This fine, well-written book by David Millar gives a fascinating insight into the world of professional cycle racing. It’s a scrappy, messy, intense, painful world described not through the rose-coloured spectacles of the fan press or the banal commentaries of … Continue reading →
It should have been the perfect art heist carried out by art lovers turned amateur criminals. But the real underworld of Edinburgh came in on the act and things turned unpleasant. No Rebus in this novel, but Rankin hasn’t lost … Continue reading →
In this book Rutherford explains what the latest research in DNA tells us about humans – how we evolved, where we came from and how each of us is both unique and closely related to everyone else. He sets out … Continue reading →
Like Iain Pears’ ‘Stone’s Fall‘, ‘An Instance of the Fingerpost’ has greed, espionage, love, lust, betrayal, duplicity and murder. And like Stone’s Fall it is told in different voices, four this time. Its setting is Oxford in the early 1660s, … Continue reading →
This book, the third in Dave Hutchinson’s ‘Fractured Europe’ series (of four, I gather) keeps up the standard set by the first two, ‘Autumn‘ and ‘Midnight‘. The action shifts from place to place, gradually digging through layers of confusion and … Continue reading →
It’s 2015 and Mark Beaumont’s back on his bike. Round the World – done it. North and South America – done it. Then a break from the bike to attempt the transatlantic rowing record – not done it because the … Continue reading →
In this story none of the characters comes out well, and there isn’t a happy ending.
Continue reading →11 September 2016 Well, I made it. My first sportive ride, unless you count London to Brighton many years ago before these things were as well-organised as they are now. 80 miles (128km) is further than I’ve ridden in a … Continue reading →
Less than a month to go until the BikeOxford 80. Yesterday I rode 70 miles and apart from ‘bonking’ at around 62 miles and having to take a 10 minute break while I scoffed a Double Decker and recovered I feel … Continue reading →
Having managed a couple of 40 mile rides in July without any problems, I rode 57 miles yesterday. Here’s the route (it doesn’t show the extra distance from home to the start/finish). The ride went well. A strong westerly wind … Continue reading →