Salisbury Plain Challenge

Yesterday I rode the Salisbury Plain Challenge and took pictures for a feature in Cycling Weekly. It was grim. Possibly the most unpleasant ride I've ever done.
Most of the ride was on waterlogged fields (the rain was biblical all day on Saturday and early Sunday morning) which meant the climbs were long pushes, the flats were frustrating granny gear grinds against the wind, and the descents were super slippery straight liners down the grassy plains. Plus I crashed covering myself and most of my gear in chalky crap. It was horrible, bring on the road racing season.

Last day of Christmas

Tomorrow I've got to go back to work — I've been off for about three weeks so it's about time really — so to make the most of it, in spite of the rain, me and Marky went down to Peaslake for the last mid-week ride either of us will get to do for a while. The weather was crap and this picture, taken with my point and shoot is crap too, but who cares, we had a good ride and no-one reads this stuff anyway. Picture from the last trail of the day, the infamous Barry Knows Best.

Back to Colchester

I haven't been back to Colchester for anything other than a bit of shopping for about three years. Rob was around staying with his parents for Christmas so we met up and went riding on some of the trails I used to ride when I lived there, and some that Rob showed me that were all new to me. It was strange being back, I'd say to Rob "this next descent is brilliant, really fast and technical", and then be really gutted to discover it was actually neither. Looks like I've become spoilt over the last few years, riding the like of the Alps and Whistler and riding the North Downs most weeks. What it did remind me is that if you're fit, you can have fun one any trail — you just need to be going super quick to get anything out of it and that takes hard work.
Today I rode in Danbury; discovered a nice little downhill track that some locals had built and rode it three times before riding back to Laura's to stuff my face with food and play with here little cousins.

Cyclocross

Look who's gone digi! Yep me.

Canada

Jeez, it's been a while since I updated my blog... So I just got back from Canada, had three and half weeks out there and it was awesome. The first ten days were spent with Ticket2Ride in Whistler riding my bike and taking pictures and after that it was down to Vancouver to hook up with Laura and stay with my uncle Kerr for two weeks.

The riding was crazy and has changed my view of mountainbiking completely – it's made me realise this sport could be as popular as skiing or snowboarding if it's marketed in the right way. The number of people on bikes in Canada is something that has to be seen to be believed.

We spent three days up in the Chilcotin Mountains which is where the top shot's from.

Wales in Spring time

Me and my brother James went over to Cwmcarn about ten days ago and it was pretty weird weather — or not given we were in Wales. It was dry but we way up in the clouds at the top of the hil, thus this shot. I've attempted to cross process it in PS, but I'm not sure about the results.

Holga update

Here's a couple of strips of film shot with the Holga. The vertical strip is from our work awards do (we all dressed up in skiwear and won best magazine award — pretty cool night), and the horizontal strip is from a day out in Brighton with Laura. Really sunny day, but mega cold — way back in mid March