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Welcome to Velo Vision magazine, covering specialised bikes, cycling as transport and human power. It's a quarterly dose of cycle inspiration.The current issue is Issue 16. The next issue is out early March 2005.
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Another cracking Cyclefest...First pictures and a brief report on this just-finished event, held every two years in Lancaster, UK... Cyclefest? At first, as co-organiser John Bradshaw put it, it was Aquafest, with relentless, heavy and very wet rain not letting up until Friday evening. As I'd ridden over from York on all of Thursday and Friday morning, it meant a day and a half of being soaked - and fun as we splashed through some flooded roads along the way: 
While I was pedalling over my tandem by myself and finding it heavy going, Rob Hague went one better and transported most of the Westcountry Recumbents trade stand over - pedalling a Greenspeed tandem trike by himself, and also towing a trailer with his race trike on top. We took a scenic route, over lots of hills, too... Spirits lifted once we got to Cyclefest and found shelter, dry clothes and hot drinks. There was student room accommodation available for those not camping... A few hardy souls had been out riding that day, but like most of these events, many people were just turning up for the weekend. Soon the place was littered with bikes: 
There was also a fine display of interesting frames in the Gallery. After a splendid barbeque meal most visitors trouped into the big lecture theatre to hear Richard Thorpe's lecture about the FoxEFolder, which was announced in Velo Vision a little while ago. Unfortunately, people eager to see it in the flesh were disappointed: it wasn't there. But he gave a very interesting and amusing account of its development: 
Mike Burrows then followed this with a 'masterclass', presenting a potted history of HPVs, then getting the audience to contribute their thoughts on some as-yet unsolved issues - like why do we still get sweaty backs from riding recumbent? I was sorry to have missed Thursday's talks from Hilary Stone, and Bike Friday designer Hanz Schulz. The talks were followed (for those who hadn't headed straight for the bar) by much messing around on bikes: 
Saturday morning was fine and sunny, and the trade show attracted a fair bit of attention, with massed ranks of ICE trikes being particularly popular. After a while, though, the focus drifted to the Salt Ayre race track (a short pedal away across the new Lancester Millennium cycle bridge) where BHPC racers were zooming round the track, and everyone else was sitting around enjoying the sun... 
Some people also visited a bicycle recycling and training scheme, which does valuable work reusing and repairing discarded bikes. More on this in a future issue of Velo Vision... After that people drifted back up to St Martin's College, where the event was based, and back to the trade show, for food and of course for a refreshing drink before the evening talks. I (Peter Eland) was on first, with 'Swarf on the Duvet', about how to go about building an HPV with limited resources. The slides for the talk can be seen in web format by clicking here. Then an 'Open Forum' debated a variety of issues, from technical topics to the future of recumbents and HPVs... and so via the bar to bed. Sunday saw Cyclefesters ride down to Morecambe prom for some fun sprint racing - and more mingling and standing around in the sun: 
There were as ever hundred of cyclists there on probably the widest range of bikes you'll see in one place, from folders to (lots of) recumbents, to families with children... So many thanks again to the organisers and volunteers, and we'll look forward to the next Cyclefest in two years' time. If any reader has put further pictures of the event up on the web, please do add a link using the comments system. Posted on 05 August 2002 Your comments ...
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