clairedavieswriter

Once I’d got the hang of GWR’s surprisingly neat bike storage arrangements, the Reading to Penzance leg was a doddle. Penzance was Riviera-hot and St Michael’s Mount barely visible through the heat haze when I arrived at lunchtime. I stopped to get my bearings and a man walking by volunteered directions: an early benefit of…

As ready as I’ll ever be, yes and yes. It’s fair to say that I haven’t gone overboard on the training. Not due to any over-confidence in my fitness but because it’s only a few weeks since a vague notion to do a long ride coalesced into a firm plan to do Lejog, so there…

On my training ride today, I found myself looking at the passing scenery with fresh eyes, thanks to what I’ve learned so far from Wilding – Isabella Tree’s story of how she and her husband Charlie Burrell are returning their Knepp estate in Sussex to nature. I’m lucky enough to be able to ride straight…

The great thing about this trip is that it instantly converts leisure rides into ‘training’, and cake into ‘essential fuel’. Like any dedicated athlete, I take both training and nutrition seriously. Ideally, I try to combine the two by riding via a nice cafe, like Gilbert White’s in Selbourne, which offers a good lemon drizzle…