Sunday 25 August 2013

A Visit to The Bike Kitchen by Urban Cycles

Today was my first unhurried leisure cycle in 4 weeks. I have not been on my bicycle much due to being away on holiday. On my return I felt pretty lethargic and lacking in my usual nippiness and therefore I only did very short local rides to the shops of no more than 2 miles.

I decided to take the Pershore Road route into the city, which was fine, with very few motorists about at 9 am in the morning. I normally like to go fast along the Pershore road, but this morning I could barely reach a consistent plod of 12-13mph. Also being inadequately dressed for the chilly breeze didn't help

On reaching Sherlock Street I remembered that it was the day of the Sunday Market, so I stopped by to have rummage to see what I could find. As usual, there were lots of bikes and bits 'n' bobs to suit every pocket. I spotted a beautiful 1976 Mercian Racing bike for only £60. However, not really having much space for anymore bicycles at home right now, I passed it by with just a envious smile.

I did find myself a a new windproof for just a few pounds from the Halford seconds stall at the market. Problably 1 size too big, but it did the job at keeping the wind off me for the remainder of my journey.



I continued on my journey to the Jewelry Quarter with a rattling and squeaking right pedal. I arrived  at  Urban Cycle's Bike Kitchen event hosted at Urban Coffee in good time and surprisingly with both pedals still fixed to my bike. I was warmly greeted by by +Rosina Mcguigan, Head of Training at Urban Cycles Birmingham and introduced me to Andy
Rosina quickly set to having a look at my bicycle, whilst Rosina tweaked my gears, breaks and pedals, I ordered breakfast and chatted to Andy about East Birmingham and the challenges for new cyclists in the area.


Unfortunately Rosina discovered that my pedals needed more than greasing, and I required a new set of pedals.    To my surprise Rosina & Andy set about finding me a new pair of pedals.  Whilst they were not able to get a pair to fit my crank, they kindly offered to order me a pair.





I was totally impressed with my experience. It was great to receive the  free bike checkup, tweaking and valuable bike maintenance advice from the team at Urban Cycles, who are clearly highly skilled, knowledgeable and experienced in their field.  Like Birmingham Bike Foundry, I so am pleased to find yet another, welcoming, user friendly and accessible service for cyclists in Birmingham.
Whilst I am lucky to have Birmingham Bike Foundry on my doorstep, It's great to have Urban Cycles operating from various locations across the city.

Thanks Andy & Rosina for your time and service this morning.