King Alfred’s Way – Five Days of Dust, History and Brilliant Riding King Alfred’s Way is one of the UK’s iconic bikepacking routes. Covering around 220 miles (350 km), it loops through the heart of historic Wessex, linking four National Trails – The Ridgeway, South Downs...
Off-Road Ronde van Calderdale: 14 Cobbled Climbs, 4 Bonus Brutalities and a Lot of Suffering Distance: 58 milesElevation: 8,500 feetRide Time: 11 hoursClimbs: 14 Official Ronde van Calderdale Climbs + 4 Bonus Cobbled ClimbsRiders: San Kapil, Saul and crew Some rides look great on paper. Others look slightly ridiculous. Our Off-Road Ronde...
May 23rd to 25th gave the UK a rare gift: heat. Real heat. The kind where tarmac melts, every climb feels twice as long and even the sheep look exhausted. Naturally, Saul and I thought it was the perfect time to load up the bikes...
We rolled out early Thursday under skies so blue it felt suspicious—like the UK was up to something. First stop: Whinlatter. A quick “warm-up” lap turned into a full send, capped off with a hike-a-bike up Grizedale Pike. And by “hike,” let’s be honest—this was...
£3.50 for an epic gravel adventure… yeah, not quite. That was the plan anyway.Back in January, me Saul and Clare Smith jumped on some dirt-cheap train tickets to Hull with a simple idea ride it all the way back. Humber Bridge, Trans Pennine Trail, a few...
Winter flipped the script completely. After that endless dry stretch, the skies finally opened and didn’t seem to close again. Rain marched in for weeks, carried sideways by proper Yorkshire wind that cuts straight through gloves and good intentions. Higher up, the moors and peaks...
From March to October 2025, Yorkshire felt more like southern Spain than the north of England. Week after week, blue skies, hard sun, and barely a drop of rain turned the landscape brittle. Reservoir edges crept back into cracked mud, hosepipe bans rolled in, and...
Riding over to Sheffield from Halifax on the single speed is always a grind, but an enjoyable one. Keeping the route as off-road as possible is a challenge, especially with the event starting at 11:30 a.m. I rolled out at 7:30 a.m. to meet my...
A day in the Peaks on a sunny Sunday in August is all you need to recharge for the week ahead. Saul, Andrew, Tom, and I met in Glossop to tackle a 25-mile loop through the Peaks, hitting climbs like Jacob’s Ladder, Roche Road, and a...
North Wales Fatbike Overnighter Two days, three riders, 112 miles, 6,000ft climbing and not a skinny tyre in sight. From Tan Lan to Bangor and back, we took fatbikes where most people wouldn’t: beaches, trails, gravel, woodlands, and every coastal town in between. Day 1: 68 miles straight...
Calderdale’s been sun-drenched and dusty this July. A heatwave that's baked the valley’s trails into dry, cracked ribbons. The usual bogs? Gone. The reservoirs? Low and lonely. There’s a hosepipe ban and the rivers are barely whispering, but the riding? Superb. I’ve been mixing it up...
JennRide 2025: South Lakes Adventure with Ian Varley 76 miles · 10,000 ft of climbing · One epic bivvy sunrise There’s Something About JennRide The weather was hot and humid. There’s something special about the 100-mile JennRide that keeps me coming back to the South Lakes year after year....
A Van, VE Day & Vistas: A Channel Islands Adventure There’s something about piling into a van with your mates, a stack of bikes, and just enough kit to get by that screams freedom. This time, the destination wasn’t our usual wild trails or remote Scottish bothies...
April’s kicked off in true Yorkshire fashion — blue skies, a biting breeze, and just enough dust on the trails to coat your calves like icing on a flapjack. But before I could enjoy any of that, I had to make a detour...
Exploring Thetford Forest: A 56-Mile Gravel Adventure On Saturday, March 22nd, I embarked on a 56-mile gravel ride around the picturesque Thetford Forest, organised by Gravel X. With a route comprising 65% gravel and 35% tarmac, this event promised a perfect blend of rugged terrain and...
March is here, and the weather is starting to shift in Calderdale and Kirklees. While it’s still a bit chilly, the dry conditions are perfect for hitting the trails. The crisp air and sun breaking through the clouds make for ideal mountain biking conditions. Whether...
Barbers, Barista and Bikes A sunny spin which would incorporate a trip to the Barbers and coffee at Culture in Slaithwaite. Lovely hills and great descending down Moulson Lane would take me back to West Vale. ...
The relentless grey cloud that has stubbornly clung to the UK for the past two weeks has finally lifted. After a couple of weeks of a cold easterly wind cutting through everything, the sky has opened up, revealing a much-needed glimpse of blue. It’s a...
Riding a singlespeed mtb around Calderdale in early February is a test of grit. The air is cold, the roads and bridleways are wet, the climbs feel steeper than ever. Mist clings to the moors, and puddles stretch across the lanes. But there’s something pure...
January Cycling Adventures: Fat Bikes, SingleSpeed & Cake January was a month of wild rides—through Calderdale’s brutal climbs, along the windswept east coast, and everywhere in between. Switching between the fat bike and single speed, I tackled mud, ice, and headwinds, sometimes solo, sometimes with friends—always...
A Winter Wonderland in Yorkshire: Riding Through the Freeze Yorkshire has been transformed into a breathtaking winter wonderland, thanks to ten consecutive days of sub-zero temperatures. The landscape is cloaked in a pristine blanket of white, a sight that never fails to captivate. However, as beautiful...
Exploring New Horizons: Cycling Adventures in 2025 As we pedal into 2025, the cycling world in the UK is bursting with fresh adventures and challenges to embrace. From fat biking along snow-dusted trails in the Cairngorms to bike-packing across the rugged beauty of the Yorkshire Dales,...
Cycling Through 2024: A Year of Adventure on Two Wheels and a mileage of 5,700 miles 400k feet of climbing.. As the new year unfolded, I committed to cycling every day in 2024, embracing the thrill of mountain biking across various terrains. From singlespeed rides that...
New Ellerby to Flamborough Head and Back Todays ride was a memorable experience thanks to chief navigator and friend Saul Muldoon As we rode along the cliff tops, I couldn’t help but reflect on the incredible experience we were having. The combination of stunning coastal views, the...
Moorlands, Mud, and Memories The anticipation was palpable as we loaded up the van in Calderdale for an early morning departure. Our destination? The picturesque village of Blanchland in Northumberland, the starting point for a fatbike adventure to remember. Three of us set out, joined by...
You can't beat a crisp, sunlit December day for a singlespeed ride from Bury into Manchester. There's something about the combination of dry cold air, good company, and scenic trails that makes it unforgettable. On this particular ride, it was me, Saul, and Ben setting off...
16c on the 1st December is not what you expect but I weren't complaining as it gave me an opportunity to where a T shirt and shorts and have a spin up to see the pigs and a coffee at the Outhouse. The mild weather didn't...
An exceptional barista coffee stands out due to the perfect combination of quality ingredients, technical skill, and personalized touch. Here's what sets it apart: 1. High-Quality Ingredients Freshly Roasted Beans: Specialty coffee beans, freshly roasted and sourced responsibly, provide complex and nuanced flavours. Fresh Grinding: Coffee is ground just before...
Winter has transformed Calderdale into a stunning wonderland, and this week, the fresh snowfall was the perfect invitation to take my Fatbike for a cracking ride. The hills and moors, blanketed in white, offered a unique adventure as I glided over the frozen ground. The...