I have just heard that I have been awarded a small amount of funding from the UEL to put on an exhibition of the Hackney Bike Portraits taken during the project. The event will take place May/June-ish July/August-ish. Lots more to come as I work out the details.
Photos from the Pedal Power session for people with learning difficulties on the weekend.
The club banner in the basketball court in Finsbury Park.
Pedal Power members and their families ride an eclectic range of different bikes around the court
Me, trying out one of the cool tricycles.
I arrived at the workshop this week at St Michael and All Angels Church at about 19.30. Light spilled from the church hall doors and I could see and hear chatter and bikey activities taking place inside. I wasn’t even inside the doors before I was greeted warmly by Jamie, one of the organisers equipped with a clipboard. There were twelve already listed – names, type of bike and bike problem. Seven had been crossed out. Some were being seen by mechanics. Others were waiting. I arrived tonight with a touring bike and loose quill bolt issue. Not only did the organisers recognize me but they also remembered which bike I had last time and asked me how that project was going. As I waited I had a cup of tea and piece of cake. Kate had made two kinds: shortbread and lemon cake. I made a donation for the refreshments and chatted to Kate while I waited for my turn with a mechanic.
There were six mechanics working on bikes in the middle of the room. Like last time the floor was protected by a series of sheets and bikes were hanging on a series of stands. Boxes of tools sat on a table to the far left of the room but several mechanics had their own stash located nearby. People stood in clusters around the room chatting and watching.
When it was my turn, which was not long after tea and cake, I explained to the mechanic about the loose bolt in my stem. He turned the bike over, took the wheel off and got a flashlight to see into the frame. He passed the flashlight to me and talked me through what I was and wasn’t seeing in the tubing. This was the pattern of our interaction – he talked and put things into my hands. I learnt by doing and sharing the maintenance. Together we fixed he loose bolt. I pressed down on the stem wedge while he screwed it using gravity and the pressure I was applying. Turning the bike over he rattled the bike to show me it was now fixed. However this shake now revealed a loose headset. He made me do it and I felt a low thudding in the tubing. He explained the headset needed tightening. But then he did it again and said that the cones in my front wheel were loose too. Suddenly I had a list of things to do. What was a simple and quick job turned into the rest of the evening. For each task he would pass the object to me to shake, or tighten or feel what was wrong or what had changed. He showed me not only how to discern the problem but how to fix it. I learned more than I expected. Soon my hands were as black with grease as those around me.
I was interested to see even more brochures on a table near the entrance to the hall than last event. This time there was a visual guide to mending a puncture called “Bike It D.I.Y”. Kate explained how many people turn up to learn basic maintenance and these guides had been provided to help with this issue.
On the 10th October I went on a Hackney Cyclists social ride to Barnes Wetland Centre, in Southwest London. It was organised by Siobhan from Hackney Cyclists, who has been trying to get a rides programme together.
We were very lucky for weather – it was a “last day of Summer” feel and the sun shone pretty much all day. Twelve people came on the ride and I promised to produce a write-up for the Hackney Cyclists website, which should be online soon. I also mapped the ride using my GPS device and produced a map with photos on Umapper.
It was interesting to watch the dynamics of the ride; as well as taking a few pictures with my compact camera, I recorded some of it with time lapse photography on the GoPro. The long series of pictures I took between Hackney and Regents Park (one every two seconds) shows the flow of participants cycling singly, in pairs and in threes, moving apart again and back together. As someone new to group rides myself I find it great to be able to cycle along unfamiliar places and not worry about the route.
Quiet Islington Street
There were many quiet streets (particularly given it was a Sunday) where it was easy to cycle two abreast and the ride felt extremely sociable. Of course we also encountered some busy roads, such as the Kings Road in Chelsea. On occasion, we encountered hostility from drivers, generally this seemed to be a hostility towards a group of cyclists being on the roads at all (for example, we once got beeped by a driver who wasn’t held up but who appeared to object to cycling two abreast).
Where the group as a whole wasn’t able to cross a road or get through lights together, we stopped and waited, shouting forward to those at the front of the group. Rob, at the back, was checking we were all present; while Siobhan at the front was frequently looking back to ensure we were all following her.
Waiting for the others to catch up.
Another of Hackney Bike Film nights is on next week – Monday 11th October.
They are showing Beijing Bicycle.
Hackney Bicycle Film Society presents ‘Beijing Bicycle’
Young men in packs, machismo, class divisions, violence, and indifference. Guei arrives from the country: toothbrushes, hotel foyers, and Qin, a rich neighbour in high heels, dazzle him. He gets a job as a messenger. The company issues him a bike, which he must pay for out of his wages. When it is stolen, Guei hunts for it. A student, Jian, has it; for him, it’s the key to teen society with his pals and with Xiao, a girl he fancies. Guei finds the bike and stubbornly tries to reclaim it in the face of great odds. But for Jian to lose the bike would mean humiliation. The two young men and the people around them are swept up in the youths’ desperation.
Entry is free, but you must be a member to attend. If you are not a member you can apply for membership by supplying your full name, address and occupation by email to hackneybicyclefilmsociety@gmail.com
On Tuesday night I attended the Hackney Bike Workshop at Frampton Park Baptist Church. I arrived just on 7pm in the hope of getting some advice on the removal of the bottom bracket in an old steel road frame and then slipping away to catch up with friends who were in town for the night. There’s nothing like turning up in a restaurant with a bike frame on your back! So, with this plan in mind I was surprised to see about five cyclists already waiting in the large church hall as the six mechanics set up their drop sheets, tool boxes and bike stands. Another ten arrived closely behind me. This was definitely a popular event.
The workshop started right on time with mechanics dealing with flat tyres and chain alignments, removing and replacing cranks and truing wheels. Unlike the workshop at Stoke Newington however it was difficult to know who was next in line. A list briefly circulated, but as far as I could see it was not used to match cyclists with available mechanics. Instead, when a mechanic became free, the nearest cyclist filled the gap. I was a bit useless in spotting these gaps and racing in. Partially, this because I was chatting with Neil, who was there to enlist tools and help with his cassette. After an hour of watching, chatting and waiting, we decided to see if we could use some of the tools and work on our own bikes. Neil knew a bit about bbs and I offered to help Jenny, another waiting cyclist, with her chain problem. We started to run a workshop within a workshop.
This system worked well. Neil showed me how to removed the bb with this spanner/pin tool and then, dammit, he tightened it all back up! But, I then did it myself which is what I wanted. I removed both cups, dropped ball bearings on the floor and got covered in grease. Success! Just before 9pm, I chatted with some of the mechanics about the quality of my frame tubing and if I should swap it out for a sealed cartridge. I also got to see how Neil removed his cassette and replaced it with a single sprocket. For me, this was the ideal bike workshop experience. There was space to hack, expert knowledge if needed, an array of tools and collective skills. We learnt from each other. I left a bit after 9pm with a bag of bb bits and a frame with a satisfying gap where the bb was.
Just got back from helping out for a couple of hours with the car-free day on Goldsmiths Row in Hackney, which is part of European Mobility Week. Goldsmiths Row is a busy cycle thoroughfare used by many people from Hackney and further East to get into and out of Central London. It is right on the border of Hackney and Tower Hamlets. There are currently proposals to improve the route for pedestrians and cyclists.
The ride to the event was lovely, it being 7:15am – before the school run and obviously before many people had left for work.
Mare Street with very little motor traffic.
At the event, Hackney Council with Hackney Cyclists were providing tea and coffee, leaflets and bike guides, and Dr. Bike services. Hackney City Farm was letting passers-by know about its bike hire scheme – “Bus Stop” (aimed at people waiting for the 55 bus) and selling juice and home-made cakes.
Queueing up for Dr. Bike.
Many people walking past without bikes expressed interest in getting their cycles fixed up and asked how long the Dr. Bike would be there. Others said hopefully “Will this be here all week”? I left before the day’s activities got going, but Groundwork will be providing play activities (including giant Jenga!) and there will also be another Council stall advising residents about other local environmental issues and projects.
I arrived for the Hackney Bike Workshop at St Michael and All Angels Church a bit after 8pm. (It started at 7 and wrapped up at 9). I was a little late as I had been in another meeting across town. And it was a pretty miserable night – dark, wet and wintery. I was hoping the rain might ease before I set off as I had an unsealed bike frame on my back. But both I and the bike were dripping by the time I arrived. Given the weather, I did not expect the place to be super busy – it was.
The workshop was held in an old church hall; an open high ceiling space with adjoining kitchen. It was filled with people and bikes. Old sheets protected the floor, tools lay scattered on seats and bikes leant against walls, near stacked seats and mounted on stands. Chatter filled the air. It was busy! Yet, despite the activity, I was greeted at the door, welcomed, my name was put onto a list and I was offered a cup of tea. There were also apologies about the dearth of cake. I arrived a bit to late to partake in cake – next time!
As I waited for my turn and drank my tea I chatted with some of the organisers. I learned that there were six volunteer mechanics helping people with their bikes tonight. I saw road bikes, a fixed gear and various hybrids. According to the list, over 23 people had come through the doors and had (or were currently getting) their bike problems addressed. The night was viewed by the organisers as a successful evening.
The aim of the workshop is to not only fix people’s bike and keep them on the road, but to teach owners how to do it themselves. I watched how mechanics put this into practice; first explaining and then demonstrating and then handing tools to people to try it for themselves. The range of problems were as varied as the bikes. Some people wanted to know about fixing punctures and adjusting brakes. Some needed their gears tinkered with. Others simply needed to learn about how to change the height of their seats and handlebars. One woman brought in a vintage bike and wanted to know if it was ridable – at the end of the night it was.
Due to the demand on volunteer mechanics, there was no time for me in the end but I enjoyed being there, talking with people and watching the flurry of bike activities. I’ll definitely be attending the next Bike Workshop – this time in London Fields. And I will be super early (for the bike assistance and hopefully for cake too!).
London Fields: 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month at Frampton Park Baptist Church, Frampton Park Road (just east of Mare Street and North of Well Street).
I’m heading to the Hackney Bike Workshop tonight. I have plans of getting this lovely sculpture off my wall and back on the road. I’ve tinkered with many aspects of my bikes. I’ve even built wheels. But I am constantly stumped by bottom brackets. I’ve not even been able to get one loose, let alone had experience of cleaning or changing one. So, I’m hoping to start with this tonight.
The aim of the workshop is to equip people with the skills needed to keep them on the road.
One of the things that stops people cycling is not being able to fix their own bikes. Our workshops aim to help you fix your bike (rather than fix it for you). We supply tools but you need to bring your own parts. Other than that its free (donations for tool and rent costs are very welcome), and run by volunteers.
Workshops are run in two locations.
London Fields: 1st and 3rd Tuesday of every month at Frampton Park Baptist Church, Frampton Park Road (just east of Mare Street and North of Well Street)
Stoke Newington: 2nd Tuesday of every month at St Michael and All Angels Church on Northwold Road (just east of Stoke Newington Common).
More info here.
The Hackney Bike Film Society host free film nights every month at the Calthorpe Arms on Gray’s Inn Road. Tonight they are showing “Breaking Away” as well as a short about women who cycle in London. Should be great.
Breaking Away Stands with To Kill a Mockingbird and American Graffiti as one of the best films about small?town Americana. Dave Stohler (Dennis Christopher) and his three friends, ex-football star Mike (Dennis Quaid), wily comedian Cyril (Daniel Stern), and tough kid Moocher (Jackie Earle Haley) are doomed to live in the college town of Bloomington, Indiana. Stohler escapes into a world of Italian bicycling, picking up the lingo, the accent, and a good share of the talent of his heroes.
For the first time tonight we are also pleased to start proceedings with a short film from one of our members Leigh Andrews who describes it thus ‘a short film about women cycling in London. It’s under 7 minutes and features Ewa, who has a bike light but no bike, interviews with experienced cyclists and showcases this year’s Glamour Ride. Essentially it’s short, sweet and uplifting!’
Entry is free, but you must be a member to attend. If you are not a member you can apply for membership by supplying your full name, address and occupation by email to hackneybicyclefilmsociety@gmail.com