The Bicycle Beano Blog
Welcome to the BBB, a place for intermittent words of wisdom from the Bicycle Beano headquarters.
Watercress Ways
In which Andy discusses what a vegetable can teach us about the English landscape. Oh, and there’s a recipe.
Time for Coffee
I started writing this blog post some months ago as a light-hearted tribute to the coffee stop, then put it aside to come back to later. Little did I know what would transpire in the meantime. The humble cafe, something we took for granted for so long, has suddenly vanished
Our tours in 2026
Brecon Beacons Beano
Thu 30 Apr - Mon 4 May 2026
West Coast Beano
Sat 4 - Sat 11 July 2026
Hereford Beano
(new venue!)
Thu 20 - Mon 24 Aug 2026
Bespoke tours
Couple, friends, small groups, large groups - we can plan your trip. Find out more
The city beneath the lake
Llangasty Retreat House – the base for our Brecon Beacons Beano – sits near the shores of Llangorse Lake, the largest natural lake in South Wales.
Mud, mud and more mud. Also: mud.
I’ve been out on my mountain bike recently. To those of you who know me well, that may come as a bit of a surprise.
The fine art of saying hello
A few months ago I joined a small group of cyclists on a day’s training organised by the South Downs National Park Authority, at the end
Cycling on the edge of the day
In which Andy plays tag with a barn owl I nearly didn’t go for a ride on Sunday. We’d been out for the day and
Four more ways to dodge the Puncture Fairy
Spring is nearly here in the UK, which means more hours of daylight and (we hope) better weather to get out for some nice bike
The curious case of the two Ellesmeres and the Pointless Aqueduct
Our Shropshire Beano is based in a gorgeous country house just outside the town of Ellesmere, in the heart of the Shropshire countryside 15 miles
The Lost Tribe: a visit to the Design Museum’s ‘Cycle Revolutions’ exhibition
In which Andy looks at some bicycles pinned to a wall If you follow us on Facebook or Twitter, you’ll know that the Beano staff
Vegetarian Week recipes from the Snowdonia Beano
Our Snowdonia Beano is based at the Trigonos Centre in North Wales, a place renowned for the quality of its vegetarian catering – partly because
Five ways to avoid a visit from the Puncture Fairy
Punctures. Or if you’re American, “Flats”. Or if you’re superstitious, The Word That Must Never Be Spoken. (As in, “Hey, we’ve been out all day
Bara Brith: the ultimate cyclist’s energy food?
Andy waxes lyrical about his favourite coffee-stop snack The Welsh call it bara brith, the Irish barm brack and the English, more prosaically, tea bread.
