Off to the Quantocks

Quantocks sunset
Originally uploaded by Matt Cope

Looking forwards to a long weekend in the Quantocks. I've signed up for a course with Seb Rogers, one of the UK's leading mountain bike photographers. The weather is looking good, so hopefully I should pick up a few good tips...and the riding over there isn't bad either.

Work, training and imminent race day..

Avatar
Originally uploaded by Matt Cope

So my perfectly planned training regime ran into conflict with my slightly erratic work schedule. Too many last minute trains to London, meaning that I missed half of my peak training week, and I don't feel fully ready for the Triathlon this Sunday. That said, I am light than I have been for a year or so, and fairly confident I bang the swim out in roughtly my estimated time (8mins for 400m). The ride leg should be fine, and I've been coming in at just under 8 minute miles for the run.. Putting it all together will be a challenge, and I'm worried that I'll have trouble with my breathing in the pool under race conditions, but with a following wind I should put in a respectable time.

The question is, what event next?

Bontrager TwentyFour Twelve

Bontrager TwentyFour Twelve
Originally uploaded by Matt Cope

A good weekend down in Plymouth, with an unusually dry couple of days for a British 24hr bike race. Got a few nice shots while playing around with heavy rim lighting, though the window of opportunity for shots like this is very short with the sun dropping fast. What I wouldn't give for a camera that syncs at 1/1000th... Some of our local Welsh riders did very well, with good results in the pairs and the solo events.

Otherwise recently I've been training hard for an upcoming triathlon (hence the lack of blog posts), and fighting the urge to pre-order a D300s... It looks like the perfect camera for my needs, but I just can't get past my aversion to buying any product that hasn't been on the market for at least a few months for the bugs to come to the surface.. I'm going to try and hold out until later in the year, but I fully expect to be shooting one before Christmas.

Mountain Mayhem 2009

Mayhem 6
Originally uploaded by Matt Cope

Another year, another Mayhem. This year was different to usual because we only had a few hours rain. The course was fun, but unfortunately a diversion was put in place around the most technical section. Due to actually being all responsible and marshaling, I didn't get to shoot as many photos as I'd like, but still enjoyed the weekend.

Toilets

b
Originally uploaded by Matt Cope

A slight change of pace for me, swapping high speed cyclists for the more sedentary atmosphere of a bathroom. Very elegant and perfectly finished, the room was rather a challenge to shoot, not least due to the fact that I was reflected in the chrome from almost every angle.

Great fun though, and nice to not have to carry my kit for miles through the mud for a change.

Llantrisant

Llantrisant
Originally uploaded by Matt Cope

Great evening riding and shooting at Llantrisant, but sadly Flickr is playing up, so having a few problems getting the photos online.

It's grim up north...Cardiff

It's grim up north...Cardiff
Originally uploaded by hairy_matt

Had a great time yesterday. Managed to convince a bunch of friends to come out and do a short local ride just to grab some photos. Got a few nice shots, but learnt a lot about a few things I've been wanting to do for a while. Need to get out again soon to put those into practice.

Great fun all round.

A not so local Hero...

The Herald
Originally uploaded by hairy_matt

Not sure the Glasgow Herald can really claim Dave as a local hero, seeing as how he moved down to sassenach land years ago... Still does a good impression of the accent though ;-)

Interesting choice of shot for this one. I didn't think think the night shots would reproduce well, but this one works well in the layout.

Not riding, just shooting

Tearsheet
Originally uploaded by hairy_matt

Been a bit of a slow month for riding, but been nice to see a few riding shots in print. Dave's epic challenge has made it into two papers so far, with possiblity of a few magazine pieces to come.

Ahhh, not as bad as expected

Quarry ahead
Originally uploaded by hairy_matt

Why do I always forget that riding to work is actually really good fun? I lie in bed in the morning convincing myself that it will be unpleasant, that driving will be easier, that I'm too busy, too tired, too lazy... IT's daft. The ride in is far and away the best part of my day..

Full moon

Moon
Originally uploaded by hairy_matt

Ah dear. Lots of work and not enough time to play. I seem to spend more time sat inside looking out than I'd like these days. Still, another six months and things should take a turn for the better. If they don't, it will be time to shake things up a bit.

Back in the USSR..

Clown bike!
Originally uploaded by hairy_matt

Well, back in Wales at least. Back to work, back to the rubbish weather, but also back to the WNR. Last week was a bit eventful with crashes, and chav fights...but this week was more sedate, with snow, and unicyles..

Back in black

After weeks of touring on skinny 1.5 inch tyres, it's nice to see the bikes shod with some decent chunky rubber again. We've been winding down for the flight home with some mountain biking in the Port Hills and a few days in Hanmer Springs. The riding is all pretty good, but not quite as good as Wales.. Amy had a bit of a tumble today too, so it's probably lucky that we fly back to the uk tomorrow. I have to admit though that we'll both be sad to leave NZ.

Hangdog days

Finished messing around in the Abel Tasman park, and nipped down to golden bay to grab a few climbs at Paynes Ford. Luckily for us the gravity meter at the Hangdog campsite showed favorable climbing conditions! We bagged a couple of nice lines on Little Lost Wall using borrowed kit, and then retired to an awesome swimming hole for a swim in the sun. We'll definitely be back.

A successful voyage

Well we had an ace week messing about in boats, and walking up the coast. Great scenery, good weather and lots of wildlife. Dropped the kayaks off a few days ago and now hoping to bag a day's climbing tomorrow.

Abel Tasman

Ah, this is the life. Sea kayaking in the sun on Abel Tasman. Weather is ace, the beers are cold and the scenery is stunning! We have 3 days paddling ahead, and then a two day hike to get out. Then back to Christchurch for some mountain biking. Happy days.

Te Anau

Well we had a good couple of days cross country. We got a lift across Lake Wakatipu on a steam ship and then pedaled across empty backcountry and sheepstation land for two days to reach Te Anau. After serious thought, we then elected to get a bus rather than cycle down to Milford Sound and go for a day cruise. The road to Milford is the most dangerous in NZ, so i think we made the right call. Milford itself was stunning, not only the scenery, but also a huge pod of dusky dolphins and then a pair of Hectors dolphins playing around chasing the boat.

Happy Christmas

Had a nice ride today, the promised bad weather turned out not too bad, and even the climb over the Crown Range was bearable. We had a beer and a nice christmas lunch on top of the pass, but are now stuck trying to find somewhere to eat on christmas day and all the half decent restaurants have been booked up for weeks!

Paragliding in Wanaka

IMG_8070
Originally uploaded by hairy_matt

The weather has finally perked up and we've been enjoying a few rest days in Wanaka. It's a nice chilled out town with nice beer and fantastic views.. We succumbed a bit to the tourist thing and went paragliding this morning, but it was well worth shelling out a few quid for. It' a great way to see the mountains, and very relaxing.. Tomorrow we have to ride over the Crown Range though, so Christmas lunch will be a sandwich on the top somewhere..

Wanaka

Well we finally got some sun. After a few more horrid wet days on the west coast, we climbed over the Haast pass and after a fairly epic day, we now have a few days rest in Wanaka before heading over the crown range to Queenstown.