It's Not All Doom and Gloom!



So you may have heard some interesting political news from Europe this morning. But take it from someone who lives on the Ireland/UK "frontier" - everything is fine! Absolutely fine, I tell you. The price of imported rapeseed oil has only gone up by 400% so far. They won't be starting to deport the cross-border cattle till next Tuesday. And it will surely be weeks yet before they begin building the wall.

Now, I know that in these confusing times, opportunity for reflection can be difficult to come by. Which is why I'd like to help - with some reflective leopard-print decals from the Swedish manufacturer Bookman (who also make some cool lights).



For readers in Ireland and the UK, I've been entrusted with some black, silver and gold reflective bicycle-stickers to give away. Matte in the daylight, they light up zoologically in the dark in direct light - presumably terrifying other road users into giving you more space.

If you have a black, silver, or golden-yellow bike, you can get tone-on tone stickers so that they're invisible in the daytime and only light up at night. Of course, if you actually want your bike to look like a leopard even in daytime, get a colour that will stand out.

As far as a user's review: I can report that they work as described, and are easy to both stick on and remove, leaving no residue. My only criticism is that one packet is really not enough to cover an entire bicycle frame - so be economical!

In any case - If you'd like some, leave a comment with the colour of your choice, and I will select recipients at random after the weekend. UK and Ireland only please for this one (but remember the #bikepeeing contest is open internationally).

As for the political end of things: Take a break from thinking about it for a bit and ride your bicycle instead? Happy weekend to all, and thank you, as always, for reading.

...

{edited to add} stickers are off to their new homes - thanks everyone!

Comments

  1. My family's English bike fetish stretches back some 40 years. My wife still rides her 1976 Raleigh Sprite. Purchased new (she still has the receipt) it was her "going off to college" 10-speed. Between us, we own six Nottingham-built Raleighs in various stages of assembly, plus a lovely vintage Mercian frame for which I have big plans. The way the pound has plummeted vs. the dollar in the wake of Brexit, it should be just a matter of time before the assembly line at Raleigh's Nottingham factory starts cranking out bikes destined for export. (Love the stealthy look of those decals.)

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    1. On the other hand, as Mercian Cycles reminded folks on twitter yesterday: It's a good time to buy UK custom builds with the USD : )

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  2. Hi I would love a set of the gold ones to as they would transform my Surly into a Karate Leopard-Monkey.

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  3. I like them all, but the black ones would work best on my bike. :)

    Also, it feels like the appropriate colour after the sadness of the EU vote.

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  4. Very cool! Could I have black OR silver please for my Cross Check? :)

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  5. Also... would these stick & stay on an Ortlieb pannier, do you think?

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  6. Please, could I have some Gold ones, need something to personalise my Brown Bronze Matt Diverge.
    Re Brexit, I will send you a Peoples Republic of Cork Passport in exchange. We left along time ago down here, no fuss. We just did't tell anyone, and carry on.....

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    1. Tempting! Although I have already committed to dual citizenship in the newly emergent Free Derry City-State and the Democratic Kingdom of Cloughaneely.

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    2. senharv@hotmail.com I tried bribery, I entered twice, what more can I do. that's my email.

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    3. Gold for you! Will get in touch this evening.

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  7. Could use some Gold from them there hills , as the price of Sterling is dropping like summer rain at present.

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  8. any colour great. between us and the nearest village is 4 miles with no street lights! my grandchildren wear dark clothes and no helmets and mum and dad unconcerned. as keen cyclists we would like the teenagers to live long enough to enjoy many years of cycling. re brexit, it will work in our favour if it leads to scotland saying "yes" to independence, especially if we can stay in the EU.

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  9. I would love some black ones.

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  10. Black! Are they re-usable?

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    1. Not any more so than ordinary decals.

      {And also, to all who leave comments: there needs to be some form of contact info, either via link to your profile or, in the comment itself if you are commenting anonymously. If I have no way of getting in touch with you, I cannot include you in the draw.}

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    2. My email is on the About pages of both my blog and my Google+ profile (if you click on my name above my comment above) -- does that work? Or shall I also email you?

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  11. Any colour would be cool, thanks

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  12. It's like a to hell in a hand basket race between the US and the UK! Do we get stickers if Trump becomes president?

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  13. What is rapeseed oil anyway? Since when is it legal?

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    1. It's the non-genetically modified predecessor of what you probably know as canola oil. Very popular now to grow and promote it in Ireland, North and South.

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  14. I'm not sure if I'm allowed to ask questions directly now rather than having them submitted through some special diplomatic corss-border process now, but I was just wondering if you could tell me what saddle that is up there?

    Thanks!

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    1. It's a Selle An-Atomica, diplomatically immune. For now.

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    2. Thanks, I thought it might be but it looked a little different, flatter maybe, with less material on the sides. Perhaps it's just the angle of the picture though.

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    3. Ah yes. That is what mine looks like year 4, with bolt all the way out and upper stretched to the max : )

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  15. The bike was just the right antidote to Brexit blues yesterday! Any colour would be great, please, if they're still going - would be a big help on night cycles round the hills in Clare :) desertpalace at gmail

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  16. Take a Bike Frame building class...make Bike Frames.1+1=2.

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    1. Ahem

      http://lovelybike.blogspot.com/2015/01/making-it.html

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