Cycling adventures across Yorkshire, Britain and beyond
A fabulous day-ride, full of variety, that showcased North Norfolk at its best. Sunny weather, quiet lanes with friendly drivers, and an almost bewildering succession of sights, from stunning stately-home parks to England’s holiest shrine via beaches that could have come out of the Netherlands. Mark was off on a training walk today, so I…
I’d never really explored North Norfolk properly by bike, but I was here for four days with my friend Mark to remedy that. After a thunderous storm in the afternoon, the evening was glorious, and we cycled from Heacham to Hunstanton along the promenade, past the beach huts. It was right on high tide, and…
A mopping-up day today, doing bits I hadn’t quite explored enough yet, and it turned out very well, and sociable too. I checked out of the Prem Inn and headed into the cloudless but very chilly sunshine, sporting the unusual combination of M&S sunhat and Sports Direct clearance ski gloves. After a few back lanes…
A day of water. With clouds and chilly easterlies forecast, I half-wondered about doing today’s ride tomorrow instead… but went out into the drizzle anyway, returning to Lichfield by train to pick up where I left off yesterday. I headed east towards Burton, in search of nice quiet country lanes. Quiet they certainly were, thanks…
Today was my gravel-bike day. Obviously my bike is a tourer, but it wouldn’t take much to convert it into a gravel bike. I’d just have to fit it with worse brakes, more difficult gears and less robust wheels, remove the rack and mudguards, swop the frame for aluminium, and charge myself five hundred quid…
Staffordshire, no bull: I was very happy to be back researching routes again today. Right in front of Stafford station is Victoria Park, and it looked very neat, fresh and attractive on this cloudless, warm spring morning. I probably didn’t: I’d had a 5am start in York. The River Sow runs through it, and overlooking…
My last day of route research in Swindon. The lazy, uninformed opinion of many is that the town is pretty rubbish for cycling and lacks any decent network. Well, let me tell you, I’ve actually come and investigated the place by cycling round it for four days. I came to the same conclusion.
Day 3 of cycle route research round Swindon way. I trusted the Met Office’s weather forecast of sun and dry, because I know they’re right 9 times out of 10. This was the tenth time though. It rained all day.
Day 2 of cycle route research round Swindon took me past four White Horses, none of them pubs, all of them hill figures. It’s a Thing round here.
Cycle route research today north of Swindon, which town is every bit as beautiful – and well-provisioned with good bike routes – as I expected. Not very, in other words.