Kjolur – One of the historic mountain roads crossing the Icelandic Highlands, mentioned in the Sagas. It crosses from Gullfoss in the south, between LangJökull and Höfsjökull glaciers, to Blöndudalur in the north. “Your hair’s frozen again”. I pat my head, feeling the now familiar crinkling of a frosty quiff, before reaching for my mug of tea from its rock and … Continue reading Iceland: Across the Kjolur in winter
Patagonia. What was all that about then? It’s been a pretty hectic winter since we arrived home in Scotland in January, but here are some words and photos that I put together for Bikepacker’s Magazine about our trip. “All things look good from far away and it is man’s eternally persistent childlike faith in the reality of that illusion that has made him the triumphant … Continue reading Trials and Tribulations in Patagonia
Soon (this evening in fact), I’ll be heading back to Iceland for a second time to explore more of its mountainous dirt roads by bike, and to learn more about that improbable, impossible and very thoroughly lovely country; that’s not to mention further research on the infinite variations of liquorice-based sweets to be found all over the place. Problem is, March is still wintertime in … Continue reading Iceland: Boots, Bikes and Boldly going…
Bikepacking for me started with a loop of the Cairngorms on a hot, sunny weekend in 2013. I used a couple of harnesses borrowed from Annie to attach oversized, dumpy drybags to the bars and seat of an Orange Elite 26” hardtail, and faded into the moors. A couple of days later I emerged, slavering a little and desperate for a shower, but also permanently … Continue reading Bikepacking bikes
The month is November, the forecast is damp. With cake in our bellies and a glint in our beards, we try to get to the bottom of what makes bikepacking in the Highlands so moreish… Continue reading ‘Cake for Breakfast’: A glossary of Scottish bikepacking
We’re funny creatures, aren’t we? In a world of infinite distraction, unknowable mystery and singular beauty (not to mention the internet), human beings are drawn to boredom like a toddler to exposed electrical sockets, among our many other faults. Despite ourselves, we seem to have an unerring ability to pass from novel amazement to outright disinterest in the blink of an eye. The Second Coming … Continue reading Riding Vicariously
“And this is where Rob thought he’d broken his leg”, said Andy, pointing to a mass of tightly packed contour lines on the map as he talked about the last time he had been to Knoydart. “Good job he hadn’t too, because if something happens out there, well… It’s not going to go well. Are you sure about going on your own?” I looked again … Continue reading Bikerafting the Rough Bounds
Back in April I gave packrafting a go, persuaded mostly by Annie and her shiny new boat from backcountrybiking. I wrote a few words about what we got up to here, but below is a video made using some clips we shot at the time. Disclaimer: there is some shonky home movie content, but as ever it’s great fun trying to tell the story of … Continue reading Video: North-West Waters
We went to bed for the second night at Nyidalur hut expecting the next day to be a windy one – come morning, I can’t say we were disappointed. One of the main poles of the tent had been bent, and we had a struggle collapsing it without it going airborne. The wind was gusting above 60 miles per hour, and continued to rise as we … Continue reading Crossing Iceland: Nyidalur to Hella
Apologies. This post is a long one, but it’s one that I’ve been piecing together for a while, and it seems that there is rather a lot to say (too much to subject a reader to in a single post). At a glance, it’s an account of a crossing, by bicycle, of the Icelandic interior, which is neither a superhuman feat in itself, nor especially … Continue reading Crossing Iceland: Godafoss to Nyidalur
