Work is pretty busy at the moment. I really enjoyed yesterday’s Cities@Manchester event, which sought to discuss whether Manchester can be a cycling city. I’m working on a response (and a collection of social media from the event) but, for now, I’ll just leave it at this picture:

Yep, that is Jason Orange of band Take That on his bike out and about in Manchester. And I think this is one of the key takeaways from last night: to become a cycling city, Manchester has to help riding a bike become ordinary (and perhaps even a little sexy).

Tonight, I’m off to another cycling event – this time, it’s the third birthday of Keep Pedalling, my local and brilliant bike shop.

Here's one of a window display i recently created for @keep_pedalling and their birthday party pic.twitter.com/iQMdYJvcVa

— howks (@Howker) April 10, 2014

“KP”, run by partners Shona and Rich, is my local bike shop. Over the last three years, they’ve sold me more bikes or parts than anywhere else: both my bikes are bought/built mostly from KP components. It’s brilliant that there’s a place nearby where I can pop in and chat without any pressure to buy or pay. It’s why I consistently recommended it to friends looking for a friendly, reliable bike shop. 

Happy birthday and I’ll see you shortly!