During the Covid-19 lockdown, many people with essential jobs were using bikes to get around, and others were putting little-used bikes into regular service as a means of getting exercise. The resulting spike in demand for bike maintenance coincided with bike shops being closed. Graham had the skills and tools to do the majority of maintenance tasks, so put up a sign in the back lane behind his garage offering to maintain bikes. The response was so overwhelming that he decided to continue after the lockdown was eased.

Starting my cycling life as a means of transport, I soon discovered the pleasure of cycle touring. That continued during and after a successful stint of long-distance time trialling and Audaxing.

As a young man I worked in a bike shop / hire centre in Bath, acting as Manager for a while. I then had a career in science and engineering research which informs my approach to cycle engineering - instead of just replacing a component in the hope that it will fix the problem, it's better to analyse the problem and solve it properly. After retiring from corporate life, I worked as a mechanic in several bike shops. I now have time to repair bikes and occasionally undertake long tours.

I also volunteer as a repairer at the fantastic Bath Share And Repair, where you can sign up for a tutorial on basic bike maintenance among other things.

It never fails to amaze me when a seventy-year-old Sturmey-Archer hub is wheeled into the workshop. Not a museum piece, but a peice of reliable engineering still in normal service. My experience is that the only hub gear that seems to match that reliability, with more gears, is the Rohloff Speedhub. Although it has a hefty price tag, it's said that you get what you pay for and it's a fabulous piece of kit.

Tandems are so cool aren't they? Fast, efficient and the epitome of teamwork, I love them. Other opinions exist, of course.