A Fixed Wheel Journey, of Sorts…
Something of an ode to the fixed wheel bicycle and why I still love to ride them. Read more »
Rides bikes, paddles sea kayaks, takes pictures. Life on the road & my home in Cornwall.
Stories of person-powered life and adventures by bicycle and sea kayak, at home and further afield. Car-independent life in Cornwall, UK, and longer, thoughtful journeys by bike in mostly high and empty places. There is also street photography, if you like that sort of thing.
Latest Articles
Something of an ode to the fixed wheel bicycle and why I still love to ride them. Read more »
February 17, 2024 | comments 10
Just enough time to squeeze one more out before the year rolls over.... Read more »
December 31, 2023 | comments 17
Ramblings and a few snaps from early winter. Read more »
December 5, 2023 | comments 6
Most Read / Visited Entries
In which it can be demonstrated that the future belongs to the unwashed riders of old steel fixed-wheel bicycles... Read more »
March 29, 2021 | comments 41
A ride on tracks and trails through the empty heart of Wales. Read more »
October 2, 2021 | comments 16
It's been in the Surly Catalogue for more than 20 years, what possible relevance could the venerable Cross Check still have in a world... Read more »
August 14, 2020 | comments 87
Part one of a week spent exploring the tracks and trails of Dumfries & Galloway in the company of friends. Read more »
September 13, 2018 | comments 8
A workshop project to make a set of laminated wooden mudguards for my Surly Big Fat Dummy. Made from a blend of oak and... Read more »
December 10, 2018 | comments 16
A random selection of favourites from the archives
An impromptu sea kayak journey along the coast of Cornwall from Saltash to Sennen Cove. 190km over four and a half days made for a super mini-adventure close to home. Read more »
June 1, 2021 | comments 10
A collection of mid-winter monochromes to close out the year. Read more »
December 31, 2021 | comments 8
Street photography from Dia de la Bandera (Flag Day) in the town of Espinar, high in the Andes of southern Peru. Read more »
June 8, 2017 | comments 2
Bikepacking to La Paz by the back door - tracks and trails of the Cordillera Real via Condoriri basecamp. Bitterly cold with snow to... Read more »
August 4, 2019 | comments 8
It was a very definite sense of deja-vu. Not the first time I’d found myself sat by a fire beneath a wonderful starscape on... Read more »
October 13, 2014 | comments 4
Bikepacking the Andes
Technically “The Empty Quarter” applies to the Rub’ al Khali desert on the Arabian Peninsula, however I’m going to use a little creative license and use it to describe the last few days on my bike from Laraos; it could equally apply to parts of Bolivia and the Puna de Atacama in northern Chile and Argentina so I reserve the right to use it again. As usual I’ll use pictures rather then a tedious narrative to … Read more »
June 21, 2019 | comments 16
Some street photography from Buenos Aires and Villa Mercedes to wrap up seven months of bicycle travel from Peru. Read more »
December 1, 2019 | comments 10
A medium-sized provincial town deep in the heart of Argentina, about 700km west of Buenos Aires, may seem like an odd place to end... Read more »
November 18, 2019 | comments 14
Thought I’d sling up a few impressions of Córdoba city. It’s alright; colourful, busy, good icecream. I’ll say goodbye to friends here this evening... Read more »
November 9, 2019 | comments 2
To my mind one of the greatest things about a bicycle is the ease with which it enables new friendships and shared adventures. The... Read more »
November 5, 2019
Autumnal pictures and ramblings of minimal consequence.... Read more »
October 29, 2023 | comments 10
The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men... a change of plans and a spot of street photography from Vitoria-Gasteiz. Read more »
October 24, 2022 | comments 22
From León to Salamanca and Avila via the Via de la Plata... some riding, lots of street photography (sorry)... Read more »
September 25, 2022 | comments 6
On the water
A round-up of snaps of a sea-kayaking flavour from the west of Cornwall... mostly. Read more »
August 6, 2022 | comments 10
An impromptu sea kayak journey along the coast of Cornwall from Saltash to Sennen Cove. 190km over four and... Read more »
June 1, 2021 | comments 10
Calm spring conditions for a spin around the granite cliffs of Lands End and the Longships reef and lighthouse. Read more »
May 4, 2021 | comments 2
Drizzly, atmospheric winter conditions for a quick sea kayak spin up the coast for some swelly rock-hopping around Cudden... Read more »
November 23, 2020 | comments 2
Hardware...
Something of an ode to the fixed wheel bicycle and why I still love to ride them. Read more »
February 17, 2024 | comments 10
A few loose ends, or threads might be more appropriate given the largely bag-making flavour of this post, to tidy up as the end of the year approaches. Read more »
December 23, 2022 | comments 16
Fiddling and fettling - modifying a Carradice Bagman Expedition for off-road use. Read more »
June 19, 2022 | comments 4
Having been stopped along the trail by interested folk, and gently nagged about making them available, here is an introduction to the Puffin Burrow seatpack, and the Chough Stuff brand. Made in Cornwall and all that ;-) Read more »
November 30, 2020 | comments 4
Bikepacking through the stupendous Spiti Valley in the Indian Himalaya, as part of a two-wheeled exploration of the Spiti and Kinnaur Valleys. Read more »
October 1, 2015 | comments 17
It’s always ‘challenging’ returning home after a decent adventure but this time seems to have been, or rather ‘is’, particularly difficult. All I can... Read more »
October 29, 2015 | comments 6
I had a little bit of time in Delhi… I found street photography quite difficult. Despite the obvious potential it is the sort of... Read more »
October 10, 2015 | comments 4
Winding it's way northeast through the Himalayas of Himachel Pradesh, the rough, landslide-prone Hindustan-Tibet Highway is an engineering marvel and makes for a great... Read more »
September 23, 2015 | comments 18
I’m really happy, got my Inner Line Permit. It had been on my mind a little because I kept hearing and reading all sorts... Read more »
September 15, 2015 | comments 2