John HikerBiker – personal site of JohnH, a hiker, sports motorcyclist, trail biker and photographer based in Hammersmith, West London, UKJohn HikerBiker – personal site of JohnH, a hiker, sports motorcyclist, trail biker and photographer based in Hammersmith, West London, UK
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  • Athens - Olympia - Kalavita. Inter Rail 81 pt 2
  • Kôln - Koblenz - Firenze - Pisa - Sienna - Venezia. Inter Rail 81 pt 1
  • South Downs flowers - South Downs National Park
  • My Marseille cactus garden
  • Pointe Rouge, Marseille

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  • Oh to ride in Provence now that Spring is here
  • Kôln - Koblenz - Firenze - Pisa - Sienna - Venezia. Inter Rail 81 pt 1
  • Comparing two lightweight adventure bikes - NX500 & KTM390
  • Checkout ride: col de l’Espigoulier (723 m.)
  • Athens - Olympia - Kalavita. Inter Rail 81 pt 2

Athens - Olympia - Kalavita. Inter Rail 81 pt 2

Details
Published: 13 November 2018

Acropolis, Athens
Acropolis, Athens

Beograd
Beograd, Yugoslavia

The train journey from Venezia to Athens was overnight; note the working steam locomotive in the engine shed in Beograd (Belgrade) even in 1981. Athens was a culture shock, a bustling business city, not only even hotter, another currency and another language but another alphabet so we had trouble even reading the signs. We stayed in a hostel and found we picked up crabs from the beds but enjoyed a boat trip for a day out to the island of Aegina.

More photos: Athens - Olympia - Kalavita. Inter Rail 81 pt 2

Kôln - Koblenz - Firenze - Pisa - Sienna - Venezia. Inter Rail 81 pt 1

Details
Published: 14 May 2025

Firenze railway station
Arrival at Firenze (Florence) railway station (I)

Koblenz on the Mosel
Camping at Koblenz on the river Mosel, then Nürnburg (D)

An Inter Rail ticket gave almost unlimited travel on European railways for a month for the Under 26’s in the days before cheap air travel.

More photos: Kôln - Koblenz - Firenze - Pisa - Sienna - Venezia. Inter Rail 81 pt 1

South Downs flowers - South Downs National Park

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Published: 04 May 2025

Flowers on the South Downs Way

Flowers on the South Downs Way

Spring flowers on the South Downs Way around Ditchling Beacon (248 m.). The abundance of colour is striking on the green of the grassland, a surge of spring after the bleak straw of winter. No particularly rare species, the orchids aren’t flowering here yet.

More photos: South Downs flowers - South Downs National Park

My Marseille cactus garden

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Published: 02 May 2025

Marseille cactus flowers

A few flowers in my cactus garden on my balcony in Marseille; this plant works in fives (five main flowers, ten off-shoots). But the aromatics (lavender, thyme and rosemary) have again failed. These plants survive in abundance in the harsh conditions on the calcaire mountainsides of Provence so I’m disappointed that specimens from nurseries can’t take the more reasonable conditions I’ve offered them.

More photos: My Marseille cactus garden

Pointe Rouge, Marseille

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Published: 01 May 2025

Marseille Place Castellane

Fountains working again in Marseille Place Castellane with the tram line installation nearing completion on the far side. Onwards to the beach for fun on gravel and sand on my classic Marin Palisades Lite.

More photos: Pointe Rouge, Marseille

Oh to ride in Provence now that Spring is here

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Published: 28 April 2025

Gorges de l'Ardèche
Gorges de l'Ardèche - Belvédère du Serre de Tourre

Alpes-de-Haute-Provence
Alpes-de-Haute-Provence

Three day’s excellent touring in Provence, Dévoluy, Ardèche and the Cévennes plus the Pôle Méchanique circuit. My CBR600RR running great. Variety of roads, marvellous spring views and friendly, family-run hotels with fantastic food.

More photos: Oh to ride in Provence now that Spring is here

Easter fizz

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Published: 22 April 2025

Comparing three bottles of fizz

Comparing three bottles of fizz for our Easter entertainment; all are made by the additional fermentation method, equivalent to the méthode champenoise.

Conegliano Prosecco Superiore DOC 2024. Brut. 10.5%
Light. Not overly dry. Bit melon bit vanilla. The label suggests apricots but that wasn’t our impression.
Different and more refined than Valdobiane Superiore DOC. Principal varietal Glera. Bottle from a UK supermarket.
We enjoyed our bottle with sauté chicken breast in a beetroot sauce to a recipe by Keith Floyd.

Crémant de Limoux AOC (Pierre Chanau) 2023. Brut. 12.5%
Plentiful fine bubbles. Light but we struggled to specify a fruit taste analogy: slightly vanilla, not apricot, not star-fruit or melon. so fruity but not any fruit we could think of. Enjoyable - Crémant de Limoux is a long-time favourite following stays in Carcassonne and around. We enjoyed this bottle with our salad for Easter Bank Holiday Monday. Principal varietals: Chardonnay, Chenin and Pinot Noir. Personal import.

Sekt: Reisling Brut 2019 (Von Buhl, traditionelle Flaschengärung). Brut. 12.5%
Strong and insistent bubbles. We enjoyed this with poached plaice on Good Friday, the strong flavour of the fish matching the strong flavour of the wine. It resolved to apple or pear flavour; a texture not unlike perry. Principal varietal Reisling. The bottle glassware was by far the most sturdy of the three. Ordered online.

  • Prosecco Superiore or Prosecco Frizzante?
  • Sekt & Stollen - Reisling Brut 2019 (Von Buhl)

 

Seatallan (692 m.) and Middle Fell (582 m.) - Lake District National Park

Details
Published: 12 April 2025

Scafell and Wast Water, Lake District
View over Wast Water to Scafell (910 m.) and Scafell Pike (978 m.), on the right, also Gable (899 m.)

Greendale Gill - Tongue Gills, Lake District
Greendale Gill - Tongue Gills

Up on the fells and away from the crowds. Seatallan (692 m.) summit gives a fine view of the coastal apron of Cumbria, reminding me of the coastal apron typical of mid-ocean volcanic islands; also a fine view down to Blengdale. The path is unmarked but there are fell runners’ routes and precipitous turf staircases.
Middle Fell (582 m.) isn’t as high but has one of the stunning panoramas of the Lake District. There’s an unbroken view over Wast Water to Scafell (910 m.) and Scafell Pike (978 m.), on the right, also Gable (899 m.) and hazy views of Skiddaw (931 m.) and Blencathra (868 m.) in the distance. Great spring sunlight and visibility though the outline of the Isle of Man was only very indistinct though the mist.

Thanks to Samuel for another great choice of route

More photos: Seatallan (692 m.) and Middle Fell (582 m.) - Lake District National Park

Late afternoon play: Latrigg and Brundholme - Lake District National Park

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Published: 09 April 2025

Latrigg Saddle - Lake District National Park

Latrigg Saddle - Lake District National Park

Out for a late afternoon play ride on the mountain bike after a busy day in Keswick. First the slog up to Latrigg Saddle (300 m.) from Applethwaite then down the ever-changing trail through Brundholme Woods. Fab spring weather still, great to feel the breeze under the arms again after covering up all winter. Tracks quiet but the flyboys were out aloft. Spring sunshine and blue sky all round.

More photos: Late afternoon play: Latrigg and Brundholme - Lake District National Park

Shap - Garsdale - Hawes (Yorkshire Dales National Park)

Details
Published: 07 April 2025

Ride round the Dales and North Pennines

Shap Summit
Shap Summit (426 m.)

Ride round the Dales and North Pennines in the fabulous spring weather. Firstly Shap Summit (426 m.), for that top of the world feeling; the A6 is also one of the great biking roads in Cumbria, big rides up and down and round.
Turning off to the pretty little roads around the River Mint between Kendal and Sedburgh, the Ninja Z250SL is good on these as well as holding its own on the big sweeping old-style A roads. Through Sedbergh to Garsdale and Garsdale Head (324 m.) then down Wensleydale, more and more bikers on the A684, another wonderful biking road that keeps on throwing thrills at the rider.

More photos: Shap - Garsdale - Hawes (Yorkshire Dales National Park)

Yves Castagnet at the organ of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

Details
Published: 03 April 2025

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

Well that was an extraordinary recital, I’ve never been to anything like it. Firstly the restored cathedral looks fantastic inside, the masonry is clean and white, the rose stained-glass windows newly bright too. The huge space of one of the tallest of the Gothic cathedrals seems both enhanced but also relatable somehow: it doesn’t recede in to the dim distance like I think it used to, the bright stone and new lighting imposes on you.
I haven’t heard this organ since I passed through Paris on my way back from Lausanne before I went to university, when fortuitously the organ was being played. I’ve never quite forgotten the impact of this big instrument in a magnificent Gothic cathedral with the reverberations being as much a part of the music as the notes.

Read more: Yves Castagnet at the organ of the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

London lemons 2025

Details
Published: 02 April 2025

Lemons in my London patio garden

Nice lemons growing on my patio in West London, a reminder of Mediterranean lemons in Menton. Lemons are not the only fruit, there are a few mandarins ripening but my lime tree is disappointing this year. Anyhow, some tidying up and up-potting in the warm spring sunshine, that’s a Rosemary and an Oleander.

My London patio garden

My London patio garden

  • Lemons and limes and oranges 2020

Hiking the levadas of Ponta do Sol - Madeira Island

Details
Published: 03 March 2025

Levada Nova, Ponta do Sol - Madeira
Levada Nova da Lombada (425 m.)

Beach, Ponta do Sol - Madeira

Probably the most satisfying hike I’ve done on Madeira: spectacular views and waterfalls though difficult as a circular hike because of the narrow path, the rocky overhangs, tunnel and the opportunities for a cold shower. Madeira Island is renowned for its extensive levadas (irrigation channels) which are great hiking routes as well as aqueducts and sources of hydoelectric power. In particular, the levadas of Ponta do Sol have a long and complicated history, including fatalities during construction, a violent riot in 1962 over the right to water when the Levada Nova was proposed and grim origins as supplying water to the sugar cane plantations founded by João Esmeraldo (died 1535) using slave labour. Christopher Columbus stayed in his palace in Funchal on his return from his third trip to the Antilles in 1498, married his daughter and himself became a sugar cane magnate at the time when the product became known as “white gold”.

More photos: Hiking the levadas of Ponta do Sol - Madeira Island

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