france

De la Med à la Manche – part II

Wednesday It’s pitch black when I wake up, I can hear rain outside. This isn’t surprising as it was forecast. I doze off again but my 6am alarm rouses me […]

france

De la Med à la Manche – part I

Saturday I tap the gear shift button. Nothing. Fucking fuck! I’ve just snagged the di2 cable in the seat clamp rebuilding the bike outside Montpelier airport and now I have […]

france

Tour des Trois Vallees 2019

france

Somme Friendly

After one of the recent Normandie trips Claire mentioned she was interested in riding over there sometime. A few minutes later a weekend was pencilled in and an email sent […]

france

Monts et Rivieres

Turn left out of the drive and start climbing. Ten kilometres of up. Not steep but constant. Compared to home these hills are mountains, up through the trees to the […]

bikepacking

Normandicat

As soon as I start pedalling I relax. I know what I’m doing now. Riding bikes. Done loads of it. Cheered off by the organisers and volunteers we all turn […]

cycling

Tour de Causse

Damn, my ears are cold. Freezing fog in the valley, ice forms on the brake levers. Skittery tyres in the corners… pssht, let a little bit of air out. Wheels […]

cycling

24 Hour Partir People

I can see the sea from the front door so heading south on the bike is not possible. I can choose any combination of east, west, north, but nothing to […]

cycling

Armistice Day 200

After storms on the south coast and a rough crossing we rumble down the ferry ramp into France in calm, dry weather. It’s really early, a bit after 4am local […]

cycling

Channel Hopping

The ferry turns and powers away from England in a soft haze that mutes the whiteness of the chalk, rendering the cliffs as almost inverted shadows. […]

france

Newhaven – Welcome to England

Rolling off the ferry at Newhaven it’s lashing down, absolute stair-rods. I get to the train station only to discover there are no trains this weekend. It may be the […]

france

Five Sevenths

Half way up the hill out of town I spot a bench nestled under some trees. Shade, at last. I pull over, lean my bike against one end of the […]

cycling

Bunking Off (Reprise)

One last continental fling before the clocks change, a ride half done before daylight. Guiding the girl on her way to Paris from Oxford to the Avenue Verte by the […]

cycling

Six Days of Lot

cycling

Three is the Magic Number

A while back my friend Ollie from work said he wanted to ride up Mont Ventoux for his fortieth birthday. I mentioned that my friends Jo, George and Oli had, […]

cycling

Bunking Off

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