I’m completely in love with Instagram (even though Facebook bought it) and whilst the odd shadow and pictures of my evening pint or bikes is all well and good it’s quite nice to have a recurring theme. One of those themes is scaffolding. I seemed to be taken towards images of temporary structures so started my own little hashtag – #scaffoldlove (not porn, definitely not #scaffoldporn). There’s something quite interesting about temporary scaffolding structures in terms of their graphic form and also the way in which the structures work and are so legible.
Not ridden on one obviously but shot rather nicely by Andy Waterman with film for Privateer Magazine. Very nice indeed. Must go there again soon. The rest of the set can be found over on his Flickr page.
Great to be able get two days riding in last weekend. I really didn’t feel like riding on Sat due to a little bit of a hangover but we pressed on and drove over to Richmond Park collecting Emma’s cousin on the way. Emma hadn’t been on her bike for a while so she stuck to some of the lower paths whilst Jane and I went around for a few laps before meeting back at the van.
Emma seemed to have a good time and saw a few deer as you might expect, and this one being close enough for a picture.
Having been on and off the bus during the week due to meetings it was great to get a few miles in and stretch the legs. Also so nice to be riding without a rucksack or any kit. All I took was the van key and a phone figuring it wouldn’t be too far to walk if it all went wrong. Emma was fairly impressed with the park and I think we’ll pop back for a walk there when we have Gina to stay again. So glad we got out as it cleared the hangover nicely.
Sunday I headed out to Swinley, collecting two friends from work in Camden on the way. The roads seemed to be completely empty so didn’t take long to get there. The trails were in superb condition with just enough moisture in the soil to hold it all together but not enough that it was a total UK slop and grime-fest.
We spent quite a bit of time at the jump gulley. Confidence was at an all time high by the end so thought it best to move on before I came a cropper. We also had a bit of a play with Darren’s GoPro which I think has provided some good footage from mounting it on the bars with me riding down the gulley.
After walking back up one of the trails Darren and I came round the corner to see a woman getting kicked up waaaay too high on a small table which then sent her nose diving into the gravel in front. She didn’t have time to put her hands out and took the full force on her head and shoulders. Unfortunately she wasn’t wearing a helmet and I found her with her eyes rolling around in her head gurgling. Terrifying to see. After keeping her entirely still and trying to work out if she had damaged her spine she got up and moved off the trail. She was heavily concussed and took a few moments to come round. She was talking complete gibberish for a while too. Once it became clear she was ok, off the trail and with friends, we moved on.
Our appetite for riding was somewhat lost after seeing this so followed the trails back to the jump gulley and then back to the centre for much needed cake!
And also a quick timelapse of us packing the van by Darren. The lady in the next car knocked on our window to say we had left our toolbox with camera on.
After seeing Vaughan and Gav with their respective vans recently I became sorely tempted with one. I’ve been trying to get out riding this year a lot more which I was using a small Fiesta for. It’s a bit of a pain getting bikes in there without wrecking the insides of it. With a more than a little help from Gav and hours and hours trawling eBay we ended up with a beautiful Fiat Scudo 2 litre JTD model in white. I would have loved a VW van but I would have had to double my budget which I didn’t fancy. So I sold the car and headed up to Swansea to collect it. Amazingly it only had 42k on the clock so hopefully has plenty of life in it.
In natural setting – Peaslake car park
So last weekend I was able to take it out, fill it with bikes and generally use if for its intended purpose. Three bikes fitted comfortably in the back with the important detail of all wheels still on.
I’ve got a bit of a plan for a few upgrades and even a small conversion but for now it’s great to have a convenient way to go biking. I bloody love the thing. It drives really well and that slightly higher position is really nice. Another ride next Sunday and then maybe a Wales trip or two soon.
Still my favourite music video of all time I think. Incredible shame to have lost someone as talented Adam Yauch / MCA. I spent a lot of my degree in Portsmouth listening to these guys and have a large collection of their back catalogue. I’ve spent all weekend with Ill Communication and Check Your Head on full blast in the van.
Superbly shot and edited little video documenting the construction and installation of the Room for London on top of the Queen Elizabeth Hall. Unfortunately embedding isn’t allowed so you’ll have to view it over at Vimeo.
We have our friend’s dog staying with us this weekend. It’s been quite an experience so far. She’s got a lot of energy so we have to play with her to try and tire her out a bit so she sleeps later. The favourite toy seems to be the bee which we drag around the living room and then chase her under the table. She loves it.
