Well it seemed a good idea at the time! Andrew (Straws) was delighted to find he was amongst the lucky folks that got a place on the 4th plinth in Trafalgar Square during Anthony Gormley’s latest art installation. But what to do?

Seemed like a great idea to ride his bike for an hour … especially as trying to track stand for an hour was never going to happen! So on the fateful day, after lazing around in the London sun for the day, his big chance of fame and his place in history approached….as did the rain clouds!!!!!!!!!!!

About one second before the cherry pickers plonked him on the plinth the heavens opened and more rain fell in one hour, than usually does in the whole of August in London. To say he got wet was an understatement!!

A few hardy souls turned up to support him, but the rest just sat indoors in the warmth and laughed at the live feed on Sky Arts.

If you fancy a look / laugh then click here and for those easily offended, then best to skip the first few minutes as the realisation that the rare occasion of the London Monsoon had arrived.

Highlights
2 mins in and a failed attempt at blatant political / cycling ’comment’ fails as it is too wet
12 mins - Davide from appears in free pack a mack from Pret a Manger
14 mins - really raining now!!
25 mins in and time to promote Sustrans and strip to a t-shirt
29 mins - local lads he told he was up there for a week fans go home
32 mins in and top road guide Imogen and owner of a dirty laugh arrives and then goes to the pub
34 mins time to read the brochure
39 mins everyone buggers off expect John who is looking a little cold and decides to ‘dance’!
45 mins - still raining
50 mins - getting bored now
60 mins - time for a cuppa!

Many thanks to Lisa (that lass of mine really does put up with some daft ideas of mine!), Alasdair (silly bloke with no coat)…cheers for the loan of the flat too and sorry i broke your spoons!, John (daft lad in the biking helmet), Simon and Julia (where is my umbrella that you borrowed?!?) and cheers for the Tate Britain present, Imogen (ta muchly for the post dunking wine), Stevie Woods for the turbo trainer, Davide and Giant for the bike, Sustrans for the t-shirt and Anthony Gormley for having such a great idea and for all the folks who text me…sorry i did not reply as my phone got a little waterlogged!! and apologies to my mum and dad for swearing at the start

If you can’t be bothered to look at the web footage then below are a few photos.

When we got an email from Robert Ellis about a cycling luggage system for touring bikes, so you get the most from your holidays, we were happy to assist. Lot’s of sleepless nights and notepads of scribblings later (from Robert!!) the project was complete and it’s a cracker!! So, if anyone out there is looking for a budding designer, then he’s you man.

Contact him on : rob-ellis@hotmail.co.uk

Check out the pictures below and also a few words of wisdom as to how it all began.

In the true spirit of the ‘Skedaddler’ I love cycling and I love exploring, but sometimes this combination can be problematic to say the least. My past cycling holiday explorations have largely been limited to a thread of weekend camping trips in the Peak district with my trusty tent and panniers strapped to my MTB.  However I recently took the plunge and decided to stray away from home to that there France and Spain.  Herein the problems began. 

Have you ever tried dismantling a bike and cramming it into a tatty cardboard bike box, in the short stay car park outside terminal five, in the pouring rain, only to be rewarded with a £40 carriage fee and a snapped derailleur thanks to your trusty baggage handler?  This is all before you’ve laid down a single pedal stroke.  On the bike, things only seem to get worse.  The humble bicycle and 25 kg of luggage and tent are not a healthy mix, as I soon found out on the twisty mountain roads of the Pyrenees.  Carrying everything you need for independent touring, including the kitchen sink, makes for a top heavy and unpredictable bike at the best of times and leaves you tottering about like a chimp on a unicycle. 

My other big moan of the trip was detachable luggage, which usually I would view as a good thing.  However it seemed that, in an attempt to save money I had accidentally bought the spontaneously detachable variety, which is impossible to remove when its dark and raining and you need to set up camp, yet pops off no problem (without any assistance in fact) when you’re on a French dual carriageway doing 30mph.
I know, moan moan moan, but it’s not just me.  I’ve spoken to over a hundred touring cyclists over the past year, all of which had shared the same or similar issues.  

After my ordeal, sorry, ‘adventure’, I couldn’t help thinking that there must be an easier and more enjoyable way to tour and explore by bike, and this is where Saddle Skedaddle came in.  The problem conveniently (too conveniently…) provided an ideal design opportunity to work on for my final year Product Design degree project, and who better to associate with the ultimate touring and adventure cycle than Saddle Skedaddle!
I’ve spent the past year working on an improved bicycle luggage carrying solution for adventure touring and came up with the following solution. 

The characteristic wobble and unpredictable handling of a loaded touring bicycle is challenged through the use of an innovative hubless wheel luggage storage system.  The luggage and two man tent is held securely in the centre of the wheel (without rotating) and low down to lower the bikes centre of gravity and provide safer and more predictable riding.  I’ve used a simple quick release strap system to hold the luggage in place, making it really easy to fit and remove.

The bike provides 60 litres of luggage space divided between two main waterproof bags which double as a ruck sack and hold all for ease of carrying, and within compartments inside the frame area itself (holding tools, first aid and personal items).  The bike is designed for minimum maintenance with a sealed belt drive and hub gearing, leaving the rider to focus on the fun and adventure of touring cycling.   
 
The business model would be for Saddle Skedaddle to offer the bike (loaded with tent, equipment, maps and routes) as a rental system to be collected at the destination airport for group or solo touring. The best bit is that the bike luggage bags will be posted to the Skedaddler’s home address before departure to fill with their belongings and to act as both airport luggage and to be fitted straight onto the bike upon arrival.  No need for double handling!

Sadly the model is made out of foam, so it won’t be taking me on any Alpine expeditions just yet.  Maybe next year…….  For now I’ll be sticking to my trusty (but a little rusty) bike.

Cycling in Japan photos. Check out these photos from the Skedaddle cycling holiday in Japan.

click here or to see a selected few on facebook click here

Many thanks to Andrew Pentelow for allowing us to use these photographs!!!

He can even now write his name in Japanese!!

This superb desert biking adventure focuses on the deep south of Morocco, a land of big skies and stark mountain ranges where mud-brick kasbahs appear to rise up out of the desert, sitting in tranquil palm oases and framed by dramatic backdrops of snowcapped mountains. We ride along Morocco’s dirt roads, taking us from Marrakech to the Tichka Pass, the highest in the High Atlas, and then southward, descending along the Draa Valley to the fringes of the Sahara Desert.