The Mill On The Blog

CORNISH CYCLING CHAMP BACKS HELEMILL’S ‘RIDE WITHOUT RISK’ CAMPAIGN FOR NATIONAL BIKE WEEK

Jodi Vickery, the National Ladies Mountain Bike Master Champion 2006, current ‘Go Ride’ cycling coach for the South West and National Standards coach for Road Safety has teamed up with Helemill to highlight the importance of safe cycling for National Bike Week 2009 which runs from June 13th to 21st.

With pedal-free bikes such as our Early Riders and Zoooms (see links on left) children as young as two can start to enjoy the benefits of cycling but, as parents, we also want to make sure that this is done in a safe and appropriate way. Together with Jodi we want to reassure mums and dads that their little ones can get out there and learn to ride almost as soon as they can walk - as long as they have the correct equipment.

That’s why we’re launching our ‘Ride without Risk’ campaign for 2009, and to mark the occasion we’ve added the drop-dead cool Little Nutty helmets to our range, all built specifically with toddlers in mind (see helmets link). In addition, anyone who buys an Early Rider or pedal-free ‘Zooom’ from Helemill during Bike Week will receive a free bell with thier bike plus they will be entered into a prize draw to have the cost of their bike refunded. Jodi Vickery will be picking a name from the hat after the end of the week.

She says, "Cycling is such a great sport for children to get into and the sooner they are introduced to it the better, especially in an age where so many of them seem to spend the whole time indoors playing computer games. After all bike-riding keeps them fit, healthy and active and gives them so much enjoyment. But of course, it’s vital that parents make sure this is done in a safe and responsible manner. Helemill’s ‘Ride without Risk’ campaign highlights this message and I fully support it."

Surprise Surprise!!

A highlight of the last month has been the surprise skiing trip we arranged for Mike's 50th birthday. He knew absolutely nothing about it until I told him to stop work as we were going on holiday. The next surprise was when we arrived at the airport to find other people were joining us - 16 in total. We had a fabulous time and perhaps even more of a surprise than the trip itself was just how confident Dan and Harry are getting on the slopes. They've been skiing a few times before but we never imagined we'd see our 5-year old take off down a black run! Mike and I firmly believe this must have something to do with the balance they've acquired using pedal-free bikes. Either that or it was something in the Austrian water...

Anyway, the trip was superb and Mike now fancies himself as something of a pro after a friend of ours took this shot. Can I just make it clear for the record that this picture was taken on about the 100th attempt!

We also found the most amazing mountain top bar - it's called the Top Mountain Star and at 3280m it has an incredible 360° panoramic view of the mountains around Hochgurgl. Take a peak (sorry!) at www.tophotelhochgurgl.com but be warned: it gets very windy and cold up there as we found out!

Early Rider & Zooom - Perfect LIKEaBIKE alternatives

We fear that LIKEaBIKEs have become just too expensive - what with Sterling collapsing against the Euro, a Mountain Classic has gone up from £120 a year ago to £180 pounds now! We have always resisted supplying anything other than LIKEaBIKE knowing that the alternatives left much to be desired. We have many anecdotes from our customers coming to us with tales of woe and wasted money, replacing their awful lookalikes with the real thing.

However things have changed in the last few months, British company Early Rider look set to overtake LIKEaBIKE as the no.1 wooden bike on the market. Cool styling coupled with no-compromise quality at a reasonable price (£85-£110), with a 2 year manufacturer warranty all adds up to make Early Rider a new first choice for our customers - call us if you want to talk through the options.

And it doesn't end there - we've also taken on the Adventure Zooom manufactured by another great British company, Ridgeback. Also known as Scoot, the Zooom is a great alternative to the LIKEaBIKE Jumper, but at a much more affordable price of £85. Once again though, as you'd expect from Ridgeback, there are no quality shortcuts, just a good looking bike that ticks all the boxes for learning to ride the natural way - it even has a brake!

All the rest of the family ride Ridgeback bikes - Daniel has Harry's old 16" MX16, Harry has just got a 20" MX20 and Mike bought a Genesis Day02 road bike four years ago - we know and trust this brand. Maybe I should be upgrading my old Raleigh....
Maggie
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Helemill Featured At The Barbican!

We're very excited to report that our Villa Sibi Doll’s House is turning heads at the moment as we were asked to supply one for the Le Corbusier - The Art of Architecture exhibition at London’s Barbican Centre. It’s on until the 24th May and is well worth a visit – Le Corbusier was a pioneer of the modern form and probably the most influential architect of the 20th Century but you don’t have to be an expert to appreciate and enjoy the displays.

Winter comes to the Mill

Well - what a busy start to the year! After a lovely family Christmas with all the trimmings, Mike and I have been busy getting our new-look website organised so we hope you like it. All of the photos were taken in November by Kirstin Prisk - www.kirstinprisk.com - it was a really fun day with our friends and little ones and despite the wind and rain we managed a good few hours down on the beach in Bude.

Talking of which, Christmas Day here saw the traditional Mike Moyle Memorial Christmas Day swim, when hundreds of people stripped off and headed into the waves. I certainly didn't envy them - brrrrrrrr! It's all in a good cause though, as the money raised goes to the Bude Surf Life Saving Club.

Anyway, winter at the Mill is all about staying warm and cosy so aside from work, work, work, we've had plenty of family time in front of the fire. There are some good places to eat in and around Bude so when we do get out for a coastal walk (usually with Flint, our beloved Weimaraner) we usually end up in a nice pub. You can't beat a good roast lunch on a cold Cornish afternoon!

And, of course, in the last few days we've been enjoying the SNOW! The boys dragged out one of our lovely SIBIS sledges and made the most of it. They are both avid skiers although Harry insists he will try snowboarding next year. He's completely fearless - he doesn't get it from me, I'm more of a fan of taking it easy on the slopes and trying out the local fare!
That's about it for us recently. I'm new to all this blog malarkey but will keep you updated with all things Helemill so do check in on us from time to time. In the meantime, all the best for 2009!

Maggie
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