Cycling tattoos

My bicycle tattoo, immediately after it was done

Get  inked! Tattoos are a highly personal, and sometimes emotive subject. Some abhor them, some love them. I’m in the latter group, but of course it’s OK for you to not like tattoos. However, we all like cycling, don’t we? And what better way to celebrate cycling than with a collection of cycling-related tattoos? Cycling  … Read more

April 2022 Cycling T-Shirt Giveaway

Win a FREE WillCycle Cycling T-shirt! We all like a freebie, don’t we? Well, during 2022, I’m doing 12 freebies! That’s right – I’m doing ONE cycling T-shirt giveaway per month. How to enter Entering is simple, but requires a Twitter account. Just follow WillCycle on Twitter, browse through the T-shirt designs available and pick … Read more

Dynamo lights, again

I used to ride with battery lights, and built the battery pack myself, using 18650 cells I harvested from old laptop batteries. My main light was a 5 x Cree T6 monster. Now, a single Cree T6 chip outputs between 700 and 1200 lumen, depending on a number of factors, including the chip itself, external … Read more

The 1st WillCycle Community Story

This will be a community-written story, and we will have 31 days to complete it. Here’s how it works: I’ve written a short bit, to get the story started. YOUR job is to write the next part of the story, and add that as a comment. At the end of each day, or possibly very … Read more

T-shirts and more

After a close-shave with a printing company that seems to be a horrific, and entirely untrustworthy bunch – see my post about Teezily and whatever you do, never do business with them – I have switched back to my old T-shirt printers. Yes, the prices are higher, and don’t include postage, but that seems fair, given … Read more

Damned Teezily!!

I am genuinely sorry, but I’ve had to pull the plug on the new T-shirt printer I recently moved to. They’re called Teezily, and I am now of the opinion that they are scam artists. It started with one order inexplicably having been cancelled, and when I questioned them, their exact reply was “Unfortunately our … Read more

Money? You want money? Are you selling out?

“Hey, Will, what’s with T-shirts and route guides for sale on your site? Have you sold out?” I’m glad you asked – grab a pew and I’ll explain.  No, however much I might love it to, my site will never bring in much more than a small amount of pocket money.  In fact, income from … Read more

There’s a long, long trail a-winding…

A  simple  question:  Which  is  the  UK’s  longest  traffic-free  cycle  path? The UK has quite a collection of traffic-free cycle paths. Some are better known than others, and some are far longer than others. Some have smooth tarred surfaces, while others have unsealed, and often muddy surfaces. Some are simply obviously better than others, but … Read more

Idle ramblings

I have a very busy mind – it’s chaotic at times – and I’ve long known that cycling calms my mind, especially longer bike rides. It is for this reason I prefer to cycle outside – I ride for the pure enjoyment of it first, then for transport or leisure, and lastly for training. There’s … Read more

Frazer’s Tour – Part 2

This is Part 2 of Frazer Goodwin’s 3-part guest blog about his 1 400km ride from Belgium to Sweden. If you haven’t yet, I suggest you read Part 1 first. Part 2 I finally completed a bike ride in the summer I’ve been thinking about and planning for years – riding from my home in … Read more

“Influencer”

I’m highly sceptical about the entire “influencer” cottage industry. If you claim to be an “influencer”, what I’m hearing is that your opinion is for sale, and at that point, I’ve lost all respect for you, and you’ve lost all credibility in my mind. I’m most certainly NOT an “influencer”!  What you will get from me … Read more

Is justice blind?

The vast majority of cyclists in the UK will tell you that the courts are exceedingly lenient towards drivers who endanger, or even injure or kill cyclists. Even when convicted, drivers regularly plead “exceptional hardship” and are therefore permitted to keep driving. At this stage, it’s easy to get angry at the Crown Prosecution Service … Read more

This is outrageous!!

You’re being played for a fool, and that’s simply unacceptable! You have rights, you treat people right and you expect the same in return, and now they’re doing this!!? No, this is simply indefensible, and yet, they keep doing it, and they keep getting away with it! At what point will it end? Having said … Read more

Consequences

There’s a basic principle that states we are all free to make our own choices, but we are not free from the consequences of the choices we had made. Sometimes, the consequences are immediate: you’re in a crowded pub, walk up to the biggest, meanest, toughest guy there, and you slap him. Yes, you are … Read more

The Grockle’s Guide To Devon

Devon, in case you didn’t know, is a county in south western UK, and is astoundingly beautiful. Renowned for its hills, beaches, wildness, and natural beauty, as well as it’s great weather (by British standards). All of this makes Devon a perfect holiday destination, and millions of people visit the county each year. Devon is … Read more

My Astra Zeneca experience

There’re some benefit to being middle-aged (besides not having to carry photo-ID when buying age-restricted products) and one of those benefits include me having had my first COVID vaccination on Sunday. Yes, this post is all about my vaccine experience – not because I’m in any way important (I absolutely am not) but rather in … Read more

The Primrose Trail

In the late 1960s, the UK engaged in a staggering act of self-harm, during a process that became known as the Beeching Cuts. Under the scheme, spearheaded by Dr Beeching, the UK’s very wide rail network was decimated, while roads building was massively ramped up. As has been repeatedly demonstrated, induced demand is a real … Read more

Ask not for whom the bell tolls…

On Sunday, I went for a lovely ride in the early-spring sunshine. It was gorgeous out! The route I was taking deliberately avoided busier roads, as low sun had often been used to get a driver off without charge, after having driven into a cyclist. COVID lockdown is (supposedly) still in full swing, though the … Read more

Will’s Caveat

You’ve heard of Sod’s Law, Murphy’s Law, and Occam’s Razor, plus a myriad other laws, suppositions and more. Well, today, I’m adding to it. Allow me to introduce to you Will’s Caveat. At this point, I’ll briefly deviate, to say that I like hills. So much so, that I have a life philosophy, which started … Read more

Cream Tea Wars

This post will undoubtedly upset some people, but it’s important that the truth is made known. I would also urge you to read the full post, including the small print at the end. For those unfortunate souls who might not know this, a cream tea is a light refreshment, consisting of a scone, with clotted … Read more