On Saturday I rode the Oasts and Coasts 300 km audax cycling event, and decided it would be fun to also cycle to and from the start. It was a long ride – I left my house at 02:30 on Saturday morning and returned at around 05:00 on Sunday, having covered 413 km. Here’s the complete ride:
Other
April cycling
The front rim was about to fail on the Brompton so I built a new front wheel.
Two days after building the new wheel I cycled to Paris on it (but got the train back).
Read the write-up
I rode the Rapha ‘Hell of the North’ with Iancu. It wasn’t my idea of hell.
Watch Iancu’s video
I built a new front wheel with hub dynamo and fitted a light to my Condor bike
I cycled 413 km in one ride by doing a 300 km audax as well as commuting to and from the start. My bum really hurt towards the end.
Read the write up
I cycled around the Isle of Wight on the Brompton for the annual IoW randonnee. Recommended!
February cycling
I got to commute in the snow 🙂
The rear rim failed on Brompton, I discovered this *after* I rode to Windsor, did a sportive and rode back. Whilst I was waiting for the new rim to be delivered, the Condor got a bit of use.
The advantage of living on a big hill is training rides look cool:
I discovered the local chip shop serves excellent recovery food. It’s all healthy stuff, honest.
I took a nice trip to explore South London cycle routes 20 and 21.
Though I went off-piste a bit and found myself deep in mud.
The Condor handled it beautifully but needed a bath as soon as we got in.
A month of cycling
One of my goals for 2015 is to cycle 10,000 km, which translates as almost 200 km per week. If I cycle to and from work every day (which I do almost religiously), I get about 100 km in, which leaves me a 100 km top up each weekend.
I have made an effort to do a mix of interesting rides in the weekends in January. It’s been great fun getting the kms in. If the next 11 months cycling is as enjoyable I’ll be lucky, and very happy.
European cycling trip – more info
The write-up has been completed and can be accessed through the main menu on this site.
Thanks
European cycling trip on my Brompton
I’ve just completed a six-week 4,000 km European tour on my Brompton bicycle.
My brief tour diary entries are below. These were daily updates, blogging from my mobile phone.
In the next three five days I’ll post a blog with some more technical information which I hope will be of interest and help to anyone thinking about going on a similar kind of adventure. It will include things like the bike set-up, equipment, navigation, camping and things I learned about cycle touring along the way. If there’s anything you’d like to know in particular, please add a comment or get in touch via the contact form.
Thanks for reading. You may want to go from the first entry or see the blog entries in date order.
p.s. If anyone knows of a small flat to rent in the Kentish Town that has at least two of, ‘is interesting’, ‘is cheap’, ‘has a garden’ – please let me know!
Building a bike
There are several reasons why you might want to build your own bike. I wanted to learn how it all fits together and I wanted to be able to choose all the parts. My aim was for an elegant looking, swift steel frame bike and I’m really pleased with how it turned out.
Around the M25 in a day on my Brompton
Once in a blue moon, and occasionally under the reaches of a white one, I get the urge to escape the magnetic pull of the armchair and go on a micro-adventure in promotion of the liberty of the individual. Such as it was that last Saturday I rode a 259 km (approx. 160 mile) lap around London on my Brompton bike on a route that took me on roads and tracks close to the path of London’s orbital motorway. I started pedalling about 6.30am and arrived back at the starting point at 5am the following morning. It was dangerous and hard work and I would recommend this ride to no-one. Having said that, I’m very glad I did it.
Coast 2 Coast on a Brompton
Last year I challenged myself to a short bicycle camping tour – West coast of England to East coast of England on my Brompton along the Coast 2 Coast cycle route. I planned to do it in three days in late September – I figured this was about as late in the year that I’d want to be sleeping out in a tent up North.