The places, cafés, hotels and landmarks I’ve passed on my rides, collected in one place. Click a place’s name to find out more about it, or follow the “Featured in” links to read the rides it appears in. Search by name or ride, or pick a region or category.
Towns & villages
- Albas Lot
Village · LotIts church sits on a cliff straight above the river, and I stopped twice to look back at it. Featured in: Meanders of the Lot - Alferce Algarve
Village · AlgarveUp in the serra, reached by one ramp after another through the cork oaks. Featured in: Castle, Climbs and Carvoeiro - Alte Algarve
Village · AlgarveA hill village with a café made for cyclists. Featured in: A Rest Day in the Hills - Bélaye Lot
Village · LotA hilltop village at the top of a 3.4 km Cat 4 climb. Featured in: Meanders of the Lot - Bellefont-La Rauze Lot
Village · LotAn old stone tower and long lines of plane trees on the valley road back to Cahors. Featured in: Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and the Cliff Road - Beltring Kent Hamlet · KentSteady Zone 2 miles past Beltring on empty midnight lanes, the headlight the only thing moving. Featured in: Switching Directions
- Boughton Monchelsea Kent
Village · KentAt the top of Church Hill I stopped for a minute and a half in the midnight fog, outside the village primary school, its School Keep Clear markings bright in the beam. Featured in: Midnight Traffic in the Fog - Bouziès Lot
Village · LotA short detour over the old suspension bridge to the village and its church. Featured in: Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and the Cliff Road - Cahors Lot
Town · LotMy base for a week in the Lot, with the river looping round the old town and the Pont Valentré on its edge. Featured in: Vineyards into the Dark · Castelnau and the Pink Bridge · Down to the Dordogne · Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and the Cliff Road · Meanders of the Lot - Caillac Lot
Village · LotA pause by the war memorial, with the church tower behind it. Featured in: Vineyards into the Dark - Calamane Lot
Village · LotOne of the villages on the dark run back to Cahors. Featured in: Vineyards into the Dark - Caldas de Monchique Algarve
Village · AlgarveOn the climb into the Monchique hills, with views down the wooded valley to the coast. Featured in: Cork Trees, Turbines and Cobbles - Castelnau-Montratier Lot
Town · LotA hilltop town reached by a Cat 4 climb, watching me from the skyline long before I got there. Featured in: Castelnau and the Pink Bridge - Castro Marim Algarve
Town · AlgarveSalt marshes on the turn north into the hills. Featured in: To the Spanish Border and Back - Castro Verde Alentejo
Town · AlentejoThe turning point, down a street hung with dozens of coloured umbrellas. Featured in: Over Fóia to the Alentejo - Catus Lot
Village · LotReached in the dark after a Cat 4 at La Sole. Featured in: Vineyards into the Dark - Chainhurst Kent Hamlet · KentWhere the lanes flatten out into easy miles at the foot of Hunton Hill. Featured in: Midnight Traffic in the Fog
- Coxheath Kent
Village · KentThe last stretch home, where one of the night’s three cars came out of the fog as little more than a pair of headlights. Featured in: Midnight Traffic in the Fog - Crayssac Lot
Village · LotTop of the first climb of the evening, logged as the Col de Crayssac, all 291 metres of it. Featured in: Vineyards into the Dark - Dry Loire Valley
Village · LoiretA village whose sign says Dry, surrounded by fields that were anything but. Featured in: Racing the Dark to Cléry - Egerton Kent
Village · KentThe far point of a still, damp night loop before the Greensand ridge home. Featured in: Egerton by Headlight - Estômbar Algarve
Village · AlgarveIts white-and-blue church bright against the sky on the way down to Portimão. Featured in: To the Edge of Europe - Faro Algarve
City · AlgarveA stop in the square by the marina for a selfie with the town sign. Featured in: To the Spanish Border and Back - Ferragudo Algarve
Village · AlgarveFishing boats bobbing in the Arade estuary, with Portimão across the water. Featured in: Cork Trees, Turbines and Cobbles - Gourdon Lot
Town · LotHilltop town and the first proper coffee stop, with the rest of the day laid out ahead. Featured in: Down to the Dordogne - Headcorn Kent
Village · KentA night stop on the village green, its sign and old fingerpost lit up under the last autumn leaves. On another night the low ground out here was thick with fog. Featured in: Warm Mist on Wierton Hill · Egerton by Headlight - Hunton Kent Village · KentFreewheeling down Hunton Hill into thick midnight fog, the headlight bouncing back off the murk – and the climb that finishes my late loops home. Featured in: Switching Directions · Midnight Traffic in the Fog · Half Moon over Hunton Hill
- Labastide-du-Vert Lot
Village · LotIts statue lit up against a deep-blue sky as night fell. Featured in: Vineyards into the Dark - Labastide-Murat Lot
Village · LotAt the top of a long, steady Cat 3 out of the valley onto the causse. Featured in: A Quick Spin to Rocamadour - Laddingford Kent
Village · KentFlat, dark lanes south of Yalding at midnight, where a red car swept past on the way to the turn into Gravelly Ways. Featured in: Switching Directions - Lagos Algarve
Town · AlgarveA slow roll along the patterned waterfront after dropping in from the coast road. Featured in: To the Edge of Europe - Lalbenque Lot
Village · LotThe truffle town, and the first village of note on the causse south of Cahors. Featured in: Castelnau and the Pink Bridge - Linton Kent
Village · KentThe crossroads lights were on red, glowing through the fog – about the only colour in a grey night. Featured in: Midnight Traffic in the Fog - Loulé Algarve
Town · AlgarveThe far end of the loop and the main stop, with a roundabout topped by statues of cyclists. Featured in: A Rest Day in the Hills - Luz de Tavira Algarve
Village · AlgarveIts white church on the N125 heading east. Featured in: To the Spanish Border and Back - Luzech Lot
Town · LotA river town with an old square donjon, set on one of the Lot’s tightest loops. Featured in: Vineyards into the Dark · Meanders of the Lot - Marcilly-en-Villette Loire Valley Village · LoiretThe high point of the ride, a heady 130 metres, where the open fields start giving way to the woods of the Sologne. Featured in: Cycle Lanes to Morchêne
- Marden Kent
Village · KentA loop of the flat lanes south of the village and back through it, with just three cars passing all night. Featured in: Midnight Traffic in the Fog - Mercuès Lot Village · LotIts château sits on a hill above the Lot, just downstream from Cahors. Featured in: Vineyards into the Dark · Down to the Dordogne
- Meung-sur-Loire Loire Valley
Town · LoiretWhere I left the river by the bridge and turned south towards Dry. Featured in: Racing the Dark to Cléry - Monte Gordo Algarve
Beach town · AlgarveA long midday stop by the boardwalk at 112 km. Featured in: To the Spanish Border and Back - Nettlestead Kent Village · KentThrough Nettlestead on the way down to the Medway, on a midnight loop ridden in reverse. Featured in: Switching Directions
- Nettlestead Green Kent Hamlet · KentUp through Nettlestead Green on empty lanes, on a night loop ridden the other way round. Featured in: Switching Directions
- Olhão Algarve
Town · AlgarvePast a towered house painted from top to bottom in murals. Featured in: To the Spanish Border and Back - Ourique Alentejo
Town · AlentejoOpen, rolling country, long straight roads and hardly any traffic. Featured in: Over Fóia to the Alentejo - Payrac Lot
Village · LotOn the long road home after the Col de Grézelade, the climb of the day. Featured in: Down to the Dordogne - Puy-l’Évêque Lot
Town · LotThe turning point: honey-coloured stone stacked up the hillside above the water. Featured in: Meanders of the Lot - Rocamadour Lot
Village · LotThe pilgrim village stacked up a cliff, and the finale of my week in the Lot. Featured in: A Quick Spin to Rocamadour - Saint-Cirq-Lapopie Lot
Village · LotThe reason for the ride: a viewpoint over the Lot valley and its pale cliffs, then the village itself. Featured in: Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and the Cliff Road - Saint-Cyr-en-Val Loire Valley
Village · LoiretThe church of Saint-Sulpice stands over a quiet junction in the middle of the village; Joan of Arc came through here in April 1429. Featured in: Cycle Lanes to Morchêne - Saint-Denis-en-Val Loire Valley
Village · LoiretWhere the houses gave way to open farmland, with a smooth cycle path running between freshly ploughed fields. Featured in: Cycle Lanes to Morchêne - Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Mesmin Loire Valley
Village · LoiretStart of a flat, traffic-free run west along the Loire levée, past bare trees hung with mistletoe. Featured in: Racing the Dark to Cléry - Saint-Jean-le-Blanc Loire Valley Town · LoiretOver the Loire and east through Saint-Jean-le-Blanc on the easy way out of Orléans towards the farmland. Featured in: Cycle Lanes to Morchêne
- Saint-Julien-de-Lampon Dordogne
Village · DordogneAt the bottom of a lovely descent to the river, with a château clinging to the cliff above the church. Featured in: Down to the Dordogne - São Brás de Alportel Algarve
Town · AlgarveOne of the late stops in the hills, each one harder to leave. Featured in: To the Spanish Border and Back - Silves Algarve
Town · AlgarveMy base for the Algarve trip, with its old bridge over the Arade. Featured in: Cork Trees, Turbines and Cobbles - Smarden Kent
Village · KentOut on the low ground beyond Headcorn, where the fog turned my headlight into a glowing white wall. Featured in: Warm Mist on Wierton Hill - Souillac Lot
Town · LotThe turning point at 75 km, and a half-hour café stop. Featured in: Down to the Dordogne - Vers Lot
Village · LotAt the end of my favourite cliff road of the week, with the Lot lying flat and glassy below. Featured in: A Quick Spin to Rocamadour - Vila do Bispo Algarve
Town · AlgarveThe far corner of the loop, with cobbles to rattle the fillings. Featured in: Cork Trees, Turbines and Cobbles - Vila Real de Santo António Algarve
Town · AlgarveIts lighthouse and the Guadiana, with Spain just across the water. Featured in: To the Spanish Border and Back - Wateringbury Kent Village · KentDown to the Medway at Wateringbury, right at the foot of Bow Hill. Featured in: Switching Directions
- Yalding Kent
Village · KentStarting point for easy night loops through the lanes south-west of Maidstone towards Collier Street. Featured in: Switching Directions · Midnight on Church Hill
Landscapes & nature
- Arade Dam Algarve
Reservoir · AlgarveThe cherry on the cake: blue water stretching away between the hills. Featured in: A Rest Day in the Hills - Causses du Quercy Regional Park Lot
Natural park · LotThe limestone plateau at the top of the Côte d’Arcambal climb. Featured in: Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and the Cliff Road - Fóia Algarve
Mountain · AlgarveThe highest point in the Algarve, up and over on the way north into the Alentejo. Featured in: Over Fóia to the Alentejo - Gouffre de Padirac Lot
Cave · LotThe caves I headed out to on the free afternoon after the morning’s ride. Featured in: Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and the Cliff Road - Greensand Ridge Kent Ridge · KentThe reward after the climb: a long, gently rolling ride home through Ulcombe, East Sutton and Chart Sutton with the lanes to myself. Featured in: Egerton by Headlight
- River Dordogne Dordogne
River · DordogneReached by a long drop through the woods, then followed east, flat and fast, to Souillac. Featured in: Down to the Dordogne
Hotels
- Château Belmont Loire Valley
Hotel · ToursThe finish line of a hard last ramp up from the river on the north side of Tours. Featured in: Châteaux on the Cher - Hotel d’Orléans Loire Valley
Hotel · OrléansMy base in Orléans. I rolled out of its car park late on a Sunday afternoon to race the light. Featured in: Racing the Dark to Cléry
Bridges & landmarks
- Basilica of Our Lady of Cléry Loire Valley
Basilica · Cléry-Saint-AndréA huge Gothic church for such a small town, rebuilt after English troops wrecked the earlier one in 1428. Featured in: Racing the Dark to Cléry - Cabo de São Vicente Algarve
Cape · AlgarveRiding west until the land runs out, to the lighthouse at the edge of Europe. Featured in: To the Edge of Europe - Casa Dona Maria Alentejo
House · Castro VerdeA 20th-century house that is all towers and balconies. Featured in: Over Fóia to the Alentejo - Château de Morchêne Loire Valley
Château · Saint-Cyr-en-ValA brick-and-stone house built in 1904 at the heart of the Domaine de Morchêne, a big wooded park the commune has owned since 1988. Featured in: Cycle Lanes to Morchêne - Château de Tours Loire Valley
Château · ToursIts round tower on the south bank marked the start of a stop-start ride out of the city. Featured in: Châteaux on the Cher - Château de Villandry Loire Valley
Château · Indre-et-LoireThe reason for the route: the famous château and formal gardens, with the village church perched above its stone wall. Featured in: Châteaux on the Cher - Château des Anglais Lot
Cliff castle · BouzièsA medieval refuge built into the rock face, best seen from the bridge, mirrored in a perfectly still Lot. Featured in: Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and the Cliff Road - Église Saint-Martin Lot
Church · Castelnau-MontratierThe domed church at the top of the town, rebuilt at the end of the 19th century. Featured in: Castelnau and the Pink Bridge - Fontaine des Chartreux Lot
Spring · CahorsThe deep green spring that once supplied Roman Cahors, with a view back to the Pont Valentré. Featured in: Castelnau and the Pink Bridge - Orléans Cathedral (Sainte-Croix) Loire Valley
Cathedral · OrléansIts twin towers make a fine view back across the Loire sandbanks from the south bank. Featured in: Cycle Lanes to Morchêne · Racing the Dark to Cléry - Place du Martroi Loire Valley
Square · OrléansThe square with the carousel at the heart of Orléans, my way out of the centre towards Rue Royale. Featured in: Cycle Lanes to Morchêne · Racing the Dark to Cléry - Pont de Fil (Passerelle Saint-Symphorien) Loire Valley
Footbridge · ToursThe old suspension footbridge over the Loire, shared with an early runner and a carpet of fallen leaves. Featured in: Châteaux on the Cher - Pont de l’Europe Loire Valley
Bridge · OrléansSantiago Calatrava’s arched bridge, lit up with the evening traffic on the last few kilometres home. Featured in: Racing the Dark to Cléry - Pont George V Loire Valley
Bridge · OrléansThe old bridge over the Loire at the bottom of Rue Royale, crossed on the way out and again on the way home. Featured in: Racing the Dark to Cléry - Pont Valentré Lot
Bridge · CahorsThe fortified medieval bridge with three towers. I rode under its middle arch, finished rides there, and came home at sunset to find it lit pink. Featured in: Castelnau and the Pink Bridge · Meanders of the Lot - Silves Castle Algarve
Castle · SilvesThe castle over my base town, which I finally went up to see on a rest day. Featured in: Castle, Climbs and Carvoeiro
Cafés & restaurants
- Germano biciArte Café Algarve
Café · AlteA café made for cyclists, with a track bike mounted on a Portuguese flag and old wheels turned into ceiling lights. Featured in: A Rest Day in the Hills - Le 17 Lot
Bar-restaurant · Castelnau-MontratierCoffee under the arcades of Place Gambetta, with the bike parked on the pavement outside. Featured in: Castelnau and the Pink Bridge - Le Luz d’Olt Lot
Café · LuzechCappuccino and a croissant in the sunshine on the terrace, the only proper stop of the day. Featured in: Meanders of the Lot - Velochique Algarve
Bike café · MonchiqueA long stop at the bike café after the light turned gold over the serra. Featured in: Forty-Three Climbs
Beaches
- Praia de Armação de Pêra Algarve
Beach · Armação de PêraBeach number three, before the steady rise towards Porches. Featured in: Five Beaches in a Day - Praia de Benagil Algarve
Beach · LagoaThe highlight: golden cliffs, café umbrellas and wooden steps down to the sand. Featured in: Five Beaches in a Day - Praia de Quarteira Algarve
Beach · QuarteiraBeach number one and the turning point, with twenty minutes on the seafront. Featured in: Five Beaches in a Day - Praia do Carvoeiro Algarve
Beach · LagoaA small bay of golden sand between ochre cliffs, with water so clear it barely looked real. Featured in: Five Beaches in a Day · Castle, Climbs and Carvoeiro - Praia dos Pescadores Algarve
Beach · AlbufeiraBeach number two, seen from the clifftop before the longest climb of the day. Featured in: Five Beaches in a Day
Music
- Nickelback – Everything Under the Sun
Album · NickelbackThe new tunes on the playlist for a half-moon midnight streak-keeper out to Nettlestead and Laddingford. Featured in: Half Moon over Hunton Hill - Yello – Time Lab
Album · YelloOut the day before and on the playlist for a foggy Halloween-midnight ride – fittingly, it has a track called Midnight Traffic. Featured in: Midnight Traffic in the Fog
Roads
- Alto da Picota Algarve Climb · AlgarveJust over 1.5 km at around 8% to about 310 m – the hardest bit of a so-called rest day. Featured in: A Rest Day in the Hills
- Alto Fica Algarve
Climb · AlgarveThe last real climb of a 256 km day out to the Spanish border and back. Featured in: To the Spanish Border and Back - Babylon Lane Kent
Lane · KentThe flattest and quietest part of a foggy midnight loop, heading back west from Headcorn. Featured in: Warm Mist on Wierton Hill - Bow Hill Kent Hill · WateringburyStraight up from the river at Wateringbury towards Hunt Street, where I set a new PB at midnight. Featured in: Switching Directions
- Church Hill Kent
Hill · KentThe one climb Garmin rates on my late loops – about 100 metres back up onto the ridge, and a third-best time one October midnight. Featured in: Midnight Traffic in the Fog · Midnight on Church Hill - Cliff road along the Lot Lot
Road · Bouziès to VersOne of my favourite roads, squeezed between the river and a wall of pale limestone on the way to Vers. Featured in: A Quick Spin to Rocamadour · Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and the Cliff Road - Col de Crayssac Lot Col · CrayssacAll 291 metres of it, up to Crayssac and its church, past a line of cypresses with the moon already up. Featured in: Vineyards into the Dark
- Col de Grézelade Lot Col · LotThe climb of the day: 4.6 km at 4.4%, just over 200 m up out of the Dordogne valley onto the plateau. Featured in: Down to the Dordogne
- Côte d’Arcambal Lot Climb · ArcambalThe climb of the day on the D8: just over 4 km at a steady 4%, winding up out of the Lot valley onto the limestone causse. Featured in: Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and the Cliff Road
- Côte du Mont-Saint-Cyr Lot Climb · CahorsNearly 4 km of steady Cat 3 climbing barely 2 km out of Cahors – the toughest of the day by some way. Featured in: Filling the Gaps on the Causse
- Gravelly Ways Kent Lane · LaddingfordFlat river-valley lanes between Laddingford and East Peckham, with the music doing most of the work. Featured in: Switching Directions · Half Moon over Hunton Hill · Midnight on Church Hill
- Heath Road Kent Road · KentEast along the ridge on Heath Road and home after the climb up Yalding Hill. Featured in: Switching Directions
- Hunton Hill Kent Hill · HuntonMy local hill: a fog-bound freewheel down at midnight, and a Category 4 climb home with a steep middle section that bites. Featured in: Switching Directions · Midnight Traffic in the Fog · Half Moon over Hunton Hill
- Kenward Road Kent Road · YaldingThe first gentle drag of the night, up out of Yalding towards Nettlestead. Featured in: Half Moon over Hunton Hill
- Lower Farm Road Kent Road · KentThe flat approach to Church Hill, where the road tilts up and keeps going back onto the ridge. Featured in: Midnight Traffic in the Fog · Midnight on Church Hill
- Marden Road Kent Road · StaplehurstFlat Weald miles at a steady 90-plus cadence on the way out to Staplehurst. Featured in: Egerton by Headlight
- Pattenden Lane Kent Lane · MardenThe long flat run out past Collier Street on a midnight loop, with the lanes all to myself. Featured in: Midnight on Church Hill
- Pico do Mu Algarve
Climb · AlgarveA steady climb at a little over 3% on the way home, with wind turbines lining the ridge ahead. Featured in: Over Fóia to the Alentejo - Rock Hill Road Kent Hill · Egerton82 metres in just over a kilometre at the far corner of my Egerton loop. Featured in: Egerton by Headlight
- Route de la Marchande Lot Climb · CahorsJust over 4 km at a steady 4% out of the valley onto the plateau, kept honest at around 190 W. Featured in: Castelnau and the Pink Bridge
- Route des Vallées Loire Valley Road · Cher valleyDead level beside the Cher, past Joué-lès-Tours on to Savonnières. Featured in: Châteaux on the Cher
- Rue de Ligny Loire Valley
Road · Saint-Cyr-en-ValBig open fields and a wheeled irrigation rig parked over the bare soil on the way into Saint-Cyr-en-Val. Featured in: Cycle Lanes to Morchêne - Rue Jeanne d’Arc Loire Valley
Street · OrléansOn the way back the view along it to Sainte-Croix cathedral opened up, tram, flags and all. Featured in: Cycle Lanes to Morchêne - Rue Royale Loire Valley
Street · OrléansA painted bike lane runs down it beneath the arcades, with its own traffic lights: Orléans makes leaving town easy. Featured in: Cycle Lanes to Morchêne - Sheephurst Lane Kent Lane · MardenDown Sheephurst Lane towards Marden in thick midnight fog, with the headlight showing just a few metres of wet tarmac. Featured in: Midnight Traffic in the Fog
- Stilebridge Lane Kent Lane · MardenFlat, empty lanes for steady Zone 2 work north from Marden – and, for once, no dog gave chase. Featured in: Midnight Traffic in the Fog · Midnight on Church Hill
- Ulcombe Hill Kent Hill · UlcombeThe free run down off the ridge onto the flat Weald, barely turning the pedals. Featured in: Warm Mist on Wierton Hill
- Wierton Hill Kent Hill · Boughton MonchelseaNumber 27 on the 100 Climbs X-List – cold fog at the bottom, warm mist at the top. Featured in: Warm Mist on Wierton Hill
- Yalding Hill Kent Hill · YaldingThe sting in the tail of a reversed night loop: the Category 4 climb from Yalding back up onto the ridge. Featured in: Switching Directions
Segments
- Almádena climb Algarve Strava segment · AlmádenaPast the old fort at Almádena – the steepest pull and hardest effort of the day. Featured in: To the Edge of Europe
- Alto da Picota climb Algarve Strava segment · AlgarveJust over 1.5 km at around 8% to the top at about 310 m. Featured in: A Rest Day in the Hills
- Benagil climb Algarve Strava segment · BenagilBack out of Benagil, with a short ramp near the bottom that took well over 300 W. Featured in: Five Beaches in a Day
- Bow Hill segment Kent Strava segment · WateringburyA new PB at midnight going straight up from the river towards Hunt Street: 3:02 at 232 W. Featured in: Switching Directions
- Cansino climb Algarve Strava segment · AlferceOver 3 km at nearly 7% with steeper ramps that had me grinding at a low cadence. Featured in: Castle, Climbs and Carvoeiro
- Church Hill climb segment Kent Strava segment · KentThe steep 800-metre top of Church Hill – 3:29 at 308 W, my third-best time, well past midnight in October. Featured in: Midnight on Church Hill
- Church Hill segment Kent Strava segment · KentChurch Hill back onto the ridge – 8:51 at 224 W on a foggy Halloween midnight. Featured in: Midnight Traffic in the Fog
- Climb towards Nave Algarve Strava segment · MonchiqueThe best part of 12 km from Rasmalho, a steady grind with tall trees giving the odd patch of shade. Featured in: Cork Trees, Turbines and Cobbles
- Col de Grézelade segment Lot Strava segment · Lot4.6 km at 4.4% up out of the Dordogne valley – the climb of the day. Featured in: Down to the Dordogne
- Corte do Gago wall Algarve Strava segment · Algarve90 m of height in 800 m, with my heart rate at its highest of the day. Featured in: To the Spanish Border and Back
- Côte d’Arcambal segment Lot Strava segment · ArcambalJust over 4 km at a steady 4% on the D8 – a Cat 3 up onto the causse. Featured in: Saint-Cirq-Lapopie and the Cliff Road
- Côte du Mont-Saint-Cyr segment Lot Strava segment · CahorsNearly 4 km of Cat 3 climbing straight out of Cahors. Featured in: Filling the Gaps on the Causse
- Fóia climb Algarve
Strava segment · MonchiqueUp past Caldas de Monchique and through Monchique town to the Algarve’s highest point. Featured in: Over Fóia to the Alentejo - Hunton Hill segment Kent Strava segment · HuntonMy local hill – 4:39 at 246 W through the steep middle section. Featured in: Half Moon over Hunton Hill
- Laborie climb Lot Strava segment · CrayssacThe steepest stretch up to Crayssac, ridden in 7:11 past a line of cypresses. Featured in: Vineyards into the Dark
- Montée Pavés Loire Valley Strava segment · OrléansThe grandly titled only bump of the day: ten metres of rise in 330 metres. Featured in: Racing the Dark to Cléry
- N124-1 out of Silves Algarve Strava segment · SilvesThe biggest climb of a rest-day spin – a little over a kilometre, enough to wake the legs. Featured in: A Rest-Day Spin to Alvor
- Odelouca valley to Alferce Algarve
Strava segment · AlferceNearly 6 km and close to 400 m of climbing, just as the sun came up. Featured in: Forty-Three Climbs - Rocamadour to Couzou Lot
Strava segment · RocamadourMore than 200 m in under 6 km, two Cat 4 ramps with Rocamadour shrinking behind me at every bend. Featured in: A Quick Spin to Rocamadour - Rock Hill Road segment Kent Strava segment · Egerton82 m in just over a kilometre, ridden at 206 W in 4:31. Featured in: Egerton by Headlight
- Route de la Marchande segment Lot Strava segment · CahorsJust over 4 km at a steady 4%, at around 190 W all the way up onto the plateau. Featured in: Castelnau and the Pink Bridge
- Sarnau climb Lot Strava segment · LotThe steepest stretch of the day’s climbing, in 6:26 at 240 W. Featured in: Meanders of the Lot
- Vers Farges Loire Valley Strava segment · LoiretA five-kilometre drag south from Morchêne that gained all of 35 metres, where I pushed hardest all morning. Featured in: Cycle Lanes to Morchêne
- Villandry short climb Loire Valley
Strava segment · VillandryThe steepest stretch of the drag up to the plateau from Villandry, in 3:19. Featured in: Châteaux on the Cher - Wierton Hill segment Kent Strava segment · Boughton Monchelsea100 Climbs X-List No. 27 – 5:22 at 283 W, my second-best time up there. Featured in: Warm Mist on Wierton Hill
- Yalding Hill segment Kent Strava segment · YaldingGrinding back up onto the ridge at a steady 236 W, the one climb Garmin rates as a Category 4 on this loop. Featured in: Switching Directions