The Spirit of December Celebration

December is synonymous with festivities. Christmas celebrated on the 25th, is the heart of the month for many. From decorating trees to exchanging gifts, it’s a time of joy, love, and tradition. The streets come alive with sparkling lights, markets, and carols, creating a magical atmosphere that brings communities together.

For some, the focus is on Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, commemorating resilience and faith. Others celebrate Kwanzaa, a week-long honouring of African heritage and culture. Across the globe, the spirit of celebration transcends cultural boundaries.

The Natural World in December

In the UK, December often brings crisp, cold air and a chance of snow. Short days and long nights invite cosiness, with evenings spent by the fire or wrapped in blankets. It’s a season for warm drinks, hearty meals, and the simple joys of winter. Nature, meanwhile, enters a slumber, with bare trees and frost-covered fields offering their quiet beauty.

Reflection and Resolution

December isn’t just about celebration—it’s a time for reflection. As the year draws to a close, many of us look back on achievements, challenges, and memories. It’s a natural moment for setting goals and intentions for the year ahead and making resolutions that symbolise hope and renewal.

End-of-Year Traditions

The month ends with New Year’s Eve, a global celebration of endings and new beginnings. Fireworks light up the skies, people gather to countdown, and resolutions are made as the clock strikes midnight. It’s a shared reminder that every end is a new start.

Conclusion

December is more than just the final month of the year—it’s a celebration of life’s richness. From its cultural festivities to its reflective mood, it offers something for everyone. Whether you’re revelling in holiday cheer or quietly contemplating what lies ahead, December is a time to cherish.

As the month unfolds, may it bring warmth, joy, and a renewed sense of purpose for the year to come.

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Dress for the Cold

Layering is key to staying warm without overheating. Start with a moisture-wicking base layer to keep sweat off your skin, add an insulating mid-layer, and finish with a windproof, water-resistant outer layer. Thermal gloves, a warm hat that fits under your helmet, and a neck warmer can also make a big difference.

Prepare Your Bike

Winter conditions can be tough on your bike. Ensure your tyres have adequate tread to handle slippery roads and. Keeping your battery warm is also crucial, as cold weather can reduce battery efficiency. Store it indoors when not in use.

Stay Visible

Winter days are shorter, and poor weather can quickly reduce visibility. Equip your bike with strong front and rear lights and wear high-visibility clothing or reflective gear. Reflective tape on your helmet or panniers can also help you stand out.

Adjust Your Riding Style

Cold, wet roads can mean longer stopping distances and less traction. Lower your speed and allow extra room for braking. Take turns slowly, avoid sudden movements, and be mindful of ice patches, especially in shaded areas.

Keep Your Bike Clean

Winter cycling can lead to muddy splatters and salty road grime, which can corrode parts over time. Rinse off your bike after each ride, particularly if you’ve ridden through salt-treated areas. Apply a winter-grade chain lubricant to protect against rust.

Stay Hydrated

It’s easy to forget about hydration in the colder months, but it’s just as important as in the summer. Cold air can be dehydrating, and wearing layers increases your sweat rate. Bring an insulated water bottle to keep your drink from freezing.

Plan Your Route

In winter, familiar routes may have new hazards. Opt for main roads where possible, as they’re more likely to be cleared of ice or snow. Alternatively, choose well-lit routes if you’re riding at dusk or dawn.

Know Your Battery Limits

Cold temperatures can reduce the range of your electric bike’s battery. Keep track of your battery level and factor in the reduced range when planning your journey. If it’s particularly cold, plan shorter rides or have a backup route to return quickly if needed.

By following these tips, you’ll find that winter cycling can be a refreshing, invigorating experience. With your electric bike, winter riding isn’t just about braving the cold; it’s about embracing the season and exploring the world from a new, quieter perspective.

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The Health Benefits of Riding an E-Bike

Low-Impact Exercise: Riding an e-bike provides an excellent form of low-impact exercise. Even with electric assistance, riders still engage in pedalling, which helps to strengthen leg muscles and improve cardiovascular health. Unlike high-impact exercises like running, e-biking puts less strain on joints, making it suitable for individuals of all fitness levels and ages.

Weight Management and Calorie Burn: Regular e-bike commuting can help with weight management and weight loss efforts. By pedalling and utilising electric assistance when needed, riders burn calories and boost their metabolism, contributing to maintaining a healthy body weight.

Mental Well-being: The endorphins released during exercise can help reduce stress and improve mental well-being. E-biking offers the advantage of combining physical activity with the sheer joy of riding, allowing riders to unwind and clear their minds while navigating through scenic routes.

Enhanced Cardiovascular Health: Engaging in regular e-bike rides can improve cardiovascular health by increasing heart rate and blood flow. This can lead to reduced risks of heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular issues, making it a worthwhile investment for long-term health.

Improved Respiratory Function: As e-bike riders tend to travel at slower speeds compared to motor vehicles, they are exposed to fewer harmful pollutants, leading to better respiratory health. Additionally, the exercise from pedalling can strengthen respiratory muscles, benefiting lung capacity.

Integrating E-Bikes into Daily Life

Commuting to Work: One of the most practical ways to integrate e-bikes into daily life is by using them for commuting to work. With the assistance of the electric motor, commuting longer distances becomes manageable, while avoiding traffic congestion and reducing your carbon footprint.

Errands and Shopping: Replace short car trips for errands and shopping with e-bike rides. Most e-bikes come equipped with cargo racks or baskets, allowing you to carry groceries and essentials without a hassle.

Exercise Routine: Incorporate e-bike rides into your weekly exercise routine. You can alternate between traditional biking and e-biking, allowing you to challenge yourself physically while still enjoying the thrill of e-assistance.

Recreational Rides: Utilise ebikes for recreational purposes, exploring nearby parks, nature trails, or scenic routes. It’s an enjoyable way to spend time with family and friends while reaping the health benefits of outdoor activities.

Group Activities: Join local e-bike clubs or organise group rides with friends and neighbours. Group activities not only make the experience more enjoyable but also provide an opportunity to socialise and motivate each other towards a healthier lifestyle.

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Wincanton is situated on the main A303 London to Penzance Road. Lying in the extreme southeast of Somerset and on the Dorset / Wiltshire borders. Wincanton is in easy reach of many places of interest which makes it the perfect location for exploring whether you are on foot, bicycle, or horseback.

Market town with a long history

Thought to be the site of a market since medieval times it was not until 17th March 1556 when Queen Mary granted a charter for two annual fairs and a market every other Wednesday that Wincanton turned into a thriving and attractive market town

The making of woolen cloth was Wincanton’s main industry, in addition to silk and linen, and Mill Street, possibly the oldest and prettiest street in the town, leads from the Market Place down to where the old mill once stood.

Wincanton’s other thriving businesses were pottery, brick making, and clocks as there were several clockmakers in the town.

Gory Battles

Wincanton was the scene of several bloody battles between the Britons, Danes, and Saxons. One battle between the army of King James II and invading forces of Prince William of Orange took place on November 1688. Six men were hanged, drawn, and quartered after.

On 13th May 1707, a fire destroyed most of the older buildings in the High Street and the town centre.

Coach and Rail Travel

Wincanton was on the stagecoach route from London to Exeter and many coaches called at the town. This led to a post office opening, and coaching inns being established. By the 1790s post was dispatched to London six days a week. Coach service to London and Taunton ran three times a week, while several wagons went regularly to Bath, London, Sherborne Taunton, and Weymouth.

The Dorset Central Railway line reached Wincanton in 1861

Ankh Morpork

Wincanton was twinned with the French town Gennes and Les Rosiers on 19^th July 1975 and with the German town Lahnau on 16th October 1991.

On 7th December 2002, Wincanton was twinned with a place that does not exist – Ankh Morpork. This is a fictional city created by Terry Pratchett in his Discworld books…and there begins another story.

You can find our Wincanton showroom within easy reach of the A303; Unit 4, Lawrence Hill Business Centre, Saxon Way, Wincanton, Somerset, BA9 9RT call us on 01963 824700

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‘“Made in Germany”, is a conviction by which Kalkhoff lives.’ Kalkhoff Ebikes for daily use, engineered in Germany. Kalkhoff is developing reliable electric bikes for carefree everyday and leisure riding.

Quality German Engineering

1919. 16-year-old Heinrich Kalkhoff started trading in bicycle parts from his home in Cloppenburg, Germany. A year later, he expanded into selling second-hand bicycles.

In 1923, he produced his own bicycle frames, and a new bike manufacturer was born.

In 1927, the first complete bicycle left the production plant.

Nine years later, Kalkhoff became an internationally operating company, employing around 40 people and producing around 250,000 bikes.

Over a 100 years later Kalkhoff combines traditional values and modern technology to bring unique designs to their bikes: Clean lines, state-of-the-art integration, pure and style-conscious colour schemes with a Nordic character.

The War

During the war years the Kalkhoff factories were forced to produce arms. After the end of the war, the company carried on by producing non-bike-related industrial goods.

In 1950 due to a demand for bicycles, production started once more with a daily output of 5,000 frames.

In 1970 a new factory and distribution warehouse were opened in Cloppenburg.

Two years later, the five-millionth bike left the Kalkhoff plants.

in 1972, Heinrich Kalkhoff died and the company passed to his three sons Berthold, Karl, and Heinz.

in 1988 Derby Cycle Werke was established and Kalkhoff became part of the international Derby Group.

Innovative Technology and Design

In 2007 the Kalkhoff Ebikes was launched marking the start of the most successful chapter in Kalkhoff’s recent history.

in 2011 the Impulse drive system was launched together with a successful stock market flotation. A year later, Derby Cycle was taken over by the Dutch Pon Group.

in 2015, Kalkhoff relaunched its brand, unveiling the Kalkhoff Integrale, the first commercially produced e-bike with a mid-motor and fully integrated battery. They are now one of the leading e-bike manufacturers in Europe.

Continuous Innovation of Kalkhoff Ebikes

Bikes for daily use, effortless, stress free and sustainable. Feel the wind in your hair without having to battle against it. Fly past the traffic with ease.

Offering a range of models, the Excite, Advance and Move with a selection of frames such as the Diamond (DI), solid, lightweight and sporty. The Trapez (TR) a sporty, highly stable frame, low in weight with a dynamic streak. The wave (WA) a compact aluminum frame for flexible use. The comfort (CO) making you feel even safer with its extra-wide step-through frame.

See and experience these great bikes for yourselves!

Our test ride service is the ideal way; choose between coming to our Basingstoke Showroom; Wincanton outlet or we can even come to your home, workplace or location of your choice.

We are always happy to help with any questions you have and advise you on the best ebike for your lifestyle.

Come and test ride BOOK NOW email info@espokes.co.uk or call us on 01256 353465

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EZEGO Ebikes is the creation of industry veterans with 50 years of combined experience. They launched in 2019 with the sole purpose of making e-bikes more accessible to a wider audience. Starting as an idea scribbled on the back of a bar mat over a few beers and a sausage roll, they wanted to create their own electric bike range for commuter and social riders, that looked good as well as being functional.

In addition working relentlessly to craft the perfect ebike, from researching the existing market, sourcing high-quality components, testing colourways and optimising product specifications the EZEGO Ebike range was born.

Great Quality and Style

Above all EZEGO Ebikes are deeply passionate about their product. As a result, they bring us unparalleled quality and style at a great and affordable price range. They meticulously select every component, every measurement, even the finish on every nut and bolt. EZEGO put their e-bikes through the most grueling conditions. Rigorous testing, from the heat of the Far East to the steep hills of the Yorkshire Moors ensures these ebikes are reliable and the product is the best it can be.

Back up Service

Furthermore, contributing to their success is their back up service. All warranty parts are held in the UK and EZEGO are easily contactable to answer any technical or product enquiries. They sure make cycling EZE!

Browse the EZEGO Ebikes Range

At Espokes we strive to help reduce congestion on the roads, improve the health of the nation, and have a positive impact on the environment. Our motto: “save the planet, save money, beat the traffic, and get happy!”

Whether commuting to work, taking a leisurely ride into town or tackling the trails, EZEGO have you covered.

Indeed the EZEGO range is one of our fastest moving lines and we have just taken delivery from their latest shipment. Make sure you don’t miss out and get down to our Basingstoke showroom or call us on 01256 353465 to secure your EZEGO electric bike.

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The risk to the Uk is now high.

The Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 have been put in place to reduce the risk of further human-to-human transmission in this country by keeping individuals in isolation.

Amid this developing situation, being a responsible Electric bike supplier, we would like to assure you the health of both our customers and our team members is our biggest priority. We are closely following the advice of Public Health England and the World Health Organisation and introducing a wide variety of measures to minimise the impact to public health.

Safety & Hygiene

Cleaning in our show room has been intensified, with our teams regularly sanitising their hands and maintaining distance when working with customers.

We will still carry on with test rides as these are done outside and assure you that each bike is then thoroughly cleaned and sanitised.

We encourage customers to use contactless payments where possible and the bigger transactions can be done by us on the computer with a receipt emailed instantly.

None of us have been abroad in the last nine months and if any team member were to show even mild signs of flu-like symptoms we will follow the government advice surrounding medical care and self-isolate.

Try At Home Service

For those of you who don’t want to be out and about all our store products are available to order direct online from our website We use Royal Mail for our smaller items who are doing contactless delivery. They will knock on your door, place your item on the doorstep before stepping away to a safe distance for you to retrieve it. For ebikes ordered online or over the phone we can also arrange a contactless hand over.

We will continue to offer our try at home service; where we take several bikes out giving customers the chance to try the bikes before purchasing.

With bases in Basingstoke and Wincanton, we are regulars of the A303 corridor. We can easily cover Hampshire, Berkshire, Somerset, Dorset and Wiltshire.

If you wish to book a test ride on any of our electric bikes please call us on 01256 353465/07771 927354 or email info@espokes.co.uk

Cycling For Health

All this has caused many of us to have anxiety and start to get depressed. Worry not! We know due to a 2018 study by Vitality Health; cyclists’ levels of depression are 25% lower than that of sedentary people making them more satisfied with life in general.

Cycling regularly improves physical and mental health. It is also a good remedy against sedentary illnesses and halves the risk of obesity, heart disease and cancer. Giving a fitness level equal to someone ten years younger.

Special Offers

In view of all this; we at Espokes would like to help get us all through this phase the best way we can. We want to keep everyone fit and healthy in mind and body. Here are some offers we have put together to help make cycling more accessible;

Our Ex-Demo Hunter Step through is now only £999 saving you £51.

We are giving FREE selected accessories with EZEGO ebikes sold.

£100 off the Raleigh Motus Open making this Bosch powered Raleigh electric bike an absolute steal at only £1,700

Click on the ebikes below for more information

Finally

We are continuously monitoring the situation. Following direction given by the government. We will take whatever action is necessary to protect the health of our customers and our teams.

Cycling can be a key part of the transport solution. Many of our core service workers such as NHS staff still need to travel to work. Cycling is a much better solution to maintain social distances than on public transport. For this reason we plan to remain open as long as is possible. If you need to purchase an ebike, bicycle accessories or if you rely on your bike and need us to help keep it running we will be here.

We will notify you of any changes to our working hours or the way we operate as it happens through our Facebook

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Walking, parking and cycling are all forbidden. There are no traffic signals, intersections and junctions with other roads, or property access. Overpasses and underpasses service railway and pedestrian paths.

Due to the Increased use of the motorcar and the demand for faster movement between cities, this led to dual carriageways being built in the 1920s. Read on to learn all about the Motorway History.

The First Motorway

The oldest motorway in England opened in 1958. Primarily the Preston Bypass in Lancashire, eight and a quarter miles long and now part of the M6 the longest motorway in the UK. It runs from Junction 19 of the M1 near Rugby to Gretna and the A74 (M) near Scotland; spanning 232 miles and covering nine counties.

The M40 was Britain’s first motorway going from Oxford to London along a similar route to the A40.

Britain’s first full length motorway was the M1. This opened in 1959 and recognised as a London to Birmingham motorway.

The M3

The M3 ran from the outer edges of London to Popham, west of Basingstoke, where it splits to allow traffic into the A30 and A33. It was built as a three lane motorway except for the two lane section from junction 8 (A303) and 9. Lightwater/Bagshot to Popham was opened in 1971 and in 1995 Winchester to Otterbourne. It carries traffic to and from London from the west of Surrey, north of Hampshire, South of Berkshire, Southampton, Bournemouth and Poole via the A31 and the South West via the A303.

The very ancient and important hill fort known as St Catherine’s Hill was kept intact by squeezing the Winchester Bypass between the hillside and the river Itchen along a twisting path. This caused controversy with the opening in 1995 of the final section.

Built in the 1920s this was the oldest dual carriageway in the UK.  Most unsuitable for a motorway which had to be cut through high ground to avoid the ancient monument whilst destroying picturesque and scientifically interesting countryside, regarding Twyford Down as the beginning of the backlash against road building.

The M3 starts in London and ends in Southampton. It is 61 miles, passing Staines, Bracknell, Basingstoke and Winchester. It connects to the M25 and A282, M27, A34 and the A303.

As a result we at Espokes are within easy reach from many towns because we are located not far from Junction 6 on the Hassocks Wood business park. With easy parking even in your motorhomes or horseboxes. We are the ‘must place’ to pop along to and give our great Ebikes a test ride.

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A good place to start is by browsing our range of discounted electric bikes.

We have bikes to suit everyone; from the latest generation 4 Bosch motor to the Fazua drop handlebar road bike. Fly up the hills on a road bike, go trekking on tracks and trails and mountain biking.

We also have bikes and accessories ideal for your commute to work; that trip to the shops, picnic or for visiting friends.

Short of space? Treat yourselves to one of our folding electric bikes. They are easy to fold and fit into small spaces and car boots; a must for saving on parking charges as you can park out of town or jump on a train or bus or simply cycle in.

Cycling is said to ‘make you happy’ and at Espokes we want everyone to experience this, so why not come and join our Breeze Champion Laura on her Breeze rides which she is putting on throughout January & February in Basingstoke. These are fun, social bike rides to encourage women to become more active, improve fitness and meet new like minded people. Click here to sign up

Pop along to our Showroom in Basingstoke and discuss your preferences with our friendly staff. Give us a ring on 01256 353465 and book an appointment for Wincanton or book us to pop along to your preferred location or home where you can try a selection of ebikes stress free on your own hills.

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