news
December 2009
Floods, Gales, Talks and Bad Driving Crash Survivors
And so to December. So far so wet. I know I should be showing you pictures of cycling through flooded lands and rivers in spate but instead I've gone for more festively traditional cold scenes by harking back to my time cycling through New Zealand in winter.
Chilly camping in a minus 7 tent. Near Mount Cook, New Zealand
Puncture-spearing icicles on Haast Pass, New Zealand
But back to this fair and flooded land. Anyone who has previously perused among these haphazardly updated pages will have seen that I was invited to be on a cycling 'panel' at the RGS Explore day in Central London. This I duly did but the most exciting part of the day was cycling to the event through the first storm of winter: 70mph gales, torrential rain, deep flooded roads, lightening, falling trees (one of which narrowly missed taking me with it). More recently, I dragged the builder and Molly up to Leicester with me (through yet more rain and floods) to Leicester where I gave a bike talk and picture show to Leicester and Rutland Cycling Club. Here the most interesting part of the evening was meeting a young man in the audience. He was the lucky survivor of a horrific collision with a car. He was cycling home from work one night and 'lit up like a Christmas tree' when a driver (a man in his forties) travelling in the opposite direction shot across his path in a 'sorry mate, I didn't see you' fashion. The messy result: a broken femur, a lengthy coma and a skull that needed rebuilding. On top of that he is now prone to epileptic fits. Touchingly, he said it was my books that made him determined to get back on his bike again.
Anyway, I don't want to put a damper on cycling with all of this. It is still the finest and most enjoyable and practical means of transport on the whole planet, and what's more, you can eat loads and still lose weight.
P.S. For any cyclists affected by motorists who crash or nearly crash into you like the case above, the CTC (the UK's national cyclists' organisation) is currently running a STOP SMIDSY (Sorry, Mate, I Didn't See You...') campaign. See www.stop-smidsy.org.uk for more details.
Oh, and Merry Christmas, whether it be a wet, flooded or cold one.
New
books out now:
Long
Cloud Ride
and Saddled
at Sea.
For details and ordering visit the books page.
Previous news:
October 2009 - Earl's Court Talk and More Hubs and Trailers
July 2009 - Litter Pickings and Steam-Powered Delights
May 2009 - Rolling on a Rohloff, potty travels and President of Vice
February 2009 - Danger: Live Apparatus on board!
Decemer 2008 - lovely lime juice cordial!
October 2008 - death, marriage, birthday and rolling road blocks ...
June 2008 - three
generations on two wheels
March 2008 -
a belated Happy New Year!
December 2007 - shock confession!
Autumn 2007 - back from Scotland
May 2007 - Stupendously Unnecesary Vehicles
and other thoughts
Summer 2007 - babies, bikes and bottom brackets
January / February 2007 - books and babies
Winter 2006 - an eventful event!
Summer 2006 - 2006 update
April / May 2006 - invisble cyclists ...
February / March 2006 - the future has pedals
...
December 2005 / January 2006 - D is for . .
.
October / November 2005 - a new postcard
August / September 2005 - writing progress
June / July 2005 - crossing the bedroom Pacific
...
May 2005 - one bright and breezy morning .
. .
April 2005 - a postcard from home
February / March 2005 - boating . . !
January 2005 - New Year update
December 2004 - festive greetings
November 2004 - right side up update
October 2004 - more postcards
September 2004 - Upside Down Update
August 2004 - New Zealand postcard bonanza
2!
June /July 2004 - New Zealand update
May 2004 - 3 more postcards from NZ
April 2004 - NZ postcard bonanza!
March 2004 - stormy in NZ
February 2004 - A postcard from New Zealand
January 2004 - Made it!
December 2003 - STILL en route to NZ ...
November 2003 - An update from the Pacific
October 2003 - A postcard from Dorset
September 2003 - New book, new plans
August 2003 - Slow Coast Home events
June / July 2003 - Postcards from Holland
May 2003 - Josie's cycling nightmares
March / April 2003 - a change of plan
January / February 2003 - writing the new book
December 2002 - To Newquay and Lands End!
November 2002 - Greetings from Wales
October 2002 - A Postcard from Snowdon
September 2002 - Greetings from Cumbria!
July / August 2002 - Postcards from Humber
Bridge & beyond...
May / June 2002 - England to Holland
April 2002 - New paperback
March 2002 - Events update
January / February 2002 - 2002 events
December 2001 - Best Roads part 2
November 2001 - Post Wonky-Knee Progress
October 2001 - Highlights From Coastal Britain
So Far
September 2001 - Dicky Knee Update!
August 2001 - Coastal Cycle Update and Therapeutic
Pedals
July 2001 - Coastal Cycle Update
April - June 2001 - Setting Off on the Tour
of Coastal Britain