Posts - WillCycle

Why YOU need to limit YOUR travel

14/03/2023 by Will

Climate change is real There’s no escaping the absolute truth that climate change is real, caused by humans, and accelerating. Equally, there’s no escaping the reality that each and every one of us are contributing to climate change. Yes, even you (and definitely me). You do you and I do me Generally, I’m happy for ... Read more

Wild Atlantic Way series – Sustainable cycle touring

09/03/2023 by Will

This posts focuses on trying to find the most sustainable, least harmful way of getting to the start of my Wild Atlantic Way cycling adventure. Man-made climate change is real and undeniable. Only cranks and shills disagree with the astounding amount of verifiable scientific evidence. I’m very aware of my personal CO2 footprint, and am ... Read more

What they don’t tell you about cycle touring

07/03/2023 by Will

Cycle touring is growing in popularity, and for good reason. After all, it remains the very best way to explore a landscape. In fact, Ernest Hemmingway put it best, when he said: “It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills ... Read more

Reivers Route – UK Coast To Coast Routes

21/03/202528/02/2023 by Will

164 miles – Workington to Tynemouth The Reivers Route gets it’s name from the gangs of marauders that used to roam the border between England and Scotland for several centuries. At 164 miles, it’s not a short route. More importantly, it passes through some of the most isolated and sparsely-populated parts of England. In simple ... Read more

C2C – UK Coast to Coast Routes

14/02/202426/02/2023 by Will

137 miles, Whitehaven to Sunderland C2C is the original coast to coast route, and is the UK’s most-popular long-distance cycle route. The name is actually not short for coast to coast, but rather sea to sea – it runs from the Irish Sea to the North Sea (or vice versa). Of all the coast to ... Read more

The unpleasant side of cycling

21/02/2023 by Will

Social media is awash with people telling anyone who’d listen about how good cycling is for you, for your physical and mental health, for society and for the wider world. There might be a million blog posts waxing lyrical about wonderful cycling is. Marketing types add to all this, and fill your timelines with bicycle ... Read more

Kit Review: Chilli-Tech Mk II Bullet Cam

24/11/202414/02/2023 by Will

Overall rating: ⭐⭐⭐ I recently purchased two Chilli-Tech Mk II Bullet helmet cameras – one for me and one for my youngest daughter. For a few years I’ve been riding with a VTIN camera, and I’m quite happy with that, except for battery life. The Chilli-Tech Mk II has a battery life of roughly 4.5 ... Read more

It’s ALL about the journey

09/02/2023 by Will

Hurry, hurry! Rush! C’mon, we need to move! But… do we? Do you? Rush hour If ever there was a ridiculous concept, it’s rush hour: millions of people going far slower than normal, precisely because they’re all in such a hurry! Most of us don’t have much a realistic choice for never getting caught up ... Read more

Kit Review: TyreKey Narrow

07/02/2023 by Will

I previously reviewed the TyreKey – a complete rethink on the humble tyre lever. For those of you who didn’t read that review, the TyreKey is a great bit of kit. When see that it looks like, you will instantly understand where it got the name from: it looks a bit like an oversized key. ... Read more

When AI writes about cycle touring

02/02/2023 by Will

ChatGPT ChatGPT is an Artificial Intelligence (AI) bot that’s received a great deal of publicity lately. Currently in free preview, practically anyone can go ask it anything. Be warned though: the responses aren’t always correct. Amongst other things, ChatGPT told me that the Silkin Way was in South Wales! There’s significant concern in academic circles ... Read more

Getting cold feet

26/01/2023 by Will

The Cambridge Dictionary defines “getting cold feet” as “to suddenly become too frightened to do something you had planned to do, especially something important such as getting married”. This post is not about that kind of cold feet. This post is all about keeping your feet warm on a bitterly cold winter’s ride. After all, ... Read more

The impact of climate change on cycle touring

28/12/202324/01/2023 by Will

Did I get the title sequence wrong? Quite obviously, what we should be most concerned about is the impact of our activities on climate change. Climate change is man-made, real, speeding up and is frankly terrifying. Still, for the purposes of this post, I’ll focus on the impacts of climate change on cycle touring. Is climate ... Read more

Sawyer Mini Water Filtration System

19/01/2023 by Will

Sawyer Mini personal water filtration system

Water: the source of life I needed a personal water filtration system, and picked the Sawyer Mini for good reasons. You consist of 55% to 60% water, and your blood is around 90% water. You need to drink water every day (even if it’s contained in other drinks, such as coffee). Though there doesn’t seem ... Read more

Making a good Op Snap report

13/08/202418/01/2023 by Will

What is Op Snap? In most of the UK cyclists can report bad or dangerous driving captured on their helmet cam to police, via an Op Snap portal. Not all UK police forces allow this, though. In Scotland, police remain determined to lag decades behind the times with regards to helmet cam video submissions. Why ... Read more

The Shropshire Union Canal cycle route

28/03/202616/01/2023 by Will

Shropshire Union Canal cycle route overall rating: (Colour explanation: blue = good, yellow indicates some warning, and red indicates issues to be aware of) The part of the Shropshire Union Canal covered by this guide isn’t in Shropshire at all, but in Cheshire. This route stretches from Nantwich to Ellesmere Port, a distance of 30 ... Read more