Category Archives: Bike around Britain 2014

Last ride of the year (2014)

I love it when it’s cold and bright at this time of year, and today was exceptional in terms of a classic Norfolk winter’s day; the air was crisp, the sun shining, and little in the way of wind. To take advantage I hopped on my bike for a final 2014 ride, only 25 miles out to Wymondham and then back to Norwich through the countryside, however it was superb, even if I did have to watch out for the odd icy patch.

: Shaded roads didn’t thaw today – icy patches abound

: Norfolk winter’s day – bit chilly for crustaceans apparently

: Fields sprouting green

: Classic Norfolk countryside

: Bawburgh – fisherman packing up

: River in Bawburgh

I’ll be back to more regular blogging in 2015 as I prepare for my next cycle tour. I’m planning on heading into Europe for a few months; more details to follow however likely to be starting off in Norway (Nordkapp) and heading for Spain.

At present I’m very excited about the new bike I’ve ordered from Oxford Bike Works (http://www.oxfordbikeworks.co.uk/). It’s based on an expedition bike designed in partnership with Tom Allen (http://tomsbiketrip.com/), and it was great to meet Richard earlier this week and get the fitting done. Had a quick test ride around Oxfordshire and it was extremely comfortable; it’s amazing what a difference a professionally fitted bike makes. Hopefully I’ll be picking it up towards the end of January, which gives me plenty of time to get used to the new steed before setting off into Europe.

All that remains is to wish everyone all the best for 2015. I hope everyone has time to get a bit of adventure in and follow their dreams, I’ll certainly be striving to do so.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year from me and Travelling Lobster

Autumn musings

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Autumn is upon us and it feels like the year has flown by, again, faster than normal as I haven’t spent 3 months of it cycling around the coast of Britain. I can recall every day of that tour if I think about it, whereas days this year seems to merge all into one. Having spent the year mostly working my thoughts are turning to 2015, and firming up plans for my next cycling tour.

At the moment I’m contemplating Europe, starting in Scandinavia and pedalling South, however I still need to mull over it some more. Such a tour will require months off work, a kit refresh, maybe renting my house out, and saying goodbye to Norwich for a bit. Actually, it doesn’t sounds like that hard a decision to make, although I’ll miss friends and family; life on the road is cheap, it can be free at times, and if my house is rented out the bills take care of themselves. I keep fretting over the details but in the end the question of ‘Why Not?’ keeps returning, and I’m finding it very difficult to justify not doing something big.

I spent today pedalling around Norfolk, taking in the Autumnal scenes, and trying to empty my head of trivialities whilst building a new list of priorities. I’m forty next year, and it feels like a good opportunity to see some new places, meet some new people, and have another adventure. I wonder if I could visit 40 countries by bike in a year, or at least 40 fantastic places; 40 countries might be stretching it a bit.

Early morning ride in the mist, frost abounding.

On the bike front I’m still seriously considering replacing my Ridgeback Panorama. Whilst I’ve grown very attached to it, it needs a lot of work; new front forks, chain, cassette, handlebar wraps, cables, brakes, racks etc. When you take all that into consideration, and the fact I want something a little tougher for the next tour, it seems prudent to consider replacing the whole thing. I won’t get rid of it completely though; when I finally open that bar it’ll hang over the fireplace like an ancient sword from ye olde days. I’m currently speaking to an independent bike maker who has some exciting custom builds, so hopefully they’ll be more news soon on that topic.

Norfolk in the Autumn

One of the most frequent questions I get asked by friends is ‘What are you going to do next?’. It’s great that people are interested in what I might be planning, but it doesn’t half put the pressure on to do hit the road again. Maybe it’s a symptom of people living their lives vicariously, but I keep wanting to ask what they’re going to do next? What’s holding you back from having an adventure, be it large or small, and me enjoying reading about it? I think, like me, everyone is a bit scared of breaking from the norm, taking a risk, and going for it, however it comes back to the question of ‘Why not?’ again; although if you have a partner, kids, and are concentrating on a career I acknowledge it’s a little harder. You can however always take them with you, and do smaller trips – a remote office you can work from whilst pedalling has got to be a possibility!

Norfolk has many churches, this one is always a nice spot for a pause.

Another good reason for going on a tour again has got to be fitness aspect. I think I’ve put on a stone and a half since finishing ‘Bike around Britain’, despite still cycling 10+ miles a day and longer at the weekends. Once you’ve got used to consuming several thousand calories a day to keep energy levels up it’s hard to cut down, although maybe I’m just a glutton. I also look back on my 3 months on the road and realise how happy and unstressed I was, compared to the 9 to 5 (or 9 to 9 as is often the case) routine. I enjoy a lot about my job however my Mum always says I’m not suited to an office job, so maybe I should take her advice and split; there you go Mum, if I hit the road for several months you can’t object overly – you’ve given me the motivation! xx

Keswick Church with its round tower

Signing off for the time being, but hopefully more news soon. Hmmm. Do you think I need to change my blog name if I venture into Europe; Bike around Britain might not work. Suggestions for names welcome!

P.S. Been playing a new game for the last few months whilst pedalling about – Ingress – bit like orienteering. Using your phone you get to find portals, capture them, and link them with other portals to gain points. It’s fun and gives you motivation to cycle that extra mile, although you always have to watch out for the opposing team who will scupper your plans at every available opportunity (credit to them where due). If you like getting about and fancy giving it a go look it up; and join Enlightened, those Resistance players have too much of an easy time of it and we need reinforcements 😉 https://www.ingress.com/

Stamps, holiday in Scotland, and September cycling

Scottish Independence – my tuppence (or should that be cents) worth

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I’ve been mulling over this for a while, getting gradually more irate as I see politicians make more of a hash of things, as they are want to do. Should I post something on my blog expressing my opinion on the Scottish independence vote? My initial thought was ‘No’, nothing to do with me, then I realised that’s completely incorrect, and perhaps reflects the apathy us general public have for political shennanigans that pass us by.

This is a blog about cycling primarily, and stuff I see, hear, smell, feel and taste as I pedal around the UK. That’s just it, I love the United Kingdom, I think it’s great, with all its history, people, places, and diversity. So I think it’s appropriate to post something here about how I feel about the whole thing.

Needless to say my opinions are my own, although I think they reflect those of a lot of my friends and family, some of whom I’m proud to say are Scottish, or at least live in Scotland so get a vote. If I’ve got anything factually incorrect then I apologise, I’m only human, and get my ‘facts’ from the news and speaking to other people.

Tent_up_and_fire_smoking_nicely – shores of Loch Fyne

So what do I think? I spent around 2 months cycling around Scotland and can genuinely say it was the best part of my Bike around Britain tour. The scenery and environment is fantastic, the drivers patient with cyclists (aside from perhaps Edinburgh), and the people are mega friendly and always willing to help you out, or have a natter. I’m going to intersperse this post with a few pics from the Scottish legs of my tour, mainly as inspiration, but also because it’s well worth posting them again.

Bridge_over_the_Atlantic - one of my favourite place on the West Coast

Bridge_over_the_Atlantic – one of my favourite places on the West Coast

I really hope our Scottish family don’t vote for independence. I think they add so much to the United Kingdom; culturally, economically, politically and all the rest. By remaining in the United Kingdom Scotland will continue to benefit from all those points as the rest of the UK benefits them likewise. What exactly will Scotland gain from becoming independent? Seems to me like they’ll throw away a lot, taking on board a whole lot of risks that might not pay off, and also potentially damaging the remaining countries in the UK as a result.

Sunset near Malaig

I think Alex Salmond is leading people slightly down the garden path with the view that they’ll be better off out of the Union. Seems to me like he’s just trying to make a name for himself as the one who reinstated Scottish independence; Robert the Bruce he is not, and we’ve moved on massively since those bloody and unproductive days. I shouldn’t reduce myself to personal commentary on individuals but he reminds me of a weasel, although that might be unfair on weasels.

What’s the benefit of independence? We have a growing economy, we’re coming out of recession, employment and business seems to be on the up although I recognise a lot of folks are still having a hard time of it. Scotland will have to join the Euro, they can’t keep the pound if they want to become truly independent and not just pay lip service to it. Do they really want to embroil themselves in the turmoil, instability and risks that the Euro could bring?

Top of Bealach na Ba

On the economic front, and I’m far from an expert, but I keep hearing how money and business will leave Scotland should they become independent. Several banks seem to be gearing up to move south, along with their pension funds. This isn’t going to help the rest of the UK and certainly won’t benefit Scotland as opportunities and businesses move away, leaving a gap that allegedly will be filled by oil and gas; a short term solution to a long term problem as reserves run out. I will however continue to support the whiskey industry, although I guess that can only go so far.

Highland_cattle

As I’ve mentioned I get some of my ‘facts’ from the news, and I was slightly disappointed today to see Westminster wading into the argument, although I think it’s probably with genuine concerns and good intentions. I don’t however think David Cameron et al are going to do anything to convince our Scottish compardres to remain in the UK; it’s more likely to be down to you and I, as well as more respected newsworthy individuals, to present a convincing and non-politically/career based case for remaining part of the UK. Maybe the queen should say something heartfelt; but that might be ill received, or construed in the wrong way.

Cape Wrath lighthouse

Now for a few perhaps more controversial points. Why doesn’t the rest of the UK get a say on this? It seems very undemocratic that only a partial percentage of people get a vote on an issue that’s going to impact the whole of the country. I guess if everyone got a vote it would be a landslide ‘No’, but I don’t think that’s the point; democracy seems to have gone awry. And whilst I think it’s fair that the vote is being given to 16 year olds and over is this not another ploy by the SNP to garner more support from perhaps a more volatile and more impressionable age group; I was speaking to someone about this earlier and think Alex Salmond has underestimated the intelligence of this age group, and that they’ll see sense and vote ‘No’. On the voting front why are only people that live in Scotland being given the vote, and not Scots that live abroad?

Again controversially perhaps, but why is Westminster offering further concessions to Scotland to stay in the UK? Feels like bribery to me, and surely similar benefits and powers should be offered to England, Northern Ireland and Wales? Having cycled around a lot of Wales they could do with some of the money that Scotland has benefited from for regeneration and welfare purposes? Seems unfair and pretty underhand to me. Scotland should stay in the Union because it works at the moment, and the long term benefits will be in everyone’s interests. It really iritates me and a lot of my friends that this last minute bribe is in the offing. Perhaps the rest of the UK has been too slow to wake up to this issue but surely this isn’t the way to go.

Highland_Dancing

It’s not long until the vote now, and I sincerely hope that everyone in Scotland is able to get a clear and unbiased view of both sides of the argument without too much rubbish from politicians, and other selfishly motivated individuals. I’d love a ‘No’ vote and Scotland to stay with us, being obviously a big fan of Scotland and it’s people, from wherever they hail. If however a ‘Yes’ vote happens, good luck to a fair and generous country; you’ll need to stand on your own two feet, with your own currency and policies, and weather the storms that beset all other independent nations on your own. The remaining countries in the UK are going to have to focus on restructuring and moving forward, and won’t necessarily have the capacity to assist; although we’ll still I hope very much care.

Sunset_at_Big_Sands.JPG

I may have missed loads of pertinent points, and as previously mentioned my opinions are my own although shared with lots of people South of the border. We don’t get a vote, so I’ll get back in my box now, but hope some of these words made sense. If you do vote for independence I’m not done with you. I’m still going to visit as often as possible, and who knows, I might move North one day; I love the West coast and could quite happily live in Glasgow – great city and people. Good luck whatever happens, but I hope you see cents (get it, sense, reference to the Euro; maybe I should have left that pun out).

Arty_photo. – north coast of Scotland

Stay with us Scotland!

P.S. What does everyone else think?

Harvest Moon

Yorkshire 3 Peaks

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It was with some trepidation that I approached the Yorkshire 3 Peaks challenge, a 24.5 mile hike up and down 3 mountains of a sizable nature, aiming to do it in around 12 hours. I’m used to cycling long distances, but am a little rusty when it comes to walking involving steep ascents and descents; different muscles would no doubt come into play, and my knees don’t like going downhill. As well as a bit of an adventure a group of friends and I were also raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, a worthy cause and a weekend away from the rat race.

Equipped with my new Scapa hiking boots (thank you Cotswolds), moderately broken in, my buddy Chris and I travelled up from Norwich by car on Friday afternoon, tackling horrible weather and a atrocious traffic on the A1, before arriving at our campsite and meeting up with the rest of the team – Mike, Rachel, Ian, Rachel, and Dan, as well as Megan and Gethin, Mike and Rachel’s two youngun’s who sensibly opted for a day out with their mother rather than dragging themselves up any mountains; in their case it would have been crawling, as they’re both under 3, but who’s to say we wouldn’t be crawling by the end of it. As pre hike preparation we carb loaded on cake, courtesy of Rachel, and had a couple of beers to ensure we were properly hydrated.

There’s something great about arriving at a campsite in the dark, pitching your tent, settling down, breathing in the fresh air, and wondering what everything is going to look like in the morning; Yorkshire does not disappoint.

We were up in good time the next day, breakfasting on porridge, before setting out to our starting point.

Lobster ready for the offing

The first peak was Pen y ghent, a 691 metre climb, and the weather was not looking favourable at this point. Still, everything was in working order as far as limbs and morale goes, and we embarked in high spirits.

Disappointingly the team didn’t let me stop for second breakfast at the cafe, where as we ambled past the smell of wafting bacon set my stomach a rumbling. A mild ascent by a steep climb followed, accompanied by a quick donning of waterproofs as the rain swept in. Pen y ghent was doing its best to quench our spirits but we made it up, and down, and then up and down some more.

: Pen y ghent – ascent 1

: Pen y ghent – bit blustery

: Pen y Ghent – up a steep bit in the rain

: Pen y Ghent – clouds building

: Pen y ghent – did I mention the foul weather

: Pen y Ghent – clouds building

: Pen y ghent – Mike looking heroic

: Pen y ghent – stay on target

: Pen y ghent getting slippery

: Pen y Ghent – low cloud abounds

: Pen y ghent selfie

: Pen y Ghent summit 2

: Pen y ghent shrouded in gloom

: Pen y ghent – Ingressing in the rain

: Pen y Ghent – walk in the park or the veterans

: Pen y ghent – descent 2

Here are a couple of videos demonstrating our heroism:

Climbing Pen y ghent

Thankfully the weather cleared up after Pen y ghent, and we were able to doff our waterproofs and march ever onwards. Whernside was next, albeit after a long route march and a bacon roll stop (finally got my bacon), an ascent of 728 metres.

: Nice bridge

: Lunch stop – bacon roll ahoy

: Ascending Whernside – waterfall

Whernside entailed a gentler albeit longer climb, but with the sun out, and post a bacon roll, anything was possible. We made it to the top, but the descent proved tortuous on tired knees with ligaments not as good as they ought to be.

: Whernside – morale holding out

: Whernside – sunshine

: Whernside ascent – Lobster taking a break

: Whernside stepping stones – don’t stray from the path

: Whernside summit

: Whernside – Chris straddling the trig point

: Whernside summit – stunning

: Whernside descent

: Ingleborough looms

: Inngleborough – onwards up last peak

With one peak to go we steeled ourselves for the last ascent – 723 metres up Ingleborough, although a helpful comment from a local about how the last climb was probably the most difficult didn’t particularly embolden us. By this stage we had seriously achy knees and tired legs going on, aside from the few mountain goats amongst us, and I was getting concerned about the frequency of my old nemesis…sheep…you can’t trust them you know.

: Ingleborough – just after the dead man’s marshes

: Ingleborough – where’s the path up that exactly

: Ingleborough – rest before tricky ascent

: Ingleborough – scenery

: Ingleborough – there was no escalator

: Ingleborough – through the bonny heather

: Ingleborough summit – looking towards Morecambe Bay and the sea

: Ingleborough summit – we made it

: Ingleborough summit 2

: Ingleborough – now to get down

I was particulary impresssed with Dan and Ian, who conquered a massive fear of heights to make it up a particulary steep section on the Ingleborough leg. Well done lads! There was a bit of lying down and heart rate reduction that had to occur after that.

A few other memorable events; Chris pointing out the enormous black sheep, that were in fact cows (or bulls), he should have gone to specsavers, the Nazgul circling as we crossed the dead men’s marshes, not being allowed to stop at the pub (a good call as a I wouldn’t have got up), marching songs about mammoths and trousers (I can’t remember the words), and in general being out in the open, with good friends, and burning some calories.

Video from the top:

All that remained was the descent, and time was ticking on with the sun starting to set. We were a little behind schedule, due to injuries, but we started as a team, and ended as a team.

: Ingleborough – sun getting low

: Limestone pavement

: Sun sets over Ingleborough

: Lonely tree in limestone pavement

It was a relief to get back to the cars, and then campsite, a BBQ courtesy of Rachel, cake and beer. We made it round in about 13 hours. which was a stirling effort considering some seriously comprised knees.

Team, I salute you, a brilliant effort and thanks to Mike for organising it. Think we’ve raised over £1,500 for CF too, including gift aid so all worth while. I especially enjoyed the challenge, company, and getting out in the wilds again. If you fancy donating here’s a link:

http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/Misfits17

Needless to say the journey back was grim, but thanks to Chris for driving.

Driving home – very wet

I think I’ll get back on my bike now, it’s easier on the knees, and pubs are more frequent.

Post dedicated to Stef, who sadly passed away from CF several years ago; you are sorely missed.

On yer bike again..and a rant

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It’s been great getting back on my bike again over the last few weeks, after a significant pause due to travelling for work and being otherwise busy. I turned 39 over the weekend and have resolved to try and manage my work-life balance a bit better, and to get healthier both in body and spirit. Being totally focused on the job just isn’t good for oneself, and actually makes you less productive at work; starting to write my blog again will no doubt keep me motivated.

The last major cycling I did was back in March when I took a holiday in Tenerife with my brother, sister-in-law and their kids. It was a great break, and Tenerife is brilliant for cycling; many a professional team have training camps out there. I hired a bike for a few days and cycled up Mount Teide, Tenerife’s volcano and one of the longest continuous climbs you can take on in Europe.

Tenerife – view from balcony

Tenerife – bike hired from Bike Point

I’d only cycled half-way up Mount Teide before Lobster demanded a beer break, then decided it was time for a manic descent around many a hairpin and exhilarating steep section, all in glorious sunshine.

Tenerife – beer break with Lobster

Tenerife – descent from Mount Teide

I recommend Bike Point for your bike hiring needs if you’re visiting Tenerife; reasonably priced and you can hire the works as far as shoes, helmet etc goes, check out –> http://www.bikepointtenerife.com/

Anyway, back to the present day. I’ve been commuting to work each day, and trying to get out for a longer cycle on my way home. The Norfolk countryside is fantastic in the summer weather we’ve been experiencing. Cycling the few miles to work, and experiencing all the traffic made me wonder why more people don’t get on their bike for the short journey they have to make? The benefits are there to be claimed; get fit and lose weight, spend less on petrol, less pollution, less cars on the road, you can say hello to more people, less stress, the list goes on.

But saying all that there are many reasons why people are nervous about using a bike more often, and after experiencing a few near misses in the last couple of weeks I can understand why. I know drivers get annoyed with cyclists when they don’t obey the rules of the road, and I can understand why, got to be mutual respect from both sides, however the following points have really wound me up over the last few days:

You know those decorations called indicators on your car, well can you please use them. Whilst most cyclists will try and anticipate what you’re doing it’s not always easy. Why are we so bad at this in this country?
Please can you not overtake me then immediately turn right, causing me to slam on my breaks to avoid running into you. Nearly went over someone’s bonnet the other day.
Pulling out from a parking space without indicating, immediately in front of me, is not very polite.
Opening your car door as I cycle past, whilst causing a bit of excitement and an adrenalin rush, is not something I particularly enjoy. Please look in your wing mirror.
My personal hate at the moment; using your mobile phone whilst driving, whether it being to text, check Facebook, or speak to your Mum. On a roundabout the other day I witnessed someone smoking a cigarette with one hand, speaking on the phone with the other, and as a result nearly causing 3 accidents. Grrrr. I’m sure waiting a few minutes to finish your journey, or pulling over at the next available opportunity isn’t going to impede your social life too badly, and perhaps it will stop you from flattening someone. There was a brilliant clip I saw today of an advert in a cinema showing someone driving. At the same time the cinema texted everyone watching whereupon they all pulled out their phones to check the message, in the meantime the car crashed – what a brilliant advert; no-one could resist the allure of their mobile.
Why do a lot of people dropping off their kids at school think the rules of the road no longer apply, same in car parks? Not safe for your kids let alone a cyclist trying to dodge you.
In rush hour traffic many cyclists are going to be a lot faster than you. I can generally get to work more quickly on my bike than I would driving. Please don’t make every effort to overtake me then pull in front of me, often then breaking sharply because there a long queue of traffic.
Don’t get annoyed if a cyclist overtakes a cyclist, pulling out to do so. This is perfectly legal and safe. It’s made unsafe because you can’t bear waiting a few seconds for the manoeuvre to complete.
If you can’t drive that expensive 4×4 or equivalent safely, with awareness of how big your car is, buy a smart car or something equivalent. It’s safer for all concerned.
One for the pedestrians; just because you can’t hear a car doesn’t mean there’s not a cyclist coming up as you step onto the road to cross. Please revise the green cross code.
I could go one but best stop before this turns into more of a rant.

In return I’ll not jump red lights, not undertake you (I will probably still overtake you), not cycle on the pavement unless it’s really too dangerous to do otherwise – in which case most of the time I’ll push my bike, indicate with my arms, obey the same laws you do, and continue to cycle to lessen the horrendous amount of traffic of the roads these days.

And before people say that I don’t get it because I don’t drive, I do, and I pay road tax – a lot because my car is quite old and not especially environmentally friendly (hence one of the reasons I cycle more).

Thankfully the majority of drivers are fairly competent and sympathetic to cyclists, so well done to most of you. Hope the rest of you evolve soon or the selfish gene takes its course.

If you’re not a confident cyclist because of the points above, and the sheer volume of traffic on the roads, I can only encourage you to persevere. It sometimes takes a bit of bravery to keep safe; pulling out to stop stupid overtakes near roundabouts, not cycling in the gutter etc. And if you see a campaign for more cycle paths, or a cycle to work scheme, take advantage.

I received a surprise mini DV for more birthday (thanks Sheila, Norm and Sue) which I can attach to my cycle helmet and use to ‘video’ my cycling exploits. Looking forward to setting it up and perhaps publishing a few examples of close encounters on this blog; not looking forward to the bad experience but happy to record it for posterity. Drivers should do the same and record any foolish cycle manoeuvres, or bad driving experiences, just to keep thing fair – it’s that mutual respect thing.

So, enough of that already. I’m back on my bike, enjoying it a lot despite the above rant. Got more cycling trips planned, some micro-adventures, and perhaps a 3 month tour in Europe next year if I can convince work to give me the time off.

On yer bike all!

Edited with BlogPad Pro

Bike Around Britain

Blog on cycling around the coast of Britain