Thoughts - Matt's Website

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Thoughts

Finding ideas to live by along detours and diversions.

A Brompton bike stands in a shaft of sunlight in a concrete underpass.

To fold, or not to fold

I've decided that Brompton's small-wheeled wonder is the perfect bike for me. Sometimes.

A black and white photo of a road with 'one way' painted on it, with an arrow pointing away from the camera position.

So long, Strava

I’ve dropped the habit of logging my exercise, and I don’t miss the nagging presence of the orange app.

A blue Hoy balance bike rests on its side atop a grassy hill, with a cloudy sky in the background.

Finding balance

The art and science of keeping upright is essential for cycling and life.

Two figures walking on a hillare silhouetted against the dark blue evening sky.

Conversations with strangers

I've come to appreciate the fleeting, chance encounters that occur when travelling by bike or on foot.

Along a tree-lined coutnry lane, a gravel bike with a black handlebar bag leans on a road sign with the words: "Lowbands: Chartist Settlement Founded 1847"

Cycling, resistance and revolution

A ride through a village founded by a working-class political movement drew me to the story of the bicycle’s radical role in history.

A black and white image of a muddy farm track with large puddles of water and trees either side.

Cycling through winter

Spending one lonely, dark season pedalling on rollers in my garage convinced me I'd rather face the cold and wet.

The night's sky full of stars, with trees silhouetted at the bottom of the picture.

Walking into darkness

The story of two winter walks, one at dawn and one at dusk, and a call to dream.

A black cargo bike leans against a brick wall, the strong sunlight casting shadows.

I've joined a cargo cult

A secondhand e-cargo bike has delivered me into a select but growing group of people who know how to make errands fun.

Two figues walk up a snowy hillside path in whiteout condition.

Solstice promise

On the darkest evening of the year, I’m vowing to forge a deeper relationship with the places where I walk and cycle.

On a foggy autumn day, a bike with its red rear light shining leans against a railing at the side of a leaf-strewn lane.

Keep going and enjoy the ride

Lessons for life and cycling – from a channel swimmer, an ultra-commuter and my elderly neighbour.

A child in a billowing organge jacket cycles away down a sweeping forest track, mountains in the distance.

Riding without a reason

Cycling purely for the sake of riding a bike clears my mind and leaves me ready to face whatever life has in store (after a nice sit-down).

A black and red mounatin bike with panniers leans on white garage doors, its front rack loaded with a pack of toilet rolls

No ride is too short

This year my bike riding has been confined mainly to shorter distances, often local errands. I felt like I was missing out on longer rides – until I read the words of a bike industry icon.

A child with walking poles descends a ridge on a yellow-grassed range of hills.

From the door

Setting out from home to cover ground by bike or on foot brings a precious bit of adventure into my everyday life – and not just while I'm on the trail.

To plan, or not to plan

To plan, or not to plan

Is it better to prepare meticulously for an adventure, or just set off and enjoy whatever unfolds?

The free parking square on a Monopoly board with the racing car playing piece sitting on it.

Free car parking is a joke

Our bizarre obsession with parking for free makes great comedy. What’s not so funny is the way it benefits the wealthy at the expense of poorer people and the environment.

A roadside sign nailed to a telegraph pole with the words 'FRUIT.VEG' points to the left.

Rethinking food

Reading the horror story of ultra-processed food has changed how I eat on walks and bike rides.

A black and grey gravel bike propped against a dirty white-rendered wall.

Sciatica, cycling and me

An injury taught me some tough lessons about myself and what it means to be well.

A grey and grubby concrete cycling and walking bridge spirals over a motorway and enters a green woodland.

Small acts of change

As an introvert, I'm not inclined to activism but I've come to find satisfaction in taking practical steps towards a better future for walking and cycling.

A child in a blue and white top rides a bike along a cycle path next to a traffic jam.

Stop driving to the gym

Going about our daily lives actively is far better for us than the lifestyle the leisure industry is pushing.

Three bikes – one grey, one red and black, and one bright yellow, lean against the porch of a white house with a red door.

Our year without a car

Freed from owning an expensive lump of metal that spends most of its time doing nothing, we’ve saved ourselves money and hassle.

A large stuck of golden straw bales stands in a recently harvested field against a pale blue sky.

The impossibility of seasons

This wet summer has me remembering dry days gone by, the sort of days when the sun evaporates the very idea of winter.

A bike lays on the grassy verge of a dusty earth track that stretches into the distant trees.

Who are green lanes for?

Off-roaders have a legal right to drive on Byways Open to All Traffic. So ill-feeling towards them is a symptom of a wider problem.

Trees and sky reflecting in a puddle on a rural track bordered by lush green undergrowth.

The landscape of private names

Pig Path. Blue Gate. Muddy Path. The prosaic names I gave to my childhood landscape embodied a world that no map could ever properly capture.

A group of children in red, white, blue and brown tops run down a farm track away from the camera.

It’s time to set kids free from cars

We’ve created a society where kids don't travel actively or independently, and it’s affecting their wellbeing.

A small child, just visible, sleeps in a green tent against the green backdrop of Dartmoor.

The right to wild camp on Dartmoor: gone but not forgotten

The outcome last week of a wealthy landowner’s high court case was sadly predictable: he’s stripped people of their legal right to camp on Dartmoor.