Welcome to my humble abode!
While out riding in the Americas, I kept a blog. Ten years on, I’m still out riding.
This decidedly ‘old fashioned’ blog is intended to act as a scrapbook journal of sorts. A change in pace from my previous residence, While Out Riding, it will offer a home (a tiny house?) for random, bike-related content. Like travel reports and gear musings. Some of this material will likely grow into more rounded, fleshed out thoughts for Bikepacking.com, or anyone else who’ll take it.
Born from Covid 19-induced creative angst – holed up as I was in Oaxaca, Mexico – I hope it will provide an outlet for sharing daytime rides and the thoughts that invariably bubble up during them. I admit that I also miss the more wholesome, halcyon days of long-form blog keeping, now that our collective attention spans have been usurped by the scroll-and-like immediacy of Instagram.
I’m still figuring out layouts here, so bear with me…
Ultimately though, this blog will be kept simple and largely bells and whistles-free. It will be somewhere to jot down thoughts and post pictures in a format that offers more depth than the scroll-and-you-miss-it platform of Instagram.
It’s easy to create these quotes… I just need to write something quote-worthy!
And it seems that lists are very straightforward to make too. I do like lists… like the food I ate on my ride today:
- A 125g bag of peanuts from the market
- A goblet of carrot, ginger, and orange juice
- A fat, mole-flavoured tamale wrapped in a plantain leaf
- Local ice cream, pecan nut flavoured
- Hibiscus water – a great antioxidant!
- Morning bowl of porridge with peanut butter, raspberries, and raw honey.
This is Huesos, born and bred in Oaxaca.
But why blog?
I’ve always loved the web-logging format for both journaling and information sharing, and often been inspired by the thought and care that people put into their personal blogs. In some ways, I see blogs as an online iteration of printed zines; a chance for self expression in a form that you see fit, be it photography, art, poetry, or simply nuts and bolts advice. Blogs are their own little worlds, tucked away in forgotten corners of the online universe, and there’s a real joy to stumbling across one that interests you, or helps you in some way. They’re unexpected treasure troves of the world wide web.
And when it comes to my own world of bicycle travel, I appreciate the balance that blogging strikes, between the immediacy of first person journaling and the sharing of evolving ideas, and more considered, long-form storytelling when the urge strikes. Compared to drier and more authoritative route descriptions – guidebook style – there’s the chance to inject some extra fun in route reports, too.
It takes a lot of work to keep a blog, and whilst I’m no stranger to the way certain platforms have eroded our desire to absorb much more than a picture and a short caption at best, I’ll continue to keep this site going while I enjoy the challenge of doing so.
Finally, I’m aware that our lives are surrounded by digital noise or ‘content’ that vies for our attention. I’ll do my best to ensure that anything I post has value to it. The last thing I want is to be complicit in keeping you tied to your screen… especially when you can be out riding instead!
If you’d like to support my efforts, you can do so here.
What camera + bag do I use?
I love taking photographs when I ride and I often get asked about the camera I use. Mostly, it’s a Fuji x100v. That’s my day to day grab camera, and the one I’ll always take with me on short bikepacking trips. But I sometimes carry too (or occasionally instead) a Sony A74 with a 85mm 1.8 lens, for a change of vibe. I also have a Tamron 28-75mm 2..8 that I like a lot. Whichever camera I use, I run the RAW files through Adobe Lightroom and process them to taste.
I have two ways of keeping my cameras safe and sound whilst riding. The Sony lives in a Porcelain Rocket/Rockgeist Big Dumpling, nestled in an additional padded camera liner I bought online. If I’m just carrying the x100v, I use a small hip bag made by Dos Erres in Mexico, modified for my needs.
I’ve given up packing my cameras directly on my bike, after numerous, costly failures over the years. As someone who strongly favours riding off road, the constant vibrations invariably rattles them apart over time. Better to keep them on you, in my opinion!
My Dos Erres Bag for the little Fuji x100v.
Thoughts on keeping a diary
To help remember thought nuggets, I always carry my Moleskin diary. There are tonnes to choose from, but I like the small one that you can bend and keep in your pocket or framebag. Like all Moleskins, it has a little envelope stuck into the last page, which is great for things you want to hang on to, like stickers, receipts, and pressed flowers.
As I spend so much time in front of the screen, tap tap tapping away, it feels good to get pen to paper, too.
I’d recommend keeping a diary on a bike tour. Sifting through it in years to come (assuming you can read your own handwriting) is a complete delight, and transports you straight back to that moment in time in ways that even photos can’t always match.
Journalism history
Over the years, I’ve written and taken photos for a number of publications, both print and online. These include Cycling Plus, What Mountain Bike, MBUK, Singletrack, Cranked, Roughguides, Lonely Planet, Sidetracked, Cycling UK, Bunyan Velo, The Bikepacking Journal, and Bikepacking.com.
Who am I?
I’m 51 years old and bikes, be it for travelling the world or transportation at home, have long played a pivotal role in my life. I’ve been touring/bikepacking regularly since the late 90s, and I’m as happy getting out for a local overnighter with friends, as embarking on longer, grandeur trips. In the past, I’ve been a bike messenger, run a small bike touring business in the Indian Himalaya, and worked full time for UK bike magazines. I’ve ridden from Sydney to London, from Alaska to Argentina, and on a tandem across Central Asia. And I’ve kept a web journal of some kind since 1998!
I have a son, Sage, who might just be my very favourite bikepacking partner.
Want to get in touch?
Leave a message on this blog, or DM me via the dreaded Instagram, my handle is whileoutriding.
Big thanks to Mike Hayes for hosting this site and helping me get it set up. Mike keeps a fantastic photographer and keeps a blog of his own – Sea Surf Dirt – that is well worth some of your time!