Cycling notes: snobbery, female riders and dispensing with a brake – archive, 1895
Heretofore many professional and business men have been afraid to appear in public on wheels simply because it would damage them from a business point of view. I have known leading doctors who have made a practice of rising in summer at 5am, to enjoy a long ride before breakfast simply because they dared not appear in public except in the irreproachable brougham. For such as these the bar is being removed.
Pneumatic saddleA paragraph for lady riders. A lady says she has found the Guthrie-Hall pneumatic saddle very satisfactory, and all of her feminine acquaintances who have tried it appear to like it too. I know a good many men who do not care for it, but that is beside the mark in the present case. I should recommend the Guthrie-Hall people to push it specially for feminine use.
The use of the brake
Except for absolute road-racing or record-breaking, there is nothing gained – I cannot underline this too strongly – by dispensing with a brake. From one to one and a half pound is about the weight saved, and this is not felt in ordinary riding. The diminution of labour that is undoubtedly noticed when the mud-guards are removed is due far more to the free running of the unrestricted wheel than to the small weight of those accessories themselves, and in the case of the brake there is not this excuse for removal. Its retention actually adds to the speed of the ordinary cyclist, for there are very few riders outside the ranks of the experts who care to let a machine run very fast down hill if they have no means of immediately checking its speed. It also saves much fatigue in the way of back-pedalling when long or steep hills are encountered; there is nothing more exhausting than the anxious effort to control one's machine down a steep slope that may prove too much for one's powers at any instant.
Of course I do not recommend cyclists to get into the habit of constantly using the brake; it should be kept as a last resource, and only used in case of sudden necessity or danger. But the mere fact of having it there should it be required adds tremendous confidence to the nervous rider, and we are not all of us constructed after the daredevil pattern. The silly fashion of removing both guards and brake in order to imitate a road-racing class to whom the rider could not belong if he would, and possibly would not if he could, has absolutely nothing to recommend it.
A lady's riding powersA correspondent who thinks of following my route through the Ribble and Lune valleys with a lady at Easter asks whether I consider the road through Gargrave to Malham too heavy with hills for a lady's average riding powers, and if decent inn accommodation is to be had at the latter place. The last time I went that way I found good accommodation at an inn at Malham, hard by Gordale Scar, but in any case there is no lack of good inns at Settle. As to taking a lady that way I should not hesitate for one moment. My experience is that the average wheel woman is quite as good at hill work as her husband or brother, since she often rides in far better style, which counts for much in hill climbing.
Cycling in Hyde Park
The opening of Hyde Park to cyclists under certain conditions will be a boon to London riders. They will henceforth be allowed to use it before 10 in the morning and after seven at night in 'the season,' and between the hours of 10 and four at other times of the year. This concession has been gained by the Cyclists' Touring Club, and will be announced in the approaching issue of their Gazette. I trust the time is not far distant when we in Manchester shall be strong enough to insist upon similar privileges being granted us by the Parks Committee of the Corporation.
Cheap machinesOnce again I would raise my voice against cheap machines. They are dangerous to life and limb, they are heavy to drive, and they are not in reality cheap. The margin of profit to the maker of even the highest-grade machine is really small, and a reduction of one-third in price is only accomplished by the sacrifice of good material and workmanship. If riders were content with 40lb mounts they could get them cheap and sound at the same time, but with the popular weights of the day nothing but the very best material and workmanship will ensure durability. The lower the initial cost of a very light machine the dearer it will be in the end. The repair bill will be more heavy, it will become a total wreck sooner, and even when in good order the second-hand selling price will not be half as high as that of the best grade in similar condition.
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BBC News
05-05-2025
- BBC News
Scarborough petrol prices: Why is fuel more up to 10p more expensive in the town?
Fuel prices can be affected by a variety of factors from global conflicts to the cost of a barrel of crude oil, but in parts of North Yorkshire a 30-minute drive can see the cost of a litre drop by up to motorists in Scarborough, who say they are routinely paying more than those in nearby Whitby, Malton and Pickering, have backed calls for retailers in the town to bring their prices in line with the rest of the county. Scarborough-based driving instructor Nigel Brown says he can cover about 3,000 miles (4,800km) each month and spend more than £100 a week on he says he rarely stops at petrol stations in the town due to the this week at the Sainsbury's petrol station in Scarborough a litre of unleaded was priced at 134.9p and a litre of diesel was less than 20miles (32km) away at the same supermarket's forecourt in Whitby unleaded was selling for 126.9p a litre and diesel other retailers prices outside of Scarborough are also notably cheaper. "I work all around, in Malton, Driffield and Pickering, and it's at least 10p dearer in Scarborough than all of those places," the My Four Wheels driving instructor says."I tend to save mine and get it further afield, especially when I'm in Malton doing lessons."I know it's not a massive difference, but the extra miles you get makes all the difference."If they can bring all the petrol prices in line, there's no reason why they can't have Scarborough the same as Bridlington and Whitby, they're all interlinked."Whitby is also a tourist place but their prices are a lot lower."He says he thinks the higher price also impacts on the cost of driving lessons in the area, which is about £35 an hour. Fellow driving instructors Iain and Lynne Hall who operate Hall Driving School in Scarborough say they had noticed fuel costs were steeper in the town after visiting other North Yorkshire villages and making a trip to Liverpool."I don't understand why one coastal town would be more expensive than another coastal town, it seems bizarre," Mrs Hall says."I haven't a clue why it is, I know they all compete with each other, but I don't know how they set the prices," Mr Hall couple recently decided to make the switch to electric cars, citing fuel costs as part of the reason."We didn't realise until we'd gone electric how much difference there would be," Mr Hall says."Regarding regional variations with fuel, there doesn't seem to be a variation with electric. "It doesn't matter where we are in the country, the price stays the same whether we charge here or charge up the road."As they are retired and only work part-time, each estimate they drive about 200 miles (320km) a week."I worked out recently how much we'd saved based on petrol prices and it's about £2,000 a year in fuel," Mr Hall adds."It's a huge amount, it's made a big difference." A Sainsburys spokesperson said the supermarket prices fuel locally and always aims to be neither Sainsburys nor the Petrol Retailers Association were able to explain the reason for the gap in prices in North Williams, head of policy at the RAC, said that despite asking this question for years, it was still veiled in mystery."Sometimes it can be because an area is more affluent than another area but sometimes it can be just that there isn't a presence of a lower cost retailer," he said."Everyone pays the same wholesale price, albeit at a slightly different time, depending on when they're buying. "The supermarkets buy the most fuel because they sell the most fuel, so they have the ability to reflect wholesale changes up or down far more quickly than small independent retailers who tend only to buy new stock every couple of weeks."According to the RAC, the Competition and Markets Authority found that major retailers overcharged drivers by £900m in 2022 and in 2023, while across the board retailers were deemed to have overcharged by £ RAC has called for all retailers to lower their pump prices to reflect wholesale prices. Meanwhile, Luke Bodset from the AA said the problem was a "long-running gripe" with motorists known in the industry as the "pump-price postcode lottery". "The focus has been primarily on supermarkets: why, when eggs, bread, etc are the same price wherever you go, is road fuel not treated similarly?" he said."The 'reasons' given by the retailers are [that] pump prices are set locally – forecourts within an area will compare their prices with those of nearby rivals and set them accordingly. "And so, unless one forecourt budges on price, the others don't see a need to move."He said that competitive fuel stations were hard to find unless you live locally to them, but hoped that would change with a new government scheme. Expected to come in early next year, the fuel finder project will require every forecourt to register its pump prices with a central database so people can compare prices."It is expected that the transparency will not only direct drivers to the cheap fuel stations, without having to come across them by chance, but also spur competition," Mr Bodset said. "Those retailers who keep their prices high will see customers drawn away to the cheaper ones and be pressured to bring down theirs in turn." Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
Leader Live
05-05-2025
- Leader Live
Wrexham woman in campaign for more women in industry
Laura Hall, the managing director of Maverick Diagnostics in Holt, was shocked by the lack of diversity in the sector. She is a member of The Automotive 30% Club, which aims to improve gender balance in the industry. Ms Hall will discuss her campaign at the next meeting of the Wrexham Business Professionals organisation at Maesgwyn Hall in Wrexham on Friday, June 27. The group consists of successful businesses and skilled professionals working together to promote regional prosperity. Ms Hall will also talk about how Maverick Diagnostics has invested in a training academy and the support it has received from the Development Bank of Wales. The company received an investment of £100,000 from the bank last year, which helped it continue to grow the range of diagnostic tools and technical support it offers to vehicle workshops and garages throughout the UK. The company also received a loan from the bank in April 2020 to help manage trading during the pandemic. Clwyd South MS Ken Skates, the Cabinet Secretary for Transport and North Wales, who was instrumental in establishing the bank in Wrexham in 2017, will also be speaking at the event. Ms Hall, who was appointed managing director in September 2023, leads a team of 14 staff at Maverick Diagnostics. Her background is not in the automotive industry, but as a linguist in the gas and oil industry, another traditionally male-dominated sector. She said: "I studied Russian and German at university and worked in the oil and gas industry, so I went into a very technical, male-orientated environment. "And then joining the automotive industry, I saw the gender imbalance almost immediately. "Quite early on I had gone to some industry event and the gender imbalance was shocking, there were so few women. "The aftermarket industry is particularly bad. "I went to some trade events early on and I was horrified, not only because there were very few women, but there was no real diversity whatsoever – it was all middle-aged white men." This experience led Ms Hall, a mother of two girls, to explore the work of The Automotive 30% Club. The club was established in March 2016 with the aim of ensuring that at least 30 per cent of key leadership roles are held by women by 2030. Ms Hall said joining the club had led to changes at Maverick Diagnostics as it strives to create stronger diversity in its workforce. She said: "One of the things we did was look at our recruitment process. "Obviously we are very 'techy' and traditionally we only get men applying. "So it's about looking at how you advertise jobs, thinking about why women would want to come and work with you. "It is about how you appear, it's even down to the wording in your job description." READ MORE: Here's an opportunity for you to test out your sporting knowledge! Ms Hall also expressed pride in the training academy Maverick Diagnostics has set up on Wrexham Industrial Estate to upskill mechanics and technicians on the use of specialist diagnostic tools. She said: "Cars now are becoming like computers on wheels and there are security gateways in place so you can't just replace a headlight for example without having access through that security gateway." Ian Edwards from Wrexham Business Professionals said: "Both Laura and Ken will be hugely interesting speakers at our forthcoming meeting. "It will be fascinating to hear their views on the current economic challenges facing businesses."
The Guardian
04-03-2025
- The Guardian
Cycling notes: snobbery, female riders and dispensing with a brake – archive, 1895
The increasing popularity of cycling among the 'aristocracy' is remarkable. Among recent recruits may be mentioned Lord Zetland, Lady Havelock Allan, Sir Joseph Pease, the Earl of Camperdown, the Duke of Westminster, and two of the daughters of the late Earl of Iddesleigh. Heretofore the only objection urged against the pastime has been its vulgarity. The bicycle was looked upon as the poor man's horse, and those who patronised it were considered very ordinary people. The utility of the bicycle as a means of conveyance, its capacity for causing harmless and elevating pleasure, and its undoubted health-giving qualities were all ignored at the dictates of the fashionable world. The said fashionable world have suddenly discovered the virtues of the cycle, and, ignoring the fact that even butchers' boys may derive pleasure from the same source, they have taken to it in numbers. The middle class, a large proportion of whom are born snobs, will, now that the only objection is removed, join the ranks in thousand. It will have an effect also even on those who are not snobs. Heretofore many professional and business men have been afraid to appear in public on wheels simply because it would damage them from a business point of view. I have known leading doctors who have made a practice of rising in summer at 5am, to enjoy a long ride before breakfast simply because they dared not appear in public except in the irreproachable brougham. For such as these the bar is being removed. Pneumatic saddleA paragraph for lady riders. A lady says she has found the Guthrie-Hall pneumatic saddle very satisfactory, and all of her feminine acquaintances who have tried it appear to like it too. I know a good many men who do not care for it, but that is beside the mark in the present case. I should recommend the Guthrie-Hall people to push it specially for feminine use. The use of the brake Except for absolute road-racing or record-breaking, there is nothing gained – I cannot underline this too strongly – by dispensing with a brake. From one to one and a half pound is about the weight saved, and this is not felt in ordinary riding. The diminution of labour that is undoubtedly noticed when the mud-guards are removed is due far more to the free running of the unrestricted wheel than to the small weight of those accessories themselves, and in the case of the brake there is not this excuse for removal. Its retention actually adds to the speed of the ordinary cyclist, for there are very few riders outside the ranks of the experts who care to let a machine run very fast down hill if they have no means of immediately checking its speed. It also saves much fatigue in the way of back-pedalling when long or steep hills are encountered; there is nothing more exhausting than the anxious effort to control one's machine down a steep slope that may prove too much for one's powers at any instant. Of course I do not recommend cyclists to get into the habit of constantly using the brake; it should be kept as a last resource, and only used in case of sudden necessity or danger. But the mere fact of having it there should it be required adds tremendous confidence to the nervous rider, and we are not all of us constructed after the daredevil pattern. The silly fashion of removing both guards and brake in order to imitate a road-racing class to whom the rider could not belong if he would, and possibly would not if he could, has absolutely nothing to recommend it. A lady's riding powersA correspondent who thinks of following my route through the Ribble and Lune valleys with a lady at Easter asks whether I consider the road through Gargrave to Malham too heavy with hills for a lady's average riding powers, and if decent inn accommodation is to be had at the latter place. The last time I went that way I found good accommodation at an inn at Malham, hard by Gordale Scar, but in any case there is no lack of good inns at Settle. As to taking a lady that way I should not hesitate for one moment. My experience is that the average wheel woman is quite as good at hill work as her husband or brother, since she often rides in far better style, which counts for much in hill climbing. Cycling in Hyde Park The opening of Hyde Park to cyclists under certain conditions will be a boon to London riders. They will henceforth be allowed to use it before 10 in the morning and after seven at night in 'the season,' and between the hours of 10 and four at other times of the year. This concession has been gained by the Cyclists' Touring Club, and will be announced in the approaching issue of their Gazette. I trust the time is not far distant when we in Manchester shall be strong enough to insist upon similar privileges being granted us by the Parks Committee of the Corporation. Cheap machinesOnce again I would raise my voice against cheap machines. They are dangerous to life and limb, they are heavy to drive, and they are not in reality cheap. The margin of profit to the maker of even the highest-grade machine is really small, and a reduction of one-third in price is only accomplished by the sacrifice of good material and workmanship. If riders were content with 40lb mounts they could get them cheap and sound at the same time, but with the popular weights of the day nothing but the very best material and workmanship will ensure durability. The lower the initial cost of a very light machine the dearer it will be in the end. The repair bill will be more heavy, it will become a total wreck sooner, and even when in good order the second-hand selling price will not be half as high as that of the best grade in similar condition.
