Cycling, skiing, food & photography
When I started this blog I made a promise to myself: I wasn't going to start another journal where some middle-aged guy gives you a blow-by-blow account of his "epic" day on the bike. We all know what it is like to suffer on the bike, to bonk, to be wowed by the views, have … Continue reading Lessons
Wednesday moring. I'd just finished my turbo session, cooled down, had some breakfast and showered. There wasn't a sudden creak, crack or snap. I just realised I could no longer move my neck freely or without pain. I took the day off work and - frankly - panicked. Visions of the dreaded Shermer's Neck before I'd … Continue reading Setbacks
That's me up there, pretty physically and mentally distraught at the end of Rapha's Hell of the North a year ago today. It wasn't an especially tough ride at a little over 100km and 1,000m of climbing albeit with quite a lot of bridleways and terrain not normally suited to road bikes. It was the punctures that … Continue reading Suffering
Cake and cycling are a classic combination. Like lamb and mint sauce, Morecambe and Wise, Roquefort and Sauternes, or or golden syrup and over fresh bread (trust me on the last one). It's about more that just fuelling. A good cake stop is an opportunity for the ride to regroup, to chat, to fettle with … Continue reading Velolife
I love maps. They give me a sense of adventure and possibility. Poring over them trying to figure out where you want to go and what you want to see gives you a sense of the place long before you get there. One of the joys of the Transcontinental is looking at maps of places … Continue reading Contours
How did I get here? A decade or so ago I was a runner. I cycled to get around and that was pretty much it. I'd done a bit of cycling touring but that was mostly because it was the only way to tempt my friend Chris to go exploring in exotic locations. Today cycling … Continue reading Origins
The Domestiquated Animal 