Last night I went along to the inaugural meeting of ‘Wines, Vines and Good Times’. Rubbish name, but a very nice lady called Ruth setting up a wine appreciation club in Balham, London. Last night was just an introduction –…
In last month’s issue of ‘Pro Cycling’ there was a little snippet about Lance Armstrong, particularly about a 6-minute clip on YouTube. We all know about Lance on a bike. Back in the ‘90s we had 5 years of Miguel…
Last Saturday I had a real treat. A few days before I got a call out of the blue from Ranju, Sandeep’s other half, and we arranged to meet for lunch at Villandry (in London, not the chateau in the…
Tandem Bicycles I Hear You Ask? You May Have to Buy Your Own Years ago – and I really mean years ago, in 1979 – I cycled around Exeter with my brother Mike on a tandem bicycle, displaying placards for…
This is the time of year when I start following the cycling press. It’s the run-up to the classics of Belgium, Holland and Northern France, and it’s the first chance we get to run the rule over the runners and…
Just before Christmas I had my bike stolen. You might remember me waxing lyrical about the wonderful chain wear gauge. Inevitably I had just finished fitting the new cassette, chain and middle chain ring. Of course this means the bike…
Last weekend I received a real bonus. One of the loveliest ladies we’ve ever had on a Chain Gang holiday was Yoko, from Hiroshima in Japan. She’s ferociously strong on hills – which she denies but which Hanna, Lisa, Gary,…
What’s The Best Wine on a Chain Gang Cycling Tour? I will always have a soft spot for Chateau du Cedres, an AOC Cahors. We don’t visit the vineyard – or any where near it – but during the eastern…
The Bloke at the Fortified Mill On the road from Payrac to Rocamadour, on the 4th day of our Dordogne cycle tour, we usually visit a fascinating fortified flour mill called Cougnaguet. It’s run by an elderly couple, and of…
Our First Ever Day The very first day of our very first tour had enough incident to make it memorable. There were only 7 of us – one of them was Stéphane, the guide, one was me, and two were…
