Van Andel Bakfiets Classic Narrow cargo trike Bought used in 2013 Seatbelts for four children Fold-up seats for increased load carrying space Sunstar electric assist motor fitted by Electric Bike Sales, Bristol 3 levels of assist (low, medium, high) 14000 mAh battery mounted in pannier bag Further upgrades done by Really Useful Bikes near Yate Uprated hub brakes (Shimano IM-80s) Replacement hub gear (NuVinci CVT) and rear wheel Official Bakfiets. Read more...

I haven’t blogged for quite a while. Social media (Twitter, Facebook &c.) seemed like it had replaced blogging for the purposes I used it for. Also, I hadn’t been able to log in to my Wordpress installation for quite a while, and I haven’t yet been able to figure out how to fix the problem. Separately, one of the bloggers I follow on Twitter, Raymond Camden, recently ported his own blog to Hugo, a static site generator written in the Go programming language. Read more...

The Road “Safety” Crackdown comes in the wake of the hit-and-run death of a cyclist, Jake Gilmore, in Bath in November. He was one of a number of cyclists who died in what was a dark month for road safety in the UK. Police forces in other locations - notably London, Edinburgh and Bristol - have also mounted similar crackdowns in the last few weeks. “Crackdowns” are barely more than PR exercises. Read more...

[I started this post back in March] News reaches me via @katie_monk on Twitter that “Word on the street is that the bike scheme might be getting scrapped because the bikes are getting vandalised. Boo hiss!” It would indeed be a shame for the scheme to close… or would it? It was funded with EU Civitas money, implemented by Bicincitta (an Italian company), and launched last year with no little amusement at the (initially) badly-translated web site and frustration at (and, in one case, concern at the security of) the sign-up process, which was said to be extremely awkward, and lacking the casual-use flexibility of the much-larger “Boris Bikes” scheme in London; a scheme that, although better technically than the Bladud Bikes, still work out as the most expensive bikes in the world. Read more...