On your BIKES get set... go!
TV stars Larry and George Lamb saddle up for a spot of father and son bonding on an epic spin around Britain
ACTOR Larry Lamb is eyeing up my brand new electric bike outside the World’s Tavern in North London’s Finsbury Park. ‘That’s the real deal. That’s the business, that is,’ says the veteran star of EastEnders and Gavin & Stacey, whistling at my £1,000 Carrera Crossfire-E Women’s Electric Hybrid Bike which I have borrowed from Halfords to join him for a ride through London.
His own bike, although also electric, is more rudimentary and well used and he lifts up the rear pannier to show the bulky battery.
Electrically assisted pedal cycles (EAPC) – or ebikes, as they’re more commonly known – are normal bicycles, fitted with a motor.
This doesn’t totally replace the action of the pedalling to turn the wheels, but adds serious oomph. They can be legally ridden at up to 15.5mph on British cycle paths and roads, and many go faster.
It’s my first time using one and it feels, I imagine, like riding a broomstick – it seems to move as if by magic. Little effort is required, which defeats the point, surely?
Larry, 70, cackles. ‘No, darling. You can turn off the power assist if you don’t want it and just pedal harder. Ebikes are great at encouraging people my age to just get out there.
‘Who wants to go out in the country and feel it’s a constant slog? It’s a huge plus to be on one of these – you don’t worry about hills, you just switch it up a gear and still get a good ride.’
Larry and TV presenter son George, 38, have just finished filming the second series of Britain By Bike for Channel 5, where they explore our national parks on two wheels, with George on what his father calls ‘a proper bike’ by cycle-makers Giant.
And the pair are evangelical about the benefits of getting out and enjoying a family bike ride. Larry who grew up in North-West London, first got on a bike at five years old, built his own from scratch at 11 and can’t remember a time when he was without one.
Just like his father, George cycled everywhere as a child and went from a bright red starter bike, through a BMX in the late 1980s to a mountain bike. They reminisce about an old photograph of George as a child on the back of one of his dad’s bikes. ‘I would ride him everywhere around London,’ says Larry.
Then it’s time to get down to business and after nothing stronger than a fortifying mineral water, we set off.
Despite having cycled the length and breadth of the country, it’s refreshing to see the pair are Lycra-free, and haven’t bought into all the gear, although Larry does pull on gloves.
They’re the antithesis of geeky and competitive so we don’t talk timings, speeds or fitness – although both are in great shape.
Larry says he does his ‘exercises’ every day – ‘sit-ups and all that’ – while George ran the London Marathon earlier in the year.
But on their bikes they’re out for fun, which is exactly the laidback attitude they think we should all have when it comes to cycling – get out there, go at your own pace and explore – but always with safety in mind. ‘You’ve got to wear a helmet,’ says Larry. ‘And you must make sure people can see you, even in daylight. You just have to remember what it’s like driving a car and respect everyone on the road.’
Today, we’re following one of the National Cycle Network paths that takes us across North London, from Finsbury Park to Alexandra Palace, at times riding along a tree-lined track of a disused railway.
‘I never knew this was here,’ remarks Larry, head swivelling to take it all in as we pedal through dappled woodland, past graffiti- covered bridges, dog-walkers and fellow cyclists.
The Network, maintained by UK charity Sustrans, connects the whole of the country with 14,000 miles of traffic-free paths, linking villages, towns and cities, and taking in many of Britain’s bestloved views and attractions.
I remark on how courteous George is when he gives way to three Lycra-clad cyclists who were stopping for no one. Cyclists give cyclists a bad name, reckons George. ‘I feel there needs to be an amnesty as drivers don’t like cyclists and cyclists don’t like drivers. I’m quite conscientious when I’m driving and I’m quite a cautious leisure cyclist, so I don’t skip the lights and I won’t get too close if there’s a big lorry.’
The standout location for the pair during their latest filming was the Scilly Isles. Larry says: ‘It’s heaven. I genuinely felt it was a little tropical paradise.’
Cycling, he points out, gets you up close to such locations. ‘There’s a real marked difference between driving through the countryside and cycling through it.
‘In a car you’re not really present but when you’re cycling you are actively experiencing nature, the trees, the plants, the animals.
‘You see and smell different things, you can explore and see all these little places you wouldn’t see from a car – and you don’t worry about parking.’
Their most gruelling rides have been in Snowdonia and on the Tour de Yorkshire, where they completed an 87-mile stretch. Larry had to put his ebike into sport gear, ‘so I was flying’. George laughs and recalls: ‘Poppa, what about that time in the Yorkshire Dales and it was a bit much for me and we put a tow rope on your bike and you pulled me along!’
Making the TV show has opened the pair’s eyes to parts of the country they would never otherwise have seen. Says George: ‘I grew up in an era of package holidays and like most people my age, used to take short-haul flights to European destinations. But I never really explored my own country. Making this programme was a real joy.’
We’ve tackled most of the route with ease so Larry is heading back home and fingers crossed, his bike battery will last. That’s one thing about ebikes – the motors need charging just like a computer.
As for me? I don’t think I’ll be entering the Tour de France just yet. But having gone at least three miles on a blisteringly hot day without breaking into a sweat, I now understand the appeal of an ebike even if I prefer full-on pedal power. Britain By Bike returns to Channel 5 on August 10 at 8pm.