Friday 15th May 2026 A chance encounter in a café in Delamere Forest last December was the catalyst for this weekend’s trip. I was cycling with three mates and when we stopped for coffee, a man interrupted our conversation to enquire whether we fancied a weekend at an outdoor pursuits centre in Anglesey. We didn’t […]
Sunday 26th April 2026 I’m very much a planner. And I feel lucky to be made that way since I derive almost as much as enjoyment from the planning process as in the activity itself. But I’m also a worrier, which I think is complemented by planning – one mitigates the other. When I conceived […]
Monday 20th April 2026 I haven’t been out much on the bike recently, following an unfortunate incident with a dog which removed rather more skin from my knuckle than I was willing to donate. It’s not a very engaging story (and a bit gory), so I won’t dwell on it, but suffice to say I […]
Friday 6th March 18:30 I really enjoy pet-sitting for my children. This week has been particularly busy since I was needed in Longridge on Tuesday and Wednesday with Maple, and I’m now in Sheffield with Felix and another cat, but more of that later. Laurence needed to be in St Albans this week and as […]
2025 was an enjoyable year on the bike. I decided last year that mountain biking wasn’t for me (after an unfortunate spill near the summit of Whernside) so this year I stuck to roads and paths which suited me more. I don’t like getting muddy and my shoes and clothing aren’t appropriate for MTB use […]
Saturday 13th December 2025 When I check the definition of a professional cyclist, I get something along the lines of “A professional cyclist is a highly trained athlete who earns a living by competing in bicycle races…” So what’s the difference between a professional and an amateur? Surely it’s just the act of getting paid. By […]
Friday 21st November 2025 I have found myself once again cat-sitting for Felix (Emily’s cat) so I’ve planned a few things to do while I’m here. Cycling, gardening and writing Christmas cards are on the agenda. It was very cold overnight in Sheffield so I really didn’t want to venture out too soon. When I […]
Wednesday 1st October 2025 Veloviewer fans will know that there’s far more than just hunting explorer tiles. In fact there’s so much data now that even I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed so I’m just sticking to collecting tiles and increasing my cluster (a cluster being a group of contiguous tiles) My main cluster currently extends […]
Sunday 21st September 2025 I had thoroughly planned this ride with everything thought through beforehand until I received a text from my Sunday night Airbnb host in which he happened to mention that this weekend was the Kop Hill Climb, a large gathering of classic cars racing up Kop Hill (unsurprisingly). That was very useful […]
This chapter might be rather jumbled. It is neither a cycle tour, nor even a single trip away, but it simply records a few days in September when I decided to increase my Veloviewer Explorer tile cluster and in so doing, several events have conjoined, so I’m unsure how it will read. Tuesday 2nd September […]