(for the map of this route, see here) This question was prompted by my ride to Elcho Castle on the Dream Roadster (I suppose it also has an echo of the Tolstoy short story 'How much ground does a man need?' which is well worth looking out, but I can't find a link at present). … Continue reading How many gears does a man need?
Category: 40-635
‘Hence, loathèd melancholy’ – an evening ride to Elcho Castle & environs
(for the map of this ride, see here) I am prone to melancholy, usually accompanied by inertia and lethargy, a strong disinclination to do anything. Yet I know that physical activity - a walk or a cycle run - is a sovereign specific against this ailment. Yet you have to force yourself, for all that, … Continue reading ‘Hence, loathèd melancholy’ – an evening ride to Elcho Castle & environs
Dream Roadster Shakedown
(for a map of this route, see here) This started inauspiciously: I set out intending to go over by Callarfountain into Strathearn, a fine rough path that would suit the roadster I thought, preceded by a stiff climb that would test the Mountain Drive (and me). I didn't get far - about a third of … Continue reading Dream Roadster Shakedown
Dream Roadster Shakedown – an inadvertent trailer
This started inauspiciously: I set out intending to go over by Callarfountain into Strathearn, a fine rough path that would suit the roadster I thought, preceded by a stiff climb that would test the Mountain Drive (and me). I didn't get far - about a third of the way up Glenlochay Road in bottom gear … Continue reading Dream Roadster Shakedown – an inadvertent trailer
Vanishing Point and the Golden Rule (by way of Immanuel Kant)
I remember once becoming absurdly excited in Princes St. Gardens in Edinburgh - that was just where I chanced to be, not the cause of the excitement - when I realised that an interesting thing happens if you number the dimensions in the reverse of the conventional order. My brother had once explained the concept … Continue reading Vanishing Point and the Golden Rule (by way of Immanuel Kant)
An Each Uisge (The Water Horse)
written as a "Fearie Tale" for Pitlochry Festival Theatre's Winter Words Festival 2013 (where it was admirably read by Dougal Lee on 2 February (an auspicious date -James Joyce's birthday)) - Looks as if it was fished out of a canal, I say. He doesn’t like that, the man behind the counter, a big fellow … Continue reading An Each Uisge (The Water Horse)
My Bicycles
I am a man of many bicycles: too many, some might say. Here are some: there's the c1924 Royal Sunbeam: On which I once rode from Inverness to Dunkeld in a day, a feat alluded to here (where I see I have dated it 1923), and its younger brother, the 1934 Royal Sunbeam: and of course … Continue reading My Bicycles
Evidence of the Atomic Theory at work…
Here’s some I wrote earlier…
Once upon a time, there was a splendid site about fixed-gear cycling called 63xc, run by Will Meister, proprietor of the coolest cycleshop in cyberspace, Hubjub. (I have just learned that Hubjub has now changed hands - I hope it continues the excellent service Will established) This is a piece I wrote for Will in … Continue reading Here’s some I wrote earlier…
COMPLEAT TROWZER 