Exmouth to Budleigh Salterton

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Exmouth to Budleigh Salterton cycle route overall rating: (Colour explanation: blue = good, yellow indicates some warning, and red indicates issues to be aware of) The Exmouth to Budleigh Salterton cycle route runs for 5.6 miles, from Exmouth train station to Budleigh Salterton, mostly along a disused railway line. There is a short on-road section ... Read more

Coffee First, Then The World

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Coffee First, Then The World, by Jenny Graham When you read stories by people who cycled around the world, you quickly learn that doing so is an enormous achievement. When it is done solo, it becomes an even bigger achievement. When done as a woman, riding on her own, unsupported, it becomes monumentous. Finally, when ... Read more

Vagabond

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light sea dawn landscape
Vagabond is define as “a person who wanders from place to place without a fixed home”. Traditionally used as a slur, but oh how times have changed! Cycle tourers are vagabonds! It’s true! When you go cycle touring, you’re literally moving from place to place, without a fixed home (while on tour). That’s the very ... Read more

Who wants to be a smelly tramp?

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water drop
There’s an inescapable reality about cycle touring and wild camping: there’s no on-suite bathroom with built-in shower. Personal hygiene is important at any time, but certainly comes to the fore when cycle touring and wild camping. Having said that, there are many things you can do to maintain personal hygiene. Wipes or flannels to the ... Read more

Climbing the Colombier – Part 2

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This is the 2nd part of Roy Everitt’s guest posts about cycling up the Grand Colombier in France, on a laden touring bike. If you missed it, Part 1 is here. Day 2 – To Lyon I slept okay but awoke early again, and went for a stroll to find a patisserie for breakfast pastries ... Read more

Climbing the Grand Colombier

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A guest post by Roy Everitt This is the first in a three-part series by Roy, telling the story of when he climbed the Grand Colombier, on a laden touring bike! A Chance to Climb the Grand Colombier A quick bit of background: most of my bigger trips are with my brother-in-law and a few ... Read more

Get lost!

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brown wooden arrow signed
In the English-language world, telling someone to get lost is considered an insult. Usually. Let’s change that! When out on a cycling adventure, getting lost can be enormous fun (provided you’re not tied to a tight schedule!) so why not set out to get lost? But what about navigation, maps & more? I have a ... Read more

Kit Review: Fischer 70 lux dynamo headlight

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Overall rating: For anyone who relies on their bike for commuting, utility cycling, or cycle touring, dynamo lights are probably the best upgrade you can make. No more forgetting to charge your lights, or getting stuck after dark, without lights. With dynamo lights, as soon as the wheels start turning, your lights are on. It ... Read more

You are the power

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For years now I’ve been a vocal convert to dynamo lights. After all, why would you say no to never having to worry about charging your lights, and never running out of battery? While there are interesting debates to be had about the advantages and disadvantages of various different dynamo headlights, that’s not what this ... Read more

Camping Coffee

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To a huge number of people, coffee is an important part of life. If you don’t believe me, just have a look at how many coffee shops there are in your local neighbourhood! Now coffee shops are great, but especially when wild camping, the nearest coffee shop might be quite some distance away. What are ... Read more

Audax, baby!

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For a long time I’ve been threatening to get into Audaxing. Audaxing, in case you didn’t know, is long distance cycling events, run by Audax UK (in the UK). With very short notice, I went and signed up for a 101km Audax event about an hour’s drive from where I live. The event took place ... Read more

Darkmoor – the return

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Darkmoor was an annual all-night bike ride that I used to organise. It never really took off, so I stopped it. After all, there’s no point continuing a ride that attracted exactly 2 riders the last time it ran. Darkwhat? Darkmoor was an all-night ride that crossed Dartmoor – the last wilderness in England. The ... Read more

Kit review – Zefal T3 top tube bag

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Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐ The Zefal T3 bag attaches to the top tube with Velcro-type fasteners, and has a clear pocket for your smartphone. It’s generously-sized, but you need to decide for yourself if that’s a benefit, or not. Road-tested I took the T3 bag along when I cycled (more or less) the bottom half of ... Read more
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