It’s only when watching pre-pandemic TV programmes that I fully realise how much we’ve all changed since 2020. Welcoming handshakes are now very scarce, and we stand just that little further apart from each other. Some other changes, like my appearance, became more obvious, and in February, sixteen weeks after last seeing my hairdresser (due […]
Tuesday 26th October 2021 Jessie Stevens is a young woman with a desire to change the world. She is concerned (along with HM The Queen, apparently) that those in power are not acting quickly enough to enact changes necessary to halt the rise in global CO2 emissions. She wants to attend the forthcoming climate conference […]
Tuesday 21st September 2021 I’m on the road again! This time I’m heading South, not to a new area, but one I’ve not visited much in many years. In the late 70s I spent a lot of time around Knutsford, Northwich and Tarporley with a number pinned on my cycling vest. At that time I […]
Saturday 14th August 2021 I’ve always loved maps: they are what got me into cycling nearly 50 years ago. Sadly, my extensive paper collection of Ordnance Survey maps is becoming obsolete, but thankfully, maps are digital now. Digital maps offer many advantages, especially when combined with today’s GPS technology; not only do they show the […]
Sunday 18th July 2021 Last year, a few of us had planned a cycling holiday in Italy in the summer. It soon became obvious that it wasn’t going to happen, but what was to replace it? As it turned out, the next best option is a cottage near Durham in July. Which is why we’re […]
Monday 7th June 2021 I had booked a stay in Hartington Hall hostel in February 2020 but an encounter with a car in the January left me with no bike and a broken collar bone so I had to cancel. Then Covid-19 struck, so it’s only now that I am able to go on the […]
Wednesday 19th May 2021 I haven’t been cycle touring (defined by me as travelling with panniers and moving on each day) for over 18 months now and I’m really missing it. I’ve booked a hostel in Derbyshire in June but the main trouble with the location is that Manchester is slap bang between me and […]
For most of us, 2020 was a very strange year. From a cycling perspective, it began normally for me, but then I was knocked off the bike in January and suffered a broken collar bone (and a broken bike!). By the time I was able to ride again, the country was in lockdown, so I […]
Tuesday 1st December 2020 My reluctance to venture out very far on my bike during the Covid-19 period has meant that I have generally only cycled out from Brindle. I decided to change this in December when I loaded the bike on the carrier and drove to Waddington on a cold, crisp day. The ride […]
To misquote Arkwright (Open all Hours), “It’s been a funny old year”, but sadly for most of us, 2020 profoundly lacked humour. The year started off fine, at least for me, but rapidly worsened as all my plans evaporated in March as I expect they did for most of us. I was reminded of the […]