france – the man from icon

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 […]

randonneur

Seven Tractors

Almost-silence hangs in the mist. The only sounds are bird song and the gentle whirring of block and chain. The valley sides are obscured by layers of tracing paper haze. […]

randonneur

Omloop van de West-Vlaanderen

“Half term next week so Newhaven ferry fully booked on Friday night and Saturday morning. Saturday night has space but price is higher than usual, 55 quid each return with […]

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

Newhaven to Nyhavn

SATURDAY The smell of baking bread wafts through the air as I climb the hill away from the ferry. The streets are still and quiet. Beyond the light pollution stars […]

cycling

I’m Not Sure About This

I’ve had itchy pedals since I got back from the Alps in the summer. After five days of riding across Belgium and France (and a tiny bit of Switzerland) I […]

cycling

Flanders To The Alps: Notes On A Tour [Part 2]

Day 7 – Montriond and Morzine (18km) Snooze. Into Morzine […]

cycling

Flanders To The Alps: Notes On A Tour [Part 1]

Day 1 – Hastings, UK to Gent, Belgium (216km) Meet […]

touring

Seven hundred

Orange-pink cracks of light in the murky grey sky to the east contradict the weather forecast I saw the day before. This is good. If it lasts. The predicted headwind […]

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