A common problem in this day and age is having one ass that you want to keep dry but two bikes, it’s a constant source of misery for me.

For a limited time Ass Savers are offering a buy one get one free deal on their site, all you need to do is order a black one (classic) and choose whether you want a white or yellow one for free. One ass, two bikes, dry bum on both, sorted.

Related posts:

1. Deaf Pigeon Ass Saver Competition Submit your fixed gear photos to win an Ass Saver with Deaf Pigeon, couldn’t be easier!...
2. Evans Cycles Fixed Gear Bikes Sale Evans Cycles have got a big sale on previous season fixed/singlespeed bikes as well as 20% off all current models, now is the time to shop!...
3. BIGxTOP January Sale BIG TOP are having a bit of a January sale, You can use the code 'JANSALE' on their site to get 15% off as well as free worldwide shipping....

Do not adjust your set, 14 Bike Co are working on some big things for this years Bespoked Bristol show! For more photos check out the album on the Bespoked Bristol Facebook Page and hit ‘Like’ while you’re there!

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1. Bespoked Bristol – The Video Bespoked Bristol have released their recap video, it does a pretty good job of capturing the whole vibe of the show....
2. Bespoked Bristol 2012 Call for Entries Bespoked Bristol 2012 takes place on 23-25 March....
3. 3, 2, 1, Bespoked Bristol! Be sure to check out the Bespoked Bristol show this weekend, it’s gonna be awesome!...

Tokyo Fixed have some bang tidy stuff in their sale at the mo from Evo skins to Nitto bars, Dia Compe hubs, Mash bibs and a few real bargains on frames. CHECK IT OUT!

Related posts:

1. Dia Compe Hubs On Sale at Tokyo Fixed Tokyo Fixed has slashed the prices on all their Dia Compe Gran Compe hubs which are available in a whole bunch of colours. Act fast to save up to £40...
2. Tokyo Fixed End of Summer Sale Tokyo Fixed have launched their end of summer sale, there are are whole load of frames up for grabs at rock bottom prices......
3. Tokyo Fixed Sale Tokyo Fixed in Soho have a jolly jumbo sale kicking off tomorrow with up to 70% off all the most fly parts, accessories, clothing and frames!...

It seems like every week someone is calling for the British Government to do something about our cycling infrastructure and every week these calls fall on deaf ears.

The most recent one, by The Times, seems to be reaching further than most in the mainstream media and they have released an 8 point manifesto which seems nice but as with most things, I don’t wholly agree.

1. Trucks entering a city centre should be required by law to fit sensors, audible truck-turning alarms, extra mirrors and safety bars to stop cyclists being thrown under the wheels.

We all know how dangerous lorries are and any extra measures to increase the safety and awareness of cyclists sharing the road with a lorry can only be a good thing but at the same time a lot of cyclists are to blame when they’re involved in accidents. I am a cyclist, I know that a lorry can crush me like an ant and I know that the driver of a lorry may not see me from his driving position so when I am on the same road as a lorry I may pull over and wait for it to pass; I live another day and the driver goes about his business. Maybe roads that are frequently used by us both should have signs informing cyclists of the lorry drivers blind spots etc?

2. The 500 most dangerous road junctions must be identified, redesigned or fitted with priority traffic lights for cyclists and Trixi mirrors that allow lorry drivers to see cyclists on their near-side.

If I feel that a junction is particularly dangerous I will either use the pavement and crossing (which is legal in such a case, I think), take the lane (not always possible or advisable) or just take my life in my hands and risk it (most of the time). I really like the priority traffic lights idea, it seems to work for buses and would certainly make us feel safer.

3. A national audit of cycling to find out how many people cycle in Britain and how cyclists are killed or injured should be held to underpin effective cycle safety.

Things like this can be very easily misunderstood by Joe Bloggs putting them off cycling, and easily skewed by the press to make cycling seem like a very dangerous thing to do. Cycling is incredibly safe, the chances of us actually being injured or killed whilst cycling is miniscule. I’m pretty sure all this data is already widely available so is the audit really necessary?

4. Two per cent of the Highways Agency budget should be earmarked for next generation cycle routes, providing £100 million a year towards world-class cycling infrastructure. Each year cities should be graded on the quality of cycling provision.

A nice idea but our tight-ass government isn’t going to cough up £100 million for anything any time soon. I’m all for cycle routes but I think that education of both cyclists and drivers is equally as important. Painting the side of a road red and calling it a cycle lane is all good until it’s full of parked cars resulting in us swerving in and out of them pissing off drivers and making them angry enough to run us down.

5. The training of cyclists and drivers must improve and cycle safety should become a core part of the driving test.

I’m down with this one, I don’t feel like I need training because i’m not a total retardo but some people can’t cycle for toffee and I think we all agree that a lot of drivers are incredibly useless! I don’t drive and have never had lessons but I’d like to think that both driving lessons and tests have a lot of cyclist safety content. I think a fair amount of time should be spent highlighting the vulnerability of cyclists on the road with regards to recommended passing space etc.

6. 20mph should become the default speed limit in residential areas where there are no cycle lanes.

Nobody needs to speed in residential areas but slapping up some 20mph signs won’t make the slightest bit of difference and I’d more than likely be going faster than that on my bike.

7. Businesses should be invited to sponsor cycleways and cycling super-highways, mirroring the Barclays-backed bicycle hire scheme in London.

So who is actually paying for these things? The government with their 100 million or Argos with their adverts for the Challenge fixie bike? I do love the idea of the Boris Bikes though so maybe the sponsoring thing works, I don’t know exactly what the deal is.

8. Every city, even those without an elected mayor, should appoint a cycling commissioner to push home reforms.

Swansea has a cycling dude, I don’t think he does anything at all. I’m sure your city already has one that does nothing too. Actually, they do do something, this.

I think that our cities are super crowded and as long as motor vehicles and bicycles occupy the same space accidents can, and will, happen. The one thing that will make the biggest difference is education of both drivers and cyclists on how to use the road and more importantly how to SHARE the road; sometimes it’s their fault, sometimes it’s our fault and more often than we’re probably both to blame.

I also think the name ‘Cities Fit For Cycling’ is terrible, what about ‘Cyclists Fit For Cities’ instead? As always with these things we’re made out to be the victims and never the culprits by the cycling advocacy groups. It works both ways.

So, what do you folks think about this thing and the many hundreds of similar ideas that came before it and will come after it? What do you think will make the roads a safer place?

Related posts:

1. Car Buzz Cycling Article There’s a really great article on carbuzz.co.uk outlining loads of important stuff that drivers should know about cyclist’s rights....
2. Interactive Map of London’s Cycling Accident Black Spots The Telegraph site features a detailed interactive map about the 4,274 reported accidents on London's roads between August 2010 and July 2011....
3. Hardlyart Cycling Quotes Print Series To celebrate the start of the Tour of Britain today I have added a series of five cycling themed prints by illustrator and fixed gear rider Hardlyart to the shop....

howies are running a competition to win a day at Newport Velodrome with coaching from the professionals at Welsh Cycling.

You can enter on their Facebook Page or their blog.

Related posts:

1. RIBA Stirling Prize Shortlist – The Velodrome, London Here’s a pretty cool video that looks at the Velodrome that has been built for the 2012 Olympics in London....
2. howies Join the Revolution howies is supporting British cycling and making their debut in the Revolution Track Series at the National Cycling Centre Velodrome in Manchester....
3. howies Goes Back to it’s Roots howies have bought their company back from VF Corporation and are independent once again!...

Just a quickie to say thanks to all y’all for visiting the blog in January. It was by far the biggest month since the site launched two years ago, so high five!

2012 is going to be a good year for The Foot Down, I’ve got lots planned and it would be good to hear what you want to see more or less of on the blog so hit up the comments below, Facebook or Twitter with your suggestions.

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1. Awesome Bike Name I spotted this radical mountain bike in town today. I assume it’s a prototype because if it was widely available EVERYONE would want one......
2. Sam Pepper Rides Fixed Sam Pepper from Big Brother 11 rides a fixed gear bike, in a grey marl tracksuit, fresh!...
3. 14 Bike Co Blog I’m currently running the 14 Bike Co blog whilst Mikey is away so if you don’t already follow the 14 blog now is a good time to start....

The second Wednesday Wordsearch is a tough one, I’d be surprised if anyone gets them all. You need to find 10 fixed gear videos, they are all ‘long’, meaning not just a couple of minutes; some are available on DVD, others not.

I’ll post the answers on Facebook on Friday evening. Good luck!

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3. The Foot Down Gets Branded I’m sure you’ve noticed that The Foot Down has had a bit of a re-design, read about why and how it happened......

There are so many of these things that you’d think they’d all suck but I can’t get enough of them. This one is especially great because even at over 7 minutes long it’s hysterical right to the end.

For me it’s all about 1:13, 4:20 and 6:45 and I have to disagree with this this douchey YouTube commenter, I love a bit of gratuitous swearing:

“I would suggest you leave out the foul language; it added nothing to the video. Better yet, edit this video and cut the trash talk. This would allow a mature person to like and share.”

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1. Cycling Robot Video The cycling robot balances, steers, stops and waves, it does it all......
2. UD Cycling Classic Bicycles and art very often end in a mess if you ask me but I love this, it almost makes me want to have a go at roller racing again....
3. Jordan, on What Cycling Means to Him An excellent short documentary by Elliot Trent starring his brother, who talks about why he loves cycling....

Do you want to win all these stickers from my personal collection?

Liven up your bike with all these radical fixie stickers from DVS, Wrahw, 14 Bike Co, Zlog, Tokyo Fixed, howies, Dickies, Cantgoslo, Knog and Charlie the Bikemonger! ROFL.

Click here to enter.

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2. DVS / Cadence Forever Forward Stickers I just got a load of DVS / Cadence Forever Forward stickers through from Revival Distribution. Who wants one?...
3. Charlie the Bikemonger Moves Charlie the Bikemonger has got a new site on the go and moved over to the much quicker to type bikemonger.co.uk so, you know, check it out like....

I can’t believe Restrap has only been going for two years, it’s seems like they’ve been around for ever!

Their second birthday is coming up in March and they’re putting on a mighty fine event…

“Meet at 1.30 at the Henry Moore Institute ready to race at 2.30. Entry is £5 and includes a free limited edition Restrap t-shirt for every rider. The race is followed by track stand and skid competitions with yet more birthday prizes to be won. Celebrations will continue into the night at Hukaz from 8pm, with showings of the Restrap video premier, Boikzmoind and To Live and Ride in LA. Oh, and beer.”

More info on the Facebook Event page.

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1. Restrap First Birthday Sesh Restrap is celebrating it's first birthday with the help of Fixed Gear Leeds and Ginnelwhippet roller racing....
2. The Restrap Hill Climb This Saturday you need to eat loads of energy chews, or suck a load of helium balloons because it’s The Restrap Hill Climb in Saltaire....
3. Restrap Launch Party, Alleycat and BÖIKZMÖIND Premiere This is going to be one hell of an event, gutted I can’t make it. Tokyo Fixed, Restrap, BÖIKZMÖIND, alleycat and booze (no doubt)....