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From the editor
Earlier this year, I rode my first mountain bike enduro: Yorkshire’s Boltby Bash. It was great fun, feeling more like day out riding new trails than a competitive event. I was nevertheless pleased to win my category.
Admittedly, that category existed only in my head. There was no prize for the fastest rider on a fully rigid bike. In fact, there was no one else there on a rigid bike. The actual podiums were populated exclusively by far more skilled riders on full-suspension bikes. I was never going to challenge them, but then nor were the vast majority of entrants.
The solution, in this as in many cycling endeavours, is to set your own victory conditions. Mine were: complete the event on my Jones Plus LWB; enjoy it. Tick, tick.
Most mountain bike racers ride full-suspension bikes because in race situations they’re faster. But most of us don’t race (or not to win). There are far more important things than having the fastest, lightest or objectively optimal bike. Starting with: a bike that suits your riding; a bike that you enjoy riding.
Hardtail mountain bikes, like the two in this issue, remain popular in the UK because they suit UK conditions, where descents are fairly short, trails are often tight and weather conditions can be challenging. They’re cheaper. They can be more engaging, turning red-graded trails into black. You get more bang for your buck.
44 Shop window
Quick releases
04 Freewheeling
Bits and pieces from the bike world
07 Quick releases
Accounting for active travel; bike care from Evans Cycles; AGM voting; Cycling UK’s summer raffle; new Royal Chilterns Way route; and more
Tour & explore
18 Rail & bus Lincs
Touring Lincolnshire by folding bikes and public transport
24 Weekender
Etape Loch Ness –a 100km road ride in Scotland’s Great Glen 26 Riding into history
Previews of new products
46 Books
Cycling inspiration when you’re stuck inside
48 Trail hardtails
Merida Big Trail 500 and Voodoo Loco on test
55 Pashley
Roadfinder X
Made-in-the-UK steel
gravel bike with classic looks reviewed
58 Front pannier racks
Four racks for providing extra pannier capacity on tour
The moral of the story? Whatever kind of cyclist you are, you don’t need to have the optimal bike. You just need a bike. If it does what you want and you enjoy riding it, you’re winning.
DAN JOYCE Editor
Bikepacking 350km and through 10,000 years on King Alfred’s Way
Feature
30 Mind the gap
Four female cyclists consider how to bridge UK cycling’s gender divide
Reviews
39 Gear
Components and accessories tested
Real Yellow Jersey winner Hamida Jogee
68 Q&A
Your technical, health and legal questions answered
Bottom: The River Witham and St Wulfram’s Church, Grantham, one of Lincolnshire’s famous tall spires
Great rides
Rail & bus Lincs
Using folding bikes and public transport, Susanna Thornton and her 88-year-old father explored the landscapes and historical buildings of Lincolnshire
Acycling holiday. With your dad. Are you sure that’s a good idea?” my friend said over the phone. “How old is your dad now?”
“He’s 88,” I said.
“And are you really going on folding bikes? It doesn’t sound very comfortable…” I mumbled something about how great Dad’s new folder was.
“Where are you going?” she asked. “Grantham,” I said, brightly. Which also didn’t help. Each time we say we are planning a cycling adventure, people say, “Are you sure? Why not use a car?” and so on. And Dad isn’t a lifelong cyclist. He got a bike when he retired. He uses it for local errands and 10-mile spins for pleasure. But I was pretty sure we could do up to 15 miles each day. That’s enough for a great cycling holiday. We’d
tootle around with three or four planned stops each day, with time for impromptu breaks. To get out to the areas that we wanted to see, we would use trains and buses. Hence the folding bikes.
Tickets to ride
My plan was a four-day exploration of Lincolnshire. It’s one of “the least known and least appreciated” English counties according to writer Simon Jenkins, who says this region of the North-East between the Humber and the Wash offers “a rare opportunity of seeing unsung treasures in an uncluttered landscape”.
“Sounds brilliant,” said Dad. “Let’s go.”
So then there was the question of where to stay. My friend had a point about Grantham. Even the Visit Lincolnshire website concedes that the town is “industrial”. But you can get to Grantham by direct train from both Stockport (for Dad) and London (for me). Local rail services can take you out of town in four directions, and it’s also a hub for buses.
I arrived at Grantham station on a sunny morning in late summer, and chatted with staff while waiting for Dad to arrive. When I say I’m on a cycling trip with my dad, people often react by thinking about their own father, how he is or was, their relationship, often a great mix of feelings. Dads are important.
“Oh, here he is!” cried the lovely lady from the ticket office, when Dad stepped off his train with his bike. She gave him a little hug. He was taken aback, but took it in his stride and hugged her back. It was such a nice way to arrive. “Aw, have a lovely time!” she said, as we waved and pedalled away.
Our first ride was to Belton Estate, a National Trust property north of the town. We cruised along a path by the River Witham, following National Cycle Network route 15, passing bandstands, bowling greens and tennis courts. The horse chestnuts by the river were just starting to turn. Late summer is a lovely season. My Brompton felt great and Dad was loving his new Btwin. At Harrowby Mill, we crossed over a bridge and stopped to watch the water.
Having reached Belton, we crunched along the drive through the deer park with the place to ourselves apart from a flock of sheep, which scattered as we approached. Belton House is a 17th-century mansion that was used as the stately home of Lady Catherine de Bourgh in the 1990s’ TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice. At the Stables Café, we got free coffees for having arrived by bike, and two huge flapjacks. Then we
01
Campagnolo Super Record 13
£3,900
width as Campag 12−speed one but with closer spacing.
Campag has Spinal Tapped its top-end wireless groupset, Super Record, turning it up to 2×13. The cassette is the same width as Campag 12−speed one but with closer spacing. campagnolo.com
04
Swytch Max+
£999
Swytch’s new Max+ and Max++ e-bike conversion kits have bigger batteries (up to 370Wh) and add a rear-hubmotor option. The batteries have a USB port for charging phones. swytchbike.com
02
Giant ARX 26
£449
Giant has joined Frog and formerly Islabikes in offering lightweight children’s hybrids. The new all-aluminium ARX bikes (16, 20, 24 and 26in wheel sizes) have proportional cranks. giant-bicycles.com
Save money
As a member, you can save up to 50% on a wide range of cycling products and services. Visit cyclinguk.org/ member-benefits
06
Garmin Edge MTB
£339.99
05
Schwalbe G One Speed
£68.99
No bone-jarring narrowness here: Schwalbe’s G One Speed gravel tyre comes in sizes up to 60−622 (29×2.35). It’s tubeless ready and designed for 30−50psi. schwalbetires.com
03
Burley Hopper
£529
Winner of a Eurobike 2025 award, the Hopper is a cargo trailer that turns into a hard cart or pushchair, tool free, due to folding castor wheels and a dual-purpose tow-bar. burley.com
A GPS computer just for mountain bikers, this also tracks MTB metrics like jumping, shows the difficulty of upcoming trails and includes incident detection and Trailforks data. garmin.com
07
Apidura Expedition Stem Pack
£53
Stem packs are usually used for on-the-go snacks. Apidura’s can do that but as it’s waterproof it can also carry electronics such as phones, cameras and power banks. apidura.com
Cycling in the UK has a huge gender gap, with women riding half as much as men. Four cycling advocates examine why – and suggest how we can redress this
Mind the gap
Sophie Gordon Cycling UK Campaigns Manager
THERE’S A LONG way to go before cycling is seen as a ‘normal’ mode of transport in the UK – especially by women, who cycle half as often as men. If you look at countries where more people cycle, it’s around a 50:50 split. So what are we doing wrong?
I’ve heard a lot of different perspectives on that over the past few months, and the biggest factor that keeps coming up is the perception that it’s unsafe. We know that, overall, cycling is a safe, convenient, healthy way to get around. Yet it doesn’t always feel like that.
Cycling UK’s recent YouGov research found that 58% of women believe their cycle journeys are limited by safety concerns and a lack of suitable infrastructure. The thought of
sharing roads with large vehicles and of having to negotiate busy junctions and roundabouts can feel off-putting for many people, but it’s especially significant for women.
As one woman I spoke to said: “For me it’s a combination of lack of confidence and poor infrastructure. The safe cycle routes near me are not joined up, and are crucially missing at the most congested areas of road.”
Another noted that, for many women, there is also the concern about harassment or abusive behaviour, particularly after dark. She said: “At different times in my life, I’ve had to really think about the route I’ve taken to cycle, especially during the winter months when it’s dark. It’s so important that, when routes are designed, they take into account the issues women face when it comes to safety.”
When London Cycling Campaign audited routes in the capital, it found a quarter of them ‘socially unsafe’ after
“At different times in my life, I’ve had to really think about the route I’ve taken to cycle, especially during the winter months when it’s dark”
dark. (Cycling UK staff joined one of LCC’s protest rides – see cyclinguk. org/Freedom-to-Ride-After-Dark.)
Women often aren’t just thinking of their own safety. As one parent said: “More women are in charge of transporting kids as well as themselves. And fragmented, narrow and non-protected bike lanes are not safe enough to ride with children.”
investment in cycle routes from governments across the UK.
• We’re pushing for better promotion of the updated Highway Code, to foster more respect on the roads.
• We’re asking councils to listen to women’s voices when planning and designing routes, to make sure the infrastructure works for them.
• We’re highlighting low-cost changes that can make big differences to perceptions of safety, like improving lighting, reducing speed limits and making sure bike parking is in public view.
We need to ensure councils and politicians understand that by making places more appealing for women to cycle, they will make them better for everyone. I remember one comment that summed this up nicely: “I cycled through Newcastle last summer and they are getting it right. It was a delight, with lots of women cyclists!”
My ride. Our right
Thanks to you, more and more politicians are supporting our ‘My ride. Our right’ campaign. If you haven’t already, please use our online tool to write to your parliamentary representatives and ask what they will do to give more women the freedom to cycle.
We have lots more exciting plans for this campaign. To hear the latest developments, you can subscribe to campaign updates on the Cycling UK website. Read more about the campaign and stories of women’s cycling experiences: cyclinguk.org/my-ride-our-right
Above: LCC Freedom to Ride After Dark ride. Top right: The need for suitable cycling infrastructure is something a majority of women cited in Cycling UK’s YouGov survey
Right: courtesy of London Cycling Campaign.
Above: Andy Catlin
In the frame Bike test
Trail hardtails
What’s the most mountain biking fun you can have for £1,500 or less? Dan Joyce tests a Merida Big Trail 500 and a Voodoo Loco to try to find out
Trail hardtails are a very British kind of mountain bike. It’s no coincidence that the Big Trail 500, from Taiwanese brand Merida, is described as “a UK-inspired singletrack-crushing hardtail” and that the designed-inthe-UK Voodoo Loco is billed as “a true British, steel, hardcore hardtail”.
Frame and fork
Progressive geometry has progressed a long way now. The Merida Big Trail 500 and Voodoo Loco have unsagged head angles of 64º and 63.5º respectively. With lowoffset forks, the trail figures are huge, providing imperturbable steering. Wide bars and short stems give you the leverage to wrestle the bikes around corners and to counteract the increased wheel flop, where the front wheel might otherwise ‘flop’ more into tight turns and oversteer, or veer off course on slow climbs.
Steep seat angles – Merida 76.5º, Voodoo 75º – tip you forward and weight the front wheel, helping to prevent snowploughing on downhill corners and accidental weaving uphill. Those seat angles also mean a more upright riding position than you’d expect from the nominally long reach figures, which only show bottom bracket to head
tube distances. Short chainstays, meanwhile, make it easier to keep the front wheel up over drop-offs and to take tighter lines through corners.
The net result is a forward-biased riding position that weights the fork (and your hands) but, with a long front centres distance, minimises the likelihood of diving over the handlebar. I’ve written ‘position’ rather than ‘positions’ as the two bikes are very similar, despite the Voodoo’s mixed (‘mullet’) wheel sizes. The Voodoo is slightly shorter in the chainstays and slightly longer in the top tube, while the Merida is a little taller and steeper.
The Merida’s frame is aluminium, with a nice selection of fittings: two bottles (if you use side cages and small bidons) on the down tube, bolts for an under-top-tube bag, and mounts for a Merida Long Fender rear mudguard. It also has ISCG05 mounts for a chain guide.
The Voodoo has a chrome-moly steel frame finished in a lovely pearlescent racing green. There are gussets rather than flared tubing for
Middle:Shimano CUES is fine but it lacks the overall range and shift quality of Deore
Bottom: Rowdier riders will appreciate the chain guide
reinforcement where the top and down tubes meet the head tube. Mounts are limited to one bottle cage and some odd additions to the left-hand chainstay: mudguard and rack eyes on that side only, plus what looks like a kickstand mount.
Both bikes have 140mm forks that incorporate technology from higher-tier models, while being simpler and heavier. The RockShox Psylo of the Merida has 35mm stanchions, and in this Silver RC model they’re steel. It’s accordingly heavy – about 2.8kg. The damper and air spring, RockShox says, “take cues from our premium series forks” (Lyrik, Pike). Adjustments are limited to: compression damping (firm or open); rebound damping (so it doesn’t pogo back over bumps); and air pressure, so you can set the fork sag for your weight. Heavier, harder-riding folk can also add fork tokens if they’re bottoming out the suspension.
“STEEP SEAT ANGLES –MERIDA 76.5º, VOODOO 75º – TIP YOU FORWARD
WHEEL”
damper ramps up and down gradually rather than switching only between open and firm.
Components
Both bikes have inexpensive but effective dropper seatposts: 200mm for the Merida, 170mm for the Voodoo. Long-drop posts give you more freedom to move around the bike. But when fully extended the Merida’s 200mm post put the saddle too high for me. I’d like to see trail bikes sold with a dropper post length to suit the frame size. Whyte does this (see p52).
In the frame
The Voodoo’s Marzocchi Bomber Z2 is more than half a kilo lighter than the Psylo as it uses aluminium stanchions. Its air spring is similar to those in Fox 34 forks and its seals have negligible stiction. The adjustments are like the Psylo’s: air pressure, compression damping, rebound damping, and tokens if you want them. The Rail compression
Although both bikes come with innertubes, their wheels and tyres are tubeless ready. The tyres are well chosen: both have a Maxxis Dissector on the rear and a Minion on the front, DHF for the Merida, DHR for the Voodoo. Aggressive riders might want tyres with a stiffer or dual-ply casing, but I prefer the more pliable 120tpi EXO casing these have.
Tyre widths are fine for trail bikes: 2.4in or 2.5in. If you want to fit wider rubber, both have room for a
Tech spec
Merida Big Trail 500
Price: £1,500.
Sizes: XShort, Short, Mid (tested), Long, XLong.
Weight: 15.5kg (M, no pedals).
Frame & fork: Doublebutted aluminium frame with 73mm BSA BB, 148×12mm thru-axle, UDH gear hanger, ISCG05 mounts and fittings for 3 bottles/bags and Merida rear mudguard. RockShox Psylo Silver RC fork, 140mm travel, 110×15mm thru-axle.
Braking: Shimano M4100 levers and MT410 callipers (4−piston front), 203/180mm f/r Shimano RT30 rotors. Steering & seating: Merida Comp EC grips, 780mmm Merida Comp TR riser bar, 40mm × 3º stem, Acros ICR Merida External headset. Merida Comp SL saddle, 34.9mm Limotec dropper post with 200mm drop and no layback.
Equipment: Chain guide.
merida-bikes.com
Front pannier racks
When two rear panniers aren’t enough, a front rack offers extra capacity and helps balance the load. Sam Jones reviews four
For commuters, tourers and anyone looking to carry a load by bike, whether it’s groceries or something for the allotment, the rear rack is a well-established essential. Less common is the front rack, but it’s indispensable if you’re looking to maximise your bike’s carrying capacity.
So long as your bike’s fork is compatible, a front rack gives you more space for extra stuff. It’s particularly useful for long-distance cycle campers, tandemists (who have double the luggage requirements), and for cyclists whose rear rack space is compromised – such as a parent with child seat on the back that prevents the use of rear panniers.
While you can ride with one pannier on your rear rack without
issue, a front rack’s load needs to be balanced. Scales aren’t essential; judging by holding a pannier in each hand is fine. A balanced front rack won’t compromise your steering (although it will still make the steering feel heavier, as there’s more inertia). Packing discipline is essential for more enjoyable riding. As a rule, you’ll want your lightweight, bulky items in your front panniers and your heavy supplies in the bigger rear bags because the rear rack will generally take a heavier load.
“It’s particularly useful for long-distance cycle campers”
Extra pannier room for families, campers, tandemists and more
What to look for
Fork fittings
Make sure your bike’s fork has the necessary fittings for your chosen rack. Many front racks fit to two pairs of threaded eyelets – at the dropouts and halfway up the fork legs. Some fit to different eyelets, to the front axle and/or use clamps instead of bolts. Take care with carbon forks as most are not designed to carry a rack.
Pannier positioning
Tarmac: low-rider racks that place your pannier’s mass around the front wheel axle are better for stability and steering. Off road: look for a higher pannier position to prevent bag collisions with uneven or overgrown terrain.
Adjustability
All racks have some degree of adjustability but you need to check that the rack suits your bike’s wheel diameter, tyre width, mudguard placement and brake calliper – as well as ensuring that it will reach the fork’s eyelets. A horizontal position is best but a slight backward tilt on a front rack is fine.
Material
Light and strong steel and aluminium are the common materials. Expensive titanium racks also exist.
Loading
Some racks are designed for just panniers, others might have a deck to allow additional loads and styles of packing – for example, a basket. Don’t exceed the rack’s total weight allowance.
Photos: Sam Jones
Interview
Hamida Jogee
Hamida rode a bike for the first time as an adult in her late 50s. Group rides are now the highlight of her week. Tiia Jaakola spoke to her
HAMIDA was already a member of the volunteering team at SAS Rights, a grassroots, women-led community group that addresses social injustice and empowers marginalised communities in Blackburn.
She hadn’t been on a bike as an adult, although she had learned to ride as a toddler. As someone who also doesn’t drive and tends to walk everywhere, when an opportunity came along to participate in a public protest ride, she jumped at the chance. She said: “I wanted to take part because I did cycle as a child, and it felt like my moment to start again, but in the Muslim community it’s not something we often do.”
The ride was organised as a soft form of activism to break down taboos and the stigma associated with Muslim women riding bikes. Hamida agreed to it instantly, as the opportunity to get back on a bike made her very excited. It offered a great way to get out and about more and meet new people.
The Big Bike Revival
When word got around about the upcoming group ride, interest kept growing and growing. However, many women who wanted to take part, including Hamida, weren’t sure where to get bikes and helmets from, given the costs involved. Thankfully, all the equipment and the use of park facilities needed were secured through the help of Darwen Re:fresh, a local health and wellbeing initiative. From that first ride, Hamida and the rest of SAS Rights built a relationship with Cycling UK staff. Since the initial Big Bike Revival grant, they have become an official Community Cycle
The Real Yellow Jersey
Hamida is one of Cycling UK’s Real Yellow Jersey winners for 2025. Ten hand-knitted yellow jerseys are awarded to everyday heroes who’ve transformed their lives through cycling and our Big Bike Revival programme. Because cycling isn’t just about sport – it’s a powerful, everyday activity that supports health, independence and social connections, and that helps fix some of society’s biggest challenges. cyclinguk.org/ real-yellow-jersey
Club run by women. They organise bike rides every week to boost mental and physical health, while instilling confidence and a sense of community.
“I’m so glad we came across The Big Bike Revival programme, the events and activities as a group,” Hamida said. “We are doing so well and I’m so proud to be involved.”
Social cycling
The social benefits have been huge, as the group has served as a way to meet a diverse range of people. Many who have joined are not from the Muslim community, so the initiative has improved community cohesion.
Hamida has thrown herself in the deep end and has fearlessly tried new things. She’s also excited about the potential employment and volunteering opportunities that might come through the club, as she’s interested in training to become a group ride leader.
Beyond this, the new confidence she has gained through cycling has had even more positive effects and opened new doors. Hamida has improved both her public speaking and local leadership skills, and the cycling club has become like a new family to her.
The joy of bike riding Hamida loves it and said that the rides are the highlight of her week.
“It’s made a big difference to me. I’ve gained confidence and made a lot of special friends along the line, learning new things all the time. It’s improved my health, physically and mentally.
“Making new friends has helped me be more social, and I’ve learned how to cycle more safely, both off and on the road. All this I’ve learned from riding in a group, because we support and look out for each other.
“Simply put, cycling makes me happy. Getting on a bike makes me feel exhilarated.”
In the Tour de France, the yellow jersey is worn by the race leader. Our Real Yellow Jerseys celebrate a different kind of cycling hero
Bikefinder
Which bike should I buy? Ask us at cyclinguk.org/bikefinder
Budget e-folding bike
←For: Nick Jackson, aged 65, from Malvern.
Bike needs: Electric folding bike to take on the train.
Must have: Low weight, disc brakes, rack, off-road capability.
Budget: £2,000
REBECCA BLAND
When it comes to electric folding bikes, you’ll generally find they’re either lightweight and compact and not that powerful, or they’re well equipped but harder to lug around trains stations and the like. With a budget of £2,000, it’s not impossible to find something that’s low in weight, uses disc brakes, has a rack and is capable off road, but you likely won’t find anything as high-spec as a Brompton e-bike.
One option would be something like the MiRider 16 (£1,595, mirider.co.uk), which comes with 16in wheels, a singlespeed drivetrain and mechanical disc brakes. It’s also just over 17kg, so it’s towards the lighter end of the scale for being carried. MiRider e-bikes are quite popular with motorhome owners, and this one can handle light off road (think towpaths and compacted bridleways). It’s also within budget, but it doesn’t come with a rack – although MiRider does offer accessories that may alleviate this.
Another British brand, Estarli offers a few folding e-bikes, and one is specifically aimed at off-road riding: the E20.8 (£1,895, estarli.co.uk). It comes with an 8−speed Shimano drivetrain, a rear rack and a choice of chunky off-road or gravel/hybrid tyres. It also has hydraulic disc brakes, which is a rarity at this price point. The only box it doesn’t tick is weight – it’s around 20kg depending on accessories. But it does fold down nicely and can be wheeled easily when folded.
Estarli E20.8
£1,895
£700
DAN JOYCE
Whichever e-bike you decide on, I think 20−inch wheels and wide tyres are essential. They will provide better comfort and control on bridleways and unsurfaced cycle tracks compared to smaller wheels and narrower tyres, yet the folded bike will still be compact enough to fit in train luggage racks easily.
I’d like to recommend the Brompton Electric G Line (brompton.com), which with 20×2in tubeless-ready gravel tyres and a sturdy frame is a sort of ATB of the folding bike world. Unfortunately, it’s almost double your budget at £3,499.
Like Rebecca, I think MiRider is a good option but I favour the MiRider 20 Singlespeed (mirider.co.uk, £1,795) for its larger wheels. It doesn’t come with a luggage rack but you can add one for £50. The only issue is its weight: it’s 20kg.
So instead I’ll recommend a Tern Link B8 (ternbicycles.com, £700) fitted with Nano Electric Bikes kit (nanoelectricbikes.co.uk, from £900). Tern Links are good-value folders and this one has disc brakes, a rack and 20×1.75in tyres. It weighs 13.6kg by itself and the Nano kit will bump that to around 17−18kg, depending on the spec you choose. (I’d recommend the larger 10Ah battery, which adds £160.)
If you’re prepared to forgo the disc brakes, a Tern Link D8 (£970) would save you 1.5kg over the Tern Link B8.
You can fit the Nano kit yourself or get Nano to fit it for you, which costs from £100.
Nano Electric Bikes kit
£900+
Following the swallows
Where: Spain
Who: Becci May
When: May 2025
Terrier on tour
Where: South-west England
Who: Mark Siddall & family
When: February 2025
As a family we love bike touring but we also love our Border Terrier, Biddy. So we take her with us. Recently, we enjoyed a five-day tour from home in Quedgeley, cycling up the canal to Stroud and then on to Cirencester.
From Cirencester we rode to Chippenham, Badminton and on to Wotton-under-Edge, where we found a local pet shop full of treats for our cycletouring terrier. It was then all downhill to the Severn Estuary plain and home turf.
Share your story
We’d love to hear your Travellers’ tales! Email: editor@ cyclinguk.org
In May I flew to Valencia with my Kinesis gravel bike. I had done a lot of cycle touring before Covid on my Thorn tourer but had sold that, deciding to travel lighter.
The skies in Spain were full of swallows. On seeing the mural in the photo, it occurred to me that they were on a journey back to the UK, just like me. I was riding across Spain to Bilbao. I had plotted a 485-mile route with around 20% of it on vías verdes, the Spanish network of disused railway routes.
I climbed to over 1,000m, mostly on the gravel track of a
vía verde, through Aragon with its churches, castles and quiet, hilltop villages. Then I rode through flat farmland, past verges full of wildflowers and fields full of poppies, where I heard and saw bee-eaters, golden orioles and birds of prey. I continued across the high plateau into Castilla y Leon, where I saw storks, nightingales and larks. The swallows seemed to appear when I felt tired and in need of some encouragement.
I rode into the Basque Country beside vertical cliffs, with eagles and vultures circling overhead. Emerging from a couple of tunnels, I was hit by tremendous views and the sound of cowbells and different birds. It felt alpine in terms of the landscapes and the chalet-style houses. I followed river valleys to La Arena, the beach west of Bilbao. It was so lovely to end this journey at the Atlantic.
The next day I boarded a Portsmouth-bound ferry, where I’m writing this. Back home I’ll see swallows again, maybe the same ones!
Biddy rides in a purposemade dog basket on the rear pannier rack of one of our two Circe Helios tandems. Because we rode during February half term, she wore a body fleece to keep her warm. It takes a little more effort to find dogfriendly accommodation and there is usually a small premium (typically £10) to pay, but it is cheaper than kennels.
Biddy stands up in her basket to take in all the sights and sounds, so she gets plenty of exercise. As a reward, we stopped one last time on the final leg at her favourite playing field, where she sprinted after her frisbee, catching it mid air. It really is a dog’s life.
