Life In The Saddle

I am frequently asked what inspires me to ride a bike. My answer is curiosity. Curiosity to see how far you can ride; how fast you can travel; how many new places, people and cultures you can see along the journey. Endurance cycling is an adventurous challenge, to both body and mind. At numerous points one will be shouting at the other to stop; but they rarely agree. It is a perpetual cycle of disagreement. The idea of the Black Forest 400 ride arose from curiosity. At Christmas, I drove for nine hours to reach this beautiful part of Germany. On the drive back, I got wondering… could I ride that? Non-stop? Self-supported? A challenge was born… 400 miles, with over 8,000 metres of elevation gain. My longest ride to date. Beginnings The ride starts from the historic town of Arras, in northern France. Arras was an important stronghold in both World Wars, and the scene of great battles (including the Battle of Arras in 1917). The long straight road out of town is lined wit...

The 'Scrub and Buff' Bundle from Juice Lubes contains their signature Dirt Juice Bike Cleaner, a concentrated Bike Cleaner refill, Juice Lubes Frame Juice polish, Juice Lubes Viking Chain Lube, and a Dirty Little Scrubber chain cleaner. I have been putting it all to the test... It's that time of year again, when the weather is doing its best to remove as much lubricant and grease from your bike as possible; replacing it with grit, road salt and mud. Bike cleaning is a weekly, if not daily task, but it is one task that becomes a lot more manageable with the right kit. The 'Scrub and Buff' kit from UK brand Juice Lubes contains the essentials for a quick clean and re-lube. The Dirt Juice Bike Cleaner will help to clean the frame and wheels, and the concentrated version works well for chain cleaning in the highly effective Dirty Little Scrubber - one of the better chain cleaner designs I have seen to date. After you have washed and dried the bike, the Juice L...

There are a few cycling accessories that I would classify as essentials: a pump, a saddlebag to house your spare tube, a water bottle and cage, and a mudguard (especially in winter). The Vel Accessories Bundle delivers all of those, in a high quality and colour-coordinated package. I took a Vel water bottle with me on my #7Countries7Passes tour last year, because it was a stylish large volume bottle, without any offensive branding (perfect for those 'Bike Against A Wall' shots). The bottle included in this accessories pack is similarly subtle, well made, and easy to clean thanks to its large opening. The bottle mounts up in a sturdy and smart composite bottle cage. This gloss black cage is lightweight, easy to use, and will securely hold most brands of bike bottle. Under the bottle cage you can mount the mini-pump. This is the highlight of this cycling accessories pack, in my opinion. The black anodised finish of the metal barrel of the pump signals the high build qual...

My previous distance record for a non-stop ride stands at 485 kilometres (300 miles): the distance of the Trafalgar Way ride from Falmouth to London, in 2014. The #BlackForest400 will be a new personal distance record, in new riding territory. The Route The route starts from the city of Arras in northern France, before heading east and south into Belgium, the Ardennes, Luxembourg, and through Strasbourg; before ramping up significantly to the finish in the Black Forest. A total of 644 kilometres (400 miles), with over 8,000 metres of elevation gain. You can watch the ride unfold on social media, with the hashtag #BlackForest400 The Bike The #BlackForest400 will be adventure into a new territory, but I have opted to do it aboard a familiar bike - the Neil Pryde Bura SL. The Neil Pryde was my bike of choice for many great adventures on the road last year, including the #5MaratonasChallenge and the St. Boniface Down Everesting . I have made a few modifications to th...

For long distance endurance cycling, battery power often becomes a concern. Not just your personal energy 'batteries', but also power supply for your GPS unit, phone, and other devices. The Cinq Smart Power Pack II is a cycling specific power bank solution. What makes this more suitable to cycling than other power banks on the market? Charging The Cinq Smart Power Pack has three adjustable charging stages: you can charge it at a very low input level, such as from a dynamo hub (using a USB adaptor like The Plug ) or solar panel; but you can also rapidly charge it with a standard USB charger through the micro-USB input. In addition to acting as a battery store, the unit can also act as a 'buffer' between a dynamo hub and a device. This means that it avoids the device you are charging constantly flicking in and out of charging mode at low dynamo speeds. This is particularly useful for power hungry devices, and Android devices that don't charge well at low po...