Will
Bikes are great! They’re the most efficient form of transport ever invented by humanity, they’re good for the environment, they’re good for your health, and they put a smile on your face. Bikes are simple machines, and that’s one of their strongest benefits. However, the sodding bicycle industry seems totally determined to overcomplicate things as … Read more
Most of the time, you’ll go on a bicycle adventure with a smile on your face and the wind in your hair, and that smile will remain on your face all the way. Sometimes, though, the opposite happens, and things go wrong. Most of the time, being prepared for the possibility of things going wrong … Read more
To be a real adventurer, you have to do things like solo trekking through the Amazon basin, scaling the ten tallest mountains of the world (dressed only in beach gear) or wrestling with crocodiles, right? In graphic terms, that belief – sadly quite widely held – is a steaming pile of bovine excrement, and I’ll … Read more
Mastery of fire was arguably the single most important human achievement. It vastly increased our species’ ability to survive and prosper, and to this day we are ultra-reliant on fire. It’s entirely possible that the device you’re using to read this was powered by electricity generated by either coal, or gas-powered power stations, and those … Read more
Some things just belong together: Sampson & Dellilah, Cleopatra & Anthony, bread & butter, and of course, cycling & coffee. Cycling and coffee are a match made in heaven, as the number of cycling cafés can attest. In a perfect world, there will always be a great café, serving excellent coffee, right when you need … Read more
I’ve reviewed one of Andrew P Sykes’ books before – the first book he published, but for some reason or another didn’t get around to reading any of his other books. Since my last review, he’s published several more books. He’s on Twitter as @CyclingEurope, and he has a podcast, with full details available at … Read more
Yes, another SheCycles post! In case you still don’t know, SheCycles is a series of posts about completely different women, each one amazing in her own way, telling us in their own words about how cycling fits into their lives, and what it means to them. Read all the other SheCycles posts, by clicking this link. … Read more
Hear ye, hear ye, hear ye! You are hereby formally invited to the ACAPS – DS event! ACAPS, as you should know, is the abbreviation for the Adventure Cycling And Philatelic Society, while DS is the abbreviation for the ACAPS Dining Society. IMPORTANT: There is a dress code for all ACAPS DS events, and that … Read more
“Digital security? What do you mean by that? I have a complex password for my email – surely that’s all I need? Besides, I’m not anyone famous or important, so nobody will target me, right?” Wrong, actually. Very wrong. Let’s have a look at how digital security, and your digital footprint, reaches into your life. … Read more
Nobody wants to have their bike stolen. Perhaps it’s your pride and joy, perhaps it’s just a pub bike. Perhaps it’s worth many thousands, perhaps you got it for free. It doesn’t matter what bike your ride, nor how much it costs. What matters is that it’s yours, and obviously you don’t want it stolen, … Read more
Bike theft is real, and growing, with thieves getting more audacious by the day. By and large, if your bike was stolen, you report it only to police to get the crime number that the insurance company will ask for, and you know police will most probably have no further involvement. Very occasionally, police catch … Read more
One of the best things about cycle touring is simply escaping the hustle and bustle of the world, while you’re blissfully isolated from so much that may be happening in the world. This gives you the time to focus on the little things, that ultimately matter so much, like some wild flowers growing in a … Read more
This book was recommended to me as a detailed cycle touring book, with the added bonus of being about Ireland, somewhere I know little about, but would love to go cycle touring. Eric Newby was a journalist who published several travel guides, and apparently was asked to write the book. It was first published in … Read more
The Travelling What? In South Africa, a slang (and somewhat derogatory) Afrikaans word for a man significantly older than yourself is “ouballie”, which is pronounced “oh – bully”, with “bully” to rhyme with “Scully”. Obviously, there was a rather excellent band, called The Travelling Wilburys. Given that I’m South African, like the music of The … Read more
In life, there are two kinds of people: those who choose to drink coffee, and those that don’t. I’ firmly in the former category, and a good coffee is one of life’s essentials to me. Coffee is a rich source of caffeine, which is common knowledge. Perhaps less commonly known is what caffeine does to our … Read more