Author: admin

Colin Martin in the Himalayas

Colin Martin, the Moultoneer whose legendary journeys included riding from England to Australia in 1970, has recently completed a cycling tour in the Himalayas.

21 August. Started the day climbing a 18km pass to 14,200 feet, this is the highest pass on my route. A long descent into the next valley, a roller coaster of a ride that was slowed by soft sand, road works and chunks of rock. I had to push my bike through this for over an hour then climb back on and ride 12 km up the other side through more road works, had to walk again, the rocks under the wheels made it impossible to ride. Passing army trucks cover me in dust and dirt. My bike and I are the same, not metal, not flesh, but dirt. Eventually made it to Mulbekh, a small village at 10,839 ft. Leh is now 190 km behind me. I'm now at a home-stay with a traditional Buddhist family. They have no electricity. I'm given a water bucket to wash from, I'm sleeping on the floor with the family's yak in a room next to me. All is well after, what I'd have to say was, one of the biggest days in my life. I'm tired but happy.

For more details read Colin's blog. You can also view some video footage at Colin's Youtube page

Ex-Bradford on Avon mayor rides home after charity trek


 

Cllr Martindale rode a Moulton Jubilee bike, which is based on the AM22 model. It was customised for her journey along the mountain tracks by being fitted with larger than normal tyres. Steve Harvey, a spokesman for the Bradford on Avon-based Moulton Bicycle Company, said: “It is a wonderful achievement and we’d like to congratulate Isabel, as well thanking her for riding a Moulton bike. “We are very impressed with how it performed as hers was the only bike on the journey not to have any mechanical or tyre problems.”

via Ex-Bradford on Avon mayor rides home after charity trek From Wiltshire Times.

‘This Is Design’ celebrates iconic pieces at Design Museum

 

 

After 5 years of careful cataloguing and conservation, many of the highlights of Design Museum’s collection are being re-unveiled tomorrow as part of new show ‘This Is Design’ (to January 22). Celebrating the impact these pieces have had on the modern world, the exhibition showcases the importance of design in shaping all aspects of both our lives and contemporary culture – with everything from prototypes and drawings to mass manufacturing innovations on display. Featured among the vast showcase are the Candlestick Telephone, the Anglepoise Lamp, the original Mini and the Moulton Bicycle.

For info, see This is Design listing.

via ‘This Is Design’ celebrates iconic pieces at Design Museum – Now. Here. This. – Time Out London.

Brit Brands Commit to Domestic Manufacturing

via Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.

One difficulty in handbuilding bikes domestically is finding highly skilled craftsmen to delicately braze frames. What was once a common skill in the 1970s and ’80s is now rare, said Shaun Moulton, who runs his uncle Dr. Alex Moulton’s revered folding bike brand.

“We don’t make things in this country anymore. We don’t have those skills anymore; we don’t teach those skills,” Moulton said. Pashley builds Moulton’s entry-level TSR range, but the high-end frames are made at Moulton’s headquarters at an old English manor in the quaint village of Bradford-on-Avon. There, brazers spend 70 hours on one frame, sometimes working with tubes as thin as a half-millimeter in diameter.