Bagman Modifications and Other Things
Fiddling and fettling - modifying a Carradice Bagman Expedition for off-road use. 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
Fiddling and fettling - modifying a Carradice Bagman Expedition for off-road use. Read more »
June 19, 2022 | comments 2
A month of local bimbles by bike and sea kayak in lieu of grander adventures deferred... Read more »
May 29, 2022 | comments 4
A spot of spring to lift the spirits.... Read more »
April 3, 2022 | comments 10
Most Read / Visited Entries
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 »
May 21, 2016 | comments 20
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 14
My Surly Big Fat Dummy.. a supertanker of a cargo bike that has proven to be way more fun loaded, and unloaded, than I... Read more »
October 7, 2018 | comments 10
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... Read more »
June 13, 2020 | comments 24
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 random selection of favourites from the archives
Bikepacking through the remote, desolate northern corner of Chile, via the Lauca and Volcan Isluga national parks, and on into southwest Bolivia via the Salar de Coipasa. Read more »
September 5, 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
Bolivian bikepacking - cross-country, via network of dirt roads and remote trails, from La-Paz to the Sajama volcano (6,542m / 21,463 ft) in the... Read more »
August 16, 2019 | comments 9
The winds of the high puna of northern Argentina and Chile are infamous amongst touring cyclists. They are to be expected but every so... Read more »
September 19, 2019 | comments 4
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 »
April 2, 2019 | comments 17
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
A collection of mid-winter monochromes to close out the year. Read more »
December 31, 2021 | comments 8
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... Read more »
June 13, 2020 | comments 24
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 »
December 22, 2019
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
On the water
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
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
A mid-summer sea kayak micro adventure along the north coast of Penwith. Read more »
July 15, 2020 | comments 2
Hardware...
Fiddling and fettling - modifying a Carradice Bagman Expedition for off-road use. Read more »
June 19, 2022 | comments 2
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
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 »
August 14, 2020 | comments 68
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 »
December 10, 2018 | comments 14
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