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.
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 »
Drizzly, atmospheric winter conditions for a quick sea kayak spin up the coast for some swelly rock-hopping around Cudden Point and Prussia Cove. Read more »
October in Cornwall is very much a month of transition as the trails turn to slop, and, as the early season storms sweep in off the Atlantic, the wind charts change... Read more »
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 a cold night on top of a mountain sharing a meal with a friendly Berber. That previous time, a few years ago, it was on top of the Tizi n’Test and I was on my way out of the High Atlas headed south to the Anti Atlas.. This time I was … Read more »
A weekend in north Wales with the Rough Stuff Fellowship, in honour of the centenary of Wayfarer's snow-bound crossing of the Berwyn Mountains. Read more »
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... Read more »
Street photography from Dia de la Bandera (Flag Day) in the town of Espinar, high in the Andes of southern Peru. Read more »
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 »
October in Cornwall is very much a month of transition as the trails turn to slop, and, as the early season storms sweep in off the Atlantic, the wind charts change from summer's cool tones of blue and green, to the oranges and reds of winter. It is certainly an interesting month, so here is something of a photographic riding diary. Read more »
Hitting the eject button with a two-day micro-adventure close to home in the far west of Cornwall. Linking together a bunch of muddy tracks... Read more »
A lovely month for riding as the light softens, shadows lengthen, and the signs of the changing seasons accelerate. With winter knocking on the... Read more »
Life with my Surly Big Fat Dummy after two years of ownership, and a summer of exploring the boundaries of the kind of journeys... Read more »
A mid-summer sea kayak micro adventure along the north coast of Penwith. Read more »
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 »
Some street photography from Buenos Aires and Villa Mercedes to wrap up seven months of bicycle travel from Peru. Read more »
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 »
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 »
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 »
An overview of the Fuji X-series camera gear I use for bikepacking adventures at home and overseas. Primarily motivated by street photography, my bag currently contains an X100F or an X-Pro 2 with a small selection of prime lenses. Read more »
A new home for my portfolio of street photography from around the world. Mostly featuring the high Andes, there is however a sprinkling of... Read more »
Some street photography from Buenos Aires and Villa Mercedes to wrap up seven months of bicycle travel from Peru. Read more »
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 »
A Hebridean sea kayak journey from the Isle of Barra south to Mingulay and Barra Head. Towering cliffs, cathedral-like caves, and camping on remote island beaches. Read more »
Drizzly, atmospheric winter conditions for a quick sea kayak spin up the coast for some swelly rock-hopping around Cudden... Read more »
A mid-summer sea kayak micro adventure along the north coast of Penwith. Read more »
It has been a while since I posted anything of a sea kayaking flavour; when I have been out... Read more »
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 »
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 of modern adventure and gravel bikes...? That would depend on you, here's mine. Read more »
A workshop project to make a set of laminated wooden mudguards for my Surly Big Fat Dummy. Made from a blend of oak and smoked red gum with home-made brass and stainless steel fittings. They look cool and are a more sustainable solution than moulding composites. Read more »
My Surly Big Fat Dummy.. a supertanker of a cargo bike that has proven to be way more fun loaded, and unloaded, than I could ever have imagined. Read more »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »
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 »