2018 saw me hit 60 and I decided to retire and spend more time visiting amazing places, usually on a bike, and in the process, try and capture some nice images.
The whole point of this site is for me to document my travels to the best of my abilities.
When did I start travelling on the bike?
I had done several UK trips mountain biking to Wales, Scotland, the Peak District, even doing the Coast to Coast a couple of times, once in two days in 2006, then a more leisurely three days in 2009.
In between those rides, a bunch of us did the South Downs Way over two days, in October 2008, which left us with some daylight issues towards the end of day one, but we had plenty of great memories.
The international travel started in December 2008, when I took a mountain bike trip to Morocco and got the bug. The mixture of amazing scenery and spending time with like minded people inspired me and since then I have just kept going.
In 2010 I switched back to road biking and found a great company that organises guided and fully supported trips. This led to some amazing friendships with like minded people, and now we spend a lot of time organising our own trips.
I have toured by car and motorbike over the years, but now I am addicted and I can’t imagine travelling any other way. It boils down to the rhythm of the pedals and wheels turning beneath you, the reward of reaching the top of a mountain pass and knowing you got there under your own power, then eating everything you can get your hands on.
For me, life doesn’t get any better.
Since retiring I have also joined Sustrans, the charity responsible for maintaining the National Cycle Network with the aim to improve sustainable transport. The site is a great location for traffic free route information in the UK and I used their excellent maps for a couple of trips in 2018, Yorkshire Loop, August 2018 and Coast to coast to coast, June 2018.
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Tales from the Saddle 