Cycle touring

Earth, wind, fire and ice

by
Cycle camping at Redlake, as part of a mini cycle tour

Cold-weather camping I’ve been forced to delay a planned winter camping trip on Dartmoor by a combination of having to do out-of-hours work over several weekends, and the severe weather we’ve been having for a while. Seriously, going camping in such a remote spot as I was planning to, while there were 80+mph gales blowing, … Read more

Are YOU ethical in your adventures?

by

Adventure,  or  conquest? Once upon a time, explorers set off from Europe with a view to “conquer”, and that Eurocentric view persists in some form or another to this day. If I was to ask you who discovered the Victoria Falls in Africa, you’d probably answer that David Livingston did. If you answered that, you’d … Read more

Spring in the air

by

Different people measure the start of spring in different ways, so I expect there will be a fair few who dispute that spring is here. Sure, storms Dudley and Eunice hammered the UK this past week, but that doesn’t alter the fact that spring has arrived early. Look around you: the obvious signs, like daffodils … Read more

C2C to see what there is to see

by
Hadrian's Wall

Crossing England from sea to sea The island of Great Britain is longer than it is wide, meaning there are lots of opportunities to cycle a “coast to coast” of some sort, crossing the island (mostly) from east to west, or vice versa.  There are many well-known cycle touring routes that cross northern England, with … Read more

The Age Of Wonder

by

There is a whole wealth of debate to be had about the benefits (and there were at least a few) versus the evils (of which there were many) of the age of colonialism. This post is NOT that debate. However, I will point out that one of the things that always stuck me about that … Read more

Cycle Touring – A Guide For Beginners

by
A picture of a person on a laden touring bike, while cycle touring

A beginner’s guide to cycle touring? I have a lot of posts about cycle touring, but thought it’d be helpful to have a Beginner’s Guide To Cycle Touring. Specifically, a sensible guide, that ordinary people (like me) can follow to help them start bicycle touring. Bike touring is for everyone, and I’d be delighted if my guide … Read more

What is a touring bicycle?

by

The cycling industry isn’t all noble, despite what the marketing might try and convince you of. Bicycle manufacturers are mainly large corporations, trading for profit, with dividend-hungry shareholders lining up, and it’s in their best interest (but not yours and mine) to have as many different, cross-incompatible products as possible available. And yes, that extends … Read more

Book Review – Signs Of Life, by Stephen Fabes

by

Signs Of Life tells the story of when Stephen Fabes quit his job as a medical doctor to cycle around the world. Like any good travel journal, Fabes doesn’t simply give a blow-by-blow account of the journey, which took him six years to complete. In fact, there are entire countries he cycled through that almost don’t … Read more

Is cycle touring dangerous?

by

Will I die if I go cycle touring? Will I be run over, or murdered as I’m sleeping in my tent? Will I be attacked, robbed and possibly beaten? Is cycle touring dangerous? Let me start answering those questions by asking you how you define dangerous. Some things are obvious: walking up to a pride of hungry … Read more

Cheshire Ring – the beginning

by

The Cheshire Ring – for canal boaters The Cheshire Ring is well-known to canal boaters, forming a very rough triangle, and is made up from six different canals in Cheshire: the Ashton Canal, Peak Forest Canal, the Macclesfield Canal, the Trent and Mersey Canal, the Bridgewater Canal and finally, the Rochdale Canal. The Cheshire Ring … Read more

The death of wild-camping in the UK?

by
wild-camping is simply the best

Wild-camping, at least in England and Wales, is strictly speaking against the law, unless done with the explicit consent of the landowner. Here’s where things immediately become murky: against the law is not the same as being a crime. In fact, under the law (at least in England and Wales) trespass is a civil offense, not a criminal offense.

What this means in practice is better explained with an example: Imagine you own a piece of land somewhere, and I trespass onto that land, for whatever reason (but I’m not breaking any other laws, and certainly not damaging anything on your land). In this scenario, your options are extremely limited. Basically, you can ask me to leave. If at that point, I humbly apologise, and start packing up, legally there is nothing further you can do. If you tried to frogmarch me off your land, I can charge you with assault, which is a crime, and if you break anything of mine, that may incur some extra charges.

Read more

But baby it’s cold outside…

by
Person walking in snow, as part of cold-weather camping

Tips for staying warm You might know your stuff when you go cycle touring and cycle camping in summer, but how do you stay warm in winter, while still going riding (and hopefully camping)?  Hypothermia can be a killer, so from the outset you need to be able to manage your plans, so you can … Read more

GoCycle Guide – Kennet and Avon Canal cycle route

by
A picture of my laden bicycle, taken on a bridge, while cycling the Kennet And Avon Canal cycle route

Cycle the Kennet and Avon Canal Ah, the romance of cycling along canals, wind in your hair, sun on your face, and birds swooping around! You’ll smile and exchange pleasantries with boaters as you pass each other by along the Kennet and Avon Canal cycle route. Canal cycling is gorgeous, usually flat, incredibly scenic, and a wonderful introduction to cycle … Read more

A suggested cycle touring pack list

by
Happy cycle camping! A hand holding up a tin mug, with Happy Camper printed on it

Why  do  you  even  need  a  cycle  touring  pack  list? If you’ve read anything else on here, you will realise by now that I’m very enthusiastic about cycle touring. So much so, I have an entire category dedicated to cycle touring, and another dedicated to cycle camping. Of course not everyone who goes cycle touring … Read more

Cycloffee

by

Cycloffee is a challenge that will benefit both cyclists, and coffee shops. As is commonly known, cycling and coffee is a match made in heaven!
The idea is to visit as many of the coffee shops as possible, and get your Caffeine Card stamped. Rules are simple: a visit to a coffee shop only counts if you cycled there, and obviously you can only get a single stamp per café.