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The Spirit Of Adventure
Hello again!
I've a new mini-adventure coming up in a few days: along with my mate Caspar, I'll be hiking on Dartmoor, and camping overnight. Yup - no bicycles involved this time!
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I used to go hiking on Dartmoor a great deal, before I got back into cycling, but I haven't been hiking for years!
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We'll be exploring some ancient woods along a river valley, and also visit the longest row of ancient standing stones in the world, before (responsibly!) camping in a bronze age settlement. I can't wait!
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In addition, I've undertaken a HUGE piece of work: listing every traffic-free cycle path, or shared path in the UK. For clarity, I'm excluding the new segregated cycle lanes in London and elsewhere - there are leisure routes I'm focusing on.
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As a result, you'll see LOADS appearing over the next few months.
If there's such a path near you, please will you email me a description of the surface, and tell me if there are barriers along the route? Also, for top marks, please will you send me photos of the route? I'll happily give you credit for all the above.
Why am I doing this? Simple: there's no such online resource anywhere. I'm also working on a page that will allow you to quickly find such paths in any given area of the UK.
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Now, I do like to tell you lot what some of you get up to, but for that to happen you need to tell me what your plans are. So go on, tell me!
Now colder weather is here, will you continue riding? If so, will your riding change, i.t.o. routes, length, etc? And if not, what will you do to maintain your fitness over the colder months?
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May all the cafés you visit have ample stock of your favourite cake!
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The Blast From The Past button is quite straightforward: with every edition, I link a random old WillCycle post to it. If you click it, you will see what old WillCycle post it takes you to.
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The button will only ever point at WillCycle.
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The Good News
Measure implemented in Europe to protect wildlife are yielding results, with several species now thriving.
This report from Rewilding Europe details amazing recoveries shown by grey wolves, Eurasian beavers, grey seals and European bison, amongst others.
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Did You Know...?
All living things eventually die of old age (unless something destroys them sooner) right?
You'd think so, but meet the immortal jellyfish: when adult Turritopsis Dohrnii jellyfish have reproduced, they transform back into their juvenile polyp state. In simple terms, they revert from adults back into babies, and that process repeats itself endlessly!
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What Did You Miss On WillCycle?
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Bristol and Bath Railway Path
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The Bristol and Bath Railway Path (BBRP for short) was Sustrans' very first shared path in the UK. It runs - unsurprisingly - between Bristol and Bath and is 16 miles long. Though most of it is entirely traffic-free, the route shown on the map below starts at Bristol Temple Meads station, and ends very close to Bath Spa station. …
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Cloud trail
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The Cloud Trail runs from the close to the Derby town centre, and runs for 13 miles to Worthington. It starts off following the river Derwent, then follows the Derby Canal Path, before joining a disused railway path. I started this route right from Derby train station, meaning it's easily accessible by taking your bike on the train. The Cloud …
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Random Internet Link
Ever wanted to annotate an online map? With Scribble Maps you can do so, and best of all, it's free!
Go have a look over on https://www.scribblemaps.com/
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Will's Unexpected Bike Hack
Your dentist tells you to replace your toothbrush regularly, but don't just ditch old toothbrushes. They're great for cleaning hard-to-reach parts of your bike. You can even tie two old toothbrushes together, using a rubber band, to instantly end up with a spring-loaded and rather nifty clain-cleaning tool.
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Do you have any hacks to share? Well then, don't be shy! Simply reply to this email. I'm fast running out of useful hacks to share (well, this is edition number 17!) so I can really do with suggestions.
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And Finally...
I spend considerable amounts of time producing The Spirit Of Adventure, and you receive it for free. Please do me a favour and forward it to someone else who you think will appreciate it?
And if you received this newsletter because someone forwarded it, you can subscribe quickly and easily at www.willcycle.com
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