Valentine’s Day. Ah, the sweet joys of unbridled romance. Life doesn’t get any better, does it? Well, seeing as you asked, of course it does! You see, you cannot take the person that makes your heart flutter out for a romantic meal, in some little gem of a restaurant, because COVID’s ruined all those plans. You … Read more
What would you say if I told you I found a miracle treatment for stress, anxiety, depression, and a number of other ailments? A treatment that’s scientific, and proven through peer-reviewed research? Would you want to have it prescribed? I’ve long believed that cycling is not only good for my body, but also for my … Read more
I recently read about a cyclist based in Edinburgh, who crashed after hitting black ice. She both broke and dislocated her elbow, and couldn’t even stand up, due to the pain she was in. She was riding with another cyclist, who also crashed and was also injured. The crash happened at around 11h30, and from … Read more
COVID19 turned the world upside down – that’s an indisputable fact. It’s a horrid disease, and many thousands have died from it, with more still apparently suffering long-term health affects, after having survived it. As I write this, I’m aware of how lucky I am in not having had the illness, nor having anyone close … Read more
I’m rather excited to share this with you! I’ve finished my Devon Coast To Coast guide, and it’s available right now! I’ve known for a long time I should write a detailed guide, similar to the far shorter Drake’s Trail guide on this blog, but covering the whole NCN 27 route. Several years ago I actually … Read more
There is a German word, weltschmerz (literally world pain or world grief) that roughly translates as a general feeling of gloom with regards to life overall, and weltschmerz sometimes perfectly describes how I feel when I’ve been overwhelmed with negative things. In life, we magnify what we focus on, and it is a sad side effect … Read more
Close overtakes and police response Two things almost any cyclist will tell you is that they’ve had dangerous, close overtakes from drivers, and that reporting it to police more often than not results in nothing being done. As a result, many (most?) cyclists have very little faith in police actually enforcing the law and taking … Read more
After much anticipation, the day finally arrived on which D & C Police would launch their Operation Closepass! For those unfamiliar with this, it is a method of roads policing pioneered by the West Mids Police Roads Policing Unit, and basically involves a cop, in plain clothes, riding a bicycle up and down a stretch … Read more
How I wish I was able to tell you that D & C Police had firm plans to implement West Mids Police’s brilliant (and sorely needed!) Close Pass Initiative. Sadly, the reality is quite different, despite what many other sources may have told you. Here’s how things currently stand: D & C Police have three … Read more
This is a story of a lottery. No, not that national lottery, but a post code lottery. Specifically, a post code lottery in which where you live determines whether or not, as a cyclist, you can expect to receive any justice from police. If you live in Devon or Cornwall you’re bang out of luck, … Read more
Sometimes I despair when I realise how far we still have to go to get safe cycling conditions. On the 11th of October, a man called Quentin Willson posted the following tweet on Twitter: Great new cycle lane but where are the cyclists? pic.twitter.com/a1vhAAXxt2 — Quentin Willson (@QuentinWillson) October 10, 2016 The picture is of … Read more
Now you have the Bee Gees singing Staying Alive in the back of your mind, let’s look at perhaps extending that philosophy to cycling. Broadly speaking, and with many exceptions, cyclists tend to be split between the Vehicular Cycling (VC) crowd, and the Segregation bunch, and a great many epic online battles of words were … Read more
There are three big rides I look forward to all year: Darkmoor, the Dartmoor Classic and the Exmouth Exodus. The wily amongst you will have noticed that two of those are through-the-night rides, and I suppose that says a great deal about me, though what exactly it says I have no idea. Darkmoor was different … Read more
The city of Plymouth is hemmed in by two rivers – to the west is the Tamar, which also forms the border with neighbouring Cornwall, while to the east is the Plym, which gave the city its name. Rivers are great, but they sure mess with transport links and the main bridges over the Plym … Read more
On Twitter, Inspector David George (@MPSHillingWest) tweeted the following message:“Goodness me!! Just driven into work and within 6 miles I counted 17 cyclists jumping reds. Targeted operation required !! Cyclist watch out” Now on the surface, that tweet seems perfectly fine. After all, this is a police officer, whose job it is to enforce the … Read more
I do roughly around 7 000 miles per year on my bike, with my main bike up to very recently having been a B’Twin Triban 500. My commute’s 15 miles each way, unless I have time and take the long way, which I do from time to time. Sometimes I take the shortest route, in … Read more
My first ever road bike was a B’Twin Triban 3, the red model, and I was very impressed by it. So much so, that little over a year later, when I got another bike, I ordered the Triban 500, again from Decathlon. Now you may ask yourself why, if the Triban 3 impressed me that … Read more
