Cycling and Life
Video links to UCI rated cyclo cross races unless otherwise stated. The big issue being geo-restrictions on content – 2018/19 calendar Latest posts are at the top and do watch out for updates. Livestreams are sometimes available on Eurosport (plus media player), or via such sites as CyclingFans, Steephill or Procyclinglive. The UCI YouTube channel… Continue Reading
The Kinesis UK London and South East Cyclo Cross League held round five of the 2018/19 season at Herne Hill Velodrome, south London. Organised by Herne Hill Youth CC on October 7, 2018. In the mid 1990’s we held the first cyclo cross race at the Herne Hill Velodrome and a handful of people took… Continue Reading
Featured images used as a ‘cover’ for each month since April 2018 when Cyclesport.London became Velo Klubhaus.com. See also Gallery for lots of pictures from across Velo Klubhaus. October 2018 Spectators on the top of the ‘Big Bob’ climb at the Herne Hill, London Cyclo Cross 2018. September 2018 (2) Crystal Palace Cyclo Cross Reborn… Continue Reading
All the pictures in this gallery feature on this site and are just a sample of what you might find on Velo Klubhaus. You can also find the pictures ‘featured’ on the HomePage here. If you would like to know more or be sent a picture do let us know – https://veloklubhaus.com/contact/
During 2018 I featured a number of cycle races that had a touch of the ‘Roubaixesque’ about them, road events that featured sections of dirt tracks, pave, green roads, gravel and farm tracks in addition to tarmac. The semi concrete steep climb to the finish of stage 17 of the Vuelta Espana on September 12, I thought… Continue Reading
Cycle road races that travel over gravel, pave and dirt. Listed below are races that I look forward to on the road race calendar of which some are well known and others not so much. (this page was updated on October 4) What all have in common is a touch of the ‘Roubaixesque’ about them, each… Continue Reading
The second round of the ‘Kinesis UK London and South East Cyclo Cross League’ of the 2018/19 season was held at Crystal Palace, south London organised by London Phoenix on September 16. Crystal Palace had been a ‘Lost Cyclo Cross Course’ since the mid 1980’s and therefore it was a very welcome return because the… Continue Reading
The Kinesis UK London and South Cyclo Cross League holds round two of the 2018/19 season at Crystal Palace, south London organised by London Phoenix on September 16. The London Cyclo-Cross association came into being in the 1950’s and a league has run ever since, although in the 2000’s ‘South East’ was added to the… Continue Reading
Cyclo cross has a deep, deep programme of events at a local, regional, national and world level. Each one of these races can often attract 500 or more riders, plus huge numbers of fans at some and below is a calendar of UCI registered races. The UCI ranks each race in status with CMM (World… Continue Reading
Cycling is healthy and good for the environment, especially when compared to motor vehicles, but we cyclists shouldn’t be complacent or too smug as we do have a carbon footprint. We are all part of a consumer society that is gobbling up resources and disposing of them often thoughtlessly when worn out. I considered this… Continue Reading
An August cycle tour that took in the home of Gustav Holst and the place of death of Glam Rock star Marc Bolan in Barnes, south London. In the 1970’s I started to get to grips with life when I took small and big steps to understand what was naff or good taste. I had… Continue Reading
Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace gravel cycle ride and a gem in London. In an effort to optimise the sales value of the cluster of luxury high rise towers in Vauxhall and Battersea, rebranded as ‘Nine Elms on the Southbank’, there was much hype about a new linear park to link Vauxhall with Battersea Park… Continue Reading
When I first came to London there were two cycle co-operatives trading, one was Mosquito Bikes and the other Brixton Cycles, whilst Mosquito forsake being a co-op in favour of a partnership many years ago and is now part of the Velorution chain, Brixton Cycles remains. Despite being in the south of London Brixton Cycles… Continue Reading
The story of my mum’s wardrobe by Andrea Hofling The stylish 50’s My mum, Ilse, was young (and pretty) in 1950s Germany and she owned some extremely nice and stylish dresses which she wore when ballroom dancing with my dad in their adopted home town of Göttingen. Or when they attended the cinema together watching… Continue Reading
Riding out from London and over the North Downs and into the Mole Valley has been part of my staple cycling diet, sadly the last time I rode here was in the late summer of 2017. Today, June 26, 2018 I rode into the valley again. Combining the stresses and strains of the North Downs… Continue Reading
I trained not to win races, although that would have been nice, but rather to be strong enough to ride and compete whilst having a ‘normal life’. And when I say ‘normal’ I mean being able to go out racing or riding without having to spend the rest of the time with my head slumped… Continue Reading
Epping Forest is a Mecca for London cyclists and an area where access to the ‘people’s forest’ is seen as a birth-right. Well, it is now, but only after a fight. At the end of the 19th Century Epping Forest like other common lands, forests or heaths was in danger of being swallowed by London’s… Continue Reading
Murals have a long history of presenting a narrative, a sentiment, a joke or simply a nice artwork. They are the embodiment of art in a public space. Thomas Hart Benton and Diego Rivera reflected the narratives of US and Mexican history respectively along with many others by creating epic art works that few people… Continue Reading
I came to London in the late eighties and soon found myself involved in local politics including housing issues, and I enjoyed some great times with anarchists who sometimes weren’t really sure why I would talk about cycles, not political cycles but the pedal version. It was in 1994 when I and a group of… Continue Reading
Post World War Two the London County Council commissioned Peter Laszlo Peri to create art as part of a desire to enrich the public realm; “as emblems of civic renewal and social progress” (Heritage Calling). Three of Peri’s works are within a short walk of my home in Vauxhall, London. Peri was a Hungarian born… Continue Reading
Herne Hill Velodrome is a bright jewel in London’s heritage and it is a rare survivor of not only the 19th century boom or bust approach to sport it, but also a past Olympic venue (1948). Built in 1891 Herne Hill Velodrome situated in south London became Britain’s premier cycle track, drawing huge crowds, and… Continue Reading
‘If you can race at Palace you can race anywhere’ – I was told that when I first got involved in cycle sport in London. Crystal Palace is a park in the south London borough of Bromley which was once the home of the Crystal Palace, the star of the Great Exhibition held during 1851… Continue Reading
The River Thames towpath gravel cycle ride from Putney to Hampton court is just under 26 kilometres long and can be completed in a hour and a bit (plus the time taken to get to Putney or Hampton Court) making it a convenient London ride for when time poor. I often combine it with the… Continue Reading
The 2012 Olympic Games cycle road races featured nine ascents of the Zig Zag road, better known as Box Hill, for the men and two for the women. It was intended that this North Downs climb would smash the race apart. Sadly, for the British team working for Mark Cavendish and despite setting the pace… Continue Reading
London has many lost rivers, all now almost unseen except for a few glimpses through drains, culverts or pipes. In Vauxhall the Effra is no longer the partly navigable river it once was and now is buried deep underground covered by roads and buildings. An outlet pipe into the River Thames is our only visible… Continue Reading
Germany has a strong cycle race scene covering the same territory as the UK with the addition of a good following for cycle football and artistic cycling. For us in the UK the idea that something is a ‘hobby’ is a bit like being told that something is ‘nice’, such words can be construed as… Continue Reading
The North Downs are a long line of green high ground to the south of London. The Downs have become a place of pilgrimage for cyclists on and off road and here you can find sunken roads, great views plus killer climbs – not a place for the pious rather a place for any cycling… Continue Reading
In April 2018 I travelled back in time to the now defunct German internal grenze (border) at the Wurmberg Mountain. In the mid-eighties I had stood on the west side of the Grenze half way up the Wurmberg Mountain in the Harz, a region of mountains rich in folklore set in central Germany. Above my… Continue Reading
Paris Roubaix is a race that attracts me because it goes ‘off-piste’. In the present era media giant SKY Television has built its global reach upon football, the sport was the lynchpin of the SKY satellite TV business model and it revolutionised how football and sport in general is financed. Cycle sport also had a… Continue Reading
I was on a training camp in Italy and a fellow guest spoke up loudly that the almost five minute ride out from our sea front hotel to the country roads was far too long. Laughed? We would have but our breath was further taken from us by a follow up comment – ‘it’s a… Continue Reading
Belgium one cycling nation – Kassein or Pavé? / Belgien ist eine Nation von Radfahrern – Kassein oder Pavé? The picture above is of World and Olympic Champion Nicole Cooke riding the Muur de Huy during La Fleche Walonne Classic Name a famous Belgian ‘Plastic Bertrand’ I replied – ‘nah, someone famous, name me a famous Belgian’? My… Continue Reading
I have spent time in Berlin and other German towns and cities over the years, and I have a huge regret. I must admit to feeling a bit silly, but here it is: I regret not watching the Viktoriapark cyclo cross race held in Berlin. My image of Berlin was built on cold war film… Continue Reading
