Charity teams who book an 11-foot Thorn from our Lancashire shed often discover the hard part is not the pedalling. Helmets, spare tubes, a folding table for the collection tin, and the machine itself need a van or trailer that will not crush a long frame on the M6. That is especially true when the ride is a London event day and the start line is a long way from Churchtown.

We keep the bikes here near Garstang. Riders still have to get kit across town once they reach the capital: overnight bags, a roof-rack spare, sometimes a boxed triplet that will not fit in a hatchback. A business client who hired from us for a central London start asked how to move that load without borrowing a colleague's car. We pointed them to The London Man with Van, who already work tight streets and timed drops.

The client was pleased with the ease of working with the man and van team. The same crew can carry a boxed triplet, a crate of hi-viz, and the overnight bags, then leave the riders free to think about gears rather than parking. That is a better use of a charity Saturday than asking office staff to improvise with their own vehicles.

We recently became members of two associations related to our business - namely the London Cycling Campaign and The Bicycle Association.

Riding a triplet can still can be fun; three times the fun in fact, as our machines have 21 gears and are very easy for three people to handle. Many of the charity bike riders who hire a T-4-3 triplet easily clock up 100 miles a day and still have enough energy left to lift a pint or two in the evening (We don't advise downing any alcohol during the ride as our triplets can easily do 40mph downhill !!).