Ride all the OS mapsThe threatened train strikes have been cancelled and the weather, for several days at least, looks favourable. My bike has been in to see the lovely people at Alpkit in Hathersage and had a thorough overhaul. My brakes are working again! I have another new chain and more new cables. Everything is pointing towards restarting […]
My original idea, when I conceived this mad enterprise, was that I would ride until the clocks went back near the end of October. That was two days ago and in fact I have cycled on until the very end of the month, because the weather has obliged. So why not? Even with blue skies […]
For the fourth consecutive day I was treated to glorious weather and amazing cycling. What a coast to coast journey this has been. It went beyond all expectations on both fronts. Today was like a summer day, warm enough for shorts and, if anything, too warm for much else! You would never believe this was […]
Across the road from the Stonehenge Inn is a miniature replica of the real thing. I have visited the famous big version before, once back in the days when you were allowed to get right up to the stones (you can’t any more); but if you want a really personal experience of an ancient stone […]
It is very handy for the long distance adventure cyclist when all of the rain falls overnight. Thus it was that I set out from the charming small Somerset town of Wiveliscombe in a newly washed world, with the promise of another fine day of cycling. And so it proved. It would be hard to […]
If you are making trips from west to east, it seems only right that you should start one of these coast to coast journeys at Westward Ho! It’s all in the name. For starters, what other place can boast an exclamation mark in its correct spelling? So, having transported myself in the morning from Exeter, […]
There are days on this adventure when I truly venture into unchartered territory, and today was one of those days. With the exception of one trip to Rochester as a child, everywhere was brand new to me. In truth, this was a day of 2 halves. I was not terribly enamoured with north Kent until […]
I’m not doing the greatest job of keeping you all informed of my plans; but I’m not doing the greatest job of planning, either. I am at that stage in the adventure where everything is done ”just in time”. This is partly because of the unpredictability of the weather in late October, which – although […]
One of the most frequently asked questions I get about my adventure is ”what will you do when you get to London?”. There were many possible ways to approach crossing the capital – and it had to be done – but in the end I made a success of it by adopting two solutions in […]
Having forged my way across South Wales in great weather, it quickly became apparent that the following day was not one to be cycling. The forecast, and indeed the weather that followed it, was very unpleasant and I was lucky to be with friends Matt and Hazel who more or less made the decision for […]