Towards the end of my time in Hull, I was lucky to go on a long leisurely cycle with the Larks and Owls cycle group. Initiated by Gisèle, the group is largely an unorganisation of cyclists who occasionally meet for random rides around Hull. She describes them as:

“Cycling around Hull, East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire. About 30 miles every few weeks. Not hectic but not slow. Goldilocks rides.”

On Saturday (26.6.10) we cycled over the Humber Bridge, had a beer and some dubious crisps (Shrimp Fries suitable for vegetarians!) in a local pub, and then cycled back again. It was a lovely way to end my month in Hull.

I went out again with the Beech Holme Tandem Club on Wednesday night (23.6.10). This time there were five tandems. We cycled from Beverley Road to North Newbald, via Skidby and Little Weighton. It was about a 30mile ride and we stopped at The Tiger Inn for refreshments. Topographically it was quite different to anything I had done with them before. This time there were hills. Tackling hills on a tandem is technically and physically hard work. Everyone was putting in a lot of effort. It was a gorgeous summer evening which meant that it was pretty warm work as well. And oh my, do they go fast on the downhills.

I chose to ride my road bike this week as I’ve found that when I pilot a tandem, I can think of nothing but piloting the tandem. It makes me completely re-think how I cycle, which is terrific for fieldnotes. But, this time I wanted to capture the broader experience of cycling with the group. As a single rider I could get closer to tandems, talk more with riders and think about the landscape we were traversing – all of which is more than possible for an experienced front rider but not me (yet).

Photos were captured every 5 seconds using a Go Pro camera attached to my handlebars. I used over 1000 images in this time-lapse sequence.

Music is “Ambient-M (2003)” by Antony Raijekov. Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 2.5 Bulgaria License.

Beverley Road to North Newbald with the Tandem Club from Kat Jungnickel on Vimeo.

Yesterday I rode with the Hull and East Riding CTC club from Cottingham Green to York for the annual York Cycle Rally. Although it was initially overcast when we set off at 9am, the skies cleared and it turned into a gorgeous blue sky summery day. We arrived at the show at around lunchtime. I attached my GoPro camera to my handlebars and set it to take photos every 30seconds. I’ve collated the images in a time-lapse short film:

Cottingham Green to York Cycle Rally from katjung on Vimeo.

Last night I cycled over the Humber Bridge with the Beech Holme Tandem Club. It was a lovely clear night and a great turnout – seven nine* tandems, two single bikes and a support bus. The ride was about 30miles with a refreshing pub stop at the half way point. We started riding at 8pm and arrived back after midnight.

* Thanks Allan.

UPDATE: I’ve made a time-lapse animation from images I took during the ride
UPDATE 2: Uploaded again, this time with music.

Beverley Road to Barton-Upon-Humber with the Tandem Club from Kat Jungnickel on Vimeo.

Music is Wavy Glass by Podington Bear – licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License.

While talking to people about cycling in Hull we have been finding out about the history of cycle campaigning in the city, so I thought I’d write a short post about the Hull Cycle Campaign. Some of the things the Campaign did are now done under other banners, but the late 1990s seemed to be a particularly busy time in Hull for cycle campaigning.

In 1994, people involved in the city’s Environment Forum and coming from a variety of groups (including Hull and East Riding CTC, and Hull Friends of the Earth) formed what became the Hull Cycle Campaign. One of the group’s first activities was to distribute a questionnaire to raise awareness of cycling in Hull and cyclists’ needs. This also helped gain new members for the Campaign.

The Campaign carried out a range of lobbying activities, including local petitions, and was involved in cycling-related protests of the 1990s (including one held on Spring Bank after the death of a university student while cycling). It commented on transport schemes and new developments in Hull and the surrounding area, and there was a regular cycle liaison group that enabled this. Meeting at the One Stop Environment Shop, the Hull Cycle Campaign held stalls in the Princes Dock Shopping Centre and at events such as the Rainbow Fair, which during the 1990s was held in East Park. A newsletter (Cycleology) was distributed to members, around the city, and on the Internet (for archived copies from the late 1990s see here).

We think that the Campaign continued until around 2000. Were you involved – if so why not tell us about it?

I attended the tandem auction this morning at Gilbert Baitson. All tandems came from the Beech Holme Tandem Club and money raised from the sale will go directly into buying new bikes for the club as well as the repair and maintenance of their existing collection.

There were 45 bikes listed in the catalogue including Claud Butler, Dawes, Peugeot, Richmond and many others vintage brands. Attendance was high. There must have been at least 100 people in the room during the auction. Most were men, aged 40+. I spoke with several people and it seemed that many were regular attendees of this and similar auction houses. Having won items, a familiar practice involves re-selling purchases either at local car boot sales or on the internet. One man told me he had done some research this morning in order to see how much second hand tandems normally sold for. Others were interested in doing a tandem up for personal use. One woman told me she had her eye on a yellow tandem which she thought would not need too much work to get it back on the road. She and her husband already had bikes and regularly went riding on weekends. She had been thinking about getting a tandem and saw an article about the auction in the local newspaper. Bikes generally went for £40-£90 with a few of the very special ones going for £150-£200.

A few photos and GPS track of last night’s cycle with the tandem club. More to come as it was the first time Rachel and I participated as proper frontriders with backriders who were visually impaired.

Last night I attended a training session at the Hull Cycle Speedway club. I joined the youth session at 18.30 and decided to watch the adult one at 19.30 given the fact the littlies whipped me. It was my first experience of riding a specialised speedway bicycle and racing on a shale surface. I found it exciting and interestingly strategic. Andy and Derek, key contacts of the club, were very welcoming and encouraging.

My very fast 8year old competitors.

Club bikes in storage.

A customised speedway bike.

The track is made of shale. After races and during training riders often scrape their wheels to clear them of mud, rocks and other detritus.

An average gear ratio is 46.

Getting a feeling for the bike and the track.

Kat and I went on a ride on Wednesday 12th May with the Beech Holme tandem club. The ride was circular, starting from HERIB on the Beverley Road, heading up North to Arnold and part way back turning East to come back into the city on the Holderness Road.

As we cycled out of North Bransholme and left the Hull urban area the sun was starting to set. Looking forwards you could see the agricultural landscape and behind us were the lights of Hull.

The map below shows the route we took with a few pics to illustrate.

We didn’t leave the Bay Horse in Arnold until around 10:15 (having arrived there around 9pm) and by then it was properly dark – and quite cold. This time I was on the front of the tandem and apparently I wiggle my shoulders, which affects balance! If you’re new to tandem riding, it’s also hard to remember to alert the back rider before you do anything surprising.

Along the lanes people can ride two abreast, with the lanes quiet and the minibus tailing us to keep us safe from the rear. It is a very sociable ride as riders can talk to their tandem partner or to other pairs. The rhythms of tandem riding differ from the rhythms of solo riding – like balance, they must be negotiated between rear and front riders. For the skilled, like many of the front and rear riders present that evening, this is part of the unspoken pleasure of riding tandem – for the less skilled, like me, it is rather more conscious!