This is a picture of a road. Not just any old road, but a newly(ish) surfaced road in a newly regenerated old neighbourhood in Plymouth. Specifically, this is Ker Street in Devonport. The architects clearly tried to retain a link to the charming past of the area, a past that is reflected in the many ... Read more

I used to commute around 4 miles each way to work, with Devonport Hill being the nearest to a “proper” uphill along the route. In my previous job my commute took in Greenbank Road, from Cattedown Roundabout to Mutley Plain, and Ham Lane, which has a 15% incline, so Devonport Hill (as far as I’m ... Read more

“No thanks, I need to take the car as it’s far quicker”“But it must take FOREVER to cycle there!”“Cars are far quicker than cycling” Sounds like something you may have heard before? I bet it does! After all, cars can go stupidly fast and we all know that, don’t we? So it must be obvious ... Read more

I recently submitted a Freedom of Information request to Plymouth City Council, asking several different things. Some of the questions I asked were: What is the actual amount the council spends annually on building and maintaining roads, for the past four years? What is the actual amount the council spends annually on building and maintaining ... Read more

I recently moved, and as you can imagine, it was very hectic leading up to the day, and has been rather busy since.It was with some sense of sadness I said goodbye to the house where I’ve lived for the past 9 years. That’s the longest I’ve ever lived anywhere, and until we moved, my ... Read more

Back in September 2012 I blogged about on-going roadworks in Plymouth, which while essential, made things far worse for cyclists than what was necessary. I emailed Plymouth’s Cycling Commisioner about this, with some suggestions of small changes that could have made things better for cyclists. She told me she’d put my suggestions to the relevant ... Read more

On Tuesday, 23 October 2012, I was cycling along Embankment Road in Plymouth when I was overtaken by a Dial-a-Cab Plymouth taxi in a dangerous manner. Swearing under my breath, I let it slide, and further along, at the junction with Elliot Road, I filtered past the same Dial-a-Cab Plymouth mini-bus taxi (and some other vehicles) to get to ... Read more

As I’ve said many times to just about anybody willing to listen (or just within earshot, even if unwilling to listen!) my hometown of Plymouth has the potential to be absolutely fantastic.Situated on one of the most stunning bits of coastline in the world, it has so much to offer to residents and visitors alike. ... Read more

Winter is sneaking up on us, and it won’t be long before we have ice on pavements and cycle paths. Obviously we won’t have ice on most roads, as roads actually are gritted by the respective councils. In Plymouth, I want to set up a cycle gritter, which would basically mean a trailer towed behind ... Read more

Last night’s Dark Side Ride was quite a break in format, in that it took place at a sensible hour, and the weather co-operated completely. The two previous rides took place during torrential downpours and gale-force winds driving the rain almost horizontally, so having a light breeze and perfectly clear skies was a very nice ... Read more

This Saturday, starting at around 20h15, we’re having another Dark Side Ride. For those that don’t know, a Dark Side Ride is a bicycle ride in darkness. Previous rides all had a common theme: lashing down with rain and gale force winds. As a result, at my friend Simon’s insistence, I wasn’t allowed to pick ... Read more

On Sunday I took the chance of cycling out to Yelverton and back again. There’s nothing unusual about that – in fact, I do that regularly, yet today’s ride was slightly out of the ordinary for several reasons, as I’ll explain in a minute. I would’ve liked to have gone further, but other, and more ... Read more

Simon, the Olympic double gold medalist Simon Richardson is a cyclist, but no ordinary cyclist. Instead, he is a cyclist that has shown a remarkable tenacity to overcome enormous problems. In 2001, Simon was struck by a car that was being driven at 60mph. The impact of that crash broke his back in two places and ... Read more