There are mountains, and then there are mountains. Ever since I first picked up a crayon, drew a triangle and gave it a wavy snowline halfway down (very funny, but no it wasn’t last week), I’ve been repeatedly amazed by the innumerable shapes, characters and idiosyncrasies of the many groups of mountains that are crammed into our little island. They change almost as quickly as … Continue reading Cairngorm Cloud Giants
Things are changing in the heady world of UK mountain bike leadership… With new qualifications, new remit limitations and acronyms breeding like rabbits; anyone could be forgiven for wondering what exactly it all means, and whether ‘TTPP’ is a cream used to treat embarrassing rashes. If that sounds familiar (the questions, not the rash), then read on for a brief explanation of the current choice … Continue reading British Cycling MTB Leader L3 assessment
Sometime in the spring of 2014 an unusual bike race crossed my attention – it was in the south of France, was called the ‘Epic Enduro’ and had stats to make your legs tingle. 90km, 4,300m of climbing and thousands of metres of special-stage descending on natural, rocky trails. I saw some very pretty photos online, and thought about for a moment. “Sod it, I’m … Continue reading Shimano Epic Enduro – the return of XXXC
It’s nearly the shortest day of the year, so here’s a short film from back in the longest days of summer. It’s about hopping across the water to Scotland’s Western Isles, following the waves, searching for trails and camping on empty beaches. Roll on summer! Follow the Waves from Topofests on Vimeo. Continue reading Video: Follow the Waves
Slowly, slowly, I’m starting to get the time and bandwidth to actually do something with all the video and photos we brought back from Iceland. This is a short film that I put together last week with footage from the Laugavegur trail, a hiking trail that links the steam-wreathed volcanic hills Landmannalaugar with the southern ice glaciers of Myrdalsjökull and Eyjafjallajökull. We rode it as … Continue reading Video: Laugavegur
Iceland: The South Coast and Eastern Fjords As we descended through thick cloud, sleepy and dry-throated from the flight, I found myself suddenly very much awake, staring childlike through the tiny EasyJet regulation cabin window, certain that any moment now the plane would break through a misty ceiling and a panoramic view of Iceland would be spread before me to replace the present soggy greyness. … Continue reading Iceland: South Coast and Eastern Fjords
There’s something exciting about Scotland’s islands. A place that stands alone, separated by the sea from the rest of Britain, and jutting even further out into the sea fog and wind on the north-western frontier of Europe, must by definition contain adventure; it just makes sense. The Outer Hebrides must be the most adventurous of the lot then, standing aloof from Scotland and usually shrouded … Continue reading Bikepacking at the edge of the ocean
So far summer has been here, there and everywhere, sometimes even with a shower or a night indoors sneaked into the gaps, and only the odd moment of access to the internet and all the other things that don’t come included with life in a van. On the whole, it’s been pretty pleasant! Rounding out May and kicking off the summer was the much-anticipated EWS … Continue reading Alpenzaft and the Conville Trust
Look at a map, make some sammiches, set off on your bike and who knows where you’ll end up? Maybe there’ll be some company! Or maybe you’ll just fall in a bog, although such details are irrelevant… Thanks to Andy at Backcountrybiking for providiing the Revelate Designs kit, and Annie for standing in the middle of a river to get those ‘authentic’ shots. Continue reading Video: Red Travellin’ Socks
There is an unwritten rule that a new tent must be christened, bedded in, or however else you might choose to describe it. At this point I have to confess a sin- having bought a new tent several weeks ago as part of the preparations for going to Iceland for a month in August, me and Annie have unforgivably neglected to pop it up on … Continue reading A night in the woods
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