In honour of the 100th annual Bike Week that runs from Monday 5th to Sunday 11th June we thought it would be fun to “interview” our ebike gurus, Gerard and Wally, with some bike related questions!
Do you have a cycling hero?
(note here that both Gerard and Wally struggled so much to name only one person that it was agreed they were allowed to say up to three)
Gerard: Geraint Thomas is possibly the most inspirational racing cyclist of this generation.
Steve Peat is the best downhill mountain biker of his generation.
And not a person, but an organisation, Cycling UK do such an amazing job. They are the longest running cycling body in the world and inspire cycling in people whether they are an athlete or a novice.
Wally: Geraint Thomas is a brilliant man. He came second in the Giro d’Italia and instantly started congratulating the cyclists that beat him.
Beryl Burton – a Yorkshire cyclist who rode unsupported in the female Tour de France teams for Britain the record in numerous time trials. In 1967 she set a new time trial record and offered the lead male a liquorice allsort as she passed him 🙂
What is your favourite bike route on Arran?
Gerard: Arran’s end to end – see the route and lots of others on the Arran Bike Hire webpage!
Wally: Sliddery to Lamlash on the Ross Road.
What is your favourite bit of bike kit?
Gerard: Good quality padded cycling shorts. Endura sell decent ones or ASSOS if you want to get really expensive!
Wally: My 1996 Carlton Criterium racing bike inherited from my brother that he bought with his paper round money.
What is your favourite bike movie or book?
Gerard: Breaking Away: “A working-class Indiana teen obsessed with the Italian cycling team vies for the affections of a college girl while searching for life goals with his friends.”
Watch Breaking Away for free here.
Wally: The Breakaway by Nicole Cook: “The Breakaway is a book that will not only inspire all those who read it, but which also asks some serious questions about the way society regards women’s sport.”
A Sunday in Hell: “This is a bike-fanatics dream of a movie, portraying the discipline and heroism of the winners alongside the painful realisation of own limits of the losers.”
Have you got a cycling tip or piece of advice?
Gerard: Don’t buy cheap thinking that you will have a good deal. Instead go for gear that is fit for purpose. It will last longer and you will enjoy it more.
Wally: Go commando. Don’t wear underwear under your cycling shorts because there are too many seams which increase chafing!
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