There was a crazy news item this week – reported by Road.cc – about Ashford Council having reservations about a new factory for Brompton bikes because of lack of, err… parking. Are we ever going to be freed from the shackles of the car with such small-minded thinking? It seems unlikely. Highways England are bleating about the impact that such a factory could have on the local road network. A bicycle factory. A factory making bicycles.
Here’s a report in The Guardian about the plans to build the factory when it was announced in 2022 and here’s this week’s report by Road.cc. This is what the factory could look like (photos from Brompton Bikes):
Impressive, no? Well, unless you are Ashford Council or Highways England…
I had the opportunity of taking a tour of the current factory a few years ago. Here’s what I wrote at the time:
And lest you think cycle touring and Brompton bicycles are mutually exclusive, have a listen to this episode of the podcast from 2022:
Cycling acquaintance Simon Johnson has just taken delivery of a Brompton that he has bought specifically for touring. Here are some pictures that he sent me a few days ago to whet the appetite…
Note the carbon belt and Rohloff hub. Very nice. I look forward to hearing how he gets on.
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Do you know about Susanna Thornton and Miriam Kennedy who both cycle tour on Brompton bikes. Both recovering from Breast cancer too. Look for them on YouTube.
I’ll look out for them 🙂
Actually… I thought the name was familiar. Here’s what I wrote about Susanna a while back: https://cyclingeurope.org/2023/02/05/susanna-thornton-hong-kong-to-london-a-big-bicycle-adventure/
Yes I thought you had done something about her. I’ve actually bought a 2nd hand Brompton to use with my OAP buss pass
Good thinking 🙂