Ever since I arrived here in southern France I’ve had the nearby and iconic Mont Ventoux in my sights as a ride challenge. Winter mountain weather has made this pretty much impossible up until last week (April 16th) when the weather changed completely. Rather than sub zero temperatures and gales Ventoux was now apparently …
I haven’t ridden an overnighter since August 2017. It’s now February 2018 and my life circumstances have shifted so that I’m mostly based and training in the south of France rather than my home in Cornwall England. There’s certainly worse places to be! The cycling here, near Toulon, is excellent so long as you like hills, …
In September 2016, shortly before I signed up to the 2017 TAWR, I was cycling simply for pleasure and to improve general fitness. Once I’d committed to the 2017 race I knew I was going to need to raise my game so I began studying online articles and generic training plans. It wasn’t long before …
There’s a seemingly inexhaustible supply of aspirational features in the media telling of remote adventures into the wilderness or continent crossing epics, of living life beyond the confines of an average adult’s lifestyle. Whilst it might seem wonderful to indulge in a similar adventure for ourselves practically speaking this is going to be a very …
In this post I share what I’ve learnt about saddle comfort. I’ve been cycling since I was a kid as a way to stay fit or get about locally. It is only in the last year that I’ve been riding regularly for several hours at a time or even days on end. My biggest …
Sram eTap and gear ratios Riding in the Transatlantic Way Race highlighted one particular issue with my bike that could be improved; gear shifting. I bought it as a stock 2016 Genesis Datum 10 equipped with Shimano Tiagra 10 speed gearing. This mostly worked well but I had occasional issues with the left shifter intermittently refusing …
Distance 338.9mi moving time 27:35:16 climbing 29373.36 ft – Total duration 55:01:37 stopped time 27:26:21 So what is Trans Kernow? Well the organisers, Rockets & Rascals Plymouth, describe it as follows: “It may take one day, it may take three days. We don’t know what route you’re going to take, all we do know is you have got to get …
DAY #4 – DISTANCE 225.8MI, MOVING TIME 17:56:50, CLIMBING 13,156 FT, AVE TEMP 9C / 48F A bright, cool, day greeted me as I emerged from my snug little bivi tucked away in the Savernake forest, near Marlborough. Immediately before sleep the night before I’d polished off the last pieces of chicken that Martyn and Sarah had given …
Day #3 – Distance 92.2mi, Moving Time 7:54:25, Climbing 3140 ft, AVE Temp 6c / 43f For some strange reason I remember turning the light off by my bed at exactly 03:47 and, surprisingly, I was then wide awake again at 07.37. I briefly considered chasing more sleep but, no, there was an adventure to …
