Dobbin retires at 49,286 miles.

Dobbin at Mercian Cycles, Derby in Sept 2015

My faithful bicycle, handbuilt for me by Mercian in 1995, has now been retired at 49,286 recorded miles.

49,286 recorded miles travelled.

Those miles have taken it and me into France, Spain, Andorra, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany.



It has traversed the Pyrenees three times and crossed France from top to bottom and from bottom to top. It has spent years commuting daily between Dover and Folkestone in ice, snow, fog, gale and tempest; at all times of night and day.

But more than that, Dobbin is famous in its own right. It has been my faithful companion on many of the rides which have featured in my stories and it has appeared on the cover of three of my books:

The broken baguette for The Trouble with France.

The falling oranges for The Trouble with Spain.

And famous Author cycling in his pyjamas for Hunting the Golden Lion.