Author: Paul

Summertime is well and truly here in our corner of Derbyshire and I hope you are making the most of the dry spell. We’re about as far from the seaside as you can get so, last weekend, we though a trip to the seaside was in order.

The result is a new route that I published earlier in the week called the South North Divide. The route starts at Sheffield Train station and makes it’s way up through South and West Yorkshire before heading across to York. From here the route continues across North Yorkshire to finish in Scarborough. I did the route over a couple of days because I’m old and unfit but I reckon it could be done in a single day if you are feeling enthusiastic.

Fresh Goods

Summer Break

Vélotastic will be closed from July 4th to July 21st for our Summer Holidays. All orders placed will be shipped when we return. So if you have a trip yourself lined up and are after something, please order from us sooner rather than later.

I always joke that the Peak District has two seasons – winter and July. For the past month it seems that July has come early as we enjoy an extended dry spell. We’ve got some great ideas below for if you fancy a longer journey on your bike over a few days.

The weather has meant that I’ve been busy at Vélotastic HQ fulfilling orders and looking at what to stock. It’s also been an interesting time for us watching the American president having a toddler tantrum and introducing tariffs and us wondering if our government was going to reciprocate. This is not the first time he’s done this. Back in 2018 there was a spat between Boeing and Airbus and it meant that, including duty and tariff we were paying 28% on some of the products Vélotastic were importing with VAT on top of that !

We’ve sent out all the patches and route information to everyone that’s entered our last virtual event – the Stoops and Stones. We’ve got a few extra patches for sale if you missed the pre-order. It’s a lovely couple of routes in the Peak District if we say so ourselves !

Weekenders

With the longer daylight hours and more settled weather it’s a great time to go for a weekend away with your bike. Whether you are a bikepacking newbie or a hardcore veteran we’ve a route for you.

City Breaks

A good introduction to bikepacking is to do a longer linear dayride on your bike, spend the night out (maybe with a cheeky recovery beer) and catch the train back the following day. Our routes from Chesterfield to Lincoln or York are great for that and with the Lincoln route you can always continue to the seaside for a bag of chips the following day.

Split the Distance

If you fancy something a bit more challenging, you could always split one of our longer day rides into two. The Imperial is a fantastic route around the Peak District. If you fancy something a bit flatter the Superfondo is a good option.

Go large.

Our classic bikepacking routes include the Park Patrol, Transpennine Express and Trans Peak Trail which are all gravel friendly. If you fancy something more at the MTB end of the spectrum the White Peak Wander and Velotastic 300 might be more for you.

Whatever you chose – leave no trace and enjoy yourself.

100 miles is the cyclist’s marathon. It’s something than most riders have on their bucket list. Once completed there’s a sense of achievement that you’ve pushed your adventures by bicycle to another level.

There is as usual, a bit of a caveat about how and where you popped your century cherry. A 100 miles on the flat on a light road bike is going to be a lot easier than a 100 off road on an MTB in the Highlands.

Somewhere in the middle is gravel biking territory. You’ve usually got a mix of surfaces. Gravel bikes are lighter than MTB’s but heavier than some road bikes. Tyres are in the middle normally unless you are riding a monster cross style bike.

A century is also a good distance for a long day in the saddle without the need for taking bikepacking gear and having to put an overnight stop in. Provisions can be carried on the bike. The only issue is water, but if you scout around there’s normally somewhere to fill up.

I thought I’d design a route in the Peak with these factors in mind. Its a mix of the White Peak’s ‘rail trails’ and a venture into the Dark Peak. It’s around 50% off road with the resat on quiet lanes that are more gnarmac than tarmac.

Enjoy. If you like what you see a virtual coffee would not go a miss.

As the daylight hours are getting longer and the weather is getting a tad better I thought it was time to add another route to the collection. Introducing the Superfondo – the sweet spot distance wise between a regular Fondo and a Century.

This gravel friendly route starts and finishes at Chesterfield Station and is a mash up of our popular GravelFondo route and personal fave – Duke it Out route with a few extra bits on the side. Roughly three quarters of the route is off road – a mix of former railways, bridleways and a blue MTB route thrown in for good measure. It’s a lot less lumpy than some of our Peak District adventures and I recce’d it on my single speed gravel bike.

Fresh Goods

As things are picking up after the winter months I’m starting to re-stock our inventory. I’ve had a re-stock from Voilé of their ever so popular straps. Below’s a little video about how they came about.

And finally

A huge thanks to everyone that entered our Stoops and Stones virtual non-event. You should have received a copy of the routes and hopefully your patches will be on the way to you at the back end of next month. If you a little late to the party, don’t worry as we have ordered a few extra patches and you can still join in here.

January and February are normally the fallow months in the cycling industry. The trails have turned to a consistency of peanut butter, the weather is grim and daylight hours are in short supply. Many folk have put their bikes into hibernation until the weather warms up.

A New Year does however bring a fresh start. Mine is to spend less time on social media doom scrolling (I’ve removed most of the apps off my devices) and more time getting outside. Even if it’s not riding, a walk or a run is better than being indoors !

As a bit of a motivation I’ve launched my latest virtual non- event (ICYMI it’s called the Stoops and Stones). Based on the eastern edge of the Peak District close to home there’s a choice of two routes – the 100km Daytripper and 100 mile Weekender. Entries are now open. I’ll reveal the route to those that have in mid March and you can ride them at your leisure.

Fresh Goods

Things maybe quiet but I’ve had a couple of deliveries in. One from Outer Shell Adventure with a restock of their camera straps and harnesses and I’ve also started carrying some Ass Savers.

I’ve always had a love hate relationship with mudguards. Whilst I hate getting dirty and riding with a wet backside, I also find that traditional mudguards either end up rattling or get clogged up. I’ve been using Ass Savers for the past couple of months and they seem a good compromise, plus they are easy to remove when it gets drier.

Until next time – start rolling and stop scrolling !

Paul

Well that’s nearly the end of another year (we don’t know how that happened either) and we’re getting ready to plan our adventures for 2025.

I’ve got a few route ideas in mind that I didn’t quite get around to this year and I’m also planning a cracking new virtual event for the Spring. Hopefully if I can get over the seasonal excesses and out on my bike I should be launching entries for that next month.

The eagle eyed of you will have noticed that Velotastic didn’t do a Black Friday sale. We that the concept is a bit thin and don’t want to get into the cycle of perpetual sales on our slower moving stock. Instead we’re offering 10% off all orders over £50 until the end of the year – just use the discount code fiftyten at our checkout.

ICYMI

Until next time, ride safe

Paul

Many of Velotastic’s suppliers are thousands of miles from us in the USA. We’ve built our business relationship up over time primarily through email but have never actually met. Whilst I’d love to go and visit them on one big road trip, time and money stands in the way. 

 

However, the most local brand we stock is 30 odd miles (or less than an hour away by train) up the M1 in Leeds. When Col from Restrap wrote to me to introduce himself and asked if he could arrange a meeting to learn more about Velotastic and offered a factory visit I seized the opportunity.

 

Situated about a mile from Leeds city centre, butted up next to a couple of TV studios, the warm welcome I received was in contrast to the cold wet weather when I arrived. I was greeted by Col and Nathan the owner and founder of Restrap.

 

The business was established in 2010 by Nathan making pedal straps in his back room using a single sewing machine and a homemade punch. Since then Restrap has now expanded its product range to a collection of bicycle bags suitable for commuting, gravel riding and bikepacking.

 

The business now occupies a factory unit full of workstations and cutting machines where they make 90% of their products in house. This enables them to be agile and keep up with demand and trends rather than rely on overseas factories and waiting for stock to arrive by container.

Making in house also means that the quality of their products is consistent. As Nathan showed me around the factory he pointed out the cutting machines where products start their journey from being a raw material. Most of these are computer controlled. This enables them to not only cut accurately but to keep waste to a minimum. No bags made out of offcuts..

 

Other elements to the bags were carefully thought out. YKK zips are used rather than saving on manufacturing. Bag spacers and stiffeners are also cut in house to ensure that everything goes together just so.

 

 

The vast majority of the staff have been with the company for years. The factory had a feeling of a happy workforce which reflected this low staff churn rate. The label on the finished products that are made in house are signed by the machinist which is a reflection of the pride in their work.

 

A corner of the unit was set up as a bike store cum workshop and there was a diverse range of bicycles in there from single speed commuters to full suspension MTB, many of them with Restrap bags attached to them. Many of the staff are riders themselves and some of them are Restrap brand ambassadors.

It was great to visit a company that manufactures in house rather than badge engineers their products and slaps a designed in Great Britain sticker and Union flags on their products.

 

Many thanks to Nathan, Col and all the staff at Restrap for making me feel so welcome.

 

Restrap products are available to buy through our online store.