Family ByCycle Family ByCycle

Tom and Katie return at the end of a half term which concluded with an overnight cycling tour and two ‘new’ bikes, and contemplate the kit the children grew out of during lockdown, the terminal velocity of an eight-year-old, leather jackets and the metaphorical link between overtaking, and urination.

Tom, Thomas Ivor, Ruth and, making his Family ByCycle podcasting debut, Baby Bob, reflect on Daddy ByCycle’s first outing on our Thorn ‘Me ‘n U 2’ Triplet bike, finally finishing the tandem off, Thomas Ivor’s exploits in the snow, a fortnight ago, and, er… cook some chips.

We talk about the Family ByCycle’s annual bike rotation and fettling, specialist tandems (and bigger) for families, scouring eBay for second hand bike parts as Coronavirus-induced shortages start to bite, the worst thing about having your bike nicked, and which kitchenware you can clean a crankset with.

Do you talk to drivers who close pass you? Are we approaching a critical moment on the roads, as the ranks of retired drivers, swell? Tom examines his interaction with an elderly driver who nearly wiped him out on Sunday afternoon - and seeing other families out on the road, talks about mutual encouragement in the face of challenging road conditions.

You can see the original tweet and video here: https://twitter.com/familybycycle/status/1341014819634331655?s=21

Find out more about my first ‘Festive 500’ in 2017, and my tips for completing it successfully, on our blog: https://www.familybycycle.uk/blog/riding-the-festive500

We find our chocolate stash raided, but still tackle the Festive 500, Elephant Bikes, air quality, School Streets and the very special moment the ‘boy in the park’ got his new bike, thanks to our online community.

A thread on Twitter yesterday led to an impromptu crowdfunder for 'the boy in the park'. Now we're off to collect some bikes. Meanwhile, Thomas Ivor has been riding for 'Children in Need' at school, and shares some of his plans for the winter, and Baby Bob still can't say the word 'duck'...