Mippa Piddleton goes clipless

[DiddlyDodds]

She must be about to sell something , gathering a bit of publicity before bestowing the general public with some tosh.

 

[Fnaar]

Doesn't she organise parties and important stuff like that?

Maybe I'll contact her and ask if she fancies arranging my festivities.

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Good on her mostly but its all a bit like trying to make out Top Gear is representative of regular driving.

I'm all for one less car but can't help wonder if she might not have enticed more people onto bikes with I got up in the morning, dressed in my normal clothes, wheeled my bike out of my front door, stepped through the low level frame, sat on the nice padded comfy seat and started pedalling in my normal shoes. When I got to the other end, I could walk around without sounding like a Roy Castle tap dancing record attempt and looking like Bambi tap on ice and didn't have to worry about my message being diluted by an obsession with my bottom in skin tight lycra because I was dressed in normal clothes. I didn't need a famous athlete photobuddy nor a different famous athletes bike nor to make it sound all high tec and difficult because it really wasn't.

I could add a sports bike and all the specialist kit I can get my hands on to look like sexy Robocop & go for the Top Gear end of things. I can use that bike for strenuous exercise and to let my competitive side out with my Olympic buddies and will have a hell of a lot more fun in the outside rather than driving to the gym and paying a fortune to pedal like mad on a stationary one with a saddle still warm from someone else's sweaty a**e.

 

[coffeejo]

The majority of articles I read aimed at The Public consist of paved off road trails, step-through frames, chunky tyres and some mention of "the family". I get that I'm not a particularly good representative of bike-owning women in this country but ye gods, I'm bored rigid of there being absolutely nothing that appeals to those of us who sit between the beginners and the speedy, athletic types. How refreshing, thought I, to see a mainstream reference to clipless pedals. If it gets the aforementioned Public thinking that the hard-faced lycraclad brigade are actually normal people that include some Great British Heroes amongst their number, what's wrong with that?

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I'd be interested to see how she gets on on the roads. She can't expect all the women she wants to slim without the gym to cycle round in circles in London's parks so she's going to have to deal with the motors, conquer a few more fears and prejudices, and hopefully find a bit of common understanding with other cyclists.

 

[ComedyPilot]

Article aimed at non-cyclists and first kit 'recommended' is a 'good helmet'....


Jeez, give me farking strength.......

 

[shouldbeinbed]

The majority of articles I read aimed at The Public consist of paved off road trails, step-through frames, chunky tyres and some mention of "the family". I get that I'm not a particularly good representative of bike-owning women in this country but ye gods, I'm bored rigid of there being absolutely nothing that appeals to those of us who sit between the beginners and the speedy, athletic types. How refreshing, thought I, to see a mainstream reference to clipless pedals. If it gets the aforementioned Public thinking that the hard-faced lycraclad brigade are actually normal people that include some Great British Heroes amongst their number, what's wrong with that?

fair points all and I'm speaking from a non competitive (now) blokes POV and have gone for the polar opposite idea but will her article do this? reference to clipless pedals that makes them seem like a trial by ordeal to be mastered before being enjoyed in a technical & purely sporting manner (power on the upswing and all that), citing her cycling credentials as 50 mile enduro biathlon and making Berkshire sound like the Olympic downhill course, allied to the usual reinforcement of the only mention of routine cyclists in the article as hard, angry, self righteous individuals in silly eyewear who frighten poor Pippa (not quite a quote)

re-introduced to by cycling by whizzing round a park with a world famous, immensely successful, elite athlete, heavily bigged up as such in the article: World record holding, olympian Jonathan Edwards, yes that one, really, squeeeeee (again not quite a quote) who advocates safety gear and specialist sporting clothes as a "few essentials" Allied to riding a bike developed by another bigged up multi Olympic gold medalist himself.
She may as well have been saying how much fun she had in a Lewis Hamilton inspired Ferrari being coached by Jenson Button on a closed track as her introduction to the school run.

Sadly for grumps like me too, an awful lot of the aforementioned public seem incapable of seeing Pippa, Jonathan, Chris Hoy, or anyone else remotely famous as normal people and won't equate them in the slightest with the b***** getting in their way on their drive into work tomorrow.

 

[Basil.B]

I skimmed the article, only followed the link in the hope that it might contain photos from the rear

Here you go!

 

[flatflr]

Bucklebury is only a few miles from me, might have to put it on my regular route. Last time I rode around there I did see a lot of army helicopters around, perhaps Harry was visiting!