Cycling UK Forum

Back from a week in Normandy, DFDS ferry Newhaven Dieppe was excellent.. We were lucky with the weather, so stayed on the top deck throughout the journeys there and back... During bathroom trips it was evident that despite the compulsory requirement for a mask to be worn, many people were ignoring this. Lots of hand sanitiser everywhere. On arrival there was the usual mass gathering on the stairs waiting for access to the car decks, but that was easily avoided if you just waited til they had all gone down. It actually felt like an incredibly safe way to travel (easy to maintain a really good distance from others), but my opinion might well have been different if the weather meant we had to stay inside.

Dieppe on a sunny weekend felt like Covid had never happened - it was packed (no distancing at all) and we got out of there asap.. no surprise that there are spikes happening now.. this was before the requirement for masks indoors, so things might have changed. Once out in the countryside it was glorious. Campsites varied but we generally felt were clean, and if you did your own cooking as we did, then other human contact was minimal! Also found a new favourite campsite on the cliffs at Fécamp - views to die for, and even when full, the manager said he would always find a little space for cycle tourists...We extended our stay there by 2 days as the sunsets were so good!

Now that cases are on the rise again I might think twice about going now; but if you avoid any obviously big tourist spots then I think you should be ok.. INAL...YMMV..

Good idea! Looks like I can drill out the original rivets, a new back plate and fixings would be £33, not sure that my ratty old bag which isn’t particularly weatherproof is worth the investment in time and cash, perhaps it’s time for a new bag...

Hello Hive Mind,

I've got a Revolution bike bag bought in the sales a few years before it was discontinued.. Sadly the bicycle it attached to was stolen last year (thank goodness for insurance). So whilst I have the bag, I don't know whether it would be possible to buy a new mounting bracket for the replacement bike..
Does anyone recognise the fitting?

Many thanks in advance!

Just my 2 cents... and others will have wildly differing opinions..
I was in a similar situation, wanting a camera to document in case of accidents.. really didn’t want to spend hundreds on a GoPro

To be clear if i had the money I’d have gone GoPro, from research, stabilisation and image quality seem second to none.. I also like the look of the cycliq cameras, but they are also super spendy..and build quality seems questionable from reviews..

In the end I went for an apeman 4K camera from amazon - £39 with a wide array of mounts.. its fine for its purpose and captures licence plates pretty well.. Battery life a bit rubbish at around an hour - comes with a spare battery..

Despite the wide array of mounts it came with - they were all a bit shonky and plastic.. and were fiddly for getting on and off the bike - I’ve got a top peak bar extender it attaches to.

Regardless of which camera you get - I cant recommend enough the small rig camera mount - https://www.smallrig.com/clamp-mount-v1-w-ball-head-mount-and-coolclamp-1124.html It’s fantastic, not the lightest, but super sturdy and attaches to the bike very quickly and very securely..

Hope this is of some use...

big fan of these:
https://www.wiggle.co.uk/giro-rumble-vr-off-road-shoe/

especially the blue ones - great on tour and look 'normal' -super comfy too

I don't think points on a licence are an actual deterrent - certainly not around where I cycle in London and Edinburgh.. I'd like to push for the driver's phone/ipad either confiscated or rendered inoperable with a hammer at the roadside. Most drivers texting/instagramming/etc clearly can't bear to be parted from their devices so the threat of no phone would be a much harsher punishment.

Got my b17 repaired after nose pin had sheared (almost certainly my fault after incorrectly tensioning it) .. excellent service from Brooks, great value.

Flew Easyjet LGW to Montpellier and back.. sort of..

Two bikes both wrapped in new Wiggle CTC plastic bags, plenty of pipe lagging and Bopworx derailleur guards.
After checking in and boarding; we wait on the plane, and then without warning due to ATC strike in Marseille, flight cancelled; we disembark.. and get to see just how much care the Gatwick baggage handlers take - the answer being not much.. ON a round trip from check-in to plane to baggage collection both CTC bags ripped to shreds, and both derailleur guards snapped..

I think the problem is that baggage handlers frequently don't return bikes on the oversize luggage route, and simply send it on the normal luggage conveyor belts where the damage occurs..as bikes jostle with suitcases and sharp bends on the luggage belt.

After an enforced break of a couple of days whilst waiting for new flight out I decided I'm done with plastic bags... a very helpful guy in the Gatwick Evans Cycles gave us a couple of cardboard boxes for the outbound flight.. returning from Montpellier picked up cardboard boxes from LBS near Montpellier airport - Culture Velo.

Both flights damage free.. was boring to have to remove rear rack, front mudguard, bars from stem (and cable tied to top tube), and reassemble on arrival but have decided that on future flights this is the way forward..manufacturers use cardboard boxes to transport new bikes to LBS for good reason.. strong and cheap!

Have bitten the bullet and booked with easy jet.. many thanks to the forum for taking the time to reply. I'm working down in London either side of our hols so it's Gatwick to Montpellier for a bit of a camp and a poodle around.. if anyone has any advice all is gratefully received!

I'm sure this has been asked a few times but I'm still unsure from what I have read.. Looking to have a holiday in the Marseille area. We will get the bikes down to London and then Eurostar to Paris.. that bit seems easy, but apparently it's not possible to take bikes (even in a bike bag) to Marseille on a direct service. Would we have to change in Paris and then keep bikes in bags on TGV down to Marseille, and do the same on the reverse journey? Have not enjoyed the stress of flying with bikes in the past.. Could drive all the way down to Marseille but I'd rather not.. Can anyone offer any advice?

Stay as warm as possible - don't start the journey on an empty stomach.

We flew BA Gatwick to Bordeaux rtn last month for a couple of weeks touring round the beaches we found last year... Used the CTC bags and a lot of pipe lagging.. BA were fine on both legs with this... Unfortunately my partner's left hand shifter was damaged on the outer leg - I had rotated the drop bars and rolled them under the top tube and this probably exposed the shifter to some knocks - I wish I had cable-tied the brake handle shut to the bar to avoid this.. We also used the bopworx derailleur guards which seem to have done their job..

On arrival we binned the pipe lagging (sorry recycling gods) and toured the bags which came in handy on a couple of camp pitches as a makeshift tarp...
Picked up more lagging for the return journey.

The bags were fine but I think in future I'm more likely to use a cardboard box from a local bike shop...

Thanks for the recommendation! I took a punt on a couple, and we took them on tour to France last week.. bloody brilliant.. hold a good amount of liquid, well insulated, cheap, makes as good a cuppa as with my Aeropress at home.. doubles as a hefty beaker for wine in the evening..

mjr wrote:

mercalia wrote:are they the same company, owned by the same people? I know both have Virgin in their name but strange that the ease of the east coast isnt the same on the west?

Wikipedia claims Virgin Trains East Coast is 90% Stagecoach 10% Virgin, whereas Virgin Trains West Coast is 51% Stagecoach 49% Virgin. Strangely, East Coast is not part of Virgin Rail Group like West Coast and the former Cross Country.


I suspect that Virgin Trains East Coast inherited a better online booking system from Directly Operated Railways and have sensibly decided not to break it yet.

Sadly I ended up on beta testing (by mistake) the new virgin east coast booking site.. you can rest assured that they have managed to break it, and at the time of writing it is no longer possible to book bikes at all.. It is also much harder to use and the cheaper fares are much more successfully (for Virgin) hidden.

Awful news, my heart goes out to her family and loved ones. The road 'design' around Princes Street is simply awful when you're on a bike, the tram tracks are unavoidable. The road forces you to cross them at an angle that is far less than desirable; couple that with cars that don't give you enough space, either to the side or behind you, and you have created a horrible place to be on two wheels.
Edinburgh council need to come to their senses and rethink.. it wouldn't hurt to also have a look at the pointless new infra down Leith walk... (Magic paint which has become a new parking lane for motorists, and protected cycle lanes than run out just when you need them most).