Tuesday 23rd May The last time I completed this journey it was about 10 -15 degrees cooler and my fingers never really thawed out until I was in Liverpool. Today it’s much more pleasant, with a light breeze with sunny intervals. I’m repeating the trip to the Trafford Hall youth hostel near Chester simply because […]
Tuesday 16th May I parked the car this morning at a small nature reserve a few miles outside Chesterfield, a town I’ve only ever driven past perhaps once before. Today’s cycle route went into the town to have a look at the crooked spire on the church, which is much more spectacular than the photos […]
Saturday 13th May 2023 Today I had planned to be on day three of a five countries cycle tour, but black ice put paid to that ambition. Clearly we don’t have black ice in May, but in January we certainly did and it was then that I slid off my bike on a shady descent […]
It was a lovely, frosty morning on 16th January 2023 when I loaded my Dawes bike in my friend Michael Sutton’s van and we headed off to Hest Bank. We parked the van and set off at about 10:40 heading North on quiet roads alongside the coast. It was cold (probably two or three degrees […]
This year saw my second highest annual mileage recorded, boosted by one major tour of the Cotswolds plus several other cycling breaks including trips to Shrewsbury, North York moors, the Lake District and Weardale. The maps below show the routes I followed during the year. These show both the cycling routes as well as those […]
30th November 2022. I knew it’d be a chilly ride. Yesterday, the mercury never bothered to rise above 5°C, and it was foggy too, so I saw today’s forecast of 5 degrees and cloud as an improvement. Ever the optimist, I set off well-wrapped up to face the chill on a route generally South to […]
This wasn’t a cycle tour, but I include it since I was cycling in interesting areas and (generally) going out whatever the weather. Friday 11th November 2022. For the final time before Emily moves to Sheffield, I was enrolled on cat-sitting duties in Hazel Grove. To make the best use of the shorter days, I […]
10th October 2022 At the end of last month I was invited to attend a day at the Outward Bound centre in Aberdovey. This was a place that holds a special place in my heart after I went on a three week training course there, aged just 19. As an apprentice I was selected to […]
Monday 29th August 2022. It’s strange how things work out. In July, Jim asked several of us (in a WhatsApp group) whether we fancied going on a cycling trip to Mallorca. It was around the time that airports were experiencing severe delays and Covid cases were on the rise again, so I declined, as did […]
Wednesday 13th July 2022. I received a great book for Christmas which detailed a number of bike rides throughout the North of England. There are three routes in the North Lakes, so I thought it would be a good idea to link them together for a two day adventure. So that’s why I’m here. The […]