Hubris In High Gear - A Chase the Sun South 2025 Chronicle

A rare meteorological event occurred today: actual good weather, in Britain, on a Thursday, while I had a ride planned. I seized the opportunity to head for London and bag two more of the 100 UK Cycling Climbs —because nothing says “good use of a sunny day” like voluntarily ascending steep hills. This meant approaching the city from the northeast instead of the usual northern route. A refreshing change, if by "refreshing" you mean "full of terrible roads and unexpected zoo sightings." More on that later. New Gear: The Top Tube Bag of Great Expectations First, a crucial equipment upgrade: the Tailfin 1.1L top tube bag. My requirements were simple: Not so enormous that I look like I’m attempting an unsupported cross-continental expedition. Large enough to hold my three critical possessions—phone, speaker, and snacks. Easy access, because struggling with a bag while riding is a fast track to disaster. I opted for the zippered ver...

1.  Drinking: Turns out, dehydration is bad. Who knew? About 800ml of fluid per 20-25 miles seems to keep things functional. Shops exist, use them—running dry mid-ride is not a cool personality trait. 2. Eating: Flapjack and a gel every 1.25-1.5 hours (e.g., gel at 45 mins, flapjack at 1hr 15m). Also, real food and coffee every 45-50 miles, because existing purely on sugar and wishful thinking is a mistake. 3. Clothing: Winter is the enemy of comfort. Balancing cold and wet conditions is an ongoing battle, but theoretically, warmer weather should be less of a logistical nightmare. 4.  Pacing: Also known as "don’t be an idiot." Take hills at a steady effort. Don’t floor it on flats and descents unless the goal is to collapse in a heap before the ride ends. 5. Flapjacks: Easy to make, easy to portion, easy to eat, and easy to freeze. A near-perfect fuel source, unless you hate oats (in which case, reconsider your life choices). 6.  Proper winter gear: Tyres, mudguards, and ...

After last week’s sortie into the Peaks (successful, against all probability), I opted for a more local excursion. The route was carefully engineered to mimic the elevation gain of Chase the Sun. A persistent headwind on the way out was, in theory, compensated by a tailwind home. More on that later. The forecast was of the ever-reassuring (unreliable?) black cloud/sun/rain icon. Spoiler alert: it had hailed yesterday. The mission parameters included a non-stop ride to 50 miles, a maximum distance push to 80 miles, and an ill-advised attempt at calling this a “recovery ride.” Given the 4–8°C temperature range and wind, I made an executive decision: the lighter short-sleeved thermal base layer came back into play, thus avoiding another mid-ride costume change fiasco. In hindsight, the decision, astoundingly, proved correct. Mark this rare event in the history books. However, before departure, the day provided its first test of resilience—one entirely flat front tyre. Initial upset subsid...

Ah yes, another meticulously planned exercise in self-inflicted suffering. This was the first big test I’d been training for. Six school friends and I were converging on the Peak District for a weekend of civilized socializing, so naturally, I decided to precede this with a personal odyssey of excessive elevation gain. Three major climbs, two of the top 100 UK cycling climbs, and one increasingly questionable life choice. It also seemed like the perfect opportunity to assess the national rail network’s commitment to accommodating bicycles—or at the very least, to see if my bike and I would be allowed on board without too much existential drama. Thanks to a rare stroke of financial luck, I had snagged a train ticket for just £15 to cover the 100-mile journey to Chesterfield. Reserving a cycle berth was mandatory but, in a shocking deviation from bureaucratic tradition, entirely painless. (Yes, that is a child's bike lock.) Demonstrating an uncharacteristic degree of foresight, I had...

What sustains the weary cyclist on their endless quest for mileage and misplaced glory?  Not gels, bars, or suspiciously fluorescent drinks — but flapjacks. Oats, sugar, and a vague sense of self-reliance, compressed into portable slabs of calorific ambition.  Here follows the pinnacle of flapjack experimentation: a quest to create the perfect ride companion, one chewy square at a time.  This is version 2.0 as recipe 1.0 isn't worth the bother: Oats - 400g (All the recipes mess around with which type of oats to use but Sainsbury's Scottish Porridge Oats worked fine for me: https://www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/product/sainsburys-scottish-porridge-oats-1kg ) Butter - 227g Golden Syrup - 130g (best to measure in g rather than tablespoons for accuracy) Sugar - 181g (I don't think it matters too much on the type but I used golden caster cane sugar as that's what was in the cupboard) Pre heat oven to 180C fan. Very important. Melt all of the above in a pan (apart from the oats...