9 Jan 2016: winter fuel payments
Sorry for the long period of inactivity – I’m back from a long research visit to Melbourne, and have hardly been on a bike for a couple of months now. … Continue reading
22 Aug 2015: A mini Tour De France
Just back from a holiday trip to Beaujolais in France – a cautious 900 miles in 22 days – and on a much more modern and comfortable bike than the … Continue reading
Remarkable old blokes: #1 Gustaf Håkansson
This is a tortoise and hare story. In 1951 (the year of my birth), 66-year-old Gustaf Håkansson decided he wanted to enter a Swedish 1,000-mile endurance event. The organisers refused … Continue reading
9 Jul 2015: Injury!
I’ve already identified navigation as one of the biggest potential problems for LEJOG, but I’ve now been reminded of another – injury. I felt absolutely fine immediately after the 116-mile … Continue reading
27 Jun 2015: A century ride
Riding a hundred miles is something that most cyclists want to do at some time. I’ve never gone that far before in a single day’s ride, so it was time … Continue reading
21 Jun 2015: Eroica Britannia!
Went to the Eroica Britannia vintage bike festival. A great occasion, with hundreds of wonderful old bikes on view and some bizarre appearances. My favourite – a Bianchi owner with … Continue reading
14 Jun 2015: The joys of research
I came across some old cycling magazines from the 1940s and 50s and hoped to find some ideas about components for the restoration of my reserve bike: the 1942 Claud … Continue reading
30 May 2015: Training begins….
A chance to do a long ride yesterday, to begin the year-long training campaign. We arranged to meet some of the family for lunch at 12.15 at Hemingford Grey – … Continue reading
12 Apr 2015: Our first test – Eroica Britannia
The Ellis-Briggs will face her first serious test in June, at the Eroica Britannia – a wonderful festival for vintage (pre-1987) bikes, held in Bakewell Derbyshire. There are three routes … Continue reading
12 Apr 2015: Nearly done!
Well, she’s now built up and nearly complete – 14 months early. I had thought it would take much longer to track down the right sort of old components and … Continue reading
Old Bloke On An Old Bike 