With political turmoil and the sad death of some of the greats of the music, art and entertainment world, 2016 seemed a bit bleak at times. But, as HG Wells once said, “Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair of the future of the human race.” So, while the year had its tricky moments, we were lucky enough at Ride Velo to see plenty of adults (and children) on bikes as well as ride a few ourselves. Here are some of our highlights of the year.
Read MoreBespoked: the Handmade Bicycle Show
Bespoked 2016: basically a long weekend of pure fantasy bike shopping! Absolute heaven. The 6th UK Handmade Bicycle Show featured, not only scores of bike builders, but also some fascinating speakers with inspiring tales of circumnavigating the globe and tips on dealing with taxi drivers too! Ride Velo hot-footed it to Bristol’s Brunel Old Station last weekend to indulge in a gluttonous feast of the best customised creations in the country.
Dear Susan - Vehicles of Optimism
“I’ve always built stupid shit and it’s always been really fun. I think you’re not allowed to start a bike business until you’ve built a tesla coil and electrocuted yourself!” So says Petor Georgallou, founder of bespoke bike frame designers, Dear Susan, and artist, sculptor and film-maker. We went to his trendy, but freezing, East London workshop to meet the man, find out about building custom made bike frames and, hopefully, receive some pithy, weird and off-the-wall sound bites. We weren’t disappointed.
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