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Just Riding, Video

Welsh Ride Thing 2015

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Welsh Ride Thing 2015

Modern day bikepacking in the UK – as version of traditional touring for people who prefer their riding off road – had to begin somewhere. Just maybe that “somewhere” was a small farm in Mid Wales, which hosted the first Welsh Ride Thing seven years ago.

Not concerned with scoring points, beating the clock or riding an obscene amount of miles,  the “WRT” draws in both hardened and aspiring bikepackers alike to a field in Wales before sending them off into the wilderness for three days in search of “points of interest”. Getting stuck in a bog, falling in a stream, maybe having a pub meal, sleeping in a bothy or perhaps under a hedge are all optional activities along the way. Life could not be more simple.

Here’s a video of how a wet and windy weekend in Wales unfolded for Beth and I on this years Welsh Ride Thing

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Bikepacking, Fat Bikes, Video

66 Degrees North

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66 Degrees North

Two days after the Rovaniemi 150 Arctic Winter Race, I headed back out into the wilderness with two fellow racers: Antti Sintonen & Evan Simula. Legs still tired from the race, we headed north-west out of Rovaniemi on some of the lesser-travelled snow mobile tracks, our ultimate aim to get to a laa-vu (traditional wooden Finnish shelter) beside the frozen lake at Sinettäjärvi.

It was a fantastic ride in an amazing environment, made all the more enjoyable with the company of Antti & Evan – cheers guys!

Music by The Gloaming – “The Old Bush”

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Reviews, Trails, Video

Highland Trail – Video Kit Breakdown – Part 2

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Highland Trail – Video Kit Breakdown – Part 2

Having covered the equipment and technical side of things in my previous post, We’ll now explore what I decided to shoot and how I pieced it together.

My knowledge of good proportions of the route gave me a good mental picture of different sections I wanted to film. Devil’s Staircase (ascent and descent), Abhainn Rath and Corrieyarrick Pass were all on my list. Of course, I didn’t know whether I’d be solo or with someone at these points, so I made use of any opportunity to film another rider when I saw them to maintain a sense this was a race. I found myself solo on Day 1 more than I expected – partly owing to a torn sidewall on the Devil’s Staircase descent – and after the quick start and the sense that the tyre repair had cost me time early in the race, my mind was battling with the concept that I should be racing while my filming head was saying, ease up, there’s a good scene to shoot there. In a couple of places I passed up the opportunity to film off the bike because I could see other riders back down the trail behind me and didn’t want to get caught. In the end I had quite a good selection of various bits of the route from Day 1, but the challenge of editing into a reasonably concise sequence and keeping with the flow of the music meant a lot wasn’t used.

Abhainn Rath Crossing Sequence
Abhainn Rath Crossing Sequence

The bothy sequence at the start of Day 2 came out much better than I expected. As soon as I woke, (more…)

Bikepacking, Reviews, Video

Highland Trail – Video Kit Breakdown – Part 1

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Highland Trail – Video Kit Breakdown – Part 1

Following the Highland Trail video posted last week, I thought I’d provide some insight into how I approached the filming, what kit I took, what settings I used and so on.

A few people asked me before the race:

Why would you want to waste time filming when you should be racing?

While the Highland Trail appealed to my competitive instincts, I felt I wasn’t quite on the same form as last year, and the challenge of creating a short film appealed to me. The event had proven popular for non-riders too, and this was a chance to show everyone not racing what the Highland Trail was really like. Besides that, it was a suitable distraction from the sharp and committing end of the race. That said, I deliberately didn’t want to spend ages setting up off-bike sequences. I recognised the benefit of including some in the film, but I still wanted to get in a good distance each day, take a short sleep strategy and portray the impact that has on the rider.

The Camera

Up until last month, all my films have been shot using a Contour +2 HD video camera; either helmet  or bar mounted, or off-bike on a tripod. When I first acquired a video camera last year, it was a toss up between the Contour and the GoPro Hero3. Comparisons between footage of both cameras seemed to show next to no difference in quality and on finding the Contour at a good price (bearing in mind the Hero3 was still quite new and suffering from some early firmware glitches), that’s what I went for. Whilst I’ve enjoyed using it – and there are some areas where the Contour is better than the GoPro in my opinion – it does have one limitation in that you can’t chest-mount it like you can with a GoPro. Unless I do my helmet strap up so tight I can’t open my mouth, I’ve never managed to get consistently good POV footage from the Contour due to excessive shake off the helmet.

For the Highland Trail, I knew that for speed of gathering footage the vast majority of filming needed to be made on the bike. I think is where the main win for the GoPro is – the chest-mount. It so happened, that the Hero3 recently got a refresh to the Hero3+  with a new lens, new waterproof case, longer battery life, better low light performance and crisper image quality.  (more…)

Bikepacking, Trails, Video

Against the Elements

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I should probably get out more. I don’t mean out on the bike (though at times, even that can be a bit irregular). I mean out of Wales. I’m sure there are many many really good places to ride, but this is where I live, and for much of the time where I ride. A very large back yard that has kept me entertained for over two decades. I can nearly traverse the whole country east to west (and back) or from north to south without reference to a map.

This little video is about a trip I did a few weeks ago with some guys I know off the Bear Bones Bikepacking forum. Neil was at the winter bivvy with me and Gian was at the Highland Trail last year. Andy was the only one I’d not met previously. The plan was to ride from the tip of Great Orme south to the end of Worm’s Head on the Gower. It was an adaptation of a trip I did a couple of years ago, which I’ve been quietly improving to create a “definitive” Welsh Coast to Coast with some of Wales’ best riding trails.

The weather wasn’t quite what we’d hoped for, and in the end the slower pace and the prevailing conditions prevented us from reaching our goal. The journey though – and its all about the journey – was still a good one made in great company. Thanks guys!

Hope you enjoy the film.

 

Bikepacking, Trails, Video

The Road to Pont Scethin

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Winter can be such a fantastic time of year to get out on the bike for an overnight trip, with cool clear air revealing some fantastic views. This video is about a trip I took recently to a place I’ve always wanted to visit, since seeing a photo a couple of years ago: Pont Scethin.

Pont Scethin is a bridge, built some time after 1762, that lies on the old Drover’s Road from London to Harlech. In the 18th century, this was the main route through this part of Wales (long before the existence of the coast road). The old road remains as a walking/ riding track now, and the bridge still stands in this wonderfully isolated position.

The sunrise in the morning was amazing, and it’ll be a trip I will remember for a long time to come.