Writings – e2e.bike

I’m Rob Ainsley, a cycling writer based in York, England.

Sometimes I write for amusement (see Fun stuff) but it’s also my living. I contribute regularly to magazines and books, and give talks on cycling and cycle-touring. Here are a few examples of what I do.

Books

I have two books coming out in 2021. Find out more about Ride on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram:

**Ride: Cycle the World** (Dorling Kindersley, Apr 2021)
*I contributed chapters on Sri Lanka, the Baltics, Cuba, the Berlin Wall, New Zealand, the Antrim Coast, and the UK End to End*

**How to Sound Clever at Maths (even if you’re not really)** (e2e, Jun 2021)
*A humorous guide to popular, and unpopular, mathematics. Free to accompany my talk at the York Festival of Ideas 16 Jun 2021 (see it on YouTube)*

PDF of whole book (1.4MB, free)Download

I’ve also written, and sometimes co-written, edited or contributed to, over two dozen books. These include the Bluffer’s Guides to maths, university, Japan, the internet, computers, and cycling (Oval/Bluffers Guides/Haynes, 1988-2018); 50 Quirky Bike Rides (Eye, 2006); Great Cycle Journeys of the World (New Holland, 2010); The Sideways Guide to Composers (Future, 1993); Inside the Orchestra (Future, 1994); That British Style (Kodansha, 2000); and a few computer manuals.

Magazines

I write a monthly humorous column on everyday cycling for Cycling Plus magazine, and research many of their ‘Local Knowledge’ routes. I also write for Cycling UK’s magazine and website, and occasionally for BBC Music magazine.

**Cycling Plus** *Why paper maps are best*

**Cycling Plus** *Cycling = happy. Ask a rat*

**Cycling Plus** *Where am I? Here’s how to find out*

**Cycling Plus** *Spain: Desserted roads*

**Cycling Plus** *Taiwan: Imported frames*

**Cycling UK** *Britain’s ‘Caminos’: Great pilgrimage routes*

**Cycling UK** *Bikepacking across Scotland’s empty quarter*

**BBC Music** *Astor Piazzolla, the man who reinvented tango*

Talks

I give lively and humorous talks on everyday cycling and touring, illustrated with unique images from twenty years of touring the world.

**TEDx Truro 2019** *‘Cycling against the tide’: Video of talk*

**Cycle Touring Festival 2020** *‘Bizarre Britain’: Picture highlights*

**Cycle Touring Festival 2021** *Britain’s best river rides: Video of talk plus webpage*

Podcasts

**Cycling Europe Podcast 23** *Touring ideas: I’m on at 3:00, 41:30 and 1:23:00*

**LEJOG Audiobook** *My 1997 Britain End to End on local food and drink. (Contains bagpipes.)*

**Camino de Santiago** *Info and advice, with audio diary of 2011 trip*

Music

I occasionally write pieces for guitar. Here are four recent examples, inspired by bike rides.

Zebra Hill
Patterns for guitar (MP3, 6min 20sec) inspired by a ride to Zebra Hill, North Yorkshire. Photos, info and links to the score on the Zebra Hill page.

Hornsea Mere
Reflections for guitar (MP3, 6min 30sec) inspired by a ride around Yorkshire’s largest lake. Photos, info and links to the score on the Hornsea Mere page.

Coldstones Cut
Workings for guitar (MP3, 5min) inspired by a ride around ‘Yorkshire’s Machu Picchu’. Photos, info and links to the score on the Coldstones Cut page.

Mam Tor
Etude for guitar (MP3, 3min) inspired by MTB rides on collapsed roads over the ‘shivering mountain’. Photos, info, and links to score on the Mam Tor page.

Hen Cloud
Lyric piece for guitar (MP3, 4min) inspired by slow summer evening ride in the Staffordshire Peaks. Photos, info and links to the score on the Hen Cloud page.

I also arrange a few things for the instrument. The YouTube videos below have performances with scores. You can download PDFs of them.