Life In The Saddle

How far can we ride into the frozen wilderness? Will we experience comfort or despair under a blanket of snow? Will we find grip and traction on ice rink roads? Will we freeze? These questions, and many more alike, flash through our minds as we leave the port of Copenhagen — our ferry steaming ahead towards Oslo, the Norwegian fjords and the snow-covered forests beyond. An adventure into the unknown for three intrepid bikepacking musketeers. It is thick fog as we cruise into the Oslo fjord the following morning. The sun rises low in the sky, and we catch glimpses of the snow-covered landscape on the horizon. This is the land of the Vikings, and we'll need to summon their courage to ride out into the frozen wilderness. Our spiked ice tyres rumble on the tarmac as we head north west out of the city and into the hills. The roads soon empty of cars, and the snow deepens on the verges. It is not long before we leave the tarmac behind, ducking under a barrier that signals the start of a ...

I have always loved using a bike to get to places. I don’t particularly enjoy car or plane travel, but the feeling of arriving in a faraway destination under your own steam is truly unique and magical. The travel restrictions of the last few years put on hold many of my point-to-point bikepacking plans, but I have been rekindling the pursuit of ‘going places’ in the last few months… The #NorthWestRoad was designed by my riding buddy Joe and I, to make for an easily executed but interesting three day trip through England and Wales. Starting from home on the Isle of Wight, the route would take us north through the New Forest and Wiltshire to our first overnight stop in the Cotswolds. Things would then get progressively lumpier on day two – starting out with the hills of Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, before crossing the border into Wales and enjoying the undulating lanes of the Wye Valley; our overnight camp spot for the second day would be close to Welshpool, well into north...

I have long had an ambition to design a logo for Life In The Saddle—an emblem that stands for adventure, travel, freedom, and life on two wheels. During the 2020 lockdown, I found the time to work with a good friend of mine to bring this insignia to life... The classic roundel design of the logo takes inspiration from brevet badges found on historic audax rides and endurance challenges—it alludes to my passion for long distance riding and the heritage of cycling. It is a nod to inspiring events such as Paris-Brest-Paris and The Trafalgar Way . The central image on the logo is a silhouette of a photo taken of me, on a bikepacking ride on the Isle of Wight. I was riding my Kona Private Jake with lightweight bikepacking luggage and 40c off-road tyres; a set-up that is typical for many of my cycling adventures ridden to date. The out-of-the-saddle stance and gradient of the terrain seen in the silhouette typifies my favourite kind of riding—in search of mountains and summit viewpoints...

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post ' What is In Your Gravel Adventure Bar Bag? '—it had a great reception and led to another conversation in a similar vein— What to pack in your cycling jersey pockets for a long unsupported off-road endurance ride? This is my line-up of jersey pocket riding essentials for bikepacking and gravel adventures… First, I recommend reading the ' What is In Your Gravel Adventure Bar Bag? ' post before reading this one—because for me, the bar bag is the best place to store most of your essentials on an off-road adventure—as there is less chance of items flying out on bumpy trails. So, what comes with me in my cycling jersey pockets is therefore a selection of easy-to-access essentials—ones that you might want to grab whilst riding, when you cannot stop to access your bar bag. The Jersey — Sportful Super Giara Jersey My gravel jersey of choice is the Sportful Super Giara Jersey . This cycling jersey was designed with gravel and off-road ...

This year has been a constant and unrelenting state of 'flow' — jumping between work projects and personal adventures; meeting amazing new people and exploring spectacular places. I started 2019 with very few aims or objectives on the bike; but finished it with more memorable moments than I can count. This blog post is a look back at the last twelve months — 12 photos to commemorate another momentous year in the saddle. Year End Statistics Numbers are not everything, but they tell a story. Below are my figures for 2019, as well as the split of bike types ridden.  My personal record broken this year was for elevation gained – 452,269 metres. The equivalent of climbing to the top of Mount Everest from sea level 51 times. Dedication to my  #insearchofup motto. Distance 25,540 kilometres (15,870 miles) Time 1095 hours 40 minutes Elevation Gain 452,269 metres (1,483,822 feet) 2019 Bike Distances 18,441 km – Gravel/CX Bikes (3T Exploro / Kona P. J...