@grallochgravel ultra. I think a lot of us might have gone into this underestimating it’s difficulty.. I suffered a lot of tyre misfortune after slicing my sidewall in the first 50km but throughout nursing round the final 270 (lol) had the joy of being surrounded by pals throughout the adventure keeping spirits high till the early hours - massive props to the squad and congratulations to @troglodyt_e for bringing home 🏆
And just like that, after the chaos of April’s work calendar darting between California, Girona and my own bed; It’s race weekend again. Hopeful for slightly different weather to the wet & muddy hellscape that was Dales Divide, I’ve got a feeling this one might be a bit quicker than the 16km/hr through the Yorkshire Dales..
@grallochgravel is delivering 320km and 5,000m vert of pristine gravel — Lets see how long I can sit on @alistair.brownlee ’s wheel before I chunder my breakfast rice 🥴
If you are up, go see the team at the @restrap stand and pick up a Lightweight Hydration Vest before they launch in June 👀
Dust has settled in my mind about this weekend. Emotions were a bit all over the place after having to pull out for safety, first DNF and all that..
I’m happy I made the call when I did, it’s easy to ask yourself “what if”s but ultimately, being blown off your bike by 60-80mph wind gusts is enough to leave you feeling a bit uneasy with continuing as much as you want to.
250 miles, 22,700ft
31 hours 46 minutes
Mostly wearing the @goretexbrand tuxedo
3 hours of beauty sleep
Collapsed bridge action photos by @cadence_images
Dales Divide — or in my case, a glorified off-road coast to coast.. Unfortunately pulled the plug when the storm started to take a scary turn on the North York Moors.
Big shout out to everyone who toed the line, got half way or finished that beast of a ride. Huge congratulations to @alistair.brownlee & @justine_bike for incredibly inspiring wins. Thank you @chris_highbark for creating such an amazing community and route.
Photos by @ospreyimagery
Honing in my “I’m really stoked about this headwind face” ahead of this weekend — I actually have no idea why I look so miserable, maybe I was trying to look cool and serious.. I am actually really excited 😝
The @gloria_cycling weapon rigged up in all its glory ahead of its toughest ride to date - the @dalesdivide . The forecast is rough but the kit choices are dialled. Huge shout out to the brightest lights, warmest clothes and the best bikepacking gear in the world.
Looking forward to testing something brand new as well.. see you on the start line 👋
@exposure.lights | @albion.cycling | @restrap
Last minute escape to decompress on a volcano with Annie 🌋 Clashing some productive hours on the bike with enough Aperol Spritz to put a private school mum to sleep 🍷
This year so far has been a mental whirlwind beyond my experience. Filled with weight-bearing responsibilities, intense problem solving, theoretical learning, self reflection, foot on the gas, creating and organising under pressure and increasing my expectations of myself more than is probably healthy in the short term.
Building a sustainable practice in the UK with long term growth, contagious energy and honest passion at the forefront is a challenging game to play these days and it takes a very special group of likeminded souls to come together and make it work.
This week, we released something really special that felt beyond our capabilities at times but every challenge and obstacle was tackled head-first. We have remained our authentic selves and created a solution in modern bikepacking that is beautifully designed and made in the UK while overachieving in build weight, tolerances and fitting limitations, at the same time as being priced to allow access to all.
Massive thank you to the amazing team behind this crazy entity that only exists for the love of the game (there is more than 20 tag limit soz but you know who you are). Let’s fucking go 🪡
Jealous of all my pals over in the Atlas Mountains this year. Sending all the good vibes and safe passages for the upcoming adventure. Throwback to my quick in-and-out for @restrap last year.
