Cycling UK Forum

Fortunately it was a cycle track, not a road, so no danger from traffic. About the width of, say, the Camel trail, with a surface of fine dusty grit which rose in clouds from their hooves. In any case, there was no possibility of stopping them, unless, as has been suggested, they could be diverted i...

Homeward bound on le Vélo Francette through Mayenne, I hear the sound of galloping hooves. Then around the bend comes a herd of five or six big, cobby, coloured (piebald) horses, going like a cavalry charge. They are saddled, bridled and RIDERLESS. I hurl myself and the bike onto the verge as they g...

It’s not about having your hand held. With clear signage, you don’t have to worry about route-finding and can just watch the landscape whizz by as you ride yourself into that blissed-out zen-like state which is one of the joys of cycling.

Has anyone else discovered Le Vélo Francette? At the end of June, I was following the France En Vélo route. Not good timing- there were amber weather warnings out because of the heatwave. So I diverted to some friend’s farm near Fontenay-le-Comte. In the town’s tourist office I was alerted to Le Vél...

Thanks, Cunobelin, these look very interesting. She’s looking at the website as I write this. Traditional swept-back bars might also help.

Asking for a friend...she’s got arthritis between thumb and forefinger and it’s beginning to be a real handicap. She’s tried bar ends on straight bars and I’ve suggested butterfly bars. I’d be glad of any observations.
Apologies if this is a health and fitness issue and should be elsewhere.

Thanks for all helpful and interesting comments. Fortunately, and hoping I’m not speaking too soon, I don’t have any health issues and I’m not on any medication. Neither is my mother, and she’s 94! A recent check-up gave me the all-clear. No back problems. Knee replacement 4 years ago, no problems s...

Thanks for replies. Antonish, I feel pretty good an hour or two after a ride, and I’m usually good to go again the next day. I just don’t expect the old legs to start aching, mostly in the thighs, so soon after starting.
You’re probably right. Good days and bad days. I’m impressed by the 100k audax.

My legs have started to ache at the start of a ride. I would expect this to happen after 30-40 miles, but now it happens in a mile or two and doesn’t stop. I can still do the 30 miles without loss of energy or breath. It’s just not so much fun when your legs ache all the time. I’m 73. Should I just ...

Both the Ridgeway and the Wessex Ridgeway are mostly chalk drove roads. They're both scarred with deep (sometimes knee-deep) ruts caused by heavy off-road vehicles. In dry weather, the chalk sets hard as concrete, and after rain it becomes treacherously slick. Hard going but good fun, and the views ...

Anyone used Warmshowers.org recently? I’m thinking of touring in Europe this summer and don’t really want to camp anymore, on account of suddenly becoming 73. I’m a bloke and will be travelling alone. I’d be grateful for any comments.
Possibly Holland to Denmark, probably France.

Oh, and there has been no extra-curricular activity in my living room for I don’t know how long.

Ok. There was no radiator involved. My bike doesn’t take tea, only Muc-Off dry lube. I didn’t sing on the way home on account of not wanting to swallow gnats and flies ( the farmers are muck-spreading round here). There is no evidence of a break-in ( the bike, being the most valuable object, would h...

Came back four days ago from a short local ride ( to choir practice, if you want to know) with everything working perfectly. Dismounted, pushed the bike into its stable (my living room) and made tea. Today I set out on a long afternoon ride and within half-a-mile discovered that the rear brake had d...

I lived in and around Bath for many years. All cities have a traffic problem, but, as has been suggested, Bath has particular issues. There are problems with the construction of a ring road or by-pass because of the geography of the area. The city is at a nexus of traffic flow and is close to a moto...