Writing occasionally about cycling
For the last 10 years or so I've been having a minor panic attack on the first hill of a ride. No matter how slowly I've ridden, by the time I reach the top my body tries to convince me that we're never going to get our breath back. Within 30 seconds or so it …
Continue reading "Training: Panic Stations and the Boom Titty Boom"
A few notes on recent rides and some annoying failures. Some human, some technical. Benjamin Allen's March Madness, 01/03/25 A much harder ride than it looked on paper. 100km across the Welsh Marches, with 1400m of climbing. There were a couple of really stinky climbs and the general terrain in those parts is distinctly Devonian …
A customisable schedule for LEL
As I'm having another crack at LEL, I'm going to try to keep a ride diary of sorts. Don't think it'll be amusing. It's mainly to keep a note of what worked, what didn't, what went well and what went horribly, catastrophically, OH MY GOD IT'S EATING MY LEG, wrong. If you're a fellow long-haul …
Continue reading "Benjamin Allen’s Spring Tonic 200km Feb 1st 2025"
LEL 2022 was a disaster. I'd previously written about how great it was going to be, because of all my extra experience which would propel me to GLORY! Turns out that was complete bollocks and I'm still able to nause things up, despite best efforts to plan everything and get it right. Long story short …
I last rode London-Edinburgh-London back in 2013. I was younger, slightly lighter and considerably less experienced than I am now. Nine years later I'm riding it again. Hopefully there will be fewer mistakes than last time, and I made a lot. The LEL website explains everything except why. Last time round I staggered over the …
A couple of years ago I interviewed Vin Denson. If you were looking for a British cycling legend, an anonymous housing estate in Essex probably isn't the first place you'd look. Neatly trimmed hedges divide the houses, everything looks very respectable and ordinary. It's not a bad place to be retired but it's a far …
Continue reading "“I’ll have what Eddy Merckx is getting” – Vin Denson"
I was asked to write a test piece about bulletproof coffee by a prospective client. I was reasonably happy with the result and I might even give the stuff a go... Cycling and coffee go hand in hand, whether it's elegant pros sipping espresso in Girona or audaxers warming up with a mug of instant. …
Well Chuffed Cycling 