I have not cycled in very many countries. Ireland springs to mind, as does Germany, the Netherlands, France, New Zealand and South Africa. France is the pick, hands down. It's a big country with plenty of small roads and superb villages with hotels that serve lovely food. The motorist is also, in general, the friend of cyclists.
South Africa, on the other hand, has less going for it, in cycling terms. When my brother was still alive I would regularly travel there to visit him. I was about 75 at the time. Near where he stayed in Johannesburg was a cycle shop run by a woman called Janine. We got to talking and when she learnt my age, she offered to lend me a secondhand cycle for the duration of my three-week stay, provided I bought a set of inner tubes, a small saddle bag, a pump and other minor accessories to offset maintenance costs. At a guess I would say that we had this arrangement going for about six years. I have not been back since my brother died and have lost contact with a lovely lady.
Bu hikaye Cycling Plus UK dergisinin September 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Cycling Plus UK dergisinin September 2022 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
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GANARY A COALMINE
The James Brown tune 'It's a Man's Man's Man's World' comes on the radio, filling the coach, and does nothing for my pre-event nerves as I sit surrounded by serious-looking, wiry, tanned men in Lycra. It's 6.30am, pitch black outside and I'm feeling very out of my depth as a relative newcomer to the world of clipless pedals and hurting for fun. Last night's stress dream involved being very unprepared to get married and being handed my great-grandmother-in-law-to-be's hideous silver dress with lace trim to wear minutes before the ceremony was due to start. I'll let you psychoanalyse that one.
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British travel writer Tim Wild heads on a pilgrimage to Arizona's gravel Mecca, and isn't disappointed
COLD SNAPS
Chris Lanaway dons the deepest winter thermals for the Abloc Winter Challenge in southern Sweden
Master Age-group racing
Tips to keep you on the race course as you get older
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£4,950 Big-value, Barcelona-born bike that hits the spot for gravel riding
Seasonal disorder
Pinpointing the start of the cycling season is no easy task, writes Ned
Ride all winter
10 scientifically proven ways to bolster your immunity
Joined-up thinking
Connecting more rail stations to the NCN is long overdue
Castelli Gabba
Castelli’s breathable, close-fitting yet waterproof and windproof jacket marked a watershed in cycle clothing
Air Apparent - Pollution hasn't gone away. It's still there in every lungful, even if we can't see it in the air or on the news. But there are reasons to breathe easier, thanks to pioneering projects using cycling 'citizen scientists'. Rob Ainsley took part in one...
The toxic effects of pollution have been known about for years. 'Just two things of which you must beware: Don't drink the water and don't breathe the air!' sang 1960s satirist Tom Lehrer.Over recent decades, though, pollution has dropped down our list of things to worry about, thanks to ominously capitalised concerns such as Climate Change, AI, Global Conflict, Species Collapse, etc. That doesn't, unfortunately, mean the problem has expired. Air quality often exceeds safe limits, with far-reaching and crippling effects on our health.
