My bike is, as I’m writing this, eight years old, and has carried me over many thousands of miles. As you’d expect, it took a battering over that time, including a few crashes. Most cyclists know the supposed formula of N+1 to determine the ideal number of bikes to own. In that formula, N equals … Read more
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
“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
You may wonder what the CIA (and its predecessor, the OSS) could possibly have to do with cycling, and especially cycling activism. The answer will surprise you: they literally pretty much wrote the book on campaigning against cycling infrastructure! Don’t believe me? Read on! The OSS The OSS (Office for Strategic Services) later pretty much … Read more
This is your only life, so live it well. Instead of worrying about things that you cannot control, focus on what’s within your power to control. That’s more than what you realise! My heartfelt advice is to forget about your career, unless it will make you feel proud to one day have a tombstone that … Read more
Trust is binary: either you trust someone, or you don’t. When people deliberately give you false information, they destroy any trust you may have had. Sadly, this is something police in the UK seem to struggle to understand. Go grab a cup of your favourite drink, as this is a long post, covering a lot … Read more
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is big news these days, and it’s big business. The makers of one of the best-known AIs, Chat-GPT, claim they spent over US$ 40 million just training their AI. AI is being integrated into search engines, and more. Soon, it will permeate our lives. Keeping it real Various search-engine optimisation sites are … Read more
There’s a reason why some of the rides I organise are called “Travelling Ouballie” rides. If you don’t know what an “ouballie” is, or how to pronounce it, I suggest you go read this post first, as it explains it all. The fact is time marches on relentlessly. We’re all getting older – you may … Read more
The cycling industry is flooded with solutions looking for problems. This never-ending search for innovation seems driven not be any real need to make cycling better for you, but rather to ensure you keep upgrading your bikes, and buying new bikes. After all, if everyone rode the same bike for 20 years, new bike sales … Read more
Want to know the secret to losing weight instantly? Want weight loss without putting in the effort? Think you can keep indulging and lose weight? Want answers that suit your wants and needs? Well, in that case, you’re flat out of luck! With weight loss, just as with building fitness, there is no magic cure. … Read more
Climate change is real There’s no escaping the absolute truth that climate change is real, caused by humans, and accelerating. Equally, there’s no escaping the reality that each and every one of us are contributing to climate change. Yes, even you (and definitely me). You do you and I do me Generally, I’m happy for … Read more
Social media is awash with people telling anyone who’d listen about how good cycling is for you, for your physical and mental health, for society and for the wider world. There might be a million blog posts waxing lyrical about wonderful cycling is. Marketing types add to all this, and fill your timelines with bicycle … Read more
Hurry, hurry! Rush! C’mon, we need to move! But… do we? Do you? Rush hour If ever there was a ridiculous concept, it’s rush hour: millions of people going far slower than normal, precisely because they’re all in such a hurry! Most of us don’t have much a realistic choice for never getting caught up … Read more
Did I get the title sequence wrong? Quite obviously, what we should be most concerned about is the impact of our activities on climate change. Climate change is man-made, real, speeding up and is frankly terrifying. Still, for the purposes of this post, I’ll focus on the impacts of climate change on cycle touring. Is climate … Read more
What is Op Snap? In most of the UK cyclists can report bad or dangerous driving captured on their helmet cam to police, via an Op Snap portal. Not all UK police forces allow this, though. In Scotland, police remain determined to lag decades behind the times with regards to helmet cam video submissions. Why … Read more
Wild camping on Dartmoor Dartmoor is the last remaining wilderness in England, and the only place in all of England and Wales where wild camping is legal. Or rather, was legal! The Darwall Effect Alexander Darwall is a hedge fund manager and wealthy landowner, who owns a large estate in Scotland, and a huge tract … Read more
and what have you done? Another year over, and a new one just begun. Those are the opening lines of my all-time, most-favourite Christmas song, Happy Xmas (War Is Over), by John Lennon. Around this time of year I always do a Christmas roundup post. More of a friendly chat with friends, really, and I … Read more
