Tomorrow, I head off on a cycling holiday with my mates. I have to say I’ve completely left it to others to sort and worry about. Until yesterday all I knew was that I was going to Slovakia and maybe Poland, and was travelling on the train to get there.

It turns out we’re cycling from Budapest to Krakow, riding over the (2000m+) Tatra mountains. Yikes. Most of my mates are pretty keen cyclists and go out on regular 50 mile jaunts around Leicestershire countryside every Tuesday night. The only pedals I’m familiar with however, were the ones on my old Honda Civic, before I had to hand it back.

I’m looking forward to it though (especially as I’ve now found somewhere to live in London and moved most of my stuff in storage) largely because it’ll be the first time in Poland, where my paternal grandfather - and name - comes from. I might even make it back later in the year with my mate Kasia has family from. That’s assuming I don’t over-do it on vodka and pickled cabbage.
So, I’m packed and I’ve got my new Saracen Skyline ready to go. The one exception I’m going to make is to take the darn SPD pedals off the bike. I tried it the other night and I’ve decided: it’s not natural to attach yourself to your bike.