cycling
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Tudor Wassail at Michelham Priory
On a freezing, sunny afternoon, I arrived at Berwick railway station. No tweed to be seen: this was Berwick in Sussex, and I was on my way to a moat-ed, medieval priory, to take part in a Tudor Wassail with the Brighton Folk Choir. Usually a one-Wassail-a-year kind of lad, this was me branching out,… Read more
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Portsmouth – Ryde ferry: gateway to the 1950s
I woke up early today, and so decided to get the hovercraft to the Isle of Wight. People have been holding me back from travelling by hovercraft for too long. It’s time I ignored the haters and lived my best life. I arrived at the hoverport to find it closed. Google had told me the… Read more
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Furious man in local newspaper
I’ve finally achieved my lifelong goal of looking angry in the local newspaper. Unfortunately I didn’t get to pose either with my armed folded or pointing at the thing that annoyed me, but perhaps that’s something to achieve before I’m fifty. I’m pretty happy with how I have been quoted, though it’s perhaps a shame… Read more
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Cycling in Paris is much better than cycling in London
In 2020, Cyclist magazine wrote of London and Paris mayors both seeking re-election; and both talking a good game on their plans to revolutionise active travel in their respective capitals. Even then, it wasn’t a fair comparison. Paris’ socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo had already instigated a revolution. The ‘Plan Velo’ approach aims for a cycle… Read more
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Crossing the Streams
In the 1984 docu-drama Ghostbusters, we were warned that crossing the streams could lead to catastrophe. The historic record shows things worked out fine in the end. In that spirit*, I’m sharing a couple of posts from instagram. I am still doing some videos about bad cycling and walking infrastructure, even though things are no… Read more
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Spooky Infrastructure Month
I’ve decided to do some short videos of the paucity of walking and cycling infrastructure in this place we insist on calling England. Some of the cycle lanes I share will definitely be haunted. This is a project that will largely live on instagram but to remind myself that this is something I’m doing, here… Read more
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Brighton to Lewes
“Sorry, this has been ordered for the Lewes Argos, not the Lewes Road Argos”. Oh. “Don’t worry, happens all the time.” Down the Sainsbury’s travelator I travellated, weighing up this sudden necessity to cycle to Lewes. It’s not a pretty or fun journey, at any point. The Lewes Road has a cycle lane – good.… Read more
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Cycling up Ditchling Beacon
“Be careful”. Usually I ignore it. But this time, I bite: “Do you say that to all your friends heading out, or just the ones cycling? Do you like my new cycle cap?” “Why a cap and not a helmet?” Cyclists like me head out on their rides knowing that if someone in a few… Read more
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Cycling in Kingston
Desperately trying to memorise words, I took a walk around Kingston Upon Thames yesterday, repeating things to myself and attracting curious glances from passers-by. Was I mad, or had hands-free mobile technology reached the invisibility stage? The council has made assorted efforts to encourage more people to walk and cycle around town; if you’re on… Read more
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