Category: cycling

  • Five Days Cycling Out of Seven

    Five Days Cycling Out of Seven

    Reading Time: 4 minutesIf I drove four hundred and thirty kilometres I would either be going on holidays or wasteful with petrol. To do the same thing on a bike is much better for the health of the planet and my own. The reason for this is simple. Good cardiovascular health. Normally I would not…

  • Of Hiking and Cycling Climbs and Descents

    Of Hiking and Cycling Climbs and Descents

    Reading Time: 2 minutesWhen you’re young and your knees are intact it’s fun to head down a mountain. It’s fun to run down. As you get older the effort of going uphill gets more and more habitual, and more and more comfortable. I often find that hikers prefer the climb to the descent. While cycling…

  • Strava July Cycling Elevation Challenge Success

    Strava July Cycling Elevation Challenge Success

    Reading Time: 2 minutesFor seasons, or even years I saw the Strava Elevation Challenge and I thought "I won’t even try this challenge, because I will fail". This month I tried it, and I succeeded. Not only did I succeed to climb the 7000m suggested by the challenge but I got to 10,415m. I overshot…

  • The bike Handlebar bag – ACTV 100

    The bike Handlebar bag – ACTV 100

    Reading Time: 2 minutesCyclists like to be lean and clean when they ride. They don’t like to ride with bags. They prefer to keep spares in the rear pockets of jerseys rather than carry a bag. As a hiker I don’t mind carrying a bag but I decided to try minimalism. Top Tube Bag and…

  • From the Foot of the Jura to the Léman

    From the Foot of the Jura to the Léman

    Reading Time: 2 minutesToday I tried route 473 which goes from the Morges Train Station towards Montricher and across, before heading back down to the lake side. This is a 57 or so kilometre loop along roads that were quite quiet. I don’t know whether that was because of the rain forecast or because people…

  • The Weekend Without Social Cycling Plans

    The Weekend Without Social Cycling Plans

    Reading Time: 2 minutesFor the first time in weeks I have no social plans this weekend due to two factors. The first is weather. It’s meant to rain both days so I’d rather not plan to do something that needs to be cancelled due to bad weather. The second reason is due to the selfish…

  • When Weather and Contours Make Us Lazy

    When Weather and Contours Make Us Lazy

    Reading Time: 2 minutesWhen I decided to flee the noise pollution of Paléo to stay somewhere different for a few days I was filled wiith cycling projects, but because of the weather forecast I mothballed them. They announced that it could rain all day, every day, for almost the entire week. Weather They announce that…

  • The Tuesday Solo Ride

    The Tuesday Solo Ride

    Reading Time: 2 minutesYesterday I didn’t dress for cycling. My plan was to see if I could get the power meter to work and then go for a short ride. In the end I found that as one device failed to detect them I would try a second. The second worked after a few seconds.…

  • Cycling Uphill with a Combined Harvester Right Behind

    Cycling Uphill with a Combined Harvester Right Behind

    Reading Time: 2 minutesYesterday we were cycling up towards Marchissy when a combine harvester began to follow us quite close. The experience of being followed, while cycling is quite something. These machines are large, with big tyres, and the driver is centred rather than to the left as with other vehicles. Luckily the gradient of…

  • On Meetup and Strava Cycling Events

    On Meetup and Strava Cycling Events

    Reading Time: 3 minutesMeetup and Strava are two sites filling specific niches. Meetup is a dinosaur of the web. It dates back to 2005 when the web was still looking for a way to be sustainable, and thus, more fun. Meetup was good for people in big US cities, London and other metropolitain cities. If…