Big ride: spain gateway to hell

Alarm. Darkness. Hotel blackout blinds open. Still darkness. Shower in oversize shower room with dinner plate shower head. Do teeth in both his and hers sinks. Find base layer in fitted wardrobe. Wond

I’ve been thinking about this climb for months. If I can just get up it, I’ll feel I’ve broken the back of this brutal bike leg. But talking of broken backs, mine is straining. Like fudge doughnuts, s

Two of the eight tallest peaks in the Dolomites are part of the Pale di San Martino, the largest mountain group in the range. The Vezzana and Cimon della Pala peaks are neighbours, though the latter t

The Doc’s Spanish sojourn leaves him with glowing surface impressions

When it comes to length, most of the UK’s ‘toughest’ climbs are laughable by Alpine standards. Take France’s Col de la Croix de Fer. At 42km it makes Scotland’s 9km Bealach na Bà – the longest climb w

Jim Perrin pens a paean to a famous place of threshold for climbers, equally beloved of coastal walkers: the cliffs of Gogarth and Holyhead