eBikes are cool, and anyone who claims that ebikes are somehow “cheating” are simply jealous. On my commute, there’s a mile-long climb of mainly a steady 11%, and I know I’m always envious of the ebike riders who breeze past me up there. However, for all their advantages (and there are a great many) ebikes ... Read more

Of all my GoCycle multi-day routes, my Somerset Circle is one of my personal favourites. This route has it all: vibrant cityscapes (yet with traffic-free paths), absolutely flat roads, some challenging climbs, rural idyll, gravel routes, several tunnels, modern and 1000-year old buildings, more history (ancient and more recent) and miles and miles of traffic-free ... Read more

Op Snap is the system available in England and Wales, where cyclists can report bad driving by uploading video from their helmet cam. However, not all Op Snap reports are equal – do read this post about making a better Op Snap report, as well as this post about improving it even further. 1. Not ... Read more

Most people don’t cycle. That’s simply a statement of fact. Why is this simple fact so important? Because it’s extremely likely that your Op Snap reports will be reviewed by someone who doesn’t cycle, and therefore has no idea how terrifying a close pass can feel. Even if police decide to act against the driver, ... Read more

If you’re a parent, you don’t need reminding how expensive kids can be, or how difficult it can be to incorporate healthy activity and adventure into family outings. Fortunately, there are options that won’t break the bank, and if you can get to the start by train, you can save CO2, save on parking, and ... Read more

Let me start off by saying that overall, the Strawberry Line has the potential to be phenomenally good, and the people behind it have achieved so much, with limited resources. The Strawberry Line, in case you didn’t know, is a (mostly) traffic-free route linking Yatton with Cheddar. There are aspirations to link it up with ... Read more

1986 was a great year – Duran Duran were a supergroup, and it was my last year of school, in South Africa. In 1986, computers existed – I owned a Sinclair ZX Spectrum – but it was largely the pre-digital era. Mobile phones weren’t a thing, so you couldn’t phone people as such, only places, ... Read more