(Read time: A large glass of port, accompanied by a slab of stilton and some very tasty crackers (it's a long one!)) Caution: Content that some may find disturbing. As I was about to board a plane last Sunday afternoon, and while bored in the airport, I bought a copy of a cycling magazine. On …
The Craic is mightier than the Col
(Read time: one double espresso and two Biscotti) I am so bloody hungry! It's not the type of hunger where I fancy a nibble on a bag of the finest rice crackers the supermarket can offer... Or that a cheeky slice of toast laden with Nutella can eliminate. No, this is a deep kind of …
Never going to win Crufts
(Read time; 1 grab bag of McCoys crisps) It's that time of year again. I'm not referring to the New Year, post Christmas lull, where January seems to drag more than a modern day football match. Nor am I referring to the long dark nights, with frosts and occasional spells of sleet that we think …
All good things come to an end…
(Read time: 2 cups of tea and a Tunnocks Caramel bar) I know there was a time in April 2020, when I, along with most of the rest of this fragile planet looked forward to the day when COVID-19 disappeared and let us get back to whatever we thought normal life was. I also believe …
The Dark Miles
Before we start, let's address the elephant in the blog. I am well aware that I have previously offered that I do not find that winter miles offer me much inspiration, and I lay the blame for some relatively blog-free silences last winter at precisely this. The handful that follow this blog will know that …
That’s fine by me
(Blog Read Time; 1 cup of tea and 3 biscuits) Not long ago, I woke up (not physically, but metaphorically) and realised that I am 'a Cyclist'. On reflection, this is perhaps an unsurprising conclusion, though to me it was something of a revelation, and caused me to question how I ended up in this …
Too Proud To Ask
I like to think that I am quite good at taking care of my bike(s). I perform 90% of maintenance myself and haven't (that I can recall!) had an incident that was due to my own actions and poor maintenance practice. You really don't have to spend a lot of money in order to equip …
Flat Evens
Mother Nature spoke to me today. She said, very politely, 'Mr MAMIL, the clocks have gone back, it's 15 celsius and sunny, get on your bike and enjoy it'. What she didn't tell me was that she had a cruel plan to rip out my heart, suck out every ounce of energy that I had, …
A great loser
'Is it the Truth, or in fact a Lie?' Right now you may be forgiven for considering the option of giving professional cycling an amnesty, to pull all of the skeletons out of the closet, naming and removing the bad actors and their techniques permanently, and starting again. Be it mechanical or chemical doping, or …
The Gabbling MAMIL 