March 28, 2013 in Bicycles, Enjoy the ride
… to all our customers, suppliers and friends! Anyone got any good rides planned over the bank holiday?
Lets hope the weather warms up a tad, and that all our new customers receiving their bicycles this weekend will be able to get our there and enjoy a ride. If the Easter bunny brings what we are hoping for, a bike ride and some furious pedalling will certainly be in order.
We’re open tomorrow (Good Friday), Saturday 30th March and then all back to normal from Tuesday 2nd April, but do send us an email… and chances are we’ll get back to you.
March 25, 2013 in Bicycles, Bike Candy, Cycling Accessories
It’s funny how trends work. Unless you are an uber-fashionista, who needs not the slightest sniff of styling semaphore to be ahead of the curve, the vast majority of us lesser style gurus need a trend to be around for some time before we can even consider embracing it. Take ‘bootleg jeans’. Shockingly flared and ridiculously long compared to their precursors, they quickly came to symbolise all that was right about a pair of trousers… suddenly one had legs that were fifteen inches longer and thighs that thought they were calves and to consider wearing anything else would have been laughable. But whoOOAAHHH! The circumferentially-challenged ‘skinny’ jean stealthily crept into the denim vernacular and into our wardrobes and all of a sudden, just HOW ridiculous did any other jeans style seem? And thus it is with the fickle and frivolous world of fashion.
One trend that is huge right now and is making us smile wryly in a big way at the moment is the all-pervading trend for fluoro. The high street has become a veritable strip-joint of Hi-vis, neon, acid (oh ok.. no one says that anymore. Showing my age… how embarrassing.). Call it what you will, but look how anyone and everyone in the, eeek, dare we say it, ‘cycle chic’ cycling world is laughing on the other side of our faces right now. We’ve all sneered at fluoro in recent years, in the same way that we’ve snootily turned our noses up at lycra, bottle cages and time trials… fluoro simply made the wrong statements about the kind of dignified, genteel cycling that we wanted to do in our ‘everyday’ clothes. Can you imagine what a hi-viz vest would look like over a vintage tea dress and platform sandals? Purrrrrleeeeaaase! Like a red rag to a bull a high-viz vest worn by a cyclist was literally screaming out “I’m a vulnerable ignoramus, naively peddling along this road that belongs to you, O Great Vehicle Driver, so why don’t you please ingratiate yourself to come and knock me off!”. As inflammatory a subject as The Great Helmet Debate, fluoro divided communities, created cycling tribes and caused Marmite-style polarised reactions. Indeed, sceptics would say that wearing purpose-designed fluoro not only encourages the idea that cycling is inherently unsafe, putting off would-be new riders but also potentially places the blame with the rider rather than encouraging drivers to be more vigilant.
But are we now on the brink of a high-viz fluorolution? The SS13 catwalks were full of the stuff, and once you start looking, it seems the world around us is too. We went for our usual Sunday morning family cycle ride yesterday along the Seine (where , I hasten to add, they in the process of doing a huge amount of regeneration work to turn the verges into a car-free, pedestrian and cycling (segregated, I gleefully add!) utopia) and it felt like an all-out affront of the garish stuff. Maybe I’m just super-sensitive to it being in the ether at the moment.
But whether it conjures up dim and distant memories of mid 80s Kajagoogoo, wiry marathon runners pounding the streets or just evokes the die-hard commuter brigade on folding bicycles, Fluoro is so hot right now, it’s sizzling. Superlatives abound. Zesty, vibrant, punchy, acid, zingy. And if a little bit of reflective fluoro helps us be seen in the dark out there on the mean streets, hallelujah! Fashion has come to its senses, and a perfect harmony of stye and functionality prevails. Our mantra for all things cycling precisely.
So, in a ‘Things You Would Never Expect Us to Say…” type post, here’s our round-up of the very zingiest fluoro cycling products out there right now. And what a treat they look with our BEG collection of bicycles and accessories…
Effervescent Fluorescent – We Love You!
no.1 Vespertine Reflective Vest Collection. Surely the haute couture of the reflective garb world!
no. 2 Spot Me Reflective pin-on badges.
no.3 Incredible glow-in-the dark Monroe Reflective Penny loafers (check out the incredible colour palette available!). Cole Haan.
no. 4 Veja SP.MA hi tops. Is any other shoe worth wearing? Who knew hi-viz could be so stylish?
no. 5 Love Bike Wear Reflective sash.
no. 6 Dargelos. A hi viz vest that is definitely not the old-school variety!
… and featuring the BEG Bella bicycle throughout in Persephone Pink, 3 speed £675.00
March 22, 2013 in Bicycle inspiration, Cycling Accessories
A helmet that combines sartorial savvy with safety is undoubtedly hard to come by, but our new collection of cycle helmets by esteemed Japanese designer Sawako Furuno meets our exacting ‘style meets functionality’ criteria perfectly. Put simply, these helmets are utterly gorgeous, beautifully-made and coordinate with our bicycle collection a treat (can you imagine how excited we were to FINALLY find a tan leather helmet? Swoon…)
Available here for immediate shipping. Get that head protected.
February 12, 2013 in Bicycles, Enjoy the ride, Joy Rides
After being properly scuppered by the snowy conditions in January, we’re going to give it a go again with the Beg Bicycles February Joy Ride. January’s cancelled ride was such a good one, we’re running it again (or rather riding it) and we hope you’ll come along too for some great cycling company, super-tasty pit-stops (coffee and cake is always a pre-requisite!) and generally a good time.
The February ride is on Sunday 17 February. We’ll be meeting at Shepreth train station car park at 10.30am. To fortify us prior to setting off, we’ll have tea and cake at Teacake, a lovely little tea room in Shepreth, which we went to last January and is well worth a return visit for its warm welcome and the owners’ impressive knowledge of aromatic teas!
From there, we’ll cycle to Fowlmere, Newton, Haslingfield and Barrington (yes, we’re going up Barrington Hill, gulp!) and then have another well-deserved pit stop at the Royal Oak pub in Barrington. Keeping it informal, I won’t be booking a table for us all for this stop, so if you’d like to eat please do, or just stop for a drink, the choice is yours!
From Barrington, we’ll continue back to Shepreth. The cycle route is a round trip of 11 miles.
Look forward to seeing you on 17 February! Any queries, as ever, please do drop us an email here or call Esther on 07910 487 856. If you can let us know if you are coming along, that would be REALLY great!
By the way – the image above is, of course, a joke. We look a whole lot more sporty than that – and naturally go a lot faster.
January 8, 2013 in Bicycle inspiration, Enjoy the ride, Joy Rides
Esther’s kicking off a brand spanking new year of our wonderful Joy Rides with a real treat for January! Yes, another year bites the dust, but the Beg Bicycles January Joy Ride proposes to blow away the cobwebs, while still retaining some festive cheer! We have not one but TWO potential foodie stops on the way. Well, we have to ease ourselves back in gently, don’t we?
The January ride is on Sunday 20 January. We’ll be meeting at Shepreth train station car park at 10.30am. To fortify us prior to setting off, we’ll have tea and cake at Teacake, a lovely little tea room in Shepreth, which we went to last January and is well worth a return visit for its warm welcome and the owners’ impressive knowledge of aromatic teas!
From there, we’ll cycle to Fowlmere, Newton, Haslingfield and Barrington (yes, we’re going up Barrington Hill, gulp!) and then have another well-deserved pit stop at the Royal Oak pub in Barrington. Keeping it informal, Esther won’t be booking a table for us all for this stop, so if you’d like to eat please do, or just stop for a drink, the choice is yours!
From Barrington, we’ll continue back to Shepreth. The cycle route is a round trip of 11 miles.
Really hope you can join us on 20 January! Any queries, as ever, please do drop Esther a line at hello@begbicycles.com.
January 3, 2013 in Bicycles
Love this campaign.
Happy New Year, cyclists.
Looking forward to another glorious year of pushing those pedals in 2013.
Lets make it a year of hot hot bikes everywhere.
December 17, 2012 in Bicycles
The BEG shop is open for business right up until 20th December, and we’re shipping everyday at the moment.
Place your order by noon and we’ll make sure it gets sent out that same day by Royal Mail First Class delivery (allow 1-2 days). Our last shipping date is NOON on the 20th December for Christmas deliveries.
For bicycles orders, please contact us asap! We have just a few delivery slots left but you may yet still be able to have a shiny new bicycle for Christmas!
December 11, 2012 in Bicycles, Press
Phew! It’s been a bit of a month… Firstly, we had to make sure that we had the Now Thats What I Call Music Christmas Classics downloaded and playing on repeat.
Then – we’ve been so busy getting lots of people’s Christmas presents ready that Bea is now known at Elf. There are going to be some very happy cyclists who will have a VERY large package under their tree this year…
One customer has just told us that she wasn’t ever lucky enough to get to unwrap a new bike as a child at Christmas so is SO excited about her new BEG bicycle that Father Christmas is bringing her! Needless to say, there is a lot of covert delivering going on…
We still have most sizes, colours and models of Mens and Ladies BEG bicycles available in stock and will be delivering up until the 21st December 2012. Get in touch soon to guarantee your delivery!
Then – we’ve had some incredible press and our bicycles and accessories have featured in The Guardian, The Sunday Times, Good Homes magazine and we’re also in Easy Living this month!
December 11, 2012 in Bicycles, Press
No sooner has the tinsel been stashed away, the mince pie crumbs swept up and seventeen sack loads of shredded wrapping paper squished into the recycling bin, and tah-dah! Here it comes again. Christmas is well and truly upon us once again and the countdown has begun…
Guilt for not being more organised, angst that we need to get cracking with it all and stress about who we have forgotten to invite for Christmas Day lunch is already consuming most of us. Christmas seems to be a period for goodwill to all men - and more likely good grief to most women!
Thankfully, simply riding your bike and making cycling a key part of your Christmas cheer can counteract the hassle, stress and colorific pile up that the festive season brings. As is becoming a bot of a BEG Christmas tradition, we were invited once again by the very nice people at British Cycling’s Sky Rides to write their Christmas blog post for their Breeze Rides blog about cycling at Christmas.
By the way, this is a good time to say a bit more about Sky Rides. Created by British Cycling, Sky Rides are a fabulous network of organised bike rides across Britain, open to all. Read all about their fabulous regular events on their website, and for some great women-only rides, they have also created the Breeze network – all free, fun and guaranteed to get you hooked on cycling!
So, here are five good reasons how taking to two wheels during the Christmas season can free up a whole lot of time, cash and your sanity as you get ready to ding, dong merrily on high. (You can read the whole article here).
Cycling to a Harmonious Christmas!
1. Leave the car at home, put the online shopping to one side, get your panniers and basket on and opt to do as much of your pressie-buying as you can by bike in your local neighbourhood. You’ll find surprisingly interesting small shops and businesses right on your doorstep that you’ve not noticed before, and in turn, you’ll feel more a part of your local community. Not only may this help solve the annual what-on-earth to buy Uncle Alan dilemma, but you’ll also support local businesses.
2. Cycle into town to pick up last minute turkey trimmings, and you will save so much time. Sail on by the endless queue of purple-faced drivers, manically drumming their fingernails on the wheel with frustration as they desperately circle round in a futile attempt to find a parking spot. Hop off your bike, lock up and straight into the shops in no time. You’ll not only save time, but pennies on parking and petrol too, and might even be able to treat yourself for Christmas to that nice little pair of heels that you’ve had your eye on. Ho ho ho!
3. Set up a new Christmas tradition where you and your partner, or the whole family, set aside a special festive bike ride together where you take some time out, slow dow and enjoy the simpler pleasures of the festive season; mulled wine by the fire in a cosy country pub, cycling through the woods to find holly and mistletoe and simply enjoying each other’s company. Could be a good time (after a glass or too) to drop some hints about that perfect new bike you’ve had your eye on!
4. Let cycling be your inspiration in choosing presents for friends and family and take advantage of the inspirational female-friendly bike shops out there (see (add link) for our list of female-friendly bike shops). These shops are packed full of fabulous ideas – and cycling expertise. A cool bike helmet, stylish wicker basket or shiny new bike bell will make a wonderful present for the cyclist in your life and give a lot of pleasure for years to come.
5. And when all the hard work is done, sit there smugly during the Queens’ speech with a trim midriff and a glowing complexion to boot, when everyone else is looking comatose, bloated and blotchy from that extra glass of sherry. Cycling is a brilliant way to shift a few pounds before the onslaught of the turkey and you’ll look and feel wonderful for Christmas 2012!
Wishing all cyclists a very happy Christmas and a wonderful new year of cycling in 2013.
December 4, 2012 in Bicycle inspiration, Bicycles, Bike Candy
… bike on by to Beg Bicycles. We’ve got some truly inspirational gift ideas for the cyclist – and non-cyclist in your life…or simply for treating yourself!
All items available for immediate dispatch www.begbicycles.com.
