Ready for my taster session at Manchester Velodrome People tend to go on sports training camps in warm weather destinations abroad - Spain, South of France, Portugal, even Australasia. But I think that it's still possible to do and enjoy a training camp close to home, right in the UK. So I chose to go to the North-West of England.  It's that time of year when elite athletes and amateur athletes, including some of my contemporaries head overseas to places where the sun shines a lot more than in the UK, there's less chance of rain, it's that bit warmer and folks don't have to hear ..read more

Training for the Etape du Tour has given me a greater motivation to ride my bike. I have firmer objectives when I ride, plus a stronger wish to incorporate bike riding into my travels. So this month I did some cycling in and around Barcelona. Check out my route into the Parc Serralada Litoral on Strava My training for the Etape du Tour is getting more and more sustained and I am finding myself more into the groove. At one point the idea of getting out on my bike regularly had been a conscious mental shift. There are moments when you almost have to remind yourself of the need to get out on the ..read more

After a ride around Montjuic, I then attempted the other great vista in Barcelona, Tibidabo, followed by a stopover at Sagrada Familia. I ran out of time to reach the summit, but it was still a pleasant if tough uphill ride. Check out the route I took on Strava Unlike Montjuic, this area is not in the heart of Barcelona, but it is a popular venue visited by walkers, joggers, on- and off-road cyclists, plus joggers. Set in the suburbs of Barcelona a trip to Tibidabo makes for a pleasant day trips given the pleasant trails and also the amusement park.  So on a Friday afternoon I set off by ..read more

I decided to do a city break in Barcelona and while there I would rediscover the area by bicycle. That's my preferred way of getting around any place I visit. Taking my bike on a flight wasn't worth doing for just a weekend, so I managed to hire a nice road bike and check out the city, using its various bike lanes. On a long weekend to Barcelona I couldn't pass on the opportunity to get out on a bicycle. Barcelona is pretty bike-friendly too. It's been a long time since I was last in the capital of Catalunya - probably about 15 years ago. I don't know why I left it so long before returning ..read more

Getting punctures can be one of the most frustrating things when out cycling, particularly over the winter months. I had so many punctures that I almost gave up my bike rides. But a hunger to ride the Etape du Tour kept me going. I must say, I have had a wobble in my preparation for the Etape du Tour. I am normally pretty motivated in the things I do, but my patience has been tested recently.  Over the Christmas period and in the early part of January my rides have been plagued with punctures. The wet conditions have just led to ride after ride being interrupted, even aborted due to a pu ..read more

In my third month of preparing for the Etape du Tour, January was a bit of a challenge as I had a wobble in my commit to the cause and I ended up playing catch-up to get in the miles - in the dark, damp weather My ride around South London took me out past Hampton Court Palace I am beginning to step up my training for this year's Etape du Tour. It still seems a long way off though, and in these dreary winter days it's hard to imagine riding in brilliant sunshine over lovely dry roads through the countryside or National Parks in the UK or beyond. A lot of my riding has been done in dark ..read more

It's that time of year when the all we want to do is curl up in a ball and hibernate until March. The Christmas holidays are a distant memory, and we are too far away from Spring to have things to look forward to. Things aren't helped by this freezing weather. We've been shrouded in this cold blast from the north, as the mercury barely rose above zero.  So, for many folks based in the Northern hemisphere that would only mean one thing - Zwift. That form of e-sport cycling in which folks ride their bikes while hooked onto a turbo trainer and smart app simulating an outdoor ride has been a ..read more

2023 was not a bad vintage. It wasn’t brilliant, but at least nothing dreadful happened - a positive thing in these unsettled times. I did a few things, though hope to do more in 2024. So here we are at the end of another year, feeling slightly full up with left over festive food and Prosecco, heading that bit further out of middle age and into older age. My bones and joints are beginning to tell me, as such. Well, I had a sports injury which refused to go away for the first five months of this year. Sure, that happened when I was 26, but back then in 1995 sports injury treatment was a relativ ..read more

To stay motivated in my Etape du Tour preparation its important to ride often over short distances rather than seldom over long distances  As soon as I got my place in the Etape du Tour I set about training and establishing a rhythm of getting out on my bike regularly.  I regularly cycle, provided I am not ill or injured. Thankfully that doesn't happen very often - or at least sports injuries don't often affect my cycling. The last twelve months have been a little different though. Last summer, after spending a lot of time training and taking part in cyclosportives (Fred Whitton/Lion ..read more

I have been successful in the ballot to take part in the 2024 Fred Whitton Challenge. My mission is to cycle 174km (112 miles) around the Lake District, taking in the mighty Honister, Hardknott and Wrynose Passes. It's gonna be a tough day out, but I say bring it on - sort of! In my opinion this is the mother of all cyclosportives. There may be other challenge rides in the UK that are longer or hillier than the Fred Whitton Challenge, but what really bites about this event is that moment when you pass through Eskdale Green, with its quaint country pub, after 98miles of cycling and you look up ..read more