Cycling the Rhine The Rhine is one of Europe’s biggest rivers, and is steeped in history and folklore. From spectacular Alpine views, around the source of the river in Switzerland, to battle-scarred WW2 (and earlier wars) fortifications, to fairy-tale castles, beautiful valleys adorned with vineyards, plus much more, it has something for everyone. No wonder … Read more
Is live-sharing your location always bad? I recently created a Where’s Will Now page. That page contains an embedded map. When I manually switch on live-logging, the RideWithGPS app on my phone will update that map, and anyone looking at it will be able to see my location. Some will think that in doing so … Read more
A cycle tourer’s dream What’s a Bampton Cycle Shelter? Is it a new kind of cycling infrastructure? Well, yes, and no. Many cycle tourers, like me, prefer to wild camp when touring. Wild camping brings with it some challenges: for starters, in England and Wales, more often than not, wild camping is trespass. Though I … Read more
Did the PCSC Bill turn wild camping into a crime? Such a deceptively simple question, but it turned out to be rather difficult to get an answer to it. Well, at least a straight, reliable answer. I’m a huge fan of wild camping, and personally find the UK’s new Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill … Read more
An alternative to camp sites I only recently became aware of Welcome To My Garden, and I already think it’s a superb site. So what is it? That’s easy to explain: much like Warmshowers offer overnight accommodation to cycle tourers, Welcome To My Garden offers a camping spot for the night in people’s gardens. In … Read more
Cycle camping in the UK Camping is great – that feeling of waking up under canvas is a great start to the day. Of course, wild-camping – as in camping away from formal camp sites – is the best, but there are issues with it, too. For starters, some people prefer to have showers and … Read more
Is longer cycle touring any different? There isn’t a simple yes or no answer to this question. Yes, it’s different, because it’s longer. No, it’s not different, because you’re still cycling, and carrying all your gear. Both preceding answers simply look at one aspect of cycle touring, but the reality can be far more complex. … Read more
The burning question everyone asks Just four simple words: Am I good enough? Such destructive four words, too. All your life you were taught and told to somehow “measure up”, to be better. Better than what, though? Destructive? Absolutely! People’s lives have been ruined because they were made to feel inadequate. And even if their … Read more
Best-laid plans, and all that On Sunday, I had a gorgeous ride. Unfortunately, some 2 miles from home, things changed rapidly. While cycling downhill, along a very narrow rural lane, I crashed. From the state of my bike’s front wheel, it seems something must’ve gotten stuck in the spokes, breaking at least 10 spokes an … Read more
A mass campout? Indeed! You are invited to participate in the WillCycle Mass Campout, on the 18th of June, 2022. Now we dealt with when it will happen, we’ll swiftly move on to where it will happen. Here’s where things get, well, interesting. A virtually physical event Wait, or maybe a physically virtual event! This is getting confusing, … Read more
GoCycle – route guides you can trust You may have wondered what goes into the making of a GoCycle route guide, so I’ll explain the process here. GoCycle guides are multi-day leisure/touring route guides. If you’re a regular visitor to WillCycle, then you would know I’m a huge fan of cycle touring and cycle camping. Alongside … Read more
But cycle touring is expensive… Or is it? I mean sure, it can be expensive, but does it have to be expensive? All the marketing tells you to buy expedition-grade kit. To be fair, price is often (but not always) an indicator of quality, and higher quality kit usually lasts longer. With that in mind, there’s a … Read more
What is a S24O? Adventure is to be found where you look for it. In a hectic, modern life, it can be so easy to lose sight of that though. We are under constant pressure at work, and often at home, too. So how do you find time for adventure? Sub 24-hours Overnighter A Sub … Read more
We have a winner! When I started the WillCycle Adventure Fund, I was naïve enough to think it would be far more popular than it turned out to be. I was quite mistaken, but at least we have one lucky winner. Given how unpopular this was, there won’t be another one, but that’s neither bad news, … Read more
The Cheshire Ring If you’re a regular visitor to WillCycle, you’d know that I’m quite a fan of cycling the very many canals in the UK. The reasons are simple, and very obvious: canal routes are often extremely stunning, are almost entirely traffic-free and are relics from the Industrial Revolution. I freely admit to being … Read more