June 2026 Within minutes of cycling from our small apartment in Longueau, a small town on the outskirts of Amiens, we arrive at a causeway that crosses a lily-strewn expanse of water: the Somme. The word conjures up images of mud, trenches and death; today’s reality is a peaceful waterway, willows bending over it, small […]
Tag: Cycling
Belgium and Beyond
I really can’t say why I haven’t posted anything here in a while. If you know me personally, or have read my previous post, you’ll know I’m not home and am on an extended break in Europe. We did this a few years ago and I was pretty faithful with blogging as we travelled but […]
Brave?
I don’t consider myself a brave person. I’m not someone who thinks feel the fear and do it anyway, more feel the fear and not bother, sit down with a cup of tea. There’s another one: do something that scares you every day. No thanks. When it comes to fight or flight I’m up for […]
Alps to Ocean: Part Three
Day five of the Alps to Ocean and we open the curtains to cloud. The forecast is for ‘possible’ rain but the hills beneath the dark mass glow orange so I’m hopeful it will stay fine. What has arrived is a fierce wind, which makes crossing Benmore Dam challenging – even Neil is nearly blown […]
Alps to Ocean: Part Two
I wake on the third day of the Alps to Ocean with my stomach in knots. Today we cross the highpoint of the trail and it is rated grade 3 rather than the grade 2 of the previous sections. Words like rockier and rougher, coupled with exposed to mountain weather and sustained climb, jump out […]
Alps to Ocean: Part One
As we went to bed on our last night in Akaroa the wind hit the side of the house with such a loud roar I thought a plane had landed on the deck. It lasted all night, the gale accompanied by rain and we woke to, as Neil said: ‘A fire hose aimed at the […]
Evie: Mk II
When we were looking to replace my stolen bike in 2020 Neil mentioned doing so with an e-bike. I was aghast – did he think I could no longer pedal a ‘proper’ bike? Probably he was just fed up of having to wait for me at the top of even the slightest incline, let alone […]
Hauraki Rail Trail – Waihi
November 2022 A Supertramp song is my earworm of choice this morning, It’s Raining Again playing round and round in my head. Between the lack of sun and the surrounding trees it’s dark enough to be a midwinter evening rather than a spring morning and I huddle by the heater. By lunchtime the deluge blows […]
Hauraki Rail Trail – Karangahake Gorge
November 2022 I like hills. Both cities I’ve lived in have been on and surrounded by hills. Flat land bores me, both to look at – nothing to see except sky – and to walk on. I even like hills in the sea; crashing stormy waves are much more interesting than calm water. Only time […]
Hauraki Rail Trail – Thames
November 2022 The northern counterpart to the Otago Rail Trail is the Hauraki Rail Trail. You know the type, used to be a railway line but now a safe place to pootle along on your bike without fear of being mashed by a truck or skittled off the road by a car. We planned to […]
