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Diary of a Novice Randonneur, pt.7 – Tour des Trois Vallees
The sky overhead is crashing and sparking setting off car alarms and scaring the hell out of dogs. Rain is absolutely hammering down. It’s not ideal cycling weather. I’m heading to the pub to meet friends, but where most will sensibly stay at the pub all evening two of us, Nigel and myself, will head…
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I turn left at the bottom of the road…
…and I start to climb and climb and climb. From the river’s edge to meet the rising sun. Out of the shadows, layer upon layer of blue-green hills stretch away and morph into the sky. Out of the valley and onto the plateau, the horizon jagged like the torn edge of a piece of paper.…
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Diary of a Novice Randonneur, pt.6 – Not Quite The Spurn Head 400
I am in Hebden Bridge in Yorkshire to ride the Not Quite The Spurn Head 400 at the invitation of my friend Luke, and finally on the Singular Peregrine that had been bought with audaxing in mind but has taken a while longer to build than anticipated. Bikes are checked over, wine is drunk, and…
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Diary of a Novice Randonneur, pt.5 – Straight Outta Hackney
Just a cheeky little 200 to squeeze in before the 400 in a couple of weeks. After a fitful nap on the crack o’ sparrows train up from Brighton I hop off at London Bridge for a gentle spin up to the Salisbury Hotel in Harringay. The ride is organised by Audax Club Hackney, hence the…
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Diary of a Novice Randonneur, pt.4 – Fairies Flattest Possible 300
It’s some time between half six and seven a.m. and I’m sat in a village hall in Kent with a bacon sarnie and a cup of tea. We’re about 115km into my first 300km audax and I feel slightly dazed. There is me and my friend Caven who I am riding with. We should be…
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A Different Perspective
After a few weeks of standing on corners photographing local races, today I hitched a lift. full set of photos at https://www.flickr.com/photos/themanfromicon/sets/72157645533964992/
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Weekender
Last weekend was the opening of the Art Cities Landscape project in Amiens. As my friend Will Nash has work in this years show, and as he could carry my tent and sleeping bag in his campervan, it seemed daft not to dig out the panniers I’ve had since I was 16 and book a…
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24 hour party people
It’s 3.30 on Sunday afternoon and I’m driving east on the M4. Jo is asleep in the passenger seat and I’m hoping there are some services soon. I really really need a can of red bull. The last time I slept properly was Friday night… A few weeks before chance conversations with Jo Burt and…
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Diary of a Novice Randonneur, pt.3 – The Ditchling Devil
When I unload my bike out of the back of my mate Paul’s car outside the Windmill Cafe there are already a lot of cyclist milling about. As I thank Paul for the lift and saving me the long uphill drag from Hampton I spot Pete from Milltag. After a quick “Good morning” I grab…
the man from icon 