Life In The Saddle

There is nothing quite like the feeling of stumbling in from a freezing winter ride and resting up in front of a roaring log fire with a plate of steaming hot pub food in front of you. Equally, a sunny summer beer garden is one of the best places to relax. The Isle of Wight is fortunate to have many superb country pubs that make ideal rest stops on a cycling tour. This blog post looks at my seven favourites…


The Pointer Inn, NewchurchFor many years this was my local, but that did not stop me calling in there for a post ride meal on many occasions. Serving up incredible home-cooked food, and with a classic country pub atmosphere; it is a wonderful place to stop whatever the time of year, with its warm cosy fires for the winter and large beer garden for the summer months. I heartedly recommend Rob's 'Newchurch Pie'—the pub's signature dish.




The Buddle Inn, NitonRiding the Undercliff Road from Ventnor to Niton is a pure delight—even more so now it has been shut to motorised…

A protective wallet for your phone and credit cards when cycling is a necessity; your jersey pocket is bombarded by spray, sweat, and dirt—none of those go well with electronics. The Baggicase Cycling Phone Wallet is a neat weatherproof phone wallet that is designed for cycling adventures.

The case is a soft case design—it is made from ripstop waterproof nylon, overlaid on a soft padded interior that helps to create rigidity and protection. The external fabric is treated with an anti-bacterial finish that reduces the chance of the case developing a foul smell after hours of being in a sweaty jersey pocket. To seal in your phone, cash, and cards, the Baggicase uses a waterproof zipper with a 'Camlock' design to hold it shut.

Inside the Baggicase Cycling Phone Wallet you get three sleeves that can hold a house key, cards, and paper cash. The cards are held securely in the slots with no risk of them slipping out when you open the wallet, and one of the sleeves has a small flip …

Commuting by bicycle is a fantastic way to reduce stress, kick-start your metabolism, and counteract a day sat in an office. In 2017, I was labelled the 'UK's Super Commuter' (article link in the Telegraph Newspaper); it was testament to the number of hours and miles I clocked up each year riding to and from the office.

With more than a decade of experience riding a bike to work at various locations around the UK, these are my '7 Tips' for a bicycle commute.



1 – Daytime Running Lights Even in the middle of June there are shadows, morning mist, low sunlight and changing light conditions. All those things can make a cyclist hard to pick out on the road. Invest in some USB chargeable lights with an output that is strong enough to be seen even in bright daylight; your presence on the road will be increased significantly, and you will notice that you have fewer close calls and near passes.

These are my Top 3 Daytime Running Light choices:
Lezyne  (Reviewed here) (Shop here…

Tubeless tyres offer a huge number of advantages over their tubed counterparts – including greater grip, puncture resistance, and a lower rolling resistance. To find out more about the benefits of tubeless, have a read of my post 'Going Tubeless on Road Tyres'.

However, tubeless tyres can be a right pain... most notably to fit, but also when they do not seal out on the road or trails. After fitting more tubeless tyres than I care to count, and having plenty of dramas of my own, I thought I would share some Top Tips for Tubeless: for mounting, repairing and maintaining the tubeless system.


1. Mounting – Use Two Wraps of Tubeless Rim TapeMost tubeless conversion kits recommend one compete wrap of the sealing tape (such as Stan's Yellow Tape). I recommend doing two wraps.

You will use twice as much tape, and add a tiny amount of weight; but the added friction on the tyre bead and the better coverage of the rim bed makes it far easier to inflate the tyre. It also makes it less …