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Jack talks with founding father of the mountain bike Gary Fisher about his life in cycling, the subject of his new book “Being Gary Fisher”, published by Blue Train Publishing. After talking with Gary, Jack chats with Guy Andrews and … Continue reading → The post No Cops, No Cars, No Concrete: Gary Fisher’s Life on Two Wheels first appeared on The Bike Show.

Bike technology is changing at a dizzying pace. There’s a bike for everything, from road racing and time trialling to gravel grinding and bikepacking to heavyweight touring and every shade of mountain biking. And that’s not to mention electric assist … Continue reading → The post Are Modern Bikes Rubbish? first appeared on The Bike Show.

As we emerge from coronavirus lockdown, is there a better summer holiday, a better way to get a change of scene, than heading out on your bike to explore the country where you live? This episode of the podcast is … Continue reading → The post Planning Your Next Bike Adventure first appeared on The Bike Show.

A ride report from the time before coronavirus. Jack heads into the wild uplands of the North York Moors on an audax event organised by Dean Clementson and hosted by Mike Metcalfe. “Don’t Keep to the Road” promises gravel tracks, … Continue reading → The post Rough Stuff in the North York Moors first appeared on The Bike Show.

Jack goes for a ride with Dr Ian Walker, an environmental psychologist from the University of Bath and long-distance bike racer. Ian found global fame about fifteen years ago with an experiment he did to measure how close he was … Continue reading → The post From Usk to Wye with Dr Ian Walker first appeared on The Bike Show.

As a bike racer Isla Rowntree took on almost every discipline in cycling, rode professionally for the Raleigh MTB team and won the British national championships in cyclocross on multiple occasions. But it is as a bike designer and entrepreneur that she's made the biggest impact, transforming the market for children’s bikes. The high quality kids bikes she designs have given a generation of children the best possible start to a life of cycling. Jack visits Islabikes HQ just outside Ludlow, Shropshire to find out about how Isla got into cycling, how she got where she is now, and where she's going in the future. Bonus material available at http://thebikeshow.net/isla-rowntree Continue reading → The post A life in cycling with Isla Rowntree first appeared on The Bike Show.

Tom Isitt has spent the past few years cycling around the battlefields of the first world war. He talks about his experiences on the Western Front and the mountainous border between Italy, Austria and Slovenia and tells the story of the extraordinary bike race that was held in spring 1919 across the devastated lands of Northern France and Belgium. The Rough Stuff Fellowship is the oldest off road cycling club in the world and club archivist Mark Hudson talks about unearthing a photographic treasure trove of inspirational adventure cycling from the 1950s to the present day. Continue reading → The post So you want to go cycling in… WW1 battlefields? first appeared on The Bike Show.

Jack takes on his longest ever ride, as part of a weekend of audax events in memory and celebration of the late, great Mike Hall. Mike was the leading light in the current revival of self-supported long distance bike racing, twice winner of the Tour Divide, winner of the TransAm Bike Race and founder and organiser of the pan-European Transcontinental Race. In March 2017 Mike was killed by a driver while competing in a bike race across Australia Continue reading → The post This Is Not A Tour first appeared on The Bike Show.

This year’s Tour de France starts on the island of Noirmoutier, on the Atlantic coast of western France. Jack rides the route of Stage one, in a touring style, taking in the rich landscape of sand dunes, beaches, tidal lagoons and salt marsh and sampling the gastronomic delights of the region. Continue reading → The post Cycletouring the Tour de France first appeared on The Bike Show.

Jack goes to Preston, Lancashire to ride with artist Gavin Renshaw. They ride out on some of the City of Preston’s bicycle infrastructure before heading for the wild uplands of the Forest of Bowland. Along the way they talk about … Continue reading → The post Preston by Bike with Gavin Renshaw first appeared on The Bike Show.

Find out what happens when The Bike Show collides with its hipper and funnier younger sister the Wheelsuckers podcast, presented by Alex Davis from Look Mum No Hands! and Jenni Gwiazdowski from London Bike Kitchen. And hear frame-builder and cycle … Continue reading → The post When Podcasts Collide first appeared on The Bike Show.

The return of The Bike Show sees Jack chewing the fat with Max Leonard, author of Higher Calling: Road Cycling’s Obsession with the Mountains. They talk a lot about climbing, about the evolution of cycling towards exploring and traveling to new places, about cycling in France, and about Max’s Kickstarter project to republish a long-lost cycling guide to the off-road paths and gravel tracks of the Alps. Continue reading → The post Higher, Faster, Rougher, Wilder with Max Leonard first appeared on The Bike Show.

Peter Walker is a political reporter at the Guardian newspaper. He set up the Guardian's bike blog and his new book puts the case for a healthier, safer and more people-friendly nation. In short, a Bike Nation. In conversation with Jack Thurston, Peter talks about his past life as bike messenger, how his views on cycling have evolved and why he believes now is a critical tipping point in Britain's long and chequered history of cycling. Continue reading → The post Can Cycling Save the World? with The Guardian’s Peter Walker first appeared on The Bike Show.

This year marks 200 years since Karl Drais invented a two wheeled 'running machine'. Since then all sorts of people have ridden all sorts of bicycles for all sorts of reasons. Looking back at two centuries of cycling and cyclists is Dr Michael Hutchinson, former professional bike racer and author of several books about cycling. His latest is "Re:Cyclists - 200 years on two wheels" is an engaging and affectionate look back at the cyclists of the past two hundred years and has just been published by Bloomsbury. Continue reading → The post 200 Years of Cycling first appeared on The Bike Show.

The Indian Pacific Wheel Race is a gruelling 5,500 km coast-to-coast bicycle race across Australia. The race features the two leading long distance bike racers in the world as well as dozens of other cyclists determined to push themselves to the very limits of physical and mental endurance. Jack is joined by Australian cycling journalist Craig Fry and long distance cycling expert Chris White to discuss what it takes to win the race, or even to get to the finishing line in Sydney, plus the long history of overlanding in Australia and the possibilities of making the journey in a more leisurely cycle touring style. Continue reading → The post The Indian Pacific Wheel Race: Overlanders of the 21st Century first appeared on The Bike Show.

Mike Parker is the author of the best-selling Map Addict, an affectionate history of Ordnance Survey maps and the people who can’t get enough of their beautiful maps. He’s an accomplished guidebook writer, a former stand up comedian and has presented TV and radio programmes about Wales, his adopted homeland. In 2015 he stood for Parliament for Plaid Cymru, the party of Wales and has written a book, the Greasy Poll, about the experience. We go for a spin from Castle Meadows in Abergavenny, as it hosted the National Eisteddfod, a huge annual festival of Welsh language, culture, music and song. Continue reading → The post Under Monmouthshire Skies: Riding with Mike Parker first appeared on The Bike Show.

Chris Boardman has done it all. Born into a cycling family he became a domestic time trial demon and won an Olympic Gold Medal in 1992. He set world records for the Hour on the track and raced on the continent as a professional, wearing the yellow jersey in the Tour de France. His R&D team helped British Cycling to world domination on the track and he founded Boardman Bikes, now the best selling brand of bikes in Britain. He has thrown himself into campaigning for everyday cycling with passion and is one of the most effective advocates for cycling, whether in the media or lobbying politicians. He has just written a new biography and is in conversation with the author Rob Penn, in front of a live audience in Monmouth, organised by Rossiter Books. Continue reading → The post Chris Boardman: A Life in Cycling first appeared on The Bike Show.

Jack Thurston heads to mid-Wales to meet Emily Chappell, former London bike messenger turned author turned ultra endurance racer. Plus the social enterprise that's finding a new use for the Royal Mail's unwanted fleet of postal bikes, as Elephant Bikes. Continue reading → The post What Goes Around first appeared on The Bike Show.

In a recording of a live event held as part of the CycleScreen bicycle film festival at the Watershed Cinema in Bristol, Jack Thurston talks with author Herbie Sykes about his highly acclaimed book The Race Against the Stasi. It’s … Continue reading → The post From Peace Race to Tour de France first appeared on The Bike Show.

Is bikepacking the most exciting new thing in cycling since the invention of the mountain bike or a much needed rebranding of the venerable pastime of cycle touring? Or is just another cynical ruse to get us to buy more stuff, an attempt to commercialise that wonderful thing called adventure. Jack heads to mid-Wales for the Bear Bones Winter Event to find out, and meets up with Beth Barrington of WildCat Gear to hear about the homespun beginnings of a small company that makes some of the best bikepacking gear available. Continue reading → The post Adventures in Bikepacking first appeared on The Bike Show.