News

Carrying a flask turns any outing into a small adventure - whether you're cycling, driving, or out on a mobility scooter

There’s freedom in owning a mobility scooter - independence, ease, a way to get around that’s practical and empowering. And if you’re looking to buy one secondhand, you’re not alone. With prices of new models often running into the thousands, pre-owned scooters can offer a welcome optin for those wanting mobility without the hefty price tag.With an estimated 300,000 mobility scooter users in the UK, the secondhand market is thriving, but not always straightforward. While there are genuine bargains to be had, the rise of online scams and the risk of ending up with a poorly maintained model means it pays to be cautious - and a little savvy

‍

We talk a lot about cycle lanes in Britain - and rightly so. Safe routes are vital if we want more people cycling. But what about where the bike lives the other 99% of the time? For a country supposedly on the cusp of an active travel revolution, we’re surprisingly quiet on the subject of where people are meant to store their bikes.For many, cycling isn’t a hobby - it’s how they get to work, to school, to the shops. And yet keeping a bike secure, whether at home or in public, is often treated as an afterthought. No one expects car owners to drag their own wheel clamps around with them. Cyclists? We're told to carry a lock the size of a small anvil and just hope for the best.

‍

As the UK government sticks to its 2035 target to end the sale of new petrol and diesel cars, a looming question remains unanswered: how will the 9 million households without a driveway charge their electric vehicles?While ministers scratch their heads over kerbside charging, and councils face backlash over pavement clutter caused by cables trailing across public footways, another form of electric transport is quietly getting on with it - and solving the problem in the process.Enter the humble e-bike.

‍

At a time when bikes are becoming as complex as the devices we’re meant to be escaping, singlespeed riding offers a compelling alternative: a kind of cycling mindfulness that geared bikes can’t replicate.In a world of ever-more complicated technology - 12-speed wireless drivetrains, app-controlled suspension, bikes that beep when you shift - a growing number of riders are doing something quietly radical. Across the global cycling market, and in cities embracing minimalism and urban riding, single-speed and fixed-gear bikes are trending upward.

‍

‍

This week, Blaise Metreweli made headlines as she became the first woman to be appointed Chief of MI6 - the UK’s top spy, known by the famous codename “C”. A historic moment, yes, but it wasn’t just the appointment that caught the attention of many cyclists tuning into Radio 4 last week.

‍

Picture the scene: you’ve been driving south since dawn, all panniers, passports and “are-we-there-yets”, inching ever closer to your holiday desination. Up ahead is a an “aire de repos” shaded by plane trees. You pull over, unclip a hand-sized bundle, hook it between branches, and - voilà - instant siesta. Ten minutes later the world looks brighter, the kids’ in-car snacks less perilous, and the ride in the Dordogne suddenly feels doable again.

‍

If you’re someone who follows the news and cares about road safety, chances are the Today programme left you frustrated more than once this week.First came a segment revisiting the case of Harry Dunn - the teenager killed by a driver who was not arrested and quickly fled the UK. The story rightly focused on police failures and the lack of justice for his family. But it missed something crucial. Harry’s death, while particularly high-profile, was not an isolated incident. On average, five people die on Britain’s roads every day. Families up and down the country are dealing with similar losses, often without the media attention or political outrage.A quick call to RoadPeace - the charity supporting families bereaved by road violence - would have revealed this. They would have pointed out that young people dying in road collisions is devastatingly common, and that road harm, unlike other public health crises, rarely gets the sustained attention it deserves.

‍

The British summer has well and truly switched itself on. Temperatures are expected to hit 30 °C across much of England today, with yellow heat-health alerts in place until Sunday evening - a warning that the hot weather poses increased risks, particularly for older people and those with health conditions.That doesn’t mean we have to park up our bikes just yet, but it does mean the school run, the café ride or even the usual dash to the station might feel a little more like hard work. When the air turns thick and heavy, dehydration can sneak up fast - bringing headaches, fuzzy thinking, and the kind of slowed reactions nobody needs when navigating busy roads.

‍