Rides Cycling with Grandpa Spinning along the smooth gravel of the Peak District rail trails, three generations found our flow.
Rides Finding peace in the Galloway Forest Park We left fears, anxieties, work and chores far behind for a week exploring the forest around Glentrool.
Rides The dog trailer days We wanted to get our new puppy used to travelling by bike, so we hired a trailer. Spoiler alert: she loved it.
Rides Edgelands: neither here nor there I’m no lover of cities, yet I'm drawn to edgelands – those transitional spaces that are neither urban nor rural.
Rides A week of Wiltshire byways Our leisurely exploration of this ancient landscape took us from the stones of the Neolithic and Bronze Ages to the concrete of the 1930s.
Rides Big country for an old man Racing the rain along the forest roads and quiet lanes of Galloway. (And hoping my family had saved me some biscuits.)
Rides Glorious Glentrool gravel Forest roads wound for miles across the hillsides – built for logging lorries but ideal for our needs. We'd found the perfect place for some family cycling.
Rides Elan Valley: the rough and the smooth Not every family rough-stuff expedition we attempt goes smoothly but an October ride in the Elan Valley proved to be a hit, despite the conditions.
Rides A ride through Dartmoor’s industrial past When a drive back from Cornwall took us past the start of the Granite Way in Okehampton, we stopped off for a ride with a unique perspective on Dartmoor.
Rides Swapping the car for the Camel Our largely car-free week in Cornwall showed what’s possible when people have access to good cycling infrastructure.
Rides A weekend in the forest Following a year in which Covid-19 had kept us close to home, a few days pedalling along tracks by the River Wye felt like a distant adventure.
Rides Return to Mortimer Forest It had been six months since we’d been to Mortimer Forest and it felt good to be back. Whenever we ride into the trees here we feel free.
Rides Riding further (for fruit) When the fruit farm’s website announced the ripening of the strawberries, we knew exactly where our family ride that Sunday would take us.
Rides In the tracks of the hop pickers A ride along the remains of a railway line axed by Beeching and recolonised by nature.
Rides The magic of cycling at night Until recently I didn’t see the appeal of riding at night, but I’m increasingly drawn to venturing out after hours.
Rides Ride on: cycling through a pandemic I stood on the verge and photographed the sunrise-silhouettes of the trees and the ridge line of the hills. A moment of stillness in a world of upheaval.
Rides Riding the Forest of Dean ghost rails For much of the ride we followed the routes of railway lines long gone and long forgotten. In their place: cycle paths and forests tracks.
Thoughts The joy of towpath gravel With no proper infrastructure or access rights in England, I have to get creative when planning traffic-free rides.
Rides The Ridgeway + Kennet & Avon Canal I was on the Ridgeway – again. This time it was to ride a 240km car-free, off-road overnighter using the Kennet & Avon Canal to create a loop.
Rides Going Dutch in Domburg We pedalled away from our hostel – a converted thirteenth century castle – on the bike paths that run through the forest and nature reserve.
Rides Strawberry Line overnighter From our viewpoint above Cheddar Gorge, the town stretched out before us and we could see the hostel where we had spent the previous night.
Rides Cycling the Caledonian Canal Early in the year, and with local schools not yet on holiday, we had the white gravel towpath almost to ourselves.
Rides Falkirk Wheeler Who in their right mind would ride 76km on a heavy hire bike to see canal boats go up and down a lift?
Rides Family fatbiking in Porthcawl You can go pretty much anywhere on a fatbike, but it's hard to beat riding in joyous circles on an empty beach in the weak winter sun.
Rides Bristol-Bath cycle path “Ha, your bikes are smaller than mine,” chuckled G as J and I retrieved our Bromptons from the lockers outside Bristol Temple Meads Station.
