strangerpixel

Andrew Gilligan, the chubby whistleblower of the dodgy dossier, has become a keen cyclist. Now a lean bike nerd, Gilligan wrote recently in the Evening Standard that he has lost 4 stone in just over a year. More interesting was what he said about cycling vs public transport:

‘I used to think I could put up with the Underground. It was only when I stopped using it that I realised how life-shortening it is… It wasn’t just the service… It was the crowds, the heat, the filthy air, the endless moronic announcements, the kids playing music on their mobile phones, the pushing and shoving, all of which delivered me to my destination in a low-level bad temper.’

‘Part of cycling’s appeal for me is that it is a last outpost of freedom in an authoritarian, CCTV city, essentially uncontrolled by anyone except the cyclist.

Happy biking AG.

Most mornings are like any other at London College of Fashion. But not this morning. Walking through the Fashion Space Gallery in the direction of my office, I found the door blocked by a huddle of females. When they didn’t disperse, I photographed them.

Turns out these mannequins were part of a design competition for high street retailers, the theme being recycling, and the reuse of materials ordinarily discarded during the fashion design process. As I write, Heart FM is outside in the gallery doing a feature on the competition. Entrants include Wedgwood and Playboy.

Just as a footnote to this post, I’m not unhealthily obsessed by mannequins or wigs.

The above is a new arrival to the strangerpixel cycle stable. Sweet, awesome - these don’t cover it. Compared to my Scott Expert (01?), this bike is like a rocket: quick, flickable, stiff under pressure, compliant over rough surfaces, sure on the descents. Classy. It turns heads.

When I test rode the Wilier about a fortnight ago, the unexpected feeling of power and speed on a climb were better than a year’s supply of Floyd Landis’s testosterone patches. It was so exciting I nearly burst a lung firing up Rosslyn Hill.

I pondered the Wilier’s rivals: efficient German engineering in the shape of the Focus Cayo on the one hand, on the other the undeniable quality of the US bike giant Trek. But I came back, remembering that first acceleration.