10 Cycle touring mistakes

ten mistakes when cycle touring

We’re all human, and we all make mistakes. Here’s a list of mistakes that are easy to make when cycle touring, and easy to avoid. 1 – Not taking your time My advice for planning a tour is simple: take your leisurely cycling speed, on a laden bike and similar terrain, then work out what … Read more

Keeping your cool

How to keep cool when cycle touring on hot days

With climate change comes the reality of hotter days. When cycle touring, that has real-world implications for you, in multiple ways. You No matter how advanced we may think of ourselves as a species, the fact remains that we’re still only mammals. That means our bodies like to remain with a core temperature of around … Read more

Kit review – Time ATAC XC4 pedals

Time ATAC XC4 pedal review

Time ATAC XC4 pedals overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ A kit review for pedals? Yes! Because ATAC XC4 aren’t your normal bicycle pedals. In a world dominated by Shimano pedals, ATAC XC4 pedals offers numerous advantages. Knee problems can be solved by pedals? During an Audax ride I did in 2023, I was chatting with a rider … Read more

Wet-weather camping

Strategies for camping in the rain

If you do cycle touring in the UK, and you usually camp along the way, sooner or later you’ll end up camping in the rain. After all, the UK is luscious and green because of the rain we get, so you can’t really complain. Of course, not all wet-weather camping is the same. It depends … Read more

Kit Review – West Biking Panniers

Kit review of West Biking 25 litre panniers

West Biking 25 litres panniers overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Panniers are essential cycle touring pieces of kit, as well as extremely useful for commuting. Generally speaking, price tends to be an indicator of quality, and you get what you pay for. However, there are exceptions! Around seven months ago, I decided it was time to replace … Read more

This Road I Ride – Juliana Buhring

This Road I Ride, by Juliana Buhring

In this world, very few people truly get to be trailblazers. Juliana Buhring is one of those few people. This Road I Ride tells the story of Buhring’s record-breaking round-the-world bike ride. If you’re a man, you may not like me saying this, but Buhring is an exceptionally tough person – likely far tougher than … Read more

Next adventures

We can’t all be on adventures all the time. Even the world’s most persistent cycle tourer, Heinz Stücke, eventually settled down. However, what we can do is start planning our next adventures! Decide on a timescale Time is the greatest limiter. You can always get more money, but you can never get more time. Your … Read more

Free

Few people get to experience what it is really like to be free. Free from all responsibilities. Free from being a slave to a clock. Free from so much of what society expects of you. Free to choose where to go, and when to do so. Reality intrudes Oh, believe me, I get it! You … Read more

Kit review: Elite Cycling Project Malmo winter gloves

A full review of the Elite Cycling Project Malmo winter cycling gloves

Elite Cycling Project Malmo winter cycling gloves overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Suffering from semi-frozen fingers isn’t fun, and when the cold weather hits, you need decent winter gloves. Your winter gloves must be waterproof, and equally importantly, windproof. They also need good insulation. Not my first rodeo The Elite Cycling Project Malmo winter cycling gloves offers … Read more

#NoMoreIn24 – a new challenge

#NoMoreIn24

There are no shortages of cycling challenges out there – both physical and virtual. They all tend to take the same format: cycle x distance in y time, or cycle x elevation in y time. Of course, these are valid reasons for that: most cycling challenges are aimed at competitive cyclists, and by competitive cyclists … Read more

Top Camping tips

If you’re new to camping, the tips on this page are sure to make your camping trip far better! What to take There are many different styles of camping, and some of them are extremely minimalist. My focus is heavily flavoured by cycle touring, and hiking. These are activities where you transport all your camping … Read more

Forest of Dean Colliers Trail

Forest of Dean Colliers Trail cycle route overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Forest of Dean lies on the edge of the border between England and Wales, and is stunningly beautiful. There are many cycle routes in the forest, but this one is particularly family-friendly, and is entirely traffic-free along its 6.6 mile length. As a there-and-back, … Read more

Book review – How To Cycle Canada The Wrong Way

How To Cycle Canada The Wrong Way - by Lorraine Lambert

How To Cycle Canada The Wrong Way is a book about cycle touring across Canada, written by Lorraine Lambert, who also has a blog here, and I suggest you go read that. The Wrong Way? Like just about anywhere on earth, Canada has prevailing winds, and those mostly blow from west to east. Lambert cycled … Read more

Kit Review – Valehowl sleeping mat

Provisional* overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Sleeping mats are not all the same, and the difference in price between entry-level and top-end sleeping mats can be eye-watering. Generally, sleeping mats fall into three categories:1) Inflatable mats,2) Self-inflating mats, and3) Closed-cell foam mats *A provisional rating, as I’ve yet to test this mat in sub-zero conditions. Sleeping mat … Read more

Use your noodle

“Use your head” typically is the same as saying “Think it through”, but there’s far more to this. Like any muscle, your brain responds very well to sustained aerobic exercise. Physical exercise for my brain? Yes, absolutely! Look, doing puzzles, like sudoku or similar, is a good workout for your brain, but doing physical exercise … Read more

Kit Review – Micronew 3 x 9 shifters

Micronew shifters overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ My bike has a 3 x 9 drive. It started out with a double chainring, but as it’s used as a touring bike, I changed to a triple chainring setup. As it happened, I had two older Shimano Sora shifters for dropped bars that I fitted, and it all worked … Read more

24 must-cycle routes for 2024!

No matter what kind of cyclist you are, you will love these 24 routes! 24 routes in 12 months obviously averages to two routes per month. Your challenge is to go cycle as many of these as you possibly can. There’s a free cycling cap as prize to the first person who can prove they … Read more

The Roman Road (Cambridge)

Roman Road cycle route overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐ This 12.8 mile route mostly follows the course of an old Roman road, hence the name. Starting in Cambridge, the route is initially on (normally) quiet roads, with a stretch on a segregated cycle path, but soon picks up the actual remains of a Roman road. The route … Read more

Bliss. On two wheels

I went on a gentle adventure, with my youngest daughter, and it was so good! Why? Well, to answer that you’ll need to settle in, but it’s worth your time. Multi-modal I’ve long been a fan of taking my bicycle on the train, and that was the plan for this adventure, right from the start. … Read more

The Middle-aged Cyclist

Time pauses for nobody, and before you know it – if you’re not already there, or beyond it – you too will be middle-aged. That does have implications for your cycling, but it certainly doesn’t mean it’s the end of your cycling! Over the years, I discovered a few tricks that work for me. Your … Read more