Penguins aren’t something you expect to find in Normandy. But there it was. On the road. And then another, and another… On a 25km ride around the local lanes, we encountered maybe five or six of these little beasts. Why? Hard to say. My guess is that it might have something to do with a cycle race. It’s summer, which… Read more »
Cycling has been a sporadic thing of late. There was winter, of course. And so much rain. Plus my bike developed an electronic fault that the manufacturer, Gitane, isn’t interested in solving (more of that in a coming post). That coincided with the good weather in March. I have a new bike (more of that later, too). The first rides… Read more »
It’s a great relief to be properly back on the bike this week after over a year of not really cycling. Following my injury last July, I felt able to cycle again about February but had problems with the bike and I didn’t feel confident about cycling anywhere other than the greenway, where it’s relatively flat. That problem fixed (it… Read more »
To say that I’m fed up would be an understatement. It’s now 11 weeks since I got injured and I’ve been off the bike ever since, watching the summer ripen and fade. And now we’re into autumn. I was, as Steve says, scrumping. I’d gotten up at 6.00am-ish to walk the dog in the cool of the morning. After a… Read more »
Nothing ever goes the way you think it will. Back in the spring, I fondly imagined we were in for a long, hot summer filled with cycling adventures. Well, as John Lennon said, life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans. First, my photography exhibition took up much more time than I’d anticipated. Then work got busy. Then… Read more »
I bought my Endura Windchill II back in December 2016. It’s now nearly June 2017 and I haven’t worn any other jacket since. The Endura has done me all winter and is still suitable for these late May days, due to the long pit zips, which cool you down nicely when you start to overheat. In winter I wore it over… Read more »
The other day I wrote about how we’d spotted a new voie verte (greenway) under construction. It was clear that this was a part of the award-winning Vélo Francette cycle route that runs 617km from the Normandy beaches at Ouistreham (Caen) to La Rochelle. Although we walked only a small section of the new voie verte, I speculated that it might go as… Read more »
It seems that the V43 Vélo Francette is not our little secret any longer. It has just been voted the best cycle route in Europe. Fiets et Wandelbeurs – a Belgian cycling and rambling organisation – has recognised the beauty and convenience of the route. According to Google Translate and a judicious bit of editing, the jury said something like: “The… Read more »
Since it’s the close of 2016, I thought I’d do a review of the winners and losers among the things I’ve bought this year and last. Being new to cycling, I made a lot of mistakes at first, but I quickly discovered that while price is generally (though not always) a guarantee of quality, good kit can be had at… Read more »
I’ve been in two minds whether to review these items as they are no longer available except occasionally on Ebay – I bought them last year in Sheila Moon’s closing-down sale. But I’ve decided to mention them as I spent the summer in them and they give me some tips for what to look for when I need to replace… Read more »
Woolpower is one of those makes that’s very hard to obtain except at full price. I was put off by the stonking £80 price tag of this gilet but already being the owner of a Woolpower 200 zipneck top and longjohns, I knew what good quality these items are, so I finally saved up and bit the bullet. The garments… Read more »
I bought a few bits in SportPursuit’s merino sale, including this Trekmates zip-neck and crewneck tee. The Contrast Stitch Zip Top is 100% merino and 200gsm, while the Fusion Crew is 50% merino, 50% polyester and is also 200gsm. Both feature the same plentiful flatlock stitching in a contrast colour, and thumbholes in the sleeves. Both of these items seem… Read more »
I bought this Helly Hansen top on the same day as the Devold hoodie previously reviewed, being taken by its attractive contrast stitching and because I wanted to try out this popular brand. The top is 57% wool and 43% polypropylene, 215gsm and features Helly Hansen’s Lifa®Stay Dry Technology, which is meant to be non-allergenic, with ‘superior insulating and wicking properties’. … Read more »
Over the past year I’ve become a big fan of many Scandiwegian sports brands, which provide merino base layers with great design and features. These include Ulvang, Janus, Woolpower and Devold. I’m also a fan of hoodies, which are a useful extra layer on the bike. So, when I saw this merino hoodie, I jumped at it. The Devold Expedition… Read more »
Over on Google+, I recently got into a ‘debate’ with another cyclist who took exception to us walking our dogs on the voies vertes. He was ill-mannered and aggressive, and his arguments, if you can call them that, not worth repeating here. But it did get me thinking about cycling spaces and infrastructure. The ‘rules’ about whether dogs should be on… Read more »
