by Jet McDonald A slow puncture is like a stilted sigh. Down on my knees I pumped my exasperation back into the tyre with a rusty pump. Again and again it deflated. Being in the middle of the desert I had no handy buckets of water and had to rely on inflating the inner tube and […]
Read more "Learning to Love Your Punctures "Do you cycle to work? Do you bike the kids to school? Do you sometimes go for a morning ride before you start the day proper? Well, be careful out there; it’s dangerous. Especially so, it appears, if you live in the UK. A combination of downtrodden infrastructure, general lawlessness and impatient drivers can can create a […]
Read more "Dealing With Angry Drivers"For some folks, it’s cars. For others, it’s rare vinyl. For some further still it’s camera equipment, or vintage lithographs, or old National Geographic magazine, or guns, or rare books, or stuffed squirrels. For my Dad, it was stereo equipment. Each time I’d come home to Dublin, there’d be a new addition to the system; some insanely […]
Read more "My Cycling Gear and Other Addictions"This September, Furious Riding’s Lycra-Fetishist in Chief will be riding from London to Paris. This is the story why. It’s difficult, if not impossible, to pick the greatest moment in the history of any sport. For every assertion, there will be a counter assertion – a sort of infinite, regressive ‘what-aboutery’. How can you rate the […]
Read more "Knees, Badassery and Crying on the Champs-Élysées"As a man of the stretchy cloth, you hear a lot of discussion about road rage: ‘CAR DRIVER GOES JIHAD ON SQUIRREL’ ‘MOTORIST GAROTTES COMMUTER WITH BIKE LOCK’ ‘VAN DRIVER BEATS CYCLIST TO DEATH WITH HIS OWN BROMPTON’ That class of thing. But you don’t hear much about cyclist road rage. Few and far between, it seems, are the headlines […]
Read more "I Need To Tell You About My Grandmother’s Funeral"I see them, looking at me. Scowling in bewilderment from behind the wheels of their cars. ‘What the hell is that clown doing?’ he says to his missus. ‘The state of him, and it’s pissing rain…’ And I know what he means. I’ve thought it myself if I’m honest. What the hell am I doing […]
Read more "Getting The Nod"Disappear Into The Dust Lost On Your Horse Blown Away By Your Gust Lost On Your Horse I ride my bike. I turn the pedals. I see you in the country, in a wide open space, lost, looking, making your way. You’ll get there, but it may take a few days. We’re in the hospital […]
Read more "On the Crossroads, Make a left"posted by Damien DeBarra “Now is the time for you to reflect, not only that all things are mortal, but also that their mortality is subject to no fixed law. Whatever can happen at any time can happen today. Let us therefore reflect, my beloved Lucilius, that we shall soon come to the goal which this friend, […]
Read more "Sent on Ahead"posted by Damien DeBarra ‘No Matter how stressful the scenario, you can always hear the voice of GB cycling’s psychiatrist Dr Steve Peters in your head. Can you change anything? Yes? Then change it. No? Then deal with it.’ – Geraint Thomas The Chimp Paradox by Dr. Steve Peters
Read more "The Chimp Paradox"You know that way that dogs kick their legs when dreaming of chasing rabbits? Well, when the cyclist in your family does that, it’s this col that does it.
Read more "Short spin up the Col de Pailheres, Pyrenees"