WillI’m one of those privileged people known as dads and to be honest I love being a dad. Recently I took my son camping on Dartmoor, in the middle of nowhere. He built a shelter out of wood and vegetation and did a rather excellent job of it, too. The plan was all along that he’d sleep … Read more
I have long had a fascination with velomobiles and the person who must carry the blame above all else is David Hembrow. Yep, David, your writings, photos and videos of your Sinner Mango has had me decidedly green with envy several times over! Call me over-optimistic, but I honestly believe that a fully enclosed velomobile … Read more
I’m annoyed! But hang on a sec and let me explain from the beginning:Some time ago I stumbled onto a website, Itsnotarace.org, that deals with something they termed “silly commuter racing”. The principle is simple – when you have two bicycles travelling in the same direction on the same road at the same time then … Read more
At Whitsand Bay, just outside Plymouth and across the Tamar in Cornwall, there is a little holiday resort where you can rent chalets, or pitch a tent. In the shop there are a few old bicycle posters, so I snapped a few photos (amidst bizarre looks from the lady behind the cash register!).Here they are: These … Read more
Last night I went cycling, as I usually do most nights. I’ve been getting a tad bored with my normal route, so I thought I’d try something different. My new route took me over Laira bridge and before long I was following the Oreston cycle path, then cutting across Radford lake dam wall.I had a … Read more
I have posted before about my dealings with Plymouth City Council, and I must admit that after having met the man in charge of Sustainable Transport I thought we’ve made some progress. You see, he’s listened to my frustrations regarding poor cycling infrastructure in the city. When I inquired about Cycling Group he informed me … Read more
I’ve been on holiday for two weeks – one of those laze all day by the poolside holidays – in the searing Turkish summer.The resort was impressive, the food was good, the beach was nice and the pool was awesome! In fact, apparently it is the largest pool anywhere on the Med. And I got … Read more
Right, I’ve threatened enough, now it’s time to organise an actual midnight ride. All that remains is to decide the route and to pick a date. I’m thinking of two possible routes:The first starts at the Coypool Park & Ride, then follows the Plym Valley cycle path all the way to Plym Bridge. From Plym … Read more
In Plymouth there is a disused railway track that has been converted to a footpath/cycle path. It starts just off the Morrison’s roundabout and heads towards Radford lake. It actually used to end close to Mountbatten, but sadly a bridge was removed a long time ago.The rough yellow line in the following image shows the … Read more
For those of you that don’t know what Copenhagenized means, head on over to Copenhagenize.com, one of my favourite blogs.In essence, it is all about the pervasive bicycle culture that Copenhagen’s become famous for. Mikael Colville Anderson, the man behind that blog, says even he is not quite sure about what exactly Copenhagenize means, but it … Read more
I went for my usual night cycle ride last night, at around 22h00. I have this route that follows Embankment road out of Plymouth, before taking me on part of the Plym Valley cycle path.At Plym Bridge I get on the road to Plympton, which includes quite a hill. From Plympton I head up Cot … Read more
I know these are very common in the Netherlands, but they certainly aren’t common in Plymouth. Spotted this one parked up just outside the aquarium. In the Netherlands this is known as a bakfiets, which translates as container bicycle, although most people would call it a cargo bike. From the fully-enclosed chain to the drum … Read more
Gdynia Way is a main arterial route delivering traffic into Plymouth. Having said that, perhaps I should also point out that Plymouth seems to have been designed with gridlock in mind and typically it only takes one road to be obstructed (even partially) for the city to become gridlocked. Anyway, as part of a major … Read more
OK, I did, but then I go cycling every day. So what is so different today, you may ask. The honest answer is that I don’t know why it was different, only that it was. I set off from home riding in the sunshine, with the temperature a reasonably pleasant 16 C. All the way out … Read more
My silver bike, the hybrid I commute with, is nothing special. It is a Raleigh Pioneer with mudguards, a rack & straight bars. It has some honest components: Shimano hubs, Shimano derailleurs (front & rear) & Shimano crankset and SKS mudguards. I do not for a moment consider it a top-of-the-range bike, but rather a bike-next-door kind of bike, … Read more