GENERAL: The beginning of a blog...

When you've been looking at the same scene for the last few weeks your mind starts to wander somewhat, so in a bid to stave off cabin fever while I work from home, i've decided to write a blog.

I'll open with a disclaimer; hills are indeed thrills (for me anyway) but living under lockdown, I'm not currently getting much of a fill of proper ones. Anyway, even under normal circumstances, sometimes I ride 'flat' routes because I like cycling first and foremost. I just thought it was a catchy title for a blog and I've been using that hashtag on Instagram for a bit so I just went with it...

Road-ready, the old MTB would be my lunchtime weapon...

I used to blog about my life as a professional photographer back in the (bad old) days when I ate crap, smoked like a trooper and generally lived like a tramp. I loved writing back then - I did it for a living, albeit about fishing, my other great hobby love - and it did actually bring me some enjoyment to tell people about what i did, a behind-the-scenes look at my life taking snaps and writing for magazines. Fast forward to 2016 and I'd changed jobs, moved office to Milton Keynes and my work in the angling trade now placed me in the same office as one of the UK's biggest bicycle companies... see where this is going?

I was surrounded by an office of people who rode bikes and generally did more exercise in a day than i did in a year. I was shamed, as I had a young family. Plus, the hangovers weren't getting easier and the smoking was taking its toll on my ability to chase the nippers around. 

The MTB was dusted off and I gingerly made some lunchtime forays around the redways of MK. First four miles, then five, six, then seven. I stopped short of wearing lycra though, that was a step too far. However, I was gifted a road bike once I admitted I actually liked cycling and within two weeks I was lycrad up, had booked onto a sportive and was receiving texts from mates asking if I was shaving my legs yet! The deed was done...

Four years laters I'm here, writing a blog and hopefully not boring the paints of you, dear reader. So, with that out of the way, here's to musing about cycling and generally loving life on the road...