This gallery contains 15 photos.
Following the intensive three days of the ECF AGM in Stockholm my wife and I decided on a very low key, chill out day on Sunday. And for that we followed the example of millions of residents and visitors each … Continue reading
This gallery contains 1 photo.
Watching the numerous baking programmes that have become so popular on the TV my ears pricked up at the mention of a cake named for one of the world’s great bike rides – the Paris-Brest-Paris. Created in 1910 to celebrate … Continue reading
This gallery contains 4 photos.
Last week work took me to Plovdiv, second city of Bulgaria. I was there for a factory tour and visit to the offices of Max Europe, one of Europe’s biggest bike manufacturers. When the visit was over we had time … Continue reading
This gallery contains 3 photos.
Recently my colleagues who manage the wonderful international EuroVelo cycle route network asked us all in the ECF office if we had some EuroVelo memories or trips we could share as part of an occasional series on their web site. … Continue reading
This gallery contains 3 photos.
Some of the fun things about Belgium country life are the local festivals, markets, walks and indeed bike rides that are put on by community groups and local councils. There is always something happening in Lasne and at least twice … Continue reading
This gallery contains 3 photos.
I wrote recently about last year’s visit to North Cyprus when I was looking at the potential for more cycling with some of the local cycling promoters and supporters. That write-up was dominated by the relationship between mountains and coast, … Continue reading
This gallery contains 10 photos.
A week of intensive discussion about the global future of cycling is coming to an end. Visionaries, technicians, academics, business leaders – they were all here. But of course what everybody loves is a good photo moment and the annual … Continue reading
This gallery contains 4 photos.
In the middle of gloomy news and predictions for 2016 two of the media organisations I follow carried very similar stories of a small ray of sunshine in Europe. 2016 might be the end of a 42 year old conflict … Continue reading
This gallery contains 4 photos.
Last Sunday I was waiting for winter on the mountain bike. This Sunday I was out early for the sunrise over snow. It was like a layer cake, snow below, a ground hugging layer of fine mist between and the … Continue reading
This gallery contains 3 photos.
After the warmest December on record in Belgium it is suggested that winter may just be coming. But it is taking it’s time. The news, web sites and social media shows snow reaching Scotland and minus 14 temperatures in Scandinavia, … Continue reading
This gallery contains 11 photos.
To complement the small selection of nice travel and home photos that I published two days ago I now compiled a similar selection of 2015 cycling shots. Many of the travel shots were also taken on bike rides around the … Continue reading
This gallery contains 5 photos.
The New Year’s Day ride has a special status for Idonotdespair. It is the anniversary of my first blog post here in 2012 and has generally provided me with excellent days out and a great start to the year. This … Continue reading
This gallery contains 17 photos.
Several of the bloggers I follow are summarising their year with a few of their favourite or most viewed posts. I thought I would do something a little simpler by picking out some of my favourite photos of the year, … Continue reading
This gallery contains 5 photos.
Last weekend I took a short cycling trip over the Flemish border to the nearby town of Overijse to watch the elite cyclocross, referred to by the TV commentators as the “classico” because it has been run on the same … Continue reading
This gallery contains 24 photos.
As a cyclist it is so easy to be blown away by the waves of Copenhageners cycling to work and school along their wonderful bike lanes and forget to take a look at the city and its region. I haven’t … Continue reading
I Do Not Despair 