Bristol Bikefest 2010

This month saw the 2010 Bristol Bikefest (http://bike-fest.com/). This is a two day event in the UK MTB calendar that gives mountain bikers of all abilities the chance to race around some of the excellent singletrack around Ashton Court just outside the city.

Although I’ve raced in the 12 hours singlespeed solo in previous years, this year at the last moment a friend had to drop out of a team place, so I stepped in to race as part of a four man team on the Saturday. After a few laps of the short but brutal course I was quite happy not to be facing another ten hours alone on a fully rigid mountain bike. Racing as one of four was still demanding, but much more sociable than going it alone.

As I’ve always been a rather better photographer than racer, I’m more than happy with our team result of 98th (closer to the bottom of our category than the top), but it was good to see some friends from the Welsh mountain bike scene taking some of the top honours, such as endurance specialist Dave Buchanan (http://www.davebuchanan.co.uk/) taking 3rd in the 12 hour solo event, despite riding with a nasty chest infection, and Mark and Andrew from the Bike Mechanic team (http://www.thebikemechanic.co.uk/) taking top spot in the singlespeed pairs. Sunday’s race equally saw a good fight from the Welsh contingent, with Jo and Kate taking top spot in the female pairs. Rich and Dom from the Bikeshed Wales (http://www.bikeshedwales.com/) team sadly lost out on a podium place following a protracted puncture problem.

As usual for the Bikefest I spent Sunday wandering around taking a few photos, although not as many as previous years. I like the challenge of creating innovative images at an event like this, although it can be hard to break the mould.



On that note I spotted that the event photographers this year were not only using a tripod mounted camera with remote release (as in previous years) but they had actually invested in a light beam trigger, ensuring identical shots of every single rider to pass their position... I’m sure it’s very efficient for their purposes, but seems to have more in common with photocopying than photography!



A few more photos of the event (along with a lot of other mountain biking pictures) are available here (http://mcope.photoshelter.com/gallery/MTB-inc-Bikefest-2010/G0000Lhnoa1rgxIE) in my Photoshelter archive. These images are all available for personal use downloads, or commercial use on a rights managed basis - and I also work to commission if you have a specific project in mind. You can see more of my work or contact me through my adventure sports photography website mattcope.co.uk

Scilly kayaking in the sea Isles

Around 30 miles off the tip of Lands End, the Scilly Isles are a strange cross between the outer Hebrides, and the English home counties. The islands have a rugged look to them, huddled together against the forces of the Atlantic, but when you get closer you see cricket pitches, delicate wild flowers and pubs serving St Austell’s excellent ales.



Before travelling to the islands by ferry we arranged hire of a double sea kayak through the guys at Kayak Scilly. Our plan was to spend the first and last day or so on St Mary’s (the most populated island, and home to the ferry from the mainland) and to spend the rest of the week paddling from island to island, camping as we went.



Everything went to plan with a pleasant few hours aboard the Scillonian III from Penzance seeing us landed on the dockside at St Mary’s (don’t ask what happened to the Scillonian I and II – this is shipwreck country). After picking up the boat (a nice modern Perception double) and some other bits of kit, we headed out up the coast of St Mary’s to Bar Point. From this northerly patch of coast it was just a short crossing to St Martin’s, the first of the ‘off islands’ in the archipelago.



From St Martin’s we headed out to the ‘Eastern Islands’, a string of rocks and islets now completely uninhabited by man. As the islands are now devoid of human activity they are a haven for seabirds (as are many of the rocks around Scilly) but also for Atlantic Fur Seals which popped up in force to investigate our kayak, and who followed us around for an hour or so while we explored the islands.



Next on our itinerary was paddling around the northern side of Tresco, to the campsite on Bryher (Tresco is the only inhabited island without a campsite, and wild camping is not allowed anywhere on the Scillys). Once we had dropped the kit off on Bryher, we paddled off for an explore of the Norrad Rocks, and also to Tresco itself which boasts a very impressive sub-tropical garden, including all sorts of exotic plants and sculptures.



The next leg of our explorations took us down to St Agnes. This is the longest open water crossing required when paddling round the islands, and is the most exposed to the tide and weather. So much so that we ended up staying an extra day on St Agnes until the sea was calm enough to make the return journey. As it happens, St Agnes is home to a farm that makes its own excellent ice cream, and the Turk’s Head pub, so it’s not too much of a hardship to be marooned there for a short while.



With the final leg completed, and an excellent meal at the Boat Shed we returned to Penzance the same way we had come. One day I quite fancy paddling there from Lands End (you can just see it on a clear day) but I think that will have to wait until I’m a bit fitter.



A full gallery of photos is available here in my Photoshelter archive. These images are all available for use on a rights managed basis, and I also work to commission if you have a specific project in mind. Check out mattcope.co.uk for contact details and more information about the type of adventure photography I specialise in.