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 fantastic video of the Ghost Peloton, the beautifully choreographed light show created by illuminated bicycles and riders. This production was part of the Yorkshire Festival 2014 and was amazing to see. The video, which was featured as a staff pick on Vimeo, has attracted over 115,000 views since being uploaded at the start of the month. Well worth a watch:

Ghost Peloton from NVA on Vimeo.

The world’s first ‘unstealable bike’

The Daily Mail wrote recently about the Yerka Project: a bike whose frame also acts as a lock, leading to the world’s first ‘unstealable’ bike. The cycnic would say that such a bold claim is made with the sole intent of generating publicity, but intentional or not, it seems to be working.

The Yerka website is scant on the details and offers only the following explanation of the system. Personally, the last sentence reads like an ominous inevitability, but hopefully we’ll be proven wrong:

Every lock can be broken leaving the bike intact.
That’s why we decided to make a lock out of the frame.
The only way to steal it is to break the lock, which implies breaking the bike.

Speculation aside, it’s a slick piece of engineering. You can see it in action below:

YERKA PROJECT (Prototype)- Teaser from Yerka Project on Vimeo.

The world’s first flying bicycle

Another first for the cycling world! We came across the Hammacher Schlemmer Flying Bicycle this week, and we’re both intrigued and slightly afraid of it:

If ground level exploration isn’t enough for your cycling trips and you’re looking to take to the skies, this “bicycle that doubles as a flying ultralight para-trike aircraft” could be the one for you. At $45,000 (US) it’s a bit steep, but an airspeed of 25mph and range of 75 miles on a full tank, you’re guaranteed a good time. It might also help you tackle some of the those steeper climbs, and help you get your Strava KOM.

Let us know if you are lucky enough to take one for a spin!

#cycling #selfie

This from Reddit. The aptly named user BeardedDragonBorn submitted a picture of the beard he grew specifically for winter bicycle commuting:

A majestic effort sir, we salute you.

Jeremy Vine vs the police

Something of a tiff occurred in London, when Radio2 presenter and cycling advocate Jeremy Vine was pulled over by police while ‘speeding’ in Hyde Park. He tweeted the event:

The moment I got stopped by police with a speed gun, checking cyclists today

https://t.co/ytygaP4kY4

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) November 20, 2014

2/2 They said speed limit in Hyde Park is 5mph and I was doing 16mph. I apologised. #LondonCycling https://t.co/ytygaP4kY4

— Jeremy Vine (@theJeremyVine) November 20, 2014

To avoid being involved in a similar pickle, take heed of the advice given to Jeremy by the Royal Parks after the event:

We can see where the confusion would arise:

• There is no legal speed limit for cyclists in Hyde Park
• There is a 5mph limit for vehicles using that path
• We ask cyclists to adhere to the 5mph limit – even though it is not a legal limit

It seems fair to ask cyclists to adhere to these limits, but what do you think? Answers below!