I´ve always had the utmost respect for bike shop mechanics but the staff at Cycling Planet in Alaró, Mallorca demand to be held in even higher esteem than others. Its founder, David Muntaner, is not only a skilled mechanic who will service your bike, fix up your gears and re-spoke your wheels. He also happens to be a World Champion.
Read MoreReview: Signs of Life by Stephen Fabes
When junior doctor Stephen Fabes set off on a round-the world adventure he wasn’t exactly best prepared. In fact, so out-of-shape was he, that the first leg of his journey consisted of a paltry 14 miles from London's Embankment to a guesthouse in Bexleyheath. Six years later he’d succeeded in crossing six continents and tallying an impressive 53,568 miles of bicycle travel. Signs of Life, To the Ends of the Earth with a Doctor is his book documenting that extraordinary feat.
Read MoreSa Ruta Verda: Mallorca's Heavenly Cycling Cafe
Hailing as we do from the village of Caimari, we’re doubly blessed in this little corner of Mallorca. Not only do we have one of the best, some would say THE best, cycling climb of the Tramuntana mountains on our doorstep in the Coll de Sa Batalla, but we also have arguably the best cycling cafe on the island in Sa Ruta Verda.
Read MoreJen Lewis Cycling Art
Jen Lewis’s art prints first caught our attention when we spotted her depiction of the Formentor lighthouse in Mallorca. It’s one of our favourite rides and her view from the final bend is an absolute classic. Imagine how delighted we were to find that she’d also done a picture of the climb on our very own doorstep of Sa Batalla as well as Sa Calobra and Puig Major. But Jen´s cycling art doesn´t limit itself to Mallorca. There are dozens of beautiful prints from the Grand Tours to Didi the Devil. We had to find out more about her so dropped her a line.
Read MoreMallorca Opens Up!
Cala Deia is one of those beautiful coves that Mallorca is famous for. It’s a 20 minute walk from the village along goat and sheep paths that wind through the shady ‘es Clot’ gardens before crossing terraced olive groves. Alternatively you can drive down and negotiate the many hairpins from a turning off the main road just outside the village.
Read MoreLife in Lockdown- Day 8: Mothering Sunday
March 22nd in the UK was Mothering Sunday, but in Spain el Dia de la Madre isn’t until 3rd May, so the whole event almost passed me by. In any case festivals like these aren’t turned into huge commercial spectacles in Spain. Back home you can’t walk down a high street without shops trying to tempt you into buying their mother-themed wares or turn on the TV without seeing idealised scenarios in adverts involving flowers, family meals or breakfasts in bed.
Read MoreVeloskin: Skincare for Cyclists, by Cyclists
If you’re after some cycling specific skincare you should head over to the Veloskin website for their range that is designed exclusively for cyclists by cyclists.
Read MoreEasing out of Lockdown in Mallorca
Free face masks, actual bike rides, dog walks, amazing food, too much wine and a new phase with even more freedom next week. Lockdown is easing in Mallorca…
Read MoreLife in Lockdown Week 2
Poor weather and lockdown are a bad combination…
Read MoreLife in Lockdown: Day 7. A Weekend Without Sport
With Milan - San Remo cancelled this weekend, no Six Nations Rugby, no football, basically no sport at all…how do you fill the weekend in lockdown?
Read MoreLife in Lockdown - Day 6: The News
As a former newspaper reporter, I’ve always been a news junkie and events like 9/11, the financial crash of 2008 and the London riots in 2011 made me devour everything going in a frenzy of horror and excitement . However, since 2016 I’ve sometimes felt overwhelmed by the news - it was too upsetting, too close to home or too final and at times I’ve wanted to stick my fingers in my ears and sing LALALALA loudly to the world.
Read MoreLife in Lockdown Day 5: Who Let the Dogs Out?
One good thing to come out of this lockdown is that I’ve never seen so many dogs in our village get so much exercise! It’s the only way that people can get out of their houses at the moment other than to drive to the shops.
Read MoreLife in Lockdown - Day 4 - Business as Usual
In many ways being in lockdown is like normal life - since July I have been working from home running our cycling and hiking holiday house, Casa de Ciclista. And on the odd occasion when we don’t have guests or family staying we’re busy decorating and gardening. When our first guest cancelled their booking for Sunday, I was relieved because it meant I didn’t have to spend a glorious day preparing the house for the new arrivals. I could have a day off!
Read MoreLife in Lockdown Day 3: Turbo Charge
With all cycling banned, even for professional riders, it’s time to get the turbo trainer out.
Read MoreLife in Lockdown - Trying to Conform
Weirdly I slept through the night for the first time in days. It helped that it was Monday morning which seemed like a fresh start after a lost weekend spent drifting through stories of doom and gloom in a trance-like state. I felt positive and ready for action (paradoxically given our house-bound state).
Read MoreLife in Lockdown Day 1
It’s a strange feeling being confined to your house against your will. I’m sure that we’ve had lazy Sundays where we haven’t left our front door but, when this isn’t a voluntary choice, a sense of claustrophobia, resentment and restlessness can start to permeate every thought and action.
Read MoreThe Col du Grand Colombier: Vive La Fraternité!
I think most people in the cycling world have heard of the Cingles: the challenge reserved for people of a foolish disposition who think it’s good fun to climb Mont Ventoux not once or twice but three times in the same day. But did you know there was an arguably even tougher multiple ascent challenge of an Hors Categorie Tour de France col where the requirement is for four climbs between dawn and dusk?
Read MoreTony Doyle, Legendary 6-Day Champ
In the light of Chris Froome’s extensive injuries at the Criterium Dauphine, we spoke to Tony Doyle MBE. Tony, a massive star of the 6-Day circuit in the 80s and 90s, suffered a horrendous crash at the Munich 6-Day which left him in a coma for 10 days during which time he was administered the last rites. One year later he was back racing at Munich, the scene of his own ‘horror crash.’ And he won it. What does it take for a rider to overcome such serious injuries, get back on the bike and be a winner all over again?
Read MoreWhat's it really like to ride the Tour de France?
Thousands of amateur cyclists ride the Etape du Tour each year and for many it’s a huge achievement to complete that one stage of the Tour de France. But what’s it like to ride the entire parcours over three weeks? Mark Roberts completed Le Loop last year - a charity cycling event that does just that. Find out about the pain, fatigue, camaraderie and exhilaration of riding one of the toughest cycling challenges around.
Read MoreThe Perfect Car for Cyclists?
What sort of things do you look for in a car? What about a washing machine to clean your kit? Skoda polled 1,500 UK cyclists to find out what were the most important things they wanted from their drive before and after their ride. They took the results and came up with the Karoq Velo. And yes, it does indeed have a washing machine, a pressure washer to clean your bike and even a built-in drone station.
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