580km around the beautiful Tuscan hills and mountains in the early June sunshine. That’s what I imagined when I entered the Tuscany Trail and I wasn’t far wrong. There was certainly hills and mountains, mainly of the super steep variety, the trail was indeed 580km long and the Tuscan countryside is fantastic. However, as one might expect, it rained! Not a gentle shower, this was full on biblical rain.

I lined up at the start in the Piazza in Massa alongside over 500 other riders to tackle the Tuscany Trail. The rain had momentarily paused to at least allow the spectators a dry experience however normal service was assumed as soon as the race started.

My race tactics were to pedal and not stop. As obvious as that might seem not many people generally try and complete the trail in one hit with no sleep. I had pretty much ruled out any sleep with my light equipment and bike setup. My brand new Mason Titanium prototype was packed with the bare essentials, warms layers, a rain jacket, a stash of Torq energy products and (much to my annoyance) a pair of shorts and a tee shirt I had to carry so I could wear something clean at the finish and on the flight home. I had deemed by Bivvi bag as too much extra weight so had decided to leave it at home, my compromise was a Gore rain jacket with a hood that I could sleep in if required.

The Llyn Peninsula in the far reaches of North West Wales is wild, beautiful and a heck of a long way from anywhere. It might not be as remote as some parts of the highlands but this thin slip of land jutting out into the Irish sea certainly holds some history. From Smugglers coves that litter the northern coastline to the pilgrims trails that all point to the Island of Barsey on the Southern tip. The Llyn Peninsula is a last bastion of the Welsh language and Welsh culture as a whole. 

I’m very lucky to have family ties to the area, and have been visiting since before I remember.  Most school holidays and term time breaks included some time at the Cottage in Llangwnadl visiting our grandparents and exploring the narrow lanes, steep roads and coves dotted all around the peninsula.

The 2016 Bespoked Bristol Handmade Bicycle show took place on the weekend of the 14th-17th of April. The show is a fantastic showcase of hand built bikes and offers an opportunity for builders to showcase their work and meet their clients. As a small business ourselves we were pleased to be able to help out a number of builders exhibiting at the show with wheels. Below is a selection of images taken at the show:

Had a 200km event consisting predominantly of gravel Forrest tracks been suggested a few years back many people would have laughed. I mean who would want to ride around gravel tracks on a mountain bike for 200km? The answer: not many!

Yet here were are lined up at 7am at the start line of the Dirty Reiver a 200km gravel race or ‘non-competitive challenge’ in the eyes of the law and relevant insurance companies due to the Uk’s restricting land access policies. Not only are more than 200 people lining up for this non-competitive challenge race, the vast majority of them are lined up on wholly inappropriate bikes!