Don't miss the cycle racing in town on Sunday (00972629)

You’ve probably seen the advertisement on television last year.

It starred Olympic Gold Medal winner Victoria Pendleton who was doing a reprise of an advert from the seventies, in which a young lad pushed a heavily laden delivery bike up what could be the steepest hill in Britain.

Here’s the original advertisement: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Mq59ykPnAE

Now everybody has a chance to have a crack at Gold Hill, because the Shaftesbury Cycle Revival is offering riders the chance to race up the hill against the clock. The Gold Hill Honk is open to both road bikes and mountain bikes, the entry is limited to 120 people, and the winner gets a year’s supply of Hovis bread.

The event takes place on June 12^th in Dorset, www.shaftesburycyclerevival.co.uk.

I see potholes are in the news again, Deputy Bob Hill is campaigning for The States and the parishes to pay out for anyone who is injured because of a pothole. Deputy Hill would like to see the law changed.

At present, people who are hurt in a pothole-related accident can only claim if someone has previously reported the hole. So here’s an opportunity for highway crusaders to make a stand for justice, notify Transport and Technical Services of any pothole you see, and pave the way for a barrage of claims.

The Cyclists’ Touring Club has been running a ‘Fill that Hole’ campaign for some time, and the campaign has just received funding from Specialised Concept Stores, who are sponsoring the reporting of 6,000 potholes.

It’s easy to report a problem pothole either log in to: http://www.fillthathole.org.uk/

Or you can download an app for the iPhone: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/fill-that-hole/id387883097?mt=8

I imagine that if Jersey can’t manage to find the money to repair the potholes then it’s very unlikely that it’ll adopt any of the measures that Transport for London is offering for nothing!

As an incentive for businesses that are within a 1.5 kilometre radius of one of the Barclay’s Cycle Superhighways, have a workforce of more than 50 employees and have not had a planning requirement to provide cycle facilities since 2008, Transport for London is offering free cycling facilities and support to encourage workers out on their bikes. Once the business is confirmed as being eligible, then it can enjoy a mix of; free cycle storage, free training, free maintenance classes, an events calendar so that employees can participate in local, national and international cycling events and also free support and guidance to help promote cycling to employees.

http://businessoffers.tfl.gov.uk/barclayscyclesuperhighways/about-the-scheme.html

There goes a fabulous CSR opportunity for one of the big hitters here in Jersey – even if they only promoted a similar scheme to their employees rather than the masses.

The first round of the 2011 Halford’s Tour Series starts on Tuesday 24th with a race around the historic cobbled streets of Durham. This is one of eight high-speed, close combat, city centre races that will instantly bring all the excitement of bike racing to the uninitiated.

The Durham round will be aired on ITV4 at 8pm on Wednesday 25th May and repeated on Thursday 26th at 11am. The series then goes onto Aberystwyth, Peterborough, Colchester, Stoke-on-Trent, Oldham, Woking and Canary Wharf. The races take place every Tuesday and Thursday in May and June.

www.tourseries.co.uk.

If you’re thinking of taking an eco-friendly cycling holiday this year, the Green Traveller website has the information and the most eco-friendly way to get there: http://www.greentraveller.co.uk/cycling-holidays

If luxury is the prime focus for your cycling holidays, then the American company Back Roads offers the most well equipped bikes, the finest food and the most rewarding routes: http://www.backroads.com/biking-trips

The CTC also offers holidays to its members: http://www.cyclingholidays.org/tours/index.php

In the USA, the whole of May was Bike Month, with Bike to Work Day being last Friday, 20th May.

Anybody thinking of organising a similar cycling event here could take a look at this helpful guide:

http://www.bikeleague.org/programs/bikemonth/pdf/national_bike_month_guide.pdf

Is this the bike lock of tomorrow? The superlight, uber cool and nearly indestructible TiGr lock is destined to go into production in the not too distant future. It’s easy to carry and easy to use, the strap is made from titanium and high-end locks will have a titanium lock body as well: http://tigrlock.com/pages/

And finally,

If you do nothing else on Sunday 29 May, make sure that you get down to St Helier to watch some of the exciting bike racing that will be going on from 11am to 6pm. http://www.vsj.je/towncriterium/

Arthur Lamy is a freelance writer specialising in cycling: www.cycleinjersey.com