges is becoming an obsession with me, particularly the monthly competition to rack…
28 July 2014
Amateur Road Cycling Events & Tours — (The lowdown)
We asked Bon, a keen club cyclist and one of our Ride25 Pioneers (who has just completed the Ride25 Geneva to Milan trip) to talk us through the different road cycling events he has taken part in – from sportives, closed road events, unsupported touring and supported touring events such as…
16 July 2014
Memories of the Grand Depart to last a lifetime…
It’s almost hard to believe that we are now over a third of the way through Le Tour de France. We may have lost a few of the favourites along the way (Contador and Froome) but it’s still as exciting as ever as we reach today’s 11th stage between Besançon and Oyonnax. Even though the cyclists…
9 July 2014
A Natural Solution to Energy For Cyclists — Chia Charge Energy Bars
The Ride25 team have been introduced to Chia Charge, a sports nutrition brand that harnesses the goodness of what it calls ‘The Super Super Food’. Using Chia Seeds, the bakers at Chia Charge have created great-tasting sports nutrition that is all about bonk-free energy. Attention grabbed! As…
8 July 2014
Yorkshire Grand Depart Cycle Map
GET YOUR HANDS ON THE OFFICIAL GRAND DEPART ROUTE MAP!! Images of the amazing scenery and landscapes of Yorkshire were screened across the world over the weekend when the Grand Depart was hosted in Yorkshire. Indeed, Gary Verity from Welcome to Yorkshire who secured the bid to bring the world’s…
7 July 2014
The Grandest of Grand Départs!
As Le Tour peloton today winds its way from Cambridge to London, Yorkshire and the people of Yorkshire must be feeling pretty pleased with themselves for hosting an outstanding Grand Depart and weekend of cycling. For me, it was a culmination of factors that made this a truly special weekend; the…
4 July 2014
Grand Depart Opening Ceremony in Leeds is a resounding success!
The Ride25 team were lucky enough to attend a sparkling opening ceremony last night at the 10,000 seat Leeds Arena – marking the start of the 101st Tour de France and of course, the Grand Depart in Yorkshire. This spectacular event was the first time that the Tour team presentation ceremony had…
3 July 2014
Winner of the Grand Depart Tickets
Grand Depart Ticket Prize Draw – Day 2 York Thanks to everyone who entered. We have closed the competition and we are very pleased to say the winner is…… ….Stephenie Burke from Horsforth! Stephenie will be taking her guests from Buckinghamshire who are visiting Yorkshire for Le Tour weekend.…
1 July 2014
Tour de France Fever grips the nation!
We are loving the way that so many people across the country are getting into the spirit of the Tour de France! With only 4 days to go until the world’s most famous cycle race makes its Grand Depart in Yorkshire, people are really going all out with some fun ways to celebrate the event’s big build…
25 June 2014
Cycling Photo Caption Competition Entries and Winner
Thanks to everyone for entering the caption competition….. Strava and Garmin featured a lot which is to be expected! The winner of the Ride25 limited edition cycling jersey is announced at the bottom of all the entries. Several of which had me personally laughing out loud on a crowded train, we…
17 June 2014
Oli Broom – Cycling to the Ashes
We have recently become great friends with Oli Broom who has already cycled all the way to Australia – in fact just to watch a cricket match! Over lunch the other day we asked him if he minded sharing some of his story for the Ride25 blog, here is what he has to say. The author Paul…
7 June 2014
Ride25 Cycling Tour Prize Draw Winner
We had hundreds of entries into our May prize draw – thanks to everyone for entering. The Winner is….. Ashleigh Maloney from London. Ashleigh can choose any of our tours taking place between now and the end of 2015. Well done Ashleigh. Which tour will she choose? Which would you choose? More…
6 June 2014
Cycling in the mountains – Top Video Tips
Many of our Ride25 routes pass through mountains – in particular our Geneva to Milan Leg 3 route. On this leg, we take in the famous Nufenen Pass – the highest pass in Switzerland. The first video below shows the route (as taken from a car) and highlights the incredible scenery – all the better…
6 June 2014
Top Tips (Part 2) for your first Ride25 cycling adventure
Tricia Bacon is one of our Ride25 riders who has already completed her first 2 Ride25 legs and is about to embark on her 3rd leg from Geneva to Milan. Here are her top tips (part 2) designed for those of you who are about to embark (or thinking of booking) your first Ride25 cycling…
6 June 2014
Ian’s Journey – Part 2: Grinding it out
Ian Wallis, novice cyclist and editor of Startups.co.uk and Growing Business, has been charting his personal ‘journey’ for us whilst he prepares himself for his big Ride25 adventure – cycling from Geneva to Milan in the middle of June. This is the second instalment of Ian’s journey, if you’d…
4 June 2014
Top Tips (Part 1) for your first Ride25 cycling adventure
One of our Ride25 riders, Tricia Bacon, who is about to embark on the Ride25 leg from Geneva to Milan, has kindly given us her top tips for ‘rookie’ Ride25 riders… There is some great advice here for those of you who are training for your first cycling tour with us – and even some good tips…
3 June 2014
How to unpack and rebuild your bike from a bike box
In one of our previous blogs and videos we’ve explained how to pack your bike into a bike box (see here for blog and here for the video) – so we thought we ought to show you how to unpack and rebuild your bike once you’ve arrived at the destination! It’s actually easier than you might…
22 May 2014
Reasons to Ride(25)
One of our Ride25 Riders Gary Mitchell (pictured left on the above photo) recently sent us an email listing the main reasons that have compelled him to hop on the Ride25 bandwagon and book a cycling tour with us. We love Gary’s ‘Reasons to Ride(25)’ so we thought we’d publish them for you all to…
20 May 2014
Ian’s journey – Part 1: Back in the saddle
We asked one of our newest Ride25 riders, Ian Wallis, editor of Startups.co.uk and Growing Business, who is due to embark on his first Ride25 cycling tour in June (on one of our corporate bike trips from Geneva to Milan) to record his personal ‘journey’ from being a novice cyclist to becoming a…
12 May 2014
How to take ‘real’ cycling photos
We’re not ashamed to admit it – WE LOVE CYCLING PHOTOS! That is why we asked previous Ride25 ‘pic of the week’ winner, John Taylor (who also writes a cool blog called Real Yorkshire Crit) to write us a blog post on how to take great photos while you’re out on your bike…. When the…
9 May 2014
The Ride25 Grand Depart Route Yorkshire – Helen, one of our Riders tells all!
Last weekend, 40 Ride25 Riders completed the Yorkshire Grand Depart Tour de France route as a training exercise for the Geneva to Milan Ride25 leg in June. However, it was no mean feat… with 190 km to cover plus some very hilly terrain, it was certainly a challenge for even the fittest and most…
6 May 2014
All the spares you’ll need to get you there!
Throughout your chosen Ride25 tour, our support crew will be close at hand to help with any unforeseen issues. Equipped with all the necessary kit, a qualified cycle technician will be present to keep you on the road. From punctures to gear tunes, with a little help you’ll be back out pedalling in…
6 May 2014
Cycling nutrition tips – from an expert
Qualified Dietitian and Nutritional expert, Vanessa Quarmby (who also happens to be working with Sally Gunnell at the moment!) gives us some top tips for preparing for a Ride25 cycling tour… What should you eat/drink/do in the week before a Ride25 cycling tour? The aim is to ensure that your body…
18 April 2014
How to pack a bike into a bike box – Polaris Bike Pod Pro
How to pack a bike box We’ve put together a simple guide to disassembling your bike and packing it into a bike box. In this case, we’ve used a Polaris Bike Pod Pro, which can be hired from us if you are joining us on one of our Ride25 legs, or can be bought or…
15 April 2014
What to expect from a bike fit – our fly on the wall report!
Cycling is widely regarded as a great low impact sport as it puts minimal pressure and stress on your joints – however, if your bike isn’t set up properly to your individual requirements it can cause injuries. (I know this from personal experience after I had a lot of problems with my hips because…
2 April 2014
A Beautiful Short Film – Trike to Bike
Ride25 are loving a new short film from the Yorkshire Film Archive ‘Trike to Bike’ which has been commissioned as part of the Tour de Cinema and part of the Yorkshire Festival. The film is a beautiful montage of historical cycling footage encapsulating the joys of cycling across the ages from old…
27 March 2014
Y14 – the countdown to the Tour de France Grand Depart begins!
Having just spent the day at Y14 (the official tourism and business event held in Harrogate marking the 100 day countdown to Yorkshire’s Grand Depart of the Tour de France) I am in no doubt that it is going to be the grandest Grand Depart of all! Gary Verity, Chief Executive of ‘Welcome to…
26 March 2014
The 6Ps Of Cycle Route Planning – Leg 3 Recce
Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance Every trip we organise involves us spending weeks working out the best routes. Getting it right is vital to ensure everyone loves the trip. We have to ask ourselves a lot of questions…before we can come up with the perfect route for Ride25, such as……
20 March 2014
Top Bike Riding and Road Cycling Training Tips
Previous Ride25 riders share training ideas and…
18 March 2014
How to Buy Your First Road Bike
Anish from our Independent Bike Retail Partner – Sigma Sport gives us his advice for someone buying their first road bike.
7 March 2014
Top Tips For Beginner Cyclists
The world of cycling can be a bit of a minefield for beginners and it’s easy to make mistakes. Here are my top tips to help you avoid falling into common pitfalls (some of which I’ve learnt the hard way!) and make the most out of your bike, not to mention the beautiful landscapes and…
7 March 2014
Bonking: The Birds And The Bees
In the cycling world, a bonk is not a good thing. It essentially means ‘hitting a wall’ in a physical and emotional sense, meaning that you find it very difficult, if not impossible, to carry on. If you are planning to do some long cycle rides (over about 90 minutes) or indeed join us on one…
6 March 2014
How To Take Great Photos While You’re Out Cycling
One of the many things we love about cycling is the opportunity it offers to take fabulous photos of ever-changing scenery and impressive action shots of our cycling buddies with incredible backdrops. If you’re embarking on a journey with Ride25 halfway round the world there will be countless…
4 March 2014
Our Favourite Yorkshire Climbs
With only a few months to go until Yorkshire hosts the start of the Tour de France there’s more than a little bit of excitement and anticipation in the air in ‘God’s Own County’ – none more so than at Ride25’s HQ in Leeds! After ‘Welcome to Yorkshire’ successfully won the bid to bring ‘Le Tour’…
26 February 2014
Paris to Geneva June 2013
Beginning in the most romantic city in the world, our second leg of our round-the-world tour saw us cycle 570 km through beautiful French countryside and past Romanesque churches with a final push up into the Jura Mountains. Itinerary Day 1 With the iconic Eiffel Tower behind us, we followed…
20 February 2014
Parmoor to Paris June 2012
To kick off our very first adventure, 44 cyclists left Parmoor en masse. In three days we cycled 370 km, through beautiful countryside, the vibrant seaside town of Brighton and the fantastic green lanes of France, before finishing in style at the foot of the Eiffel Tower. Itinerary Day 1…