Today was one of the few days in the year that I look forward to and dread at the same time – the day when we (myself and the local chap I usually cycle with) go out for a bike ride with the regional cycling group. It’s all very nice thinking you’re doing a great [...]

Occasional storms aside, it has been very hot and sunny down here for a very long time. This is good for holidaymakers, who expect nothing less, and less good for the garden, as many plants have long since abandoned all hope of rain and chosen instead to shrivel away and wait for winter.
While the holiday [...]

I’ve avoided talking about the Tour de France this week, because I know that 99% of readers will go off and have a nice cup of tea instead, but today there is an experiment in the competition that is interesting even if you couldn’t care less about the race itself, so I’m going to tell [...]

The Tour de France starts next week, and has the potential to be the most interesting Tour for years. It is the only sporting event I have any interest in so bear with me…
The course has been well planned, especially the idea of fighting out the last but one day on Mont Ventoux, to keep [...]

I’m without a bike this morning – it seems I have been overdoing it and have stretched the chain! Result is I can’t go out for a ride, which always puts me in a bad humour for the day. Not that I’m any good you understand, I can’t imagine how I stretched a chain, but [...]

This week it’s sunshine and the open road that’s kept me amused and off the computer, and I’m pleased to report that there are already more cyclists on the road than normal for this time of year. Undoubtedly there are a couple of reasons for this enthusiasm:
1) Cycling is free!
It’s also great fun but in [...]

The Marais Poitevin is a marsh region between Marans and Niort in southern Vendee / northern Poitou-Charentes. A fascinating and unusual region, where silent tree-lined canals traverse the tranquil landscape.
Sounds interesting I thought, and yesterday I sketched out a bike route on the map which would take me past some of the highlights. The region [...]

Usually during the summer my life is very calm. I stay shut away in my little office, beavering away at my websites, while the rest of the world does holiday type thinks – swimming pool, visiting medieval villages, getting drunk and singing in the courtyard and so on.
The main times I emerge from my oversized [...]

Long-standing regular readers of this blog will know that during the three weeks of the Tour de France I seldom get to the computer, but I wonder how long that might continue.
In recent years the Tour de France has had many problems related to drug-enhanced-performance, and lots of big name cyclists have been lost along [...]

Motivated by the Tour de France I went out for a long bike ride yesterday afternoon. Common sense would have told most people that cycling too far, too fast, in baking sunshine, was not the best idea but I am not most people and it seems I have no common sense.
So about an hour and [...]

Yesterday was the first proper outing of 2008 for our cycling group, and despite the impending danger of snow the six of us set off courageously into the countryside. The wintry weather held off and a good time was had by all.
It constantly amazes me how much there is to discover in the lanes and [...]

During January and February the weather can be a bit, well, unappealing, and I get most of my pleasure by staring out of the window, looking miserable, and making life miserable for the rest of the family. Mrs B will tell you I always get my pleasure by being miserable but it’s not quite true…
Anyway, [...]

This week I’ve been engrossed in watching the mountain stages of the Tour de France so I haven’t done a lot of blogging or website stuff. When I’m not watching the race I like to go out on the bike myself and pretend that one day I’ll be able to cycle so casually up big [...]

Because I am planning to spend much of this week and the following couple of weeks watching the Tour de France, you might not hear much from me. I thought I would throw together a few pointers in case you feel inclined to watch a bit of the race yourself:
- The Tour de France is [...]

Yesterday being Sunday it was bike-ride day.
Each week the other members of our little cycling team come up with a route a little bit longer and a little bit tougher than the one before. I have no say in the matter because they have lived here all their lives and know every road, viewpoint, [...]