About
My name is Neil Hickson and I am a forty something father of two, photographer, video producer, web marketer and now, born again cyclist. I am fed up of slogging my guts out working 12 hours a day in the hope that I might just earn enough and have enough energy to finally go on an adventure at some distant point in the future.
I want my life back now and by cycling everywhere, every day becomes an adventure. I am not there yet but I am working out how to do this and if you follow my journey we might find out together. One thing I do know is that the more cyclists out there on the road, the better off the planet will be.
Why Should This Interest Anyone?
When I first started to look into making my bike my main mode of transport I had lots of questions:
- What kind of bike would be best?
- What clothing would I need?
- How would I carry essential items like a laptop and professional cameras?
- Could I arrive at work fresh and clean?
- Could I arrive at work in one piece?
- How would I cope in busy traffic?
I scoured the web and pieced together some of the information I needed but was surprised that some of it was difficult to find. So, one of the missions of this site is to find good tried and tested answers to my questions. The more good advice out there then the more people may be persuaded to get out of their cars and get into the cycle lane.
I have made a start by cycling the 12 miles into our office in Preston when I need to work there; that’s 12 miles back again too. I am so determined not to have to buy another parking pass. Cycle To Work Now estimates that this will save me over £100.00 per month, burn over 29,000 Calories which equates to over 8lbs of fat. Sounds like a good deal to me but it is still summer and I have the challenge of winter to come. I am trying to run a business and this alternative mode of transport has to be a practical, workable option.
At the moment I am riding a Specialized Rockhopper A1 Mountain Bike to which I have fitted smooth-ish tyres, mudguards, a Tubus Logo carrier and Ortlieb ‘Back Roller Classic’ Panniers. These are the first modifications that I have made to make this machine more suitable for the journey to work. For the time being it is working but I am aware that there are probably better options.
A second ‘folding’ bike may be useful for when I need to go further afield and I can combine train and bike. That could be an option for the future.
Another reason that I started this site was as an outlet for some of my creativity. I am a photographer and I like to take pictures of things that I like, not just the images I have to make for a living; it is good to express yourself.
