Life In The Saddle

I am a notepad addict. I do a lot of copywriting and planning, and I find making notes in ink is both natural and productive; I constantly carry a notepad. For cycling, sailing, kayaking and hiking, a waterproof notepad is a significant advantage: avoiding the need to decipher blotted and soggy pages. Rite In The Rain's Waterproof Notepad and All Weather Pen are my new go-to option. The American brand has a whole range of big and small waterproof notepads; all utilising their patented waterproof paper. I have the small top-bound jotter notepad, which is the perfect size to stash in a jersey pocket or trouser pocket; written up with course notes, emergency contact details, waypoints, or just general musings. To complement the Rite In The Rain Waterproof Notepad, I also have the Rite In The Rain Black Metal Clicker Pen. This might sound excessive to some, who would ask, "why not just use a bog standard ball-point or a pencil?" – well a pencil works fine, but sometimes...

I love maps. Maps hold memories; lines across continents that tell of a journey diverse and interesting. The route maps from CYCED are a great example of a GPX generated piece of wall art, which will remind you of a past adventure. Getting a CYCED map made is super simple — you send them the GPX file from your activity, and they turn it into a beautiful map. The black outline of Europe in my above example of the #7Countries7Passes is a little difficult to see in this photo (although unfortunately my reflection is), but it is great in real life. Your ride could be anything from a round the Isle of Wight map, to a multi-day trans-Europe tour. The prints are made and dispatched directly to you, so you can choose your frame. A great gift idea to celebrate great memories — just say you are asking for your friend or loved one's route GPX so you can follow it, and then go get a map made up... though I am not sure I would believe anyone if they asked me for my route file from the ...