The Radavist

This year brought about the Red Hook Crit track criterium to London, where all the high-speed, spectator-friendly action took place on a closed course within the city center. Here’s the first video we’ve seen from the event. Be sure to share yours.

July 11th brings the Red Hook Crit to the streets of London. This one’s gonna be good! To make sure you’re on top of all the happenings, head over to the RHC London website and follow them on Facebook.

On the way back home from Italy, I swung through London to catch up with my friends at Oakley who have just opened their Oakley In Residence space. After a quick tour of the locale and a brief meet and greet with a few athletes, Chas from MASH and I convinced multi-Olympic gold medalist Victoria Pendleton to step outside and take a #HardstyleWednesday photo.

My mind is blown… As always, there’s more to come!

Wednesday, July 2nd, Emily Maye has a photo exhibition opening in London, at Beach. Roll through to check it out. I wish I could be there!

These look good!

“Daily Goods is our rather excellent in store coffee shop, the brain child of  Carter Donnell. We finally made a limited edition collaboration cap, so you can share the love and show your allegiances when it comes to your favourite spot to sup the finest coffee based beverages in all of London town and where to purchase superior cycling goods and apparel. You may also find that this fine piece of Italian made head wear will keep the sun out of your eyes and the rain from disturbing your finely coiffed locks.”

See more at Kinoko.

British architect Norman Foster’s newest project proposal isn’t a giant building with a spaceship-like façade. Instead, it’s an urban adaptive reuse project:

“Foster + Partners has unveiled a scheme that aims to transform London’s railways into cycling freeways. The seemingly plausible proposal, which was designed with the help of landscape firm Exterior Architecture and transportation consultant Space Syntax, would connect more than six million residents to an elevated network of car-free bicycle paths built above London’s existing railway lines if approved.

“SkyCycle is a lateral approach to finding space in a congested city,” said Norman Foster, who is both a regular cyclist and the president of Britain’s National Byway Trust. ”By using the corridors above the suburban railways, we could create a world-class network of safe, car free cycle routes that are ideally located for commuters.”

“To improve the quality of life for all in London and to encourage a new generation of cyclists, we have to make it safe,” he added. ”However, the greatest barrier to segregating cars and cyclists is the physical constraint of London’s streets, where space is already at a premium.”

The 220-kilometer SkyCycle, which has already received backing from Network Rail and Transport for London, would provide a safer and cheaper alternative to constructing new roads. Nearby residents would access the suspended pathway via 200 entrance points, all connected to the street by ramps and hydraulic platforms.”

Read more here.

I really like these two photos that just hit the Kinoko Cycles blog, featuring Josh and the new Dart V2. That bike looks like a lot of fun!

I like videos like this because they highlight an everyday commuter and how they spend their days. Check out Phil from Urb-Orbis as he talks about his work life and riding his Charge Freezer in London.

As an architect, I can really enjoy looking through photos of the new Kinoko Cycles space. I’ve always wanted to design a complete bike shop, from the floorboards to the millwork and it looks like the designer went to town on the buildout. As part of any successful project, photos are of the utmost importance and the shots on the Kinoko Flickr look great. One day I’d love to check out the space in person!

See more photos here.

So my post earlier today touched on this news, but here’s the official word from Tokyo Fixed, or now, Kinoko Custom Cycles:

“Our shop in Peter Street in Soho has been the heart of our operation for years now. Fast becoming known as the ideal place in central London to find high quality parts, talk to experienced and enthusiastic staff and generally be surrounded by the best frames, clothing and art that modern cycling has to offer, we’ve enjoyed our tenure there.

However, we’re extremely proud and extremely excited to announce our imminent move to Golden Square in Soho, and the launch of our new shop, Kinoko Custom Cycles. Our aim is to move from being the best place for incredible steel and rare parts to a singular destination for London’s cyclists. That means we’ve got a full fitting center with 2 top-level qualified fitters, a huge workshop, a massive space for bikes, parts, clothing and art and even our own in-house baristas in Daily Goods.

Our increase in space also means an increase in the things we can offer. We mean to be the best place in England to get a custom bike, and our work with artisanal and boutique bike builders like Tonic Fabrications, Cherubim, Donhou and Independent Fabrications affirms this aim; but we’re also stocking some of the top names in performance road bikes. Cannondale, Trek and Focus will all be gracing our showroom, alongside custom frames and our own Tokyo Fixed models. The same goes for our clothing and components – we’re still going to be championing small brands like Vulpine and Paul Components, but they’re going to be sharing pride of place with Castelli team kit and Shimano groupsets.

Now that you know what we plan to do, how does this affect you? Tokyo Fixed at 4 Peter Street will close its doors on Saturday 11th of May. Kinoko Custom Cycles will open its doors to customers the following week, with a grand launch party to be announced soon. The web-shop will remain open, and no order will go unfulfilled. Our website will change to represent its place as the online store of Kinoko Custom Cycles, and the URL’s will redirect accordingly. For the meantime, our huge moving sale continues in-store and online. We’d recommend you check it out, as we’re place huge discounts on a significant amount of our stock.”

Sounds like Kinoko Custom Cycles us going to be pretty legit.

Super Ted is one of those individuals that just makes things happen. He’s a skilled designer, craftsman and a staple in the London scene. Here, Spin London swings by Ted James Design to check in with Ted.

Stoked to see some riding from the almighty Ninjacats. Sol, I’m pretty sure you could have done a bigspin in there!

SPINLDN

I’ve really enjoyed every issue of the Ride Journal and Issue VII looks to be worth the scoop as well. If you’re in London, don’t miss out on the release party next Thursday, February 7th. See more details at the Ride Journal’s Facebook. If you can’t make it, pick up a copy here.