Riding my bike makes me feels like a kid again. Woohoo! I’m a free-spirit with the wind rushing through my hair and heart singing with joy.
The Fabulous IKF – Indigo Kelly-Forest
It takes a very brave woman to take a group of (potentially difficult) women who are new to cycling on a bicycle tour in another country! It is thanks to just such a wonderful woman that I expanded my horizons and went cycle touring in France
What to Pack for Cycle Touring
Kit lists can go on and on. Ideally you need to pack no more than 10kg. Some people might be able to go as low as 6kg. I call the photograph below “Deux Chevaux”. Sadly I had loaded my bike as if I had the equivalent of two horse-power in my legs (I didn’t). The…
A Slow Cycle Guide to Getting Started
The most important thing is to evolve your own style. How far do you want to cycle? How fast or slow can you go? You won’t know until you get out there and get your legs moving. For touring and traffic-free cycling your bike should be big and sturdy enough for beaten paths but light…
Lyme Park – Fresh Air and Freedom
As Lyme Park is located on the edge of both the Peak District and the Cheshire Plain it has commanding 360 degree views
Slow Sunday at Chatsworth
Parking at Edensor (pronounced En-saw for some reason) is something of a tradition for us when visiting the Chatsworth estate (not the Shameless one). A short walk over the hillside delivers the best view of the big house over the bridge. The cleaned and gilded facades probably look better now than they have at any…
Testing out the Tent in the Garden
Of course, to be a true slow cyclist you don’t have to go very far! Before going away to France I put my tent up in my friend’s garden. The food and wine was so good I got head-spin and did not get much sleep. This is why I rarely drink on holiday – I…
London to Paris on the Avenue Verte
Leaving London… As much as I had been dreading city riding I must admit that I loved the thrill of it. My feeling of safety was enhanced by three things: 1) being on a cycle route 2) being in a group 3) being visible (lovely fluoro!)
Food and “the French way” to Slow Cycle
Not for me stopping in lycra to stuff (whilst standing or leaning against the shop front) a delicate French fancy, croissant or baguette. This is not the French way! NON! Not to say that I haven’t been guilty of this but I’d rather stop, order a coffee and unwrap something delicious to savour and devour…
Slow Cycle – Lessons and Experience
Nothing makes you feel younger than riding your bike along a shaded canal or through golden fields filled with sunflowers. Cycling traffic-free (in any country) is not like cycling in your local town. Once you get your balance the pace is up to you. Just keep moving forwards at a pace which you feel comfortable…
10 Days in the Mexican Caribbean – Cancun, the Riviera Maya and the Yucatan!
Looking for something different for a bit of Winter Sun this year, Ed and I decided to go to Mexico. This is the first time I have travelled long haul for over 20 years or so but it was well worth the journey. Trips OK, so we binged on excursions – so good they got…
A Few Days in Germany: Munich and Bayreuth
Back-story Last summer I got back in touch with a German friend, Jorg, from my first year at Sheffield University (25 years ago) so trip to visit him was a must. Jorg is a very talented linguist, culture vulture and cool guy so I’m very lucky to know him. Mooching around Munich I flew from…
A Brush with Happiness and Why I Need Art – Guest post by Glenda Strong
I loved capturing that ephemeral thing called ‘atmosphere’ and inspiring young hearts at the same time. To date nearly two thousand students have in some way been under my watchful eye.
Why I Love Blogging
I started blogging with a just-for-fun WordPress site and wrote about adventures that I had been on with my touring bike. Getting the first ten posts completed was really easy as the ideas for them were already in my head! A friend of mine has a daughter who had written a blog as a final…
Curious About Calke – A Day Out at Calke Abbey near Derby
Originally posted on Slow-Cycle:
I have been wanting to visit Calke Abbey since 1985 when it was featured as a new acquisition by The National Trust on Blue Peter. I remember images of dustsheets, decay, toys and taxidermy. It was distinctly exhilarating to imagine a maze of rooms stuffed with curios. A considerable amount of…
Day trip to Chernobyl – Guest post by Jonathan Hall
I remember exactly what I was doing on the day of the Chernobyl explosion on Saturday April 26th 1986. The tensions of the cold war were still apparent, and the sight of smoke billowing out of a nuclear power station as the result of a nuclear explosion on the TV screens brought the fear of…
A Year On – Reflections on the Wheel of Life this September
Thanks to Rebecca Norton for the Wheel of Life exercise at our August WISEtribe meeting. I love summer and I’ve just got back from a holiday so my happiness stocks are running high… In the last year I have exchanged one job for a series of brilliant learning opportunities, some which have even earned a…
LEJOG – Brothers made from Girders. Guest blog by Ed Stonecliffe
We did this ride without a support car and self-funded our accommodation and all costs. If you would like to donate we are raising money. Ed has chosen Big Issue North Trust and Richard has chosen has chosen The Foxton Centre in Preston who work with homeless and vulnerable people in his home town.
From the Velo Odyssey with Love
This year I got to have an two-week adventure in France with my daughter and it was every bit as fabulous as I had hoped. We started in Bordeaux on one of the hottest days of July. Getting out of the city is often the most tricky part so we rolled the bikes on the…
My Kit List (for cycle-camping geeks only)
Further to my post slow-cycle-what-to-pack-for-cycle-touring. Da da da! After days, weeks and months of agonising I’m ready for the next adventure… This year’s top picks: massive green tent aka the marquee cargo net self-inflating air roll mat (grey) summer sleeping bag (blue) cooking kit* (minus stove this time so I WILL go to the local…
Escape To Colditz? Guest post by Jonathan Hall
Colditz: the very name invokes a sense of fear and terror!
Free-wheeling in France
Why I needed to cycle slowly through the sunflowers… After years of multi-tasking took their toll on my health; my husband’s on-line affair triggered divorce and liberation. I was free to follow my heart to glide through fields of gold on a bicycle! Taking it Slowly My journey started with the Carcassonne to Bordeaux route,…
