Author: Rob Ainsley
Greenwich 2: East meets West
More very hot route research round Greenwich in the midst of a record-breaking heatwave. Almost a cyclist-breaking one, too.
Greenwich 1: About time
More route research, this time in Greenwich. Well, it was about time. Fabulous day, riding south to the Kent AONB round Sevenoaks and back. An accommodation disaster meant I was stranded at 10pm with nowhere to stay. Fortunately I was rescued by St Gary of Deptford and St Evija of Gulbene.
Bradford: Currying favour with cyclists
We’ve explored Bradford by bike many times. Of Yorkshire’s seven cities (Leeds, Bradford, Sheffield, York, Hull, Wakefield, and, er…) it’s the most surprising and intriguing, thanks to its ethnically diverse history (…ah yes, Ripon), from Little Germany to the authentic, tasty curry restaurants that feel like you’ve stepped into Pakistan (where 1 in 5 residents…
Windermere 3: Solitude and crowds
Final day of route research in the lovely Lakes, on a baking hot day.
Windermere 2: Hardknott, Wrynose, Laurel & Hardy
Awesome cycling day of cycle route research through super Lakes scenery. A lot of tough climbs – Wrynose, Hardknott, Birker Fell and others – but most challengingly, the stairs up to the shower when I got back to the hostel.
Windermere 1: I can resist anything except…
So, I’m researching bike routes around Windermere. What better way to explore the Lake District than on two wheels? Well, by hiking the fells instead, obviously. Lakes roads can be busy and unpleasant. Unless you choose your routes carefully, which of course is exactly what I’m here to do…
Poland ≥17: Berlin
After a few days mixing writing work with exploring Gdansk, I still had five days to spare. So I took a train to Berlin. I had no plan, but I had a bike, which is all you need. This post covers those five days. The first morning I cycled across Tempelhof, on possibly the world’s…
Poland 16: Hel
With the business part of the trip completed, today was a fun add-on: a trip to Hel and back. Hel is a resort village at the end of a 30km long sand spit that juts out south-east from Poland’s northern coast into the Baltic. On a map the spit resembles Spurn Point, my favourite place…
Poland 15: Gdynia to Jastrzębia Góra
The final day of my Polish End to End was the hottest, sunniest day of the trip so far. It started with yet more miles of mostly decent urban cycleways, continued with rough and unready tracks through country parks with lots of other leisure cyclists, and finished up at Poland’s most northerly point, overlooking an…