Life In The Saddle

Wild camping and bicycle touring or bikepacking go hand in hand. Camping in fields, on beaches, and in remote rural locations means you can choose your camping spot; allowing far more freedom in terms of route planning and far more scope to account for adverse or favourable riding conditions. Wild camping is also an incredible way to get closer to nature. It lets you experience sunsets and sunrises in secluded places, and lets you truly escape from civilisation on your bikepacking adventures. There is also the fact that wild camping is free, and it is often the only choice for back-of-beyond bicycle touring. This blog post details my personal top tips for wild camping. The advice comes from experiences on hiking trips, and bicycle touring or bikepacking adventures such as the #RoadsFromRome , #7Countries7Passes , #CelticCrossTrail , and #CoastsandCols tours. Camping in the wild is an unforgettable experience—one that should be enjoyed by all. Hopefully, this wild camping g...

This year has been the first in decades that I haven't (yet) had my 'Mountain Fix'. The start of family life has been a wonderful adventure, but it has put many of my adventure plans on hold. Books have provided one means for me to live out those adventures vicariously, and to make many great plans for future ones. The Cairngorms and Perthshire are a beautiful and surprisingly accessible part of Scotland, which I have only very briefly visited in the past; a visit that left me with a strong feeling of wanting more. Markus Stitz's latest book provides everything you could need for planning a gravel adventure in the wild and wonderful Scottish landscape. With detailed route plans, genuine 1:50,000 OS Map inserts, GPX files, and stacks of local information on places to visit, equipment to take, and general safety advice; ' Gravel Rides Cairngorms and Perthshire ' is an indispensable resource for anyone wanting to visit Scotland and ride in this beautiful area. ...