Category Archives: Outdoors

A Day in the Woods

Bicycle Maintenance

Bicycles are great. I ride mine almost every day. To the office, around town, in the countryside, to the allotment, with friends or on my own. The sad truth however, is that an awful lot of people who could ride bikes, don’t. In the UK only 2% of journeys are made by bicycle, compared with 9% in Sweden, Finland and Germany and 25% in the Netherlands (Bassett et al. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 2008). Along with our lacklustre use of renewable energy, our cycling rates are also languishing at the bottom of the European table. I’d like, and expect, to see more people riding as energy prices rise, the economy continues to struggle and environmental pressures (both local and global) increase. A five-fold increase sounds incredible, but would only equal what many other European countries are already doing, and still represent only half the amount of cycling the best countries manage. It is achievable.

In April last year I spent two weeks in Lincolnshire with Alf and Teresa Webb at The Bike Inn completing my City & Guild’s qualifications in Cycle Mechanics.

Two weeks at The Bike Inn, Lincolnshire

City & Guilds Level 1& 2 Cycle Mechanics (3902) and The Bike Inn ‘Certificate of Attainment’

Since completing the training I’ve been working with Ross Taylor of Taylored Cycles offering the award winning Bristol University Cycle Surgery to staff and students and volunteering with The Bristol Bike Project.

Bristol University Cycle Surgery

The Bristol Bike Project also won an award. We won the Grassroots category of the 2011 Observer Ethical Awards and here’s the video:

Tools are important and I now have a fairly comprehensive toolbox. I’ve also recently built a bicycle wheel truing stand, more details here: bicycle wheel truing stand for building and repairing wheels. The only tools I’m still lacking are for the headset (press, remover, star nut fitter…), frame preparing tools (bottom bracket taps, crown race cutter) and the all important workstand!

This year I’m venturing into the world of frame building, with a one week course, again in Lincolnshire with Dave Yates and another with the soon to be opened Bicycle Academy. I say soon to be opened as they are currently setting up their workshop following a fantastically successfully crowd funding. They succeeded in raising over £40,000 in under a week though the new peoplefund.it project.

Watch this space for my adventures in frame building!

Hat tip, James, Bristol Bike Project 🙂

Willow Harvest at Radford Mill Farm

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This weekend we’ve been helping out at Radford Mill Farm with their willow harvest. Willow cuttings had been planted approximately a year ago and had already grown 8-14 feet in height depending on species. There were several thousand trees of around 10 different species, most planted at 1m spacing, some a little tighter. A black plastic mulch had been used, now covered in last years leaves.

1 year old, before cutting.

It was quite a job and took a dozen people the whole day to cut the field. A range of saws and secateurs were used with people taking turns at cutting, collecting, sorting and bundling.

Many hands make light work

The trees are cut right back, with only a few buds of last years growth left above ground. It is from these buds that this years growth, at least as vigorous as last years, will come.

All that remains after harvesting

By mid afternoon two thirds of the field was cleared. They did a good job last year with the uniform planting!

Two thirds of the field cleared

The different species and lengths needed to be sorted and bundled. This willow will be used for basket work, sculpture, living fencing and protecting the banks of a stream that runs through the farm.

Willow is sorted and bundled

To expand the willow plantation all that is needed are cuttings. Approximately a foot long, these cuttings are simply pushed into the ground (the right way up!) leaving a few buds above surface. This is how the willow we were cutting this weekend started a year ago. The simplicity and rate of growth is really amazing.

~1 foot cuttings

New cuttings, ~1m spacing

Finally, with the harvest complete we started on the fence. Long rods of over 10 foot are just pushed six inches into the ground, 3 inches apart and at 45 degrees to each other. They are woven between one another with the tops twisted together. The idea is that each rod will root and new growth can be woven back into the fence. We’ll definitely be back towards the end of the summer to see how it’s grown!

Living willow fence

It was a really fun weekend, hard work but great to be outside and working towards something so tangible. I’m really impressed at how simple and productive willow growing can be and how versatile the product.

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