Life's adventures
Cyclist, Podcaster, Designer, Content Creator, Videographer, and Desktop Publisher. Love Life & Adventure
Following their dreams of adventure, Mark & Ali leave their jobs to explore the world and share their journey as only two creatives can, with photography, videography and inspirational writing. Sprinkled all that with love creativeness in abundance and you have Mark & Ali aka Studio Mali. Follow their adventure
Power monkey solar charger
Boys and their toys. Any excuse to buy a new bit of new kit. To be honest you don’t need it at all but some things are just nice to have. And for me, one of these things is power… Yes, power. Power in the form of electricity. On my last trip, I was always looking for ways to keep my phone and tablet alive. I felt connected and safe in the Knowledge that I had my phone with me.
Power on demand
I purchased the power monkey solar charger for my last trip and it worked ok. I tried charging it up by solar whilst riding but the constant movement of the bike prevented it charging properly. If you were on a rest day in a sunny spot I’m sure it would charge up fine. The good thing was you can charge it up by the mains.
Although the power monkey solar extreme was good it still left me needing additional power. So for this trip, I’ve gone and purchased an Anker power cord 20100. I’m told this can recharge my phone up to eight times and also power my IPad and Garmin.
I’m not taking a dedicated camera but will my iPhone X Instead. and for the blogging and general communications ill use the iPad Pro with Smart Keyboard.
Get me home, please
Last of all in the Garmin touring plus which I purchased from eBay For £100. It’s a basic bike GPS and ill use it for basic navigation and to record my route. Not sure if I’m going able to update my route day by day but try.
Thorn Sherpa Bike 510XL with Standard forks £999.00
Brooks Saddle £100.00
Ortlieb Front Roller Plus – Hazel/Black – 25Ltr £84.00
Ortlieb Back Roller Plus – Hazel/Black – 40Ltr £94.00
The Altura Orkney Bar Bag with 7 litre capacit £54.00
The Shimano A530 Touring Pedals £41.00
lights £100.00
Sub Total £1,472.00
Thorn Sherpa Touring Bike
Frame:
Thorn Sherpa frame and fork set 510XL Satin Stealth Black with silver decals
Shimano Deore HG50 9 Speed Cassette – 11-32, Budget Sealed Bearing Tapered Bottom Bracket with Steel Shimano Splined Cups – 113 mm,FSA Alpha Drive MTB Chainset 8/9 Speed – 24/36/48T – 170mm, Shimano RD-T661 Deore LX Top Normal / Standard Rear Derailleur – SGS, Shimano Deore SL-M590 RapidFire 9 Speed Shift Lever / Pods,Shimano Deore FD-M591 9 Speed Conventional Swing Dual Pull Multifit Front Derailleur, KMC X9-93 116 Links 9 Speed Chain – Silver / Grey.
Shimano Acera BL-M421 V Brake Levers, Shimano M422 Acera V-brake Front, Shimano M422 Acera V-brake Rear.
Wheels: 26″ (559) Wheelset 36h Rigida Grizzly Rims with Shimano HB-RM70 Hubs in Black, Schwalbe Marathon HS368 Rigid Tyre – 26 x 2.00 Inch (50-559)
Thorn Mk2 Comfort Handlebars – 25.4mm Clamp – Black, SKS chromoplastic 26in mudguards Black 55(include fitting kit), Velo Deluxe Sports Mens Saddle – Black,Kalloy AS-009 UNO 1 1/8 Inch Ahead Stem +17 Deg – 25.4mm Clamp – Black – 100mm, Herrmans DD08B Comfort D.D. Dual Density Ergonomic Handlebar Grips – 120 mm Length – Black / Grey.
Thorn Expedition Steel Rear Cycle Pannier Rack – Black Powdercoat, Thorn MkV Cro Mo Steel Low Loader – Black Powder Coat, Zefal Ping Bell – Black NO PEDALS
Saddle and Bags
My friends and I have formed a tradition of cycling Mont Ventoux. For the last few years, we have climbed the famous stage of the Tour De France. This will be my third year climbing the Ventoux with my colleagues and friends. The yearly climb forms a great training goal and serves to keeps us focused on our fitness. Not forgetting the banter that goes along with it.
This year is sure to be a vintage one with two guys really battling for the top spot. Posh Mick and Rocket Riyadh have been training like mad even though none of them will admit to it. There has been an underlying battle ragging for years and battle lines are drawn and many a conversation has been had to who will be victorious. I’ll keep you posted on that front.
Sitting at home over the Christmas break, my mind started dreaming of cycle touring again. My last major ride was with the Fireflies back in 2015 where I rode from Geneva to Cannes for ten days and cover 1000 kilometre. So as I am riding Mont Ventoux in June I thought It might be an idea to ride back from there to the UK. Initial investigations into distance is about 700 miles not including any climbs. I recon it will take about two weeks to get back.
So that’s the plan as it stands. Ride back from Mont Ventoux to the UK
[instagram-feed hashtag=”#cyclethealps”]
This weekend I was invited to celebrate a friends birthday with a walk in Llandrillo Wales. Although the weather was wet the views of the valleys are simply amazing. I took the opportunity to practice my photography and I hope I captured the scenery and the views of the breathtaking valleys. We stayed at Tyddyn Llan and enjoyed the fabulous food and wine with
[instagram-feed hashtag=”#hikingwales”]
Podcast: Download (Duration: 1:06:03 — 151.2MB)
John Merrill Is the worlds greatest marathon walker. John has walked over 219,000 miles, worn out 133 pairs of boots and written over 440 books about his walks. Today John is an all-faith minister and still continues his walking journeys.
In today’s podcast, I play the audio track from the interview I filmed last year. Where John tells me about his early life as a young boy struggling at school, his adoption at nine months of age and finding his lost family. John goes on to tell me about his passion for climbing and walking and his relationships with his father. The interview also explores the lows and highs of his life and his role as an interfaith minister.
If you want to find out more about John you can visit his websites listed below.
http://www.johnmerrillwalkguides.co.uk/
http://www.thejohnmerrillministry.co.uk/
The Peakland Way: 100 Mile Circular Walk Around the Peak District
Podcast: Download (Duration: 40:50 — 56.1MB)
In 2013 I cycled through Spain, Portugal, France and ending in Italy. The trip started out with two friends embarking on an amazing adventure on two wheels but ended with us parting company after ten days. in this episode, Jason gives his version of the story. Further reading of our adventure at the time can be found at first blog site.
Podcast: Download (Duration: 38:07 — 52.3MB)
Welcome to the Episode 1 of Cycle For Your Life.
Back in late 2012, my life changed path dramatically. I remember the day when my then wife asked me for a divorce. For me, this was a total bolt out of the blue and left me total and utterly in a spin. The following month’s left me feeling lost and depressed. As the dust settled on the bombshell. I felt I had to take control of my life. This is when I decided to go on an adventure. This is the start of my three-month cycling tour of Spain, Portugal, France and finally, Italy.
