WillOn Sunday I took the chance of cycling out to Yelverton and back again. There’s nothing unusual about that – in fact, I do that regularly, yet today’s ride was slightly out of the ordinary for several reasons, as I’ll explain in a minute. I would’ve liked to have gone further, but other, and more … Read more
Simon, the Olympic double gold medalist Simon Richardson is a cyclist, but no ordinary cyclist. Instead, he is a cyclist that has shown a remarkable tenacity to overcome enormous problems. In 2001, Simon was struck by a car that was being driven at 60mph. The impact of that crash broke his back in two places and … Read more
There is a story which tells that for many years, there used to be sign above Picadilly Circus saying “Either exports go up, or Britain goes down”. I’m no expert on London, and I’ve never seen the sign, but the sentiment is quite right. Regardless of what financiers and politicians may want you to believe, … Read more
On the 15th of September I cycled out to Yelverton, where my friend Simon lives. The Tour of Britain’s Devon stage was taking place on the day, and we had a cunning plan to ride out to Merrivale (a King of the Mountains stage) to watch the riders go by, and return to Yelverton via … Read more
There are new roadworks in Plymouth, at the junction of Laira Bridge Road and Finnigan Road, as well as on Laira Bridge itself. This is part of a larger, ongoing project to improve traffic flow (for motorised vehicles!) to and from the eastern side of Plymouth.The big picture is that a new town, Sherbourne, will … Read more
Yep, Ashmill bridge has been opened, which means the whole new section of NCN27, from Tavistock to Gem Bridge is open, and going by this morning’s experience, it’s rather popular! I lost count of the number of cyclists I saw. The really good thing is it included many very young cyclists, and many quite old … Read more
Having been on leave, I went out for a ride last Thursday, with the rough idea of heading out towards Tavistock, via Yelverton. First though, I had to drop a letter off near the river Tamar, which is pretty much on the other side of Plymouth, from my house.After having delivered the letter, I set … Read more
UPDATE: The DC-14 has been discontinued for a long time. I have a more up-to-date post with other, better options. Almost exactly a year ago I posted about having fitted a Nokia DC-14 bicycle charger to my bike. There were, for me at least, many unknown factors, such as the surprisingly commonly held opinion that … Read more
It’s no secret that I’m a supporter of The Times’ Cities Fit For Cycling (or CycleSafe for short) campaign – just look near the top right of my blog and you’ll find the link. In light of this, I was very pleased when my home town of Plymouth finally formally expressed its support for the … Read more
Recently I took the opportunity to go and see for myself what progress has been made with the cycle path through Grenofen tunnel, which will be the new route for NCN 27. To complete the path from Gem Bridge to Tavistock, a few things still needed doing: 1) The path from near the end of … Read more
Haven’t you heard? Devon Coast-to-Coast, a.k.a. NCN27 has a brand new name: Velodyssee. Well, shall we say a brand new additional name! This is part of the on-going programme of integrating NCN27 into the Euro Velo routes – it forms part of Euro Velo route 1, or EV1 for short. All 1200 km’s ofVelodyssee! This isn’t … Read more
As a family man, my cycling often comes last on a lengthy list of priorities. This is a statement of fact, and not a complaint, and I’ve mentioned it as it ties in directly with this post. My youngest badly wanted to learn to ride a horse, so we signed her up for Pony Club … Read more
Plymouth had its first-ever Sky Ride recently and even the weather co-operated, as it was a beautiful sunny day.I convinced my wife to come along, and our youngest was on the tag-along. Some snacks & a flask of hot chocolate went into the panniers on my bike, and we were off to the start on … Read more
I was told, via my Devon Coast to Coast cycling holidays site that Gem Bridge was open, as in fully open. This was on Saturday, and I immediately made plans to cycle out there, as Gem Bridge is only about 20 miles from my home.Now John Lennon wrote “life is what happens while you’re busy … Read more
Just a gentle reminder that the next Dark Side Ride isn’t all that far away! If you don’t have a decent light for your bike yet, then I suggest you start looking around soon. If you’re anywhere near Plymouth, or more accurately, Yelverton on the 23rd of June, then join us! And if you don’t … Read more