In our new series looking at bike-friendly destinations, we will be visiting locations in the UK and abroad that have something special to offer cyclists.  Kicking off, we start with the Borders region of Scotland…. It rains in Scotland.  A lot.  Witness the Tour O’ the Borders sportive earlier this month.  That rider in the photo above hasn’t even reached the start yet, and he's already drenched through.   ...

There are still places left for probably the most glamorous sportive in the world – if you can afford the eye-watering entry fee. The Campagnolo Gran Fondo New York starts in Manhattan, rolls out over the George Washington Bridge, heads up New Jersey along rural roads to Bear Mountain State Park and finishes on the banks of the Hudson overlooking the most famous skyline in the world. All this can be yours o ...

The Borders is an area of Britain where brave Morris dancers daily patrol the remnants of Hadrian’s Wall for incursions by any kilted invaders offering deep fried Mars Bars and the right to vote to schoolchildren. OK, so it’s not quite that bad.  I’ve probably lived north of the border far too long.  Even if the national urge to deep fry everything isn’t a cliché  – my local chippie offers “Deep Fried Confe ...

Reading the headlines about cycling recently you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s all drugs(Lance Armstrong and other revelations), death(over 100 cyclists killed on UK roads so far this year) and doom(cyclist abuse is “almost like racial discrimination” according to AA president Edmund King). But a new film serves to remind us of the simplicity, pleasure and adventure offered by the humble bicycle. http://w ...

For something on wheels, bikes aren’t half a pain to transport if you’re not riding them. You either have to take them apart or buy an expensive rack/carrier to transport them by car; reserve in advance if you want to take them on a train; and you might as well forget it if you want to take them on a coach - operators such as National Express will only accept folding bicycles. Then there is air travel, whic ...

There’s nothing like a long, sexy strip to set the pulse racing.  Of asphalt, that is. The smoother and more sinuous the better.  If it’s punctuated by picturesque villages with cheap, friendly restaurants, is off the beaten track and bathed in sunshine, then you’re pretty much close to cycling heaven. Welcome to La Alpujarra in southern Spain, where even the occasional 14 per cent gradient is a pleasure to ...

As I crossed the finishing line of the inaugural World Road Championship sportive, I held up five fingers in triumph – that’s how many sugar-laden waffles I’d eaten during the 166-km route. The feed stations were easily the best of any sportive I’d entered.  None of that energy gel rubbish, just boxes and boxes brimming with good old-fashioned chocolate bars, honey cake and waffles.  The last feed station e ...

Steve Moran took part in this year’s Haute Route, the self-styled “toughest, highest sportive” in the world(and the most expensive, charging an entry fee of £1,000, not including accommodation).  The seven day event covers 780 km from Geneva to Nice and 21,000 metres of climbing.  In Part Two of his Haute Route story, Steve shares extracts from the diary he kept during the epic ride. You can read part one h ...

From Andalucia to New York, there are some bargain cycling holidays to be had if you book this month. Andalucia Vamos Cycling, based in the heart of the Alpujarras mountains in southern Spain, is offering free evening meals(including wine and beer) to anyone booking a training week for the week starting 10th November. This equates to a saving of 140 euros per person. A training week costs £355 and includes ...

Steve Moran was one of 600 riders who took part in this year’s Haute Route Sportive, a seven-day epic from Geneva to Nice that covers 780 km and 21,000 metres of climbing.  It bills itself as “the toughest, highest sportive” in the world.  (It’s also the most expensive, charging an entry fee of £1,000 that doesn’t include accommodation)  In Part One of his account of the ride, Steve describes nine months of ...