In the spring of 2018 we decided to catch the bus from Pontypridd to Brecon and hike back as far as we could...we made it as far as Merthyr in the sweltering heat! We wild camped for the first time on our way back, with Dizzy in tow. Check out how we got on...
In April 2018 we decided that it would be a good idea to do a 100 mile bike ride challenge. Starting in Pontypridd (South Wales) and heading out to Cardiff, Newport, Chepstow and back...with pretty much zero training. See how we got on...
Have you heard of Banff before? It's a Canadian town situated under the shadow of the Rocky mountains and is famed for it's iconic range of mountain sports. Now they have an annual mountain film festival that is shown across the globe, including various locations across the UK. We first came across the event a couple of years ago and were blown away by the selection of films on offer. When we saw dates advertised for Cardiff in February, we quickly booked our tickets. St David's Hall hosted the event and showed the 'Red' programme of films. At each event, there was a choice of either the Red or Blue programme so you could pick which set of films you wanted to see. We were treated to 7 films, each…
After many happy years of ownership, we've just sold our beloved VW T4 campervan. Now we've got ourselves something slightly bigger. Welcome to the family, Sam the Mercedes Sprinter! The T4 served us well for many years, but it was time to upgrade on size and age. The Sprinter is a long wheel base and a high top which means we'll have plenty of room to play with. The van has been partially kitted out already but it's not quite the way we want it. Our first job is to strip it out, insulate it, then decide on our final layout. Here's to lots of happy future adventures in our new van!
In March 2017 Amy and I completed a relay-bike-ride through all 22 Local Authorities of Wales. The year before that (May 2016) I cycled from our home in South Wales to Chamonix. Past adventures We've had lots of overland and water based mini adventures in the past. But for every single one, I can honestly say that we weren't completely ready. I definitely wasn’t physically fit to cycle to Chamonix! I struggled to stick to a training plan, so I did as much as I could which definitely wasn’t enough. I also didn’t have any of the ‘best’ equipment and kit. I made do with what I had (a 24-year-old mountain bike) and what I could borrow. Mental preparation was good and the logistics were planned well in advance. So these…
In an effort to re-motivate ourselves after the recent round-Wales adventure, I (stupidly) suggested that riding 100 miles a week would be a good way to get going again. New Challenge It might sound like a lot but some cyclists (err not us) do that in a day. Doing it over 7 days means that cycling becomes a regular part of our lives again, and is a decent enough mileage to have fitness benefits. Route Planning We thought about starting this new challenge on Tuesday once the bank holiday was over. But Amy was keen to start right away so we looked at a local route. We pored over Google maps and a South East Wales Sustrans map to get some inspiration. We settled on doing a north west loop…
We've just had an inspirational weekend in Bristol following a last-minute booking to go to the Women’s Adventure Expo. This Expo had a line up of INCREDIBLE women who’ve adventured on, or in water. Inspirational women The event kicked off with Della Parsons from the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race. She shared a unique insight into the challenges on board the 70+ foot yacht. The Clipper race involves 12 identical boats with crews from all walks of life, many with no sailing experience until they enter into the Clipper training programme. Find out more. Next was Beth French. She is an open water swimmer who has crossed the English Channel and is midway through an epic 7 Oceans challenge. Only 6 people have completed it to date, and Beth is aiming…
This trip to the Chamonix in the French Alps was the third of three cursed attempts to get out there and do some Snowboarding. Attempt number one: other half had a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament. We went out there anyway and holiday ‘highlights’ were drinking, eating pizza and playing crazy golf in Evian (the town, not the drink). Attempt number two: Christmas and New Year holiday completely cancelled due to other half having an appendectomy. Attempt number three, other half still recovering from a broken ankle which hasn’t healed properly. They say things happens in threes but this is really taking the piss now, so laughing hard in the face of yet more adversity, we decide to get out to Chamonix anyway and find alternative activities to do which are leg-fracture-friendly. Plus…
