• London Women’s Cycle Racing – 2010

    It soon became apparent that when going through pictures for a recent feature on the Smithfield Nocturne held in 2007 I could not find one picture of a woman racer. This got me thinking about the creation of the ‘London Women’s Cycle Racing’ league. The London Women’s Cycle Racing was formed in 2010 to offer… Continue Reading

  • Smithfield Nocturne 2007 – new order

    The first edition of the Smithfield Nocturne was held in June 2007 at the central London Smithfield meat market and a place of execution of ‘heretics’ in the 16th century. The event has now moved deeper into the City of London and has been relabelled as the ‘London Nocturne’. This event in 2007 marked for… Continue Reading

  • Hannover Cyclo Cross – the 6. IhmeCross 2018

    The 6. IhmeCross der RSG Hannover 2018 promoted by Radsportgemeinschaft Hannover e.V. and flanked by the Ihme River in Germany. Around the globe cyclo cross events have almost the same elements, of course a different spoken language stands out, but the general building blocks remain much the same. I bitterly wished I had seen the… Continue Reading

  • HSBC National Trophy – Sussex Showground 2018

    Crawley Wheelers led by Doug Fox first promoted a London and South East Cyclo Cross League event at the Sussex Showground during the 2015/16 season. The venue soon became a favourite with its wide expanse of land, large car parks, great facilities, the commitment of a wonderful cycling club and a friendly host owner, we… Continue Reading

  • Herne Hill, London Cyclo Cross 2018

    The Kinesis UK London and South East Cyclo Cross League held round five of the 2018/19 season at Herne Hill Velodrome, south London. Organised by Herne Hill Youth CC on October 7, 2018. In the mid 1990’s we held the first cyclo cross race at the Herne Hill Velodrome and a handful of people took… Continue Reading

  • Metal Guru

    An August cycle tour that took in the home of Gustav Holst and the place of death of Glam Rock star Marc Bolan in Barnes, south London. In the 1970’s I started to get to grips with life when I took small and big steps to understand what was naff or good taste. I had… Continue Reading

  • A good mental road

    I trained not to win races, although that would have been nice, but rather to be strong enough to ride and compete whilst having a ‘normal life’. And when I say ‘normal’ I mean being able to go out racing or riding without having to spend the rest of the time with my head slumped… Continue Reading

  • Epping Forest – Common Land

    Epping Forest is a Mecca for London cyclists and an area where access to the ‘people’s forest’ is seen as a birth-right. Well, it is now, but only after a fight. At the end of the 19th Century Epping Forest like other common lands, forests or heaths was in danger of being swallowed by London’s… Continue Reading

  • Box Hill – North Downs, England

    The 2012 Olympic Games cycle road races featured nine ascents of the Zig Zag road, better known as Box Hill, for the men and two for the women. It was intended that this North Downs climb would smash the race apart. Sadly, for the British team working for Mark Cavendish and despite setting the pace… Continue Reading

  • Tour d’Energie 2018 – Jedermann

    Germany has a strong cycle race scene covering the same territory as the UK with the addition of a good following for cycle football and artistic cycling. For us in the UK the idea that something is a ‘hobby’ is a bit like being told that something is ‘nice’, such words can be construed as… Continue Reading

  • Cycle Pilgrim – North Downs, England

    The North Downs are a long line of green high ground to the south of London. The Downs have become a place of pilgrimage for cyclists on and off road and here you can find sunken roads, great views plus killer climbs – not a place for the pious rather a place for any cycling… Continue Reading

  • At the Grenze under the Ski Jump

    In April 2018 I travelled back in time to the now defunct German internal grenze (border) at the Wurmberg Mountain. In the mid-eighties I had stood on the west side of the Grenze half way up the Wurmberg Mountain in the Harz, a region of mountains rich in folklore set in central Germany. Above my… Continue Reading

  • Spit out of middle Germany – Der Harz Mountains

    The Harz Mountains are 2,226 square kilometres of medium sized mountains and forest that seems to have been spit out of the ground of middle Germany. Circling the Harz are the cities of Hannover, Gottingen, Wolfsburg, Leipzig and Magdeburg. Much of the Harz today is a national park and the area is home to a… Continue Reading