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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…
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Standing on a corner watching all the cyclists go by
We wait. There are bikes leant against road signs and telegraph poles. The sun is low and shadows long. On the inside of the corner I’m fiddling with ISO and aperture settings. Across the corner a huddle of men in club jerseys and hi-vis clutch red flags and chat. There’s a handful of spectators, probably…
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The Longest Day
I have places names and road numbers scribbled on bits of paper in my pocket. Today is going to be the longest ride of the year so far. Looking at the forecast it’s probably the warmest too. Gilet and arm warmers are stripped off by the time I get to Lewes. It’s a long steady…
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Diary of a Novice Randonneur, pt.2 – Isle of Wight Randonnee
Well then, it was turning out to be a pretty rubbish start to the year of randonneuring. I failed to make the start line of a local audax in February, and then in April due to various reasons I didn’t even manage to get to the same county as my next planned audax. However I…
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The first (proper) century of the year
Sometime last year a guy called Justin commented on a photo I’d posted to Instagram. Something along the lines of “You ride so much! You need to contribute something to the website.” That statement is partially true. I do ride a fair bit but really I just take an inordinate amount of photographs. The website…
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Diary of a Novice Randonneur, pt.1
It didn’t go so well… The first audax planned for the year was the “Mad Jack’s – John Seviour Memorial”, a 125km audax with roughly 2500m of climbing in mid February. The ride is in “Mad Jack” country in the High Weald of Sussex around Brightling and Battle. Even though in my home county this…
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2013 Rapha Festive 500 [part 4]
Day 6 Another (slow) century, a proper one, not a metric one. Not the ideal recovery spin after yesterday’s ultracross adventures. However completing 100 miles is in the head more than the legs I think. So here goes… http://www.strava.com/activities/102576759 http://www.strava.com/activities/102634220
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2013 Rapha Festive 500 [part 3]
Day 5 When I was a kid there were days when I’d go out on my bike all day, bombing around the streets collecting friends, then head up the woods to simply hack about for hours until we got hungry and went home. Jumping over tree roots, skidding round corners, flying down hills ever so…
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2013 Rapha Festive 500 [part 2]
Day 3 – A tale of two rides As is tradition it’s time for the Boxing Day Century (imperial, not metric). I say tradition, but what I mean is I did it last year and I’m doing it again this year. Except last year I don’t think I quite managed 100 miles. Anyway, I’m up…
the man from icon 