VCG’s ‘Summer of Cycling’ is now in gear, and was kicked off in style when I attended the Pashley Picnic Ride! After 5 years of owning Frankie, it has certainly been a long time coming, and thanks to the amazing people at Pashley Cycles, me and The Boy went to the birthplace of my bike for a splendid stay and cycling adventure in Stratford-Upon-Avon. Pashley started the Picnic Rides back in 2012, as a way to celebrate the heritage of the company and thank customers of the brand for their loyal support. Held in association with the Traditional Cycle Shop, the annual ride draws a large crowd, with over 100 […]

Falling for bikes I see at the Bespoked Handmade Bicycle Show has become an occupational hazard for me, so you can guess what happened when I saw THIS by Milk Bikes on display in April! Founder Mark Meadows debuted his new Series 01 range with the ‘Barra’ model… All photography by Ian James. At first glance this was a beauty: the design, build and wooden features looked stunning and taking a closer look would reveal some subtle and lovely detailing. Already curious about this collection and how the bikes would actually ride, I was thrilled to be given the opportunity to take this one out on its maiden voyage on […]

Coffee and bikes – a well known combination loved by many cyclists, including myself… but what if I said the same could apply to tea? Always partial to a good Rosie Lee (well, I am from East London!), I’ve been enjoying some quality blends recently – so I was thrilled and intrigued when Tokyobike invited me round for a cuppa or two at the Good & Proper Tea Brew Bar which was in residence at their shop for four weeks… They say that tea in hot weather cools you down, so the surprise spring heat a few weekends ago was the perfect chance to hop on my Pashley, head to Shoreditch and put the theory into action surrounded […]

(UPDATE: The feature is up on the BBC News Magazine site, which can be viewed anywhere in the world! Click here for article and video)   I was back out on my Pashley Princess yesterday for a ride to Broadway Market (fast becoming a favourite place to ride to) for one of my Cycle Saturdays with The Boy. This one was a bit different though, as I spent the morning filming a piece for Newsnight with BBC Hague correspondent Anna Holligan… Keen cyclist Anna, along with producer Hannah & camera man / editor Suraj set off from The Netherlands on 31st July for a grand bike tour to London. I was thrilled […]

What better way to mark Bike Week in the UK by being out on the saddle? It was a tale of two bicycles for me: a day on a Boris Bike rather far away from home, and another going for a spin around Shoreditch on my Pashley resulting in a street-fashion shoot… It was an early start on Tuesday morning, catching the train up to Berkshire to film with The Cycle Show. I spent the day with the crew at the Transport Research Laboratory in Wokingham. We filmed a bicycle safety feature at TRL. It was fantastic and an education to be there, and check out the safer cycling innovations […]

Can a girl have too many bikes?! When I started cycling I thought one would be enough… fast-forward 3 years and I’m now the proud owner of my FORTH set of wheels, a Colourbolt Ratty Black. When you’re a bit of a bike fiend, nothing beats the pure excitement of getting a new set of wheels. Two weeks ago I pretty much combusted with utter joy after picking up a new addition to my family… a Colourbolt ‘Ratty Black’. I’d first laid eyes on the bike in April at Bespoked Bristol. British bike builder and founder of Colourbolt Jay Pond-Jones and his colleague Kendal had Ratty on display alongside his other bicycles. […]

Last month saw the 5th anniversary of The London Tweed Run. As I was unable to attend, The Boy (Ian James) went along to represent for VCG! Here is his report on the day along with some beautiful photography he did at the event…  I was determined to be more prepared for the Tweed Run than ever this year. But it was always going to be a bit different as sadly Lady Velo was going to be out of town ogling lots of lovely hand-made British bicycles at Bespoked Bristol. So, that left me, The Boy on a bit of a solo mission. But you’re never alone on the Tweed Run: it’s […]

We all know that Bicycles make me happy, as does Art. So putting the two together is a sure-fire way to put a smile on my face, and Brighton-based bicycle-belle Lois May-Miller has done exactly that. Lois created the blog Claud & I to mark her taking on the 30 Days of Biking challenge in September. What started off as a way to chart her adventures for a month, turned into a cycling blog that she didn’t want to stop, after falling in love with cycling. When she isn’t riding her bike Claud, Lois works as a Graphic Designer, with illustration featuring a lot in her day to day work. […]

After an fantastic Summer of Cycling in the UK this year and a certain ITV4 show dedicated to the subject, it was only fitting a wrap-party should be thrown to celebrate The Cycle Show! Just as the invitation stated, you needed to be jingling to get in… and there were plenty of bells at the event! Held at the Red Bull Studios in London, it was a great chance to see The Cycle Show team and everyone involved in the production again after all the hard work put in over the series. There were drinks, laughter, lots of bell ringing and of course… bikes! We were all treated to an […]

Last month I sent out a public tweet, searching for an illustrator to do a little something for Vélo-City-Girl. I’d been on the hunt for one for quite some time, and had an idea of the style I wanted, but hadn’t found any illustrators who quite “got” what I was after. Coming pretty close to giving up on the idea of the piece, I got a tweet from Ste Johnson offering to have a go at a sketch for me. He’s the gentleman behind the Cycling & Fashion blog, The Discerning Cyclist. A fellow bike-lover AND an illustrator? This sat very well with me indeed… We exchanged a few emails about […]