We ❤️ cyclists at Harland Works

Lots of us bike 🚴‍♀️ to work here at Harland Works. Some of the regulars are seasoned cyclists with bikes that are as familiar round here as their owners.

I cycle in on my specialised hybrid which I’ve had since I lived in the Lake District in the late 1990s. I still use this bike almost daily … its £/mile must be very good value. It’s been re-sprayed a few times mind and is a lovely purple at the moment, which as it happens, matches my current Eyeye glasses 👓. This was not by design, but is a nice co-incidence.

I have cycled to work all my working life, and the only bike-car collision I have had has been on the road to London Road from Harland Works. I got knocked off by someone overtaking me in a VERY large volvo. Claiming I was cycling too slow so it was my fault for holding them up. That stretch of road is all of 200 meters. Too long to wait, obviously.

Karl comes into Eyeye on his more upmarket gravel bike - or, as he calls it, cross bike. He says he bought it because “it can do everything” which begs the question why he still feels he needs 3 other bikes 🤔 As well as riding to work on it, he’ll also be using this bike to do the 3 Peaks Cyclocross race … if it ever starts up again after its covid inflicted break.

Alastair of Norton Mayfield, who’s been here as long as I have, cycles in on his lovely steel Genesis - and is sometimes seen pulling a trailer. As he doesn’t actually own a car, his bike is definitely put to full use as a utility bike in his family. Alistair has been cycling all his life and when he was a London based architect he used to race in a London mountain bike league. He tells the story of how Greyson Perry used to make their annual end of season trophies.

The other Alistair has a very tall and elegant bike … he is quite tall himself … which is an early gravel bike. Alistair cycles a lot, and I remember saying that the virutal cycling app Zwift had really helped him get through the lockdowns where group cycling wasn’t allowed - he’d been cycling with the Doncaster Chaingang.

Chris’s bike is one you definitely can’t miss - even if you weren’t familiar with it… it has a long storage rack on it and its own cover when it’s in the courtyard.

Jonny has just invested in a bright orange cargo bike which can carry up to 3 people … but not necessarily in great comfort! He plans to use it as a way of getting his son to school without using the car… but seems to be enjoying testing it out round here first!

Rob rides in on a classic, early 90s rockhopper mountain bike in beautiful condition. He has also been spotted on a lovely vintage road bike at one of the Eroica bike rides that used to happen in the Peaks. Very stylish bikes.

Ellen rides a funky blue folding bike - and has the best helmet of us all! It’s gold - and makes her stand out as a cyclist of note!

There’s a regular cycling club that often meets here on a Friday morning, filling the courtyard briefly with way too many bikes for the stands available while they fuel up on coffee before heading out.

So all in all, if you are a cyclist, you'd likely fit in very well here. We’re just talking to the council about getting a bit more bike parking installed too … so watch this space. And we’re also planning some cycling themed events including a series of talks by Chris Sidwells who is a prolific cycling author … and nephew of Tom Simpson, arguably Britain’s greatest cyclist (just to be contentious!).

And a collaboration with cafe customers, Glory Days, who can hire you a beautiful retro bike, and offer great route advice in Derbyshire and the Peaks.

I would also LOVE to host a talk (via zoom) with this amazing Danish family who travel by bike with 8 kids … read their facebook log of journeys, complete with pictures of their set up, here: https://www.facebook.com/vestolsykkelturer/ - here’s a taster of what they’ve done:

“I have more than 187,000 km of bicycle touring experience in 100+ countries. We started bicycle touring with kids in the summer of 2005 - when me and my wife had "only" 4 kids - we now have 8 kids, and still enjoy bicycle touring. We have bicycle toured as a family every summer (usually "short trips" of 2-7 weeks and 500-1,500 km), visited 20+ countries. And we have had lots of fun time - and many found memories. Our longest "family bicycle tour" was a 9 month (2015-16), a coast-to-coast trip in the USA from New York to Los Angeles (via Canada and Mexico).”

Inspiring stuff. (But let’s not show Jonny - lot’s more kit he could be tempted to invest in for his #cyclingfamily!).