Category Archives: cycling

Blossoms in May

What a delight a May even­ing can be ! Espe­cially after stay­ing late at the office for a meet­ing of the Audit Com­mit­tee, surely one of life’s non-pleasures, but heigh-ho, we still need the bacon. So off into the north-westering sun … Con­tinue read­ing

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First of the season

The Port­land Street Ped­al­lers set out in search of the ori­ginal pickled egg once again !  A mod­est start, tak­ing in the Deramore at Hes­ling­ton, which I missed, but then I found the intrepid four­some sit­ting out­side the Black­smiths at … Con­tinue read­ing

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Unpublished Answer

Some while ago someone wrote to the Guardian’s “Notes and Quer­ies” to ask why road­ies never acknow­ledged other cyc­lists.  My (unpub­lished) reply is below: Dear Notes and Quer­ies, The pos­eurs with their fancy gear do not acknow­ledge fel­low cyc­lists for one … Con­tinue read­ing

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A favourite short tour.

A beau­ti­ful sunny but not too hot June after­noon — Mil­lenium Bridge, Walmg­ate Stray, Uni­ver­sity, Hes­ling­ton Long Lane, Gyp­sey Corner, Bridle Paths to Scoreby, tea and lemon meringue pie at the Bal­lon Tree(and asparagus to take home), Gate Helms­ley, War­t­hill, … Con­tinue read­ing

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Goodness, Time Flies

A whole month of inactiv­ity here ! Dur­ing which I’ve done what seems like a lot of work, but also had a hol­i­day in Delft, a poetry record­ing in York, a good cir­cu­lar tour to the south and west of the … Con­tinue read­ing

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Summer Evening Excursions

Do try the Thompson’s Arms at Flax­ton, right by the level cross­ing. As rural a pub as you could ima­gine, set amongst the rolling arable land­scape at the edge of the Vale of York as it runs up to the … Con­tinue read­ing

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Cross Keys and Cowslips

Bus to Malton, then up and away on the fold­ing bike to Settring­ton — lost my nerve at the ford with small wheels and a gravel bot­tom — then up onto the Wold to Settring­ton Beacon — almost 300 degrees … Con­tinue read­ing

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On the Flat

Leav­ing Selby on the Trans-Pennine trail does not inspire the lyric muse. Only the know­ledge that up and down this nar­row tidal ditch came Vik­ings, Hugen­ots, voy­agers of every ilk, right up to the last cen­tury, in their hun­dreds of … Con­tinue read­ing

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Two Blacksmiths and a Tiger

The first ped­al­lers’ out­ing of the year took us from the Blacksmith’s Arms in Hunt­ing­ton — where one of our num­ber was served with the world’s longest chip (pos­sibly an extru­sion) via the slippy banks of the Foss to the … Con­tinue read­ing

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By Brompton down the Rhine

Back in Octo­ber I took a 300-mile trip from Heil­bronn, Ger­many, down the Neckar val­ley to the Rhine, and thence down­stream to Cologne. Almost all of this was on excel­lent, usu­ally well sign-posted cycle paths. The 38 Ger­man school­chil­dren (13 years … Con­tinue read­ing

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