© Kei Acedera

The Times Literary Supplement, branching out a bit, reveals the existence of a Joseph Conrad bike tour of London. No harm in this of course — quite the opposite — mens sana in corpore sano. But why Conrad? Was he a notorious biker?

Turns out the tour has been put together by the Polish Cultural Institute in London to mark 2017 which the Polish Parliament has decreed shall be Joseph Conrad Year. (Sorry to be bringing you this news so late in the year.) Their rallying cry “Family fun tracking Joseph Conrad’s footsteps on bicycle” strikes a little oddly — but I guess tracking his footsteps on foot might take too long.

William Fotheringham brings us his top 10 cycling novels at The Guardian. No Conrad. H. G. Wells might be a better tour focus, but maybe you’d have to ride rather further: he always strikes me as more a suburban than an urban writer. Pushing it up those Surrey hills might make some demand refunds. Still one can imagine bicycular literary touring as a viable holiday option.