The Pennine Cycleway 2013
PCW No 4: the first was a private trip in 2004, when I realised what a fantastic route this is. Three CTC tours up the route followed, in 2007, 2011 and the latest, completed a week ago in 2013.
It’s a truly tough ride, and most definitely Sustran’s most challenging route: forget the Lon Las Cymru – kid’s stuff! C2C – hard but short in comparison. It’s got huge variety and there’s beautiful scenery of all kinds, whatever your taste.
It takes a few goes at a route before you really get under its skin, and after four goes, I’m beginning to really feel I know this route. Familiarity certainly doesn’t breed contempt however. You just gain more confidence in knowing where the big climbs come.
The route hasn’t changed except for the odd little Sustrans addition (so you can be sure it’s yet another off-road section). Do we like the off-road sections? Well, not really, it has to be said. We endure them, knowing that the route wouldn’t really be the Pennine Cycleway without them. This year we were pretty good and didn’t avoid much.
Day 1 (a half day) starts in Derby and follows lanes to Ashbourne (tea stop), where you join the Tissington Trail, a lovely old railway track route. Thankfully the trail was dry-ish so the bikes didn’t get too covered in surface mud, which turns to concrete if it’s not washed off. More climbing once Parsley Hay is reached as one takes to the road again for a few miles to Youlgrave.
Day 2 started with a diversion. The Monsal Trail is now fully open and so we decided to use it to get to Buxton. A good decision! It’s well surfaced and goes through some great tunnels. Pity it rained all the time.
Buxton provides coffee and the traditional photo in front of the Opera house.
A big climb out of the town is followed by the roughest section of trail on the whole route. Fortunately it’s short.
We avoided a few gratuitous lumps by sticking to the main road for a section between Whaley Bridge and New Mills, where we enjoyed a good lunch at the Llamedos Café. A massive climb follows lunch – I’d forgotten about that one! – and then suburban roads all the way to Glossop and the Longdendale Trail. It’s an integral part of the route, being relatively long, but today it was damp and mucky. More bike cleaning this evening, I think. Thank goodness for the ice cream van half way along.
It’s a tough day, this, and not over quite yet. We still had a section of ascending main road to ride (avoiding some off-road trail through moorland). This was the A628 Manchester to Barnsley road. The weather hadn’t been good today, so traffic was quite light and the left turn soon comes. Then its a few fun miles before the mega-descent down to Holmfirth and our most comfy night of the tour.
There’s no doubting that the toughest section comes on the morning of day 3. After a huge climb out of Holmfirth, straight after a good hotel breakfast, it’s downhill to Meltham, up again and down again to Slaithwaite where the steepest climb of the whole route awaits. It’s long too. A descent brings the first off road section of the day, past Scammondon Water, a reservoir high in the hills immediately adjacent to the M62. The noise adds to the atmosphere but you quickly long for peace and quiet again. There’s no choice but to push your steed up a nasty 100 yard climb up to the road which, after a few miles will take you vertically down to…. coffee at Sowerby Bridge. Yes, that’s just the first section of the day. Next comes a pleasant ride along the Rochdale Canal to Hebden Bridge, which has become an arty-farty mecca, but not unpleasant for all that.
Getting out of Hebden Bridge involves an awsome grovel up a quarter mile of cobbled steps. How lucky were we that they weren’t damp today, which makes them a nightmare with a loaded bike. Once at the top and back on the road, there is relentless ascent up to Heptonstall village (more cobbles) and through it to, at long last, a flat summit.
A descent quickly follows on to our first proper bit of wild country cycling – Widdop Moor. It’s a classic bit of northern moorland, full of atmosphere and a couple of nasty steep sections, but mainly a gentle grind up to the top and so down into the Colne Valley. At last, the hard work is over for the day and all we have to do is ride along the Liverpool / Leeds Canal to Salterforth and then do a final few miles to Earby, our hostel for the night.
Phew, the worst is over. Yes, honest! Today (day 4) is a fabulous day taking in the Yorkshire Dales, with stops in Gargrave, Settle and Clapham, all with excellent tea rooms! You can O.D. on tea & cakes today!
Day 5 is good too, from Ingleton to Dufton. The day does start with a big climb, but it’s typical Cumbrian fell country and you get a great sense of satisfaction when you summit Kingdale and swoop down to Dent along some beautiful lanes. More good stuff follows to Sedburgh, which is a good place for coffee.
A climb follows but the lane we follow north, high above the M6 and the West Coast Mainline, is a stunner.
Tebay, followed by Orton arrive, with a choice of lunch stops; it’s either a good pub or a café which is part of a chocolate maker – it really doesn’t get much better. A stunning ride through moorland follows before we arrive in the Vale of Eden and make our way to tea in Appleby-in-Westmoreland. It’s a short ride (mostly uphill!) to Dufton and our night stop.
Day 6 starts with a lovely ride along lanes to coffee at Melmerby, at which point you can cut off a little corner and get on the main road here to climb to Hartside. This section puts fear into some people but it’s well surfaced, a gentle gradient and not heavily traficked. The descent down to Alston on the other side makes it worthwhile anyway.
The atmosphere changes here, for some inexplicable reason, as we head north, following the river South Tyne. It’s invariably wet on this section which is a shame, because it’s lovely. First the challenging lane with some very steep sections, and then the joy of a delightful cycle path all the way to Haltwhistle – almost: there’s one nasty climb needed to avoid the stunning Lambley viaduct, which can’t be accessed owing to the route passing through a private garden.
Haltwhistle offers great tea shops at budget prices. Everyone’s in a good mood here because we’re getting there! One more big day and it’s cracked. We can start relaxing. The downside is that it’s usually raining around here and the midges were out in force as we climbed steeply out of Haltwhistle heading north to follow Hadrian’s Wall eastwards. A short flog took us to Once Brewed for the night.
Day 7 starts with more ascent up through the Wall and after six or seven miles we reach the Wark Forest and the longest section of off-road trail. The fact that it was raining didn’t help and there were definity some in the group who would happily have avoided Wark, but it wasn’t discussed.
It’s soon over and tarmac returns, and some very attractive, remote Northumberland scenery helps the miles go by. Bellingham brings coffee and Elsdon lunch. More lanes and an improvement in the weather and we eventually reached Powburn for a much needed cuppa and quick slice of cake. Once again we opted for the easy main road option (8 miles) instead of the hard man’s option of lots of very minor lanes and tracks. And so finally to Wooler and our celebration dinner.
It would be lovely to have some photos of this section but sadly… the weather was rubbish and the camera was already damp enough!
Day 8 is short as we head east for the coast at Berwick. It’s not without its interest, this section, but it’s always an edgy sort of day as people worry about getting to their trains. There’s a very attractive off road section which runs alonside the river Till – attractive that is until you have to push your bike up the hill at the end of the track!
There’s refreshments available at Norham at the Butcher’s shop, after which it’s a relatively short run into Berwick, although Sustrans takes you round the houses and over the Union Bridge into Scotland for a brief while. All in all, it’s great to get to our final destination and a feeling of contentment at having completed such a great route. When will the 5th trip be, and might we mix things up by doing a N to S run? Sounds good to me!
Click on this link to view a full set of photos of the trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/markw48/sets/72157634472524477/show
Cycle Tours in 2012
Over the course of the next few weeks tour programmes for next year will be released by CTC, not to mention numerous other tour companies. Adventure Cycling already have theirs out; our old friends, the Russian Cycle Touring Club, have just been in touch to advise us of their tours next year. CTC members receive a 10% discount.
Winter Reading Material #01
Every so often something to do with cycle touring is featured in Cycle Clips, CTC’s weekly email newsletter and this week it’s a great online magazine called Bicycle Traveler magazine. Good on ya, Cycle Clips!
And if you’re looking for even more good reading this winter, look no further than the following links to the amazing adventures of Willie Weir. There’s enough here to keep the most avid reader happy for months. What a stunning cyclist! Here are the links: one and two.
Women cannot ride bicycles in Afghanistan
I suppose you’d describe this blog as going beyond cycle touring. Interesting nevertheless, not to mention awesome! http://www.adventure-journal.com/2011/09/in-panjshir-tour-a-woman-and-her-bike-are-changing-the-world/
Photo courtesy of http://hameed.me/wordpress/
An Ultimate Cotswold Tour
Everything in the UK is small in comparison to those vast countries where epic journeys are made. Nevertheless, the old adage that the best things come in small packages applies very much to the UK, particularly when it comes to its landscape. A crowded little island we might be, but there’s still much that is unspoiled and utterly beautiful.
The recent – current even – patch of unbelievably clement autumn weather coincided with a Pennine Cycleway tour reunion which was held in the Cotswold Hills, these being close to where our volunteer reunion co-ordinator lives. The Cotswolds, for the geographically uncertain, is a small area of high country situated between Oxford, Gloucester and Worcester, to name three towns that many will be familiar with. Whilst disappointing as hills – it’s more of a plateau, hence my term ‘high country’ – there are, nevertheless, hills to be reckoned with in a cycling sense, so the area is not without its challenges. The climbs come about from having to ascend to the Cotswold plateau from the surrounding countryside and are also created because of the deep river valleys which dissect the region. These valleys are attractively wooded, but what makes the Cotswolds so special are the villages, built almost exclusively from the local stone. As a well-known picturesque area, it does heave with visitors at weekends, the worst place perhaps being Bourton-on-the-Water, but as cyclists we can simply stop briefly to enjoy tea and cake and be on our way before the average tourist has found somewhere to park!
Information for visitors to the Cotswolds is abundant – just Google for it. If you would like to tour it on a bike, here is the ‘ultimate Cotswold Tour’. Starting and finishing in Winchcombe the route makes for Charlbury in a clockwise direction, via the Slaughters, Bourton, Stow, Enstone and Dean. After spending the night there, it returns to Winchcombe by a more southerly route via Burford, Northleach and Andoversford. Approx 140kms and surprisingly few big hills. An added bonus is that you can pick up several British Cycle Quest checkpoints on your way round. CTC members can view the route and download the information from http://www.ctc-maps.org.uk/. A map of the route can be seen below, together with links to the very satisfactory accommodation we used. Finally, to view some photographs from the weekend, follow this link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/markw48/sets/72157627746086051/show/ (With the usual thanks to my two best models, Carol and Karen!)
http://www.bandbatoaklands.co.uk/ http://www.bellhotel-charlbury.com/
UK to Venice
We met 
Fran at the campsite in Arnhem. She’s pedalling down from the UK to Venice to visit an art exhibition, the Biennale, which I’m sure I should have heard of – I’m not a complete pagan – but I haven’t. Take a look at her blog to read about her trip. Go Fran – enjoy!
http://biennalebicycleandbeyond.wordpress.com
It had to be good – it was the Netherlands – and it was, but, oh, the weather!
The Netherlands was experiencing its worst summer since records began (in 1906). Would our arrival miraculously initiate a return to summer conditions? It all seemed lovely when we arrived; the sun was burning down on us as we set up camp for the first time at Monster, on the coast between the Hook and the Hague. In the middle of the night, we were woken by a humdinger of a storm: wind, rain, thunder and lightning – the works! It was all credit to our tent erecting skills that we and our tents were still standing in the morning. Yet, despite it seeming so at the time, and despite being clothed in waterproofs for most of every day, when you think hard about it, we only got really wet on one day and we never had to de-camp in the rain, which is perhaps the most unpleasant of things to have to do. Yes we got very soggy and sometimes finding hard ground at the campsite proved a bit challenging, but it was still a great tour and the smiling faces in the photographs prove the point. See the photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/markw48/sets/72157627611476013/
New Blog Links…
… for both LEJOG and general ‘Touring Blogs’. And while we’re at it, here’s a nice photo. No prizes for guessing where it is.
Rally Round
The New Forest Cycling Week starts today [http://www.newforestrallycc.org.uk/index.html], the Semaine Federale starts on Sunday [http://www.sf2011-flers.org/ and http://www.ctc-maps.org.uk/routes/route/1337} and the Birthday Rides is from 14-20 August – sadly full up now [http://www.ctc.org.uk/desktopdefault.aspx?tabid=3414]. Yours truly is fortunate in going to both the Semaine and the Birthday Rides. As a chance to camp, ride your bike day after day and socialise like it’s going out of fashion, rallies take a lot of beating. What I particularly love about them is the routine: get up, eat, ride, eat, ride, eat (depending how many stops you have of course), ablute, eat, drink and sleep. Then repeat for six or seven days. Added bonus: you can forget about everything except riding your bike and having a good time.
Online Cycle Reservations
Whoa, steady – this can’t be true. Oh yes it is…. https://touringblog.wordpress.com/public-transport/
Hebridean Overtures
Discover the remote and stunning landscape of this region from two good cycling websites. https://touringblog.wordpress.com/touring-destinations/united-kingdom/scotland/
Thorns and Prickly Things
It’s extremely sad not to have SJS Cycles advertising in the CTC mag any more. I feel partly responsible because I played a part in the review of the Thorn Club Tour that Chris Juden did on the bike back in summer 2009. I mention this now because my attention has been drawn to the incredible amount of trouble they go to when building a bike to suit a client. You couldn’t be anything but impressed when reading this. (It’s a great site by the way.) It just occurred to me that, such is the amount of trouble they take, that they are doing themselves a dis-service by offering one of their cycles for review without it being tailor-made to the specification of the reviewer. This is one of the main factors which go into making Thorns such good bikes. Now since the bike is going to be returned to the shop once the review is carried out, it’s easy to understand that a manufacturer might be somewhat reluctant to do a customising job on it since it’s an expensive business. A solution might be to ask a magazine to find a reviewer who would like to buy the bike at a knock down price in return for half a day of the reviewer’s time (for the purpose of having the bike fitted and spec’d) and the bike at the end of it. The fact that CTC was very slightly less than carried away by the Club Tour might be a reflection of it not being a perfect match, rather than it not being a perfect bike. Perhaps the idea isn’t thought through completely but nevertheless, worth a thought, Robin / Andy?
The Pennine Cycleway
Yours truly is heading off to Derby tomorrow morning to ride this fabulous route for the third time. It’s that good that it needs to be done on an annual basis simply as a reminder as to how beautiful and varied our landscape is. Enjoy the photos from past trips here http://www.flickr.com/photos/markw48/sets/72157626874750330/show/
IT’S ALL DONE, DUSTED AND BEEN THOROUGHLY ENJOYED BY ALL WHO DID THE TRIP. LOOK OUT FOR AN ARTICLE IN ‘CYCLE’ MAGAZINE ON THE TRIP IN THE OCTOBER / NOVEMBER ISSUE. YOU CAN CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THIS TRIP HERE.
In searching for links to information on the route, I’m over the moon to discover that no less a mortal than John Grimshaw feels the same way as I do. Here’s what it says on the Pennine Cycleway website:
The Pennine Cycleway (National Cycle Network no. 68) takes in some of the most spectacular yet remote countryside in the country and is a challenging but stunning ride along the length of the ‘Spine of England’, it is also England’s longest leisure cycle-route with 80% on quiet lanes and minor roads and 20% on traffic free trails.
“Can there be a better route than the C2C across the Pennines? The answer is, yes and that route is the Pennine Cycle Way. I think that this has more splendour, more variety, more memorable features, more open spaces and more magic, especially as it threads its way high above industrial England either side of the Pennines, than any other part of the National Cycle Network”
John Grimshaw – director and founder of Sustrans
Surprisingly there are no particularly interesting websites about the ride, but if you know of any… Probably better to just get out there and ride it!
Even the fearful Wark Forest track has a reasonable surface.
It's suitable for a (good) folder!
This is about the only short section you have to push through on the 355 mile whole route!
Cakes, Lakes & Caffs
Slightly off topic – for which apologies – but this could be seen as an important issue – it certainly is for one member who called CTC recently. He said he was a reluctant member of CTC because, although he approved of most of what we did, he had an issue with his local group – no names mentioned – which on club runs invariably stopped (as many do) at a café for elevenses, a café for lunch and, if it was a long ride, a café for tea. As someone who brought along his children on the ride, he said he simply couldn’t afford to go out riding with them. Lovely though it was to do what CTC members enjoy doing most, all those café stops were proving just too expensive.
One can very easily sympathise with this view and it does make you wonder how many members there are out there not riding with their local group because they use a lot of cafés. It’s all very well saying, well bring your own thermos flask and sandwiches, but if you’re the only one doing this, it’s embarrassing. So here’s an idea: why not promote a ride a month, perhaps, where people are encouraged to bring along their own food and drink, rather than head straight for the caff! It might just bring out a few new group members.
There’s probably a figure of speech for what this particular blog is about, but I can’t think of it: here goes! Here are a couple of very recent discoveries, both involving food and drink stops. The first is a site which lists cafés by county or area. Great idea and may it grow and grow! – at present it’s relatively local to the north west of England. There are lots of local group websites with café lists; maybe someone should amalgamate them so we have one great big database. http://www.cafe.southlakesgroup.org/index.html
Secondly, go to the ‘links’ page on the site above and you’ll find a blog which to me is as near perfect in terms of subject matter as it’s possible to get. Combine cake with the Lake District, perhaps the most beautiful place on earth, and you’ve got this: http://www.thecakerun.co.uk/
For more photos of the Lakes, take a look here
Brittany / Normandy / Cornwall / Devon / Dorset ~ a New Cycling Alliance
‘Cycle West’ is a EUR 8.6 million project to improve and market almost 2,000 km of cycle routes, and generate a huge boost in tourism in the process.
The press launch is next week in London and if you’re interested in finding out more, then this link should help provide some background information. I like the bit about filling in the gaps in cycle routes – if it takes an initiative such as this to achieve such an outcome, then so be it (I suppose).
In the past there were issues with Brittany Ferries favouring motorists over humble cyclists but, to their credit, they sorted the matter out when it was pointed out to them that their existing pricing structure was grossly unfair. The trouble is, if you want to get to western France from the West Country, there is no choice – you have to use Brittany Ferries. The issues above came to a head in 2006 and it’s been very quiet on that front since then, so one must assume that all is still well. I have no doubt someone will say if it isn’t.
Further information on the project will be blogged after next week’s meeting. It’s a great idea and good luck to the project! 
Pedalling Aroung Paris
The latest issue of Cycle, CTC’s bi-monthly award-winning magazine, had an article in which the ‘Fact File’ suggested that route details were available, but unfortunately it didn’t say where. Well, following a bit of investigative work, the answer is below. And here’s the link to the magazine archive containing the article itself: http://www.ctc.org.uk/resources/Magazine/201107034.pdf
I started near to the Bois de Vincennes, picking up my first bike at the docking station close to Porte Dorée Metro (if that’s empty, there’s one just inside the park and another quieter one by Rue Claude Decan/Avenue du General crossroads).
In many ways it’s probably best to ‘follow your nose’ in the Bois de Vincennes, as there are so many interconnected tracks through the park and woodland. But if it helps, I skirted south of Lac Daumesnil (Buddhist temple), crossed Avenue de Saint Maurice and then broadly aimed north-east on the forest tracks in order to get to Chateau de Vincennes. Then headed south and west in order to loop back to Lac Daumensil. Plenty of sign-boards scattered throughout the Bois means that it’s hard to get too lost.
After exploring the Bois, the directions are much clearer….
Leave Bois de Vincennes at the northern corner, close by Porte Dorée
Take Boulevard de la Guyane (parallel and below Peripherique)
As Boulevard de la Guyane slopes down to traffic junction at the bottom, turn L under the Peripherique and immediately R – a sloping path takes you quickly down onto the Promenade Plantée
Follow the Promenade Plantée – clearly marked with signs and cycle tracks, some crossings of side roads, bridges
You arrive at Jardin de Reuilly – at the end of Avenue Vivildi, by swimming pool. This section of the Promenade Plantée is pedestrian only. To explore on foot, use the docking station on Avenue Vivildi, otherwise, keep on your bike and head L to join Avenue Daumesnil.
Avenue Daumesnil runs in parallel with the Promenade Plantée. Follow it up to the Bastille (it becomes Rue de Lyon) or alternatively turn L beforehand (on Avenue Ledru Rollin, for example) to visit Porte de l’Arsenal (a marina with views towards the Seine and Bastille).
Cycle round the main Place de la Bastille roundabout (with care) and fork north on Boulevard Richard Lenoir. Plenty of cycle lanes, though they sometimes switches from one side of the road to the other.
Continue on the main road – it becomes Boulevard Jules Ferry and then the Canal St Martin. Plenty of opportunities for stops and diversions.
After the canal has veered north-east, the road (still running in
parallel) starts to slope upwards and you approach a busy junction, by Jaures Metro station.
Aim for the gravel square just behind the domed building at Place de Stalingrad. The Basin de la Villette extends beyond. You can cycle along either side of the basin, on wide gravel area, and each leads you to Rue de Crimée (with its drawbridge)
You’re then heading to Parc de la Villette. I took the northern side of the water, followed the water around to the L (along a short section of Canal St Denis) and took the first wide bridge over into the Cité des Sciences section of the Parc.
Once in the park, you can follow a path formed of ‘studded’ stone setts. This is the ‘garden route’ which snakes you through the park beside a number of different garden designs. Along the way, you need to cross the Canal de l’Ourcq on the bridge (lift available, though strictly speaking you should use your bike in it).
The studded path brings you to the front of Parc de la Villette, and there is a docking station next to Porte de Pantin Metro station.
So there you have it! Thanks, Graham Barker.
The Romantic Road Cycle Route in South Germany
One of the best tours I’ve ever had the pleasure of leading (but not on a bike – but that’s a story in itself) is the Romantische Strasse (or Romantic Road). Very much a route devised for tourists and given an artificial name to attract them, it is nevertheless a little gem of a ride. It runs from Fussen, close to the Austrian border in Bavaria, to Wurzburg, a little over 400km to the north. The route is stuffed full of the best castles, churches and fortified towns imaginable and, being Germany, there is a signed cycle route all the way. A guide to cycling it may be found here: http://www.bergstrassebikebooks.com/Romantic.htmland there is also a Cicerone guide.
Further information may be obtained by googling the Romantic Road, but the following sites are as good as any:
http://www.romanticroad.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic_Road
If you really want to put some icing on the kuchen, then time your visit to coincide with the annual festival weekend in Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Not only is Rothenburg one of the best preserved medieval town you will ever see, but on this particular weekend, the town becomes truly medieval when everyone dresses up in period costume. It is truly a sight to behold. And behold it you can by looking at some photographs from my flickr website: http://www.flickr.com/photos/markw48/sets/72157622441864406/
Highlights from the whole trip can be found here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/markw48/sets/72157622442030220/
More information about Rothenburg may be found here: http://www.rothenburg.de/index.php?get=121
The Amazon Kindle
I’ll own up – I like gadgets. However, when I go touring they can be a pain because most require power. And although I posted something about re-charging systems (General Stuff – Charging Electronic Gadgets on the Move) I’d always prefer not having to bother. I use a small Nokia mobile whose battery lasts for ever and that’s normally about it. This may now change: glancing through a recent ‘Two Travelling’ newsletter I came across his recommendation for the Kindle http://travellingtwo.com/resources/kindle-bike-touring
I forsee quite a lot of solo cycle touring and so carrying sufficient reading material will be important. According to the blurb, the Kindle’s battery lasts for a very long time and that’s just one of the benefits of this great little device. I’m also hoping it will prove easier to read at night when I’m tucked up in my sleeping bag. I’m finding that, even with glasses on, reading by the light of my head torch is proving difficult. Although I’ll need to check this out first, I’m hoping that the Kindle will make it easier for me to enjoy my reading. Here’s hoping!
Incidentally Two Travelling really is a great website ~ there’s so much good stuff on it!
The Ray Way
You learn about stuff by reading other people’s stuff and that’s how I discovered Ray Jardine. (Well we all have to learn sometime – no doubt the rest of the world has known about Ray for ages, but not me.) Here’s a link to his slightly extraordinary site: http://www.rayjardine.com/index.shtml (No image because he’s pretty fussy about people copying things off his site.)
Route Mapping Websites
I’ve been a fan of Bikely for a long time, but it seems to be getting progressively slower and therefore increasingly t..e..d..i..o..u..s to use. A pity because it does all the right things (on the whole). I have a new favourite which is http://ridewithgps.com/ It’s fast and so far I’ve found no annoyances other than it prepares a ‘cue’ or route sheet for you; frankly, I’d rather write my own. I’ve not looked too hard yet to see if you can amend it, but it looks unlikely. Nevertheless, definitely worth a try.
Something I particularly like about it is the way you can move the cursor along the route and see where you are on the gradient chart below.
Reading Material for the Easter Break
There’s lots of new stuff today. No more now for a couple of weeks – a little spot of cycle camping in northern France beckons!
Blogs
South Africa to the Netherlands
Cycling the European Capitals
Cycle Every US State
British Cycle Quest
BCQ Checkpoints Digitally Mapped
Reasons for doing BCQ; no 1347
General Stuff
Charging Electronic Gadgets on the Move
Bikes on Public Transport
French Railway Travel
LEJOG
Returning from John o’Groats
Destinations ~ Europe
Bordeaux & Gironde Information Sheet ~ FRINF8
Where to Stay when Cycle Touring ~ Friends of Nature Houses
Recently received at CTC:
Good Afternoon Mark
It would seem mutually beneficial to share information which may be of interest to our members and the public. I suspect that the 800 plus Friends of Nature Houses across Europe are little known amongst CTC membership and yet have often had cyclists staying at the ones I’ve visited
Some background information :
Friends of Nature are the UK arm of the International Friends of Nature (IFN). Established in 1895 and based in Vienna, we are one of the oldest and largest environmental groups in Europe with some 500,000 members. We have a chain of more than 800 Houses (Hostels) in the rural parts of Europe – aimed largely at the walker, cyclist and country lover. In the UK we have 7 Houses which are on our web site at www.thefriendsofnature.org.uk On the European/Global level you can see all the other Houses on the site www.friendsofnaturehouses.net As an international organisation IFN attempts to encourage green (‘soft’) tourism and promote walking, cycling and pan-european routes where possible. For an idea of their work go to www.nf-int.org
Kind Regards
Simon Neal – House Manager/FoN National Secretary
Earby Friends of Nature House
13 Birch Hall Lane
Earby
Lancs. BB18 6JX
Tel/Fax: (0)1282 842349
e-mail: earby@thefriendsofnature.org.uk
www.thefriendsofnature.org.uk
Towpath Cycling
Good to see something about cycle touring on the front page of the official CTC website. Slip down this Telegraph article to some recommended cycling along several of our wonderful canals (but it’s all worth reading). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/outdoors/outdoor-activities/8434737/Our-pick-of-the-best-canals-and-waterways.html#
As an aside, it’s always useful to have a bell on your bike when cycling anywhere except on a road. You can get a lot of blind spots on canal towpaths, particularly around bridges. Some of us have suffered broken backs from being hit by a speeding cyclist coming round a blind bend. Whether the bell would have prevented this particular accident is actually unlikely since the other rider had headphones on. It’s actually surprising how many people jump out of their skins if you pass them from behind without giving a warning, and that can’t be good for our reputation.
Newly Found Blogs
It’s funny how you can be googling for something and you discover something completely different. This is how I came across a great cycling-orientated blog called CycleSeven when actually searching for info on the Lancashire Cycleway. Clearly designed and written by experienced cyclists – I recognize one or two of the names – this blog looks the biz and contains the biz, rather putting my efforts into the shadows. Nothing new in that! Anyway, do take a look at it. http://cycleseven.org/
Alan Pugh is travelling across the USA – something I dream of doing – and here’s his blog http://3415milesonabike.blogspot.com/
CycleTouring INFormation 