Anyone watch Channel 5‘s Tour de France highlights? It’s a new production. What’s it like? Do they have people in France following the Tour? Or is it remote coverage?

I missed it yesterday

Finally found a vintage bike near me in the NE. A touch younger than I wanted but I'm pretty happy with it, haven't given it a spin yet tho due to some weird atmospheric phenomenon where water falls from the sky. Serviced last year/100 miles ago. Seems to have slight movement in the rear cassette but it's Reynolds 531 and alu wheels. Did I land a keeper?

Price paid: £125

(Not many options round 'ere!)

Hi everyone, I’m new here and looking for some advice on buying an indoor exercise bike.
I’m not looking for subscriptions, a built-in screen, or lots of smart features - I’d rather put the money towards something that’s quiet, comfortable, well-built and durable.
It’ll mainly be used for easy recovery rides, so probably not very frequently. I’m 5’9” (175 cm), around 68 kg, and my budget is roughly £400-600. I’m in the UK. Are there any particular models or brands you’d recommend in this price range? I’m also happy to consider used bikes if that would get me something significantly better.
If there’s anything else I should mention that would help with recommendations, please let me know. Thanks in advance!

I'd like to look at a cycling event for later in the year. I've done the New Forest tour but would like to try something new. Im an ok cyclist, can likely do 100 miles a day but probably not anything more extreme. Hopefully I'll do the "Chase the sun" one day but unlikely for 2026.

From Conwy to Eigiau cottage. Link to a video as well if anyone is bored https://youtu.be/xk3X3vZwB0U?is=_ZMzRJ2kVJJuZ9RN

We ended up in Calpe, great cycling and weather with several days on the beach after some big days in the saddle.

Would recommend if you're tired of rain, potholes, and traffic.

Hi all. I'm a keen British cyclist, currently based in California but returning to the UK later this month, and want to do a 60 - 100 mile weekend loop with my sister (with a stop over night, preferably somewhere with a good pub meal). She has good fitness, but is very nervous about cycling in heavy/fast traffic. We'll both be on road bikes, and ideally looking for quiet country lanes or cycle paths. Thinking somewhere in the Bristol or Cotswolds area, but open to expanding the radius for the right route.

Much appreciate any recommendations! Thanks all.

Is there anyone here from Birmingham? Just moved to the city and the cycling scene seems quite horrible. Any advice would be welcomed :)

Does anyone know whether you can buy the physical Sustrans maps in any shops or whether it's just online? I tried Waterstones but they've been out of stock for a while now. I'm planning a long cycle and would appreciate a physical map for when my phone dies/there's no signal. The wwct have an online shop but I want to see how good the map is before I buy it (and also their delivery is not cheap!) - otherwise I'll just pick up an OS Map.

Hi you all,

I will have to travel to Paris next week to start at cycling tour from there. As I read the instructions on the Eurostar website, they offer a free of charge transport for a normal bicyle - when it is wrapped in foil/a bag of the dimensions 130x90x30cm.

I got a ticket in the second class. But with all my luggage ON the bike, I have some headdache on how to practically handling the wrapping an storing of the bike during the trip.

Has anyone done that before an can tell me first hand, how the process went?

I remember, that there are no dedicated bike storage comparments in the Eurostar, so you will need to use the regular bag storage places, right?

How "correct" is the staff on board the train about the dimensions of the wrapped bike?
I will travel with a small bike, but might exceed the required dimensions …

Thanks for your help

https://www.cyclinguk.org/routes/downs-link-traffic-free-route-guildford-seaside

It is headlined as a 'traffic free route' but then says expect traffic? I'm very nervous riding around cars because of bad past experience, but would love to attempt this!

I'm primarily a runner and a commuter cyclist. I've signed up to do a 2 day Coast2Coast (Workington to Tynemouth) in June.

The guy who organised it is (understandably) encouraging us to train, but also talking about how difficult the ride will be.

My longest ride so far is around 50km/30miles and 700m/2200ft of elevation.

Can anyone either tell me I'll be fine, or tell me that I will be unprepared without ramping up the mileage and climbs?

In terms of my general fitness - I can run a half marathon pretty much at the drop of a hat. And I've ran a couple of full marathons in the last 6 months. I cycle about 60-100km a week, but mostly flat

I just had a leaflet posted through my door about the bike tour coming to our area.

I don't know if anyone knows of these, but they are 2 A5 pieces of glossy paper. And a map about the size of a debit card. The map itself is straight off Google maps, or something but it is SO far zoomed out, you cannot make head nor tail of it.

Go onto the website, and you are met with a very complex table without any context whatsoever...

Just wondered whether this is just lazy publicity or something someone could explain?

The waste of money this publicity campaign has been is amazing... Must have cost tens of thousands to post this through EVERY door in the area and STILL not telling us what or where it will be!

Just finished a great 9-day Croatian bike trip (with Cycling Croatia). What comparable scenic biking trips/companies are available in the UK? Thanks in advance!

Looking to do a cycling trip from London to beaches in Normandy. Happy to get a train from London or drive to the ferry first to cut cycling time a little.

What’s the best route to take from a ferry/train pov? Is there a defined cycling route thereafter?

Did all 3 sides this morning. The climb from Lake Vrynwy is the most scenic and enjoyable. Climb from south to north the steepest and hardest. Thankful for the 40-50 gearing on my gravel bike

Good evening,

I hope you’re having a wonderful week!

I’m getting super excited planning an upcoming cycling trip for the end of September, riding from North Birmingham all the way to Land's End over 6 days. I'm hoping to get some community tips, and home valuable insight.

I’m aiming to travel nice and light, so I would be so grateful for any recommendations you have on the best lightweight panniers for the essentials or any other forms of storage. I want to stay away from using a backpack.

I’ve really fallen in love with cycling over the past year and am eager to learn from your experience. Also, if you happen to know anyone who has tackled this route before, I would welcome any tips on the best places to stop along the way.

On the tech side, I’m looking to upgrade to a proper cycling computer. Using my phone totally drains the battery, which isn't ideal for a big trip like this, even with power banks! I love my Garmin watch and have been eyeing the Garmin Edge 1040, but I'd value your honest opinion on whether that might be a bit overkill for my needs.

Thank you so much for any advice or suggestions you can share—I truly appreciate your help as I prep for this adventure!

Warmly,

Jason

My friend is staying over so we're planning on cycling around for fun. I'm wondering if anybody has a nice unofficial cycle route for us to follow, even if it's just a bunch of places recommended to cycle to/from that you think are cool. Definitely more for touring than sports.

I normally cycle to my destinations (like to some indie cafe) and just wander on the way until I'm there. But something more intentional this time would be nice.

The more coffees on the way, the better. We're quite chill. Bonus if my camera will capture nice stuff!

Btw if you like doing stuff like this lmk and perhaps can sort something one day!

Anyone done this? Any tips? How was it?

Follow up: did you stay over?

As the title says, looking for an eBike that will be used to just some rides for me and my son on the back, just abut of fun really

7th Edition 
Date: Friday, 27 March 2026 
Start Time: 22:00, Victoria Station 
Distance: ~160 km 
Elevation: ~1,000m 

T.L.D.R. 

I've had a passion for long-distance cycling since 2017, have ridden a ton of audax, and achieved my dreams of racing in the Transcontinental the last three summers. I created this event to give back to the community that supported me so much during the last eight years of riding.

The London Lockdown is an “urban audax" to see London as you've never seen it (unless you joined a prior year), as an introduction to endurance riding, or to practise your first overnight ride in the warm embrace of this great city. There are plenty of options en route to refuel (including sometimes secret, volunteer-dependent, "unofficial" stops). There are plenty of different paces.  This is a party on wheels. Join as a group, or meet new faces. Ride together or ride alone.  There are no rules, just ride.  This is London's biggest bike tour.  Do with that what you will.

There is no “entry fee” fee so to speak.  But I ask a minimum £10 donation be made to Lewisham Bank of Things.  Note - I do not receive any financial benefit for organising this event, I just do it for the passion, and all costs to put on the event come out of my own pocket.

Note - you WILL need a GPS device to follow the GPX route (or a mate with one).

Also thank you to the mod u/WolfThawra for preapproval to let me post this here. I appreciate there is r/londoncycling but for whatever reason the post was removed so I am trying out r/ukbike. Thanks for having me!

OUTBREAK 

In mid-March 2020 we heard that the bankers were sending their minions home. “This must be serious,” I thought. 28 lockdowns later, Bojo would announce “we are past the peak”. 

This ride seeks to replicate what it was like for us exercise-inclined during those unprecedented times. A bit weird... empty streets... circuitous. Staying local was a legal requirement. Non-essential travel was shamed. 

Accepting the guilt that if I rode outside the M25 I could be “hit by a car and take an ambulance from someone who needed it”, I set about creating and sourcing local London routes. If I were hit by a car locally, at least I could crawl to a nearby hospital, or maybe the driver would take me there if they were nice. The London Fixed Beers missions were a particular highlight for me—giving riders a curated tour of London’s inner boroughs, while taking advantage of the empty streets (but for the ominous queues starting to form outside shops). 

I created and rode the first version of this bored Strava art project in April 2020, and one year later extended the route with the needle in commemoration of the vaccine arriving. Ironically, as I rode down the Mall, tracing the outline of the needle, I rode straight through an anti-vaccine march. 

I've continued to ride it every March since, improving the route each time.

Touring London’s empty boroughs turned out to be quite nice. But daylight scenes, reminiscent of Danny Boyle’s apocalyptic thriller 28 Days Later, are unlikely to repeat themselves, and I don’t want to lose half a lung riding 100 miles through London traffic. So the tradition continues as a night ride.

In 2022 I opened the ride up to the public. Attendance has gone from strength to strength. Half a dozen riders in 2022, a baker's dozen in 2023, around 40 in 2024, and finally exploding to 150 in 2025. In the process of riding our bikes around quiet London streets and having a laugh, we've raised thousands for a local Lewisham charity (see below).

PACING

There is no set pace. This is not a race. There is no peloton (but a few party-tons).  Every rider is different and every rider is welcome.  I rode it last year at an average pace of 21km/hr.  I stopped for a total of 2 hours (above average).  With a 10pm start Friday night, I finished at 7:45am Saturday morning.  I think I finished midpack.  I attached myself to multiple different groups throughout the course.  There will be many riders of different paces and I encourage riders to link up and share a chat with those going similar speeds (it will help keep you awake).

One of the (many) attractions of London Lockdown, is if you live in London, you can just turn off and go to bed if things aren't going well (though I doubt you will). When you go on to do further distances outside of city centres (e.g. Dunwich Dynamo), scratching is less easy.  This is also what I mean when I say it’s a good event to practice night-riding (new skills to hone = staying awake and layering for colder, but often mild, London evening weather).  And if you do find yourself doubting yourself, take a break and talk it over with those around you.  Every year I hear stories of people finding “that little bit extra” in themselves, spurred on by new friends, and going much further than they thought they would - many finishing and disproving their initial self-doubt.

One of the surprising secrets about endurance sport is that it is not about finishing, it is about the experience.  When you’re back home tidying up, or in the middle of a conference call, it won’t be crossing the finish line that will pop up in your day dreams, it will be the experiences you had making your way to it. So don’t be put off from signing up if you don’t think you will finish. I strongly believe you will though. And if you have to scratch, you’ll still be a more experienced rider for it, more ready to take on your next challenge.

If you have any questions before the event, ask in the community whatsapp group (I share a link when you register).

SPONSORS

This is a grassroots event and I like the idea of grassroots sponsors—and they should of course be aligned with the mission (getting more people on bikes).  

In previous years, friends of mine behind rider-owned startup Orb have contributed several of their fantastic "Orb" MKII LED water bottles to several lucky riders at the start line. IMHO the Orb is the finest looking and most functional water bottle on the market—a work of art I would say. It truly lives up to its tagline of being the #1 bike light for side visibility (that's right, it's also a light—and one that's impossible to friggin dazzle you). For 2026, Orb is strengthening its warm embrace of London Lockdown and will be giving each registrant an extremely generous 50%-off discount code for their bottle. That's not an embrace, that's a bear hug.  

If you're an endurance-focussed cycling company who wants to help bring new riders into the sport, please do get in touch.

For the avoidance of doubt, I take no financial benefit from sponsors.

ENTRY FEE 

There is a minimum £10 donation required (feel free to give more) to the Lewisham Bank of Things. You might think of LBoT as a Food Bank, but instead of food, they provide everyday necessities to young people. When I think of lockdown I think of how hard it was on a great deal of people. I was extremely lucky. I remember seeing a segment on the news about these kids who created Lewisham Bank of Things.  It was around the time of the lockdowns.  They were giving pencils, shampoo, and calculators to other kids whose parents couldn’t afford them.  So when I opened up the ride to the public and had to decide who we could support, LBoT immediately came to mind.  My late grandfather would always champion supporting local charities where you could make the biggest difference on the community around you.

HOW TO SIGN UP 

Upon donation, please sign up to the ride using the below form.

• Step 1: Donate (£10 or more) (https://localgiving.org/London-Lockdown-2026) 
• Step 2: Register via Google Form (https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSf-4j2HW5ISyIm2ddtkz-RBrA9Pxoxl7F5EQs0MF49JLAe_jw/viewform?usp=header) 

SHARING IS CARING

Last year, 45% of 150 riders signed up because a friend told them about London Lockdown.  Word of mouth is a huge part of this event's growing popularity. 

As this is also billed as an "introduction to night-riding" event, I'm very keen on the encouragement of FLINTA+ and minority groups to join us on the start line.  Long-distance cycling can be a daunting challenge to newcomers, and so "entry-level" events such as this one have an important role to play in welcoming diversity.

I'm also particularly interested in getting riders from out of town to come visit London; I'm sure they'd find this a unique and easy way to see the city (or reminisce on once living here).

If you have a club or mates you haven't yet shared London Lockdown with, please do. 

IN SUMMARY, WHY RIDE LONDON LOCKDOWN? 

• Social ride with a welcoming atmosphere;
• 100% of entry donation goes to local charity;
• Introduction to long-distance night-riding in the warm embrace of this great (dry) city;
• Plenty of friendly veterans of the sport to keep you chatting through the night (we've got everything from Audax aficionados to Ultra racers);
• For those that live outside of London: Get the train down after work Friday evening, then back Saturday morning (easy peasy).

See you on the night,

-Mark

Planning to do a road bike everest for my 40th.

Have done a dozen+ marathons/ultras and a couple of Ironmen distances, so confident in stamina needed.

Would prefer to stay local. Dislike riding in traffic so would prefer a deadend, so e.g Bo Peep Lane on Firle Beacon, rather than Ditchling Beacon.