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Posts tagged with cycling
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Wales 2025 Part 4
My last ride in Wales had me heading west. I had a plan to visit Castell Coety as they say in Welsh. I’m not sure how you pronounce it. I’m sure it’s not how it looks. There was a cafe attached to a gym not far away. Disappointing to learn…
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Wales 2025 Part 3
Day 4; ride number 3 in Wales. I’ll talk as positively as possible. I wouldn’t recommend the route I took, especially if you include some of the places I went through. I’m sure there are nice places out east, but they were in short supply this time. The highlisghts: Just…
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Wales 2025 Part 2
I thought the first day was brilliant. The second was even better. Of cource any day that starts with a tasty coffee and delicious bun is normally a good one.
Little did I know what lay in store when I leant my bike against the wall of Caffi Lab just…
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Wales 2025 Part 1
The first of my holidays finally arrived. It had been a very long, cold and wet winter. The one nighter to Rye a couple of weeks to test the tent went better than expected considering it was my first time. But didn’t really qualify as a vacation. This one was…
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Leith Hill Octopus
A very strange name for a ride. I was searching the internet for interesting routes, and amongst the results was this one. Leith Hill is a famous or infamous climb. It was a formidable part of the RideLondons that looped through Surrey between 2013 and 2021. I did this event…
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Camping- bikepacking
Regular readers will know about my adventures by bike. I once stayed in a Youth Hostel, mostly it’s B&B’s and hotel’s. They are still my preferred stopovers. But they come at a price, one that it’s not viable to continue paying. If I want to do more, I need to…
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Going electric
This isn’t, as you can see by the picture, about e-bikes or AV’s. I’m returning to the subject of keeping warm. Regular readers will know it’s a recurring theme for me. I’ve got body, head and feet fairly well sorted now. Although my toes still feel a chill when it…
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Rapha Festive 500
The Rapha Festive 500 is a challenge to ride 500 km over eight days from Christmas eve to New Years eve. I’d planned some routes; I wanted it to include some new places and to involve a tradition and family visit. Of course this wasn’t something I could have contemplated…
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Loops or point to point
I’ve had three years of bikepacking holidays, so I think it’s time to think about the future. What am I going to keep doing, and what will I stop. If you haven’t read about these trips before I’ll summerise them. In 2022 I rode to Cornwall and back over five…
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Cycle clothing
It’s that time of year again; what to wear on the bike. I’ve written a few posts about my thoughts. They have been mostly to vent my frustration with my purchases. My biggest bugbears are the cost, and not living up to promises. I haven’t been able to test many…
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Cycling food - baking success
Regular readers will know I’ve written about food for cycling and also my attempts to bake bread. The energy bars, gels and drinks I bought in the early days were mostly very nice; easy to carry and did their intended job. But they were too expensive to keep using. Better…
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Stonehenge and the IoW
I initially thought about just riding to Stonehenge, staying nearby for the night and then coming back. Then I realised I’d be a short ride from Portsmouth; gateway to the Isle of Wight. So I booked an extra day off work, the ferry and a place to stay for two…
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Family
Last weekend was a family reunion. Over the years I’ve kept in touch with family on my mothers side. Not so much my fathers. I’m not sure why, I think maybe it was that they lived further away and were older. My sister had been conversing with a cousin for…
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The flat lands
Diss was my base for a weeks holiday. I arrived on Sunday after completing the Dunwich Dynamo. On Monday Ivo arrived, and after lunch we went for a walk starting and ending in Bungay. It was a good introduction to the local area.
Tuesday it was back on the bikes.…
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Dunwich dynamo
The Dunwich Dynamo is an annual semi-organised, through-the-night bicycle ride from London Fields park in Hackney, London to Dunwich on the Suffolk coast. I have always wanted to do it. A team from Oxted Cycling Club joined me. Nick, Neil, Stuart, Dave and his son; and another Nick - a…
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Apple tax
Another name is convenience tax. It’s the extra you pay for tech or a service from a particular providor. Generally I try not to be taken in by this. I like choice. And don’t want to pay more than I need. I own an Apple phone and computer because they…