bikes and things

Seen so many images of it but this one really jumped out at me.

Image © Andrew Carr

The skate video format is pretty well done I guess, so when you see someone that has added something to the genre it’s certainly worth posting. Some subtle work here showing the shadows of skaters rather than the actual skater.

A terrible story of a man who has his beloved Fujifilm X100 soaked in sea water which of course is the ultimate enemy of anything electronic. Completely heartbreaking if you’ve ever used this camera, more so if you own one. The only sensible thing to do is take it apart piece by piece and post pictures online.

Just some of the amazing engineering that goes into this camera.

All the parts laid out.

All images © James Maher.

Really getting back into this whole riding thing. After a day in the office catching up with some bits and bobs yesterday I dragged myself out of bed for a spin round Winterfold and Pitch Hills with Mr Noble today. Nothing too crazy to write home about although we did manage to retrace our steps from last week and remember some great trails. Managed a fairly decent pace and the trails seemed to be in perfect condition this weekend. The sloppy section at the bottom of the forest trail still provided ample entertainment after it had been churned up by forestry vehicles.

Had some tea and cake and did a quick run down Barry’s before heading back to the van. Popped the GoPro on for a bit but not sure the helmet is the best spot. Gotta be the bars or the gimpy chest mount I reckon.

No riding next weekend due to deadlines but heading up to Wales the following weekend with Dad.

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.

A few recent ones below.

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.

All images © Andy Waterman

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.

Hoping to squeeze another ride in next weekend.

Simply beautiful. More details over at It’s nice that. Via @weequzzie.

Image © Mai Suzuki

Image © JeremyV

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.