The London Bike Show 2015 - An epic day out!

Last week me, the girls and their friend, L took on one of the busiest cycling events in London bar Critical mass. The London Bike Show 2015

We were promised a plethora of fun for all the family and I'm happy to say they didn't disappoint here, with the tied in nature of the London bike show and the Telegraph Outdoor Adventure and Travel Show it wasn't long before we got our bearings and worked our away around seeing where the day would take us, starting off at the British Triathlon Trust's stand, where the girls were spoilt with colouring in and a mini triathlon, with the girls pulling off some very impressive times for their ages.
While they tried to beat the clock I discovered a dancing goat - It was at this moment we knew we'd picked the right day to attend, as everyone working the event were ramping up the madness for the last day, you just knew.

Loving the dancing goat at the #londonbikeshow

A video posted by Paul Hooker (@hooker1uk) on Feb 15, 2015 at 3:41am PST

It's time to test some toys, firstly the Islabike Bienn 20 and 24 small. L is less confident but jumped on and once she found her footing she took to it like a duck to water, similar to Lissy, who's looking for a new bike at the moment and seemed shocked that she needed a 20 inch bike compared to her 14 inch wheeled bike she currently rides. From here it was Daddies turn to test some Boxer Cycles utility trikes, mainly the Shuttle and the Rocket, I have to say I scream like a girl on the shuttle with the girls in the front, mainly down to how it steers on top of the power it has under the hood, suffice to say it's fast and fun.
Similarly the Rocket is a one stop mad transporter machine, pimped out for fast paced fun with uprated suspension, indicators, lights and horn to help keep you and your precious cargo safer.

From here the children wanted more fun and thanks to activities from
SuperBloc, Guide dogs for the blind, DMR Bikes, and much more for them to see and do. Leaving the kids buzzing with anticipation for next year. From a parents point of view - An amazing day for the more active children, however if bringing two or more children I would suggest getting there for doors opening to get the best from the day.



 Our video will be embedded here - once L's parents give us the ok to publish. I apologise about the screams and poor editing. It's taken ages to put together without crashing!



For the adult cyclist, outdoor fan and even the novice looking to get more from sport it's an ideal place to go, learn, try some of the years greatest feats in cycling so far and a key insight to future cycling trends. With Innovation from both companies and charities like See.Sense, CUDA Cycles, Raleigh, Rubena, Stolen Goat, RIDE EAT DRINK SLEEP, CTC, Sustrans, British Heart Foundation, British Triathlon Trust and many more too you could easily find anything you wanted to see and do in a relaxed atmosphere, something quite different compared to other major events I've been to in the past. While next year I'll try and take a day out to visit the 2016 show to get more photos and immerse greater in the sanctity of two wheeled greatness. both with and without the smalls.

The final show from Action Sports Tour was so full of energy, people who were there throughout the event told me these guys were upping their game every day becoming more immense every time they bought the show to a close. Truth be told I missed the first part of the show but was fortunate to see the second half and the finale, these guys were amazing, kept the now slightly tired crowd pumped and you could see how hard they were pushing themselves for the finale and they pulled it off spectacularly! Hat's off to them!

To wrap up - The 2015 London Bike show was an amazing event, tied in with the telegraph outdoor and adventure shows made it one of the most complete sports days out for everyone! I wholehartedly recommend going to the 2016 show from the 11th-14th Feb next year.


I must add extend a huge thank you to Steve Backshall from Cbbc's Deadly 60 for giving us a moment of his time while trying to relax with his family and at the same time sorry for disturbing you. We do appreciate it

What were your highlights of the London Bike Show 2015? Let us know and we'll add them to the post too!

Paul

Infographic: Cyclist safety in Bike Week

Hi Guy's 

As it's Bike Week 2014, I'll be posting a few posts through the week to celebrate all things two wheeled, and today's post is aimed at road safety, with thanks to fellow cyclists and London solicitors, Osbornes we've teamed up together to share some statistics about cyclist safety in a neat infographic. If you are a road user some of these may be of surprise to you. And I promise you now it's not just motorists to blame here too, both motorists and cyclists can be both as bad and need to take more responsibility for their actions. With huge props to the motorists who look out for other road users even if they can be morons at times. 

 Personally some of these figures are no surprise to me they highlight one important thing. Both motorists and cyclists need to be educated on how to handle the roads themselves and how to interact around traffic, educating in this way could reduce accidents and reduce tensions on the roads between all users and above all else if you muck up, or worse cause an accident, apologise, try and work out who's to blame and pass details over, if the victim of a hit and run please speak to the police. 

I'm currently building the foundations on a new local cycle group in my local area with Sustrans for those who want to ride but are not as confident but the main hurdle I've got to beat is the sheer amount of people who are worried to cycle alone on the roads due to the risks, and CTC statistics back this up. In instances like this I hope we can broaden the LCC's Space For Cycling campaign to a nationwide initiative, bringing key changed whilst making infrastructure easier to use for all. C'mon LCC spread out the space for cycling love around the UK, there's plenty of cyclists and motorists alike willing to work together with you. After all, this is not just for us, it's for the future road users too, including your children and my children too. 

If you'd like more information on the infographic above, take a click here to Osbornes website, a group who are keen cyclists and want to help push changes through for all to share the roads together.  

Tomorrow we'll be talking about doing the school run with a bike an trailer,

How would you like to see infrastructure changed for the better, be it better roads, separation for cyclists or even more disability friendly pathways, anything? Let us know and we'll be happy to add these. 

Paul 

Disclosure: This post has been published in collaboration with Osbornes Solicitors LLP, 

When Vee met a Mammoth

Evening all.

On Wednesday we were invited to the Natural History Museum in London to see the Mammoths Ice Age Giants, an exciting a new exhibition created by The Field Museum, Chicago that opened on the 23rd of May and is here until the 7th September. This is a rare chance to get an insight into these gargantuan beasts lives and the chance to see Lyuba, the most complete woolly mammoth ever found in the exhibition.





You get to go back in time to the Ice Age world of mammoths, looking at the science behind their incredible lives and come face to face with life-sized models and skeletons! You can discover prehistoric giants such as the mastodon, the fearsome sabre-tooth cat and the giant cave bear. The exhibition is special in how it's been created with a clear emphasis on how children love to touch, with around 70% of the exhibition being touch oriented and I don't mean touchscreen either! Actual exhibits for the kids to touch, feel and learn about these amazing creatures skin felt, their hair and the sheer size of them.

On top of being a touchy feely exhibit there was an emphasis on activity and fun for children while they learn at the same time. I do have a video of Vee and me using some of the more fun and game exhibits which I'll be uploading overnight and adding soon.

One of the special exhibits on display had to be Lyuba the 42,000 year old baby Mammoth, I'd read up on her discovery previously and seeing her up close and personal was special to me as silly as that sounds. We all live and die with minimal change to the world around us (with exception of those around us) but in Lyuba's passing she left crucial information with her, from her mothers milk inside her stomach to her complete preservation which gives the world the insight of how amazing these creatures were.

As a whole the Mammoths Ice Age Giants is a fantastic exhibition hosted at the museum. With a family ticket (2 adults and 3 children) priced at £28. For London that's pretty reasonable. especially if you're hitting lots of museums for a day out! And made more fun with all the other fantastic exhibitions too!

Vee loved the exhibits, especially the ones designed to be touched, played with and climbed upon, even if I bored her taking photos. But when she noticed the dinosaur skeleton in the main hall she was in awe. she wanted to stay to sit and talk to it and offer the skeleton a cup of magic tea!

There is so, so much I want to tell you about, but to do that would be a spoiler to those who are going soon and a hint to others to go, go NOW!

A couple of things to note though, While the museum is accessible for those with disabilities. The nearest underground station, South Kensington is not step free. It could be best to come in from Victoria station approximately a mile away which is step free from memory.

If there is anything you'd like to know without spoilers please drop a comment below and I'll respond as soon as possible.

Thanks for reading.
Paul and Vee!