Our last day in France was a bit of a surprise. I was expecting it to be mostly dull getting-to-the-port kind of riding. In fact, it was really enjoyable getting-to-the-port riding. More straight roads (especially around the Loire). We cut through Blois, which was pretty hectic, but mostly it was a relaxing ride. We got  [Read full post…]

Well, that was another great morning’s ride. A great day, to be fair – but after a morning clambering over the volcanoes of the Auvergne, the route twisted its way into the Limousin hills and then headed steadily north. That’s not a bad thing. I think we’re all a bit more tired than we want  [Read full post…]

I worked out (by looking at Tidy Tim’s sat nav, as he doesn’t know how to set it up) that we could have got from one hotel to the other in about two and a half hours. As it was, by following the route rather than going straight to the end point (that’s what the  [Read full post…]

I thought we’d ridden some twisty roads yesterday. Not compared with today’s route… I thought I knew France pretty well from a biking point of view. I’d done all the big passes, been to Millau and done the Tarn gorge before, seen quite a bit of it over the years. But I’d never ridden the  [Read full post…]

Wow. Just… wow. I’ve had some tough but rewarding rides in my time and today’s route is right up there. We set off from Mende to Rodez – nice, smooth, fast and flowing roads. Then we looped round to Millau – passing under the viaduct – and then headed off into the Cevennes region. I  [Read full post…]

Now that was a great day’s riding. A long one, but definitely worth it. We were on the bikes promptly at 9am (for our 8:30 start) and off into the hills of the Limousin – honestly, there’s hardly anyone else on the roads and it’s just bend after bend after bend, gradually climbing all the  [Read full post…]

Where can we go for a UK trip that’s a bit different? I asked. Well, why don’t I check this site? There are loads of great routes that are easy to browse. Plenty of ideas to get the juices flowing – also with plenty of hotels marked. So simple. There’s also all the waypoints for  [Read full post…]

We’re heading to the Lake District for our pre-trip trip. It won’t be a big outing. Noddy can’t make it, nor can Tidy Tim and Dale Caesar. But the rest of the gang will all be there. So far all I’ve done is book the hotel near Kendall for two nights. I haven’t planned the  [Read full post…]

While we’ve got our big trip sorted (France, September) I traditionally have a smaller break with the boys I ride with, somewhere in the UK, before we go – just to get back in the groove. It kind of brings me back to the “where are the best rides in the UK” thing I’ve been  [Read full post…]

Here’s a question: how do you sort out your tours? Do you always make up your own routes? Do you use other peoples? Do you have a mate who does all the planning for you? In the old days, Dale did almost all the route planning for our group of mates for our European trips,  [Read full post…]