Posts in category Blog

Update 2020: A year of dealing with C...

~To enjoy the light you have to know the dark….. A year ago this week I wrote this blog announcing to the world that I’d be offline for a while to have a real challenge. But, no matter how prepared you are to go into hell, it’s still hell. I’ve tried for months NOT to write this blog post as some parts [...]

The convenient puncture

“Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” ~Hellen Keller Once upon a time during a weekend trip with a bike club I mentioned to Jim that I’d had an inconvenient puncture the previous day on the way to work. Jim laughed and said a puncture is never convenient. That made sense and [...]

2019 Plans : From slowly slowly to Ul...

“A man who has no imagination has no wings.” -Muhammad Ali In the weeks and months after last years Bikepacking Trans Germany race where I’d far out performed my own exceptions I found myself reflecting on the how and why of my transition from my beloved cycle touring to this non-sense of ultra endurance racing. Now 1 [...]

In memory of Johann Rissik. A rogue, ...

A few hours mountain climbing turns a rogue and a saint into two roughly equal creatures. Weariness is the shortest path to equality and fraternity—and liberty is finally added by sleep. —Nietzsche As a literary barbarian I first read these words in 2011. They are the intro to Johann’s blog which I checked out just before meeting [...]

Digging up old memories

Warning: This post is not about cycling or travel, but was wrote as an introduction to an old boys club earlier this week and meant as an ironic recap of my short nine years in the British Army. Its heavy on words, and light on photo’s but, just maybe some of my regular readers will like it . This is a part of my life I’ve kept in [...]

2018 plans : From slowly slowly to le...

With Spring almost here its time to crawl back from under my blog free rock and share my plans for 2018. Well, the short version of my plans is simple. Don’t finish last in the Bikepacking Trans Germany this July. The long version: The Bikepacking Trans Germany (BTG) is a self supported race across Germany. From Basel to Cape Arkona (R [...]

Going long on Low Carb

Almost a year since letting the cat out the bag about my fancy pants Low Carb Healthy Fat diet (>Maybe read this first<) and with gradually more readers, friends and family asking questions I thought it time to do an update with more info and tips. Once again if low carb doesn’t fit your belief system (nutrition is very close to r [...]

Drenthe 200 : Chasing 16.7

A shot fired at 6am and the first wave of the Drenthe 200 was off. I stood shivering gently for another 20 minutes waiting for wave three to start. My guts churning, toes cold and anticipation rising. I had no idea this racing thing could be so nerve racking, I was apprehesive of my ability to finish this now infamous 200km off road ride with [...]

Shane Cycles the Freedom Challenge?

The Race Across South Africa takes place in June/July each year. It is a 2300 km ( with a total cumulative ascent is over 37000 metres), non-stop, self-navigated mountain bike race starting in Pietermaritzburg KwaZulu-Natal and ending in Wellington near Cape Town. Riders are allowed a maximum of 26 days to complete the ride. For year [...]

How a #LCHF lifestyle changed my life...

The merits of a Low Carb Healthy Fat diet for cycle touring. Note 1 : If you’re totally convinced that you need carbs for sport and blindly follow government guide lines on diet and ” Science” and have no intentions of entertaining a different theory, you may want to quickly leave and save yourself some time. If you have Ly [...]

48 hour Ride eat sleep challenge

Ever sat in the office and ask yourself ” How far could I cycle this weekend and be home for dinner on Sunday?” Well I have, and often. I’m smack bang in the middle of a busy summer at work, sick of looking at smelly noisy planes, not cycling enough (mainly due to a recent knee infection) not camping enough and desperately m [...]

Packing list 3 weeks bikepacking in S...

Just a couple of days until I fly to Spain to cycle about 1200km (3 weeks) of the Trans-Andalusia mountainbike trail. This is my provisional packing list, based on wild camping down to about freezing point. List is excluding on bike cloths 1. Front roll/harness (2.8kg) : Msr Hubba 1p tent (only outer tent and footprint), Thermarest neo air m [...]