Sometimes the hardest part of any challenge is getting started and so it has proved with the TransAmerica. The official start of the cross country route is Yorktown, Virginia, but to my geographer’s mind that’s on the York River, Chesapeake Bay, not the Atlantic Ocean. So Terry and I agreed that instead our ride would…
It’s amazing what cycling can lead to. Most people know that Wilbur and Orville Wright were aviation pioneers, completing the world’s first manned flight in December 1903. But before all that, they were cycle manufacturers. Only five bicycles made by the brothers still exist and we discovered one today at the Smithsonian Air and Space…
Took the bikes for a test-ride around Washington today. Although many of the cycle lanes aren’t segregated, the roads are wide and the traffic, for the most part, is rather sedate compared to other large cities such as London. As on any major roads you need to keep your wits about you, but we had…
If you’ve ever thought air travel wasn’t stressful enough, that passing through check-in, passport control and customs is made far too easy, then here’s a suggestion to spice things up a bit: Take two really heavy touring bikes, ten panniers and a couple of tents to the airport with you and it will be a…
Ok here’s the first volume of what might out to be a continuing series: Terry’s Top Tips: Packing stuff for 3 months cycling: Leave it until the last possible moment … this focuses the mind …. also it’s too late to buy anything you’ve forgotten … or just want, so you don’t have to spend…
After many years of cycle touring in all terrains and temperatures I have wittled down my essential criteria for a good touring bike to two obvious things: comfort and reliability. (Being of a candy pink colour is a bonus, but not strictly essential) On a tour you’re going to be spending many hours with your…
With just two weeks before Terry and I head off to start the TransAmerica, the training isn’t going too well. We both had plans to rack up the miles on our new bikes, but with so much preparation still to do, kit to order and family and friends to see before we depart, the bikes…
Paul: D’ya fancy a bike ride Terry? Terry: Sounds good. Short? Long? Paul: Quite long. Terry: When? Paul: Soonish. Well, that appeared to be all the details sorted then. The rest was just kit …. new bike (none of the other five quite fitted the bill), four panniers and a barbag full of stuff ……..
It’s a strange phenomenon that riding a bike laden with panniers seems to earn you more respect on the road than even the most expensive carbon fibre machine. I’ve noticed it before, cars give you more space, pedestrians smile at you and small children look on in wonder. I guess people assume you are some…
It felt like going on a blind date without a safety net. I’d never met my companion before and apart from what I’d read, had no first hand experience of their personality. Yet I’d already agreed to nearly three months intimately connected with virtually every hour spent in each others’ company. The strength of the…