National Hill Climb Championship

A ride five years in the making and all over in 3 minutes and 12 seconds.

What am I training for? [The meaning of life]

I don’t race, I ride. Yet I’m training. For what I’m training for, I cannot say. There’s no medals to point to. There’s the small number of hill climb races I enter. Or the bravado of leading out the peloton or the fear of being dropped on a club ride. There’s local hills and personal bests. Yet I’m not really training for any of these.

Cycling the lumps and bumps of Flanders

Let’s talk cobbles. Why oh why would anyone think riding over gap strewn paving would be fun? It’s pure evil I tell you! I went cycling in Flanders recently, heading to Belgium to ride the famous climbs and routes from the Tour of Flanders, or Ronde van Vlaanderen, as it’s known to the cycling mad […]

Riding the cobbles of Ronde Van Calderdale

Cobbles and cycling. Belgium right? The Classics of the early season calendar. Moules et frites. Passionate fans, grim weather, steep climbs. Not Halifax, England. Pie and chips, bleak post-industrial landscapes and well, cobbles, steep climbs and the desolate moorland. This is the scene for the Ronde Van Calderdale route, a tribute to the Spring Classic […]

My first Time Trial (TT) race

Is a time trial a race? A race of truth say some. No wheel sucking, no team to power you to the line. Was I racing others? Yes and no. I was very pleased with my position in the race and the er, first prize money of my budding career, he says, just shy of veteran […]

Riding the Coast to Coast cycle route (C2C)

Brutal. Coast to coast, sea to sea, and back again, in two days. 224 miles. Easy. 5,800 metres of climbing. Ouch. Heavy rain and riding into a 43 mph headwind hour after hour. Eugh. What the hell was I thinking? Truth is, I have no idea why I attempted a double C2C ride in March, the tailend […]

Vélib’ Cycling in Paris

Paris. An empty day. Two wheels. Ahead only joy. Time to indulge, a cycleur with a city to discover, unknown streets to aimlessly meander by bike. Turn left or maybe right, whimsy my guide, seeking new sights and sounds and smells, new moments that will form long standing memories and will come to define the city. “To err […]

How to choose a road bike – A procrastinator’s guide

Buying a new road bike. It begins as a vague idea, quickly turns into excitement and then snowballs into a major headache before becoming a lesson in the art of procrastination. We turn what should be a pleasurable activity into pure torture. Why? The paradox of choice. We’re overwhelmed. Marginal differences between groupsets, between colour […]

TrainerRoad review – will it make me faster?

Want to be a faster rider? Of course you do. What if I told you that for around £9 a month you could be quicker, stronger and better looking? Well, that last one’s a stretch, but many cycling services promise to make you a better cyclist. Are they true?

Double trouble – Catford and Bec hill climbs

Not today. It’s Sunday. Rest day. No work, no nothing. Two horrible hill climb races in one day? No thanks, not for me. I awoke rested but still sleepy, my body refusing to wake as if it knew what was ahead. Eugh. Where the hell was my inner chimp when I needed him? Any other […]