Old Swansea

People Are Dying, The Babies Are Crying

I don't care what Ty says.  I love this album.

Love Me When I Least Deserve It

Winter sun.

A great book written by a map, stat and walking fanatic like myself.

Coming on strong in 2012.

An unfair portrait.

Busy busy busy.

Doing What He Does Best

Mark Gonzales

*BEWARE: INSTAGRAM POST

I must admit I've fallen for Instagram lately.  I'm sure the honeymoon period will end soon enough but for now I'm enjoying being in the thick of it.  Anything that helps me spend less time on Facebook has to be a good thing, right? 'Proper' photographers dismiss it, but you still need to have a half decent eye to produce half decent results.

Another Late Night

This is pretty old now but I rediscovered it recently.  Full of top notch tracks.

Top 5

It's slow (but still) progress

Just got back from my third session this year with Chad.  8 hours so far......

Roger

Whole New Worlds

Is it really a coincidence that a high proportion of skateboarders turn out to be creatives?  Being exposed to graphics, music, video, photography for all those years certainly takes it toll.

Check Your Emails Once A Day

I finally got my own copy of this fantastic little book by John Maeda.  I read it some time ago and it's contents have stayed with me ever since.

Things Round Here Move Pretty Fast

The Century

Yesterday Beynon, Ty and myself rode a century.  It was easier and harder than I was expecting.  As you can see from the route we took, it had a few climbing sections, which of course is inevitable in South Wales.  You are never far from hills or mountains.  The weather was perfect, and at times pretty warm, with only a hint of wind.

I do a couple of 50 mile rides weekly, and have done several 65 mile routes, but stepping the distance past the 100 mile mark felt very different.  For me the hard part was between 45 - 65 miles, with the last 30 feeling comfortable.  Riding with other people was a novelty as I more often than not ride alone.  I think we all need practice riding in a group, as  together we could be a much more efficient and faster unit.  I'm already looking forward to more of these rides over the coming months.

Abandon all hope of reward. Don't expect applause.

Screenprinting is great fun.  time consuming, but fun.  I'm planning on producing a limited run of these for sale.  The print is approximately 420mm x 420mm on 800mm x 800mm stock.

Collecting Collections

I have always been obsessed with maps.  Maps and statistics.  If I could only take one book to a desert island with me it would be an atlas.  No shit.

At the end of last year I stumbled upon an app called Endomondo.  This free little bit of software uses GPS on your smartphone to track your bike rides.  Over the past year it has developed to also offer the user all sorts of amazing bits of information about almost a dozen different things.

I love getting home from a ride and sitting at my computer and nerding out on the various stats I've collected.  It's become obsessive, and no there is talk of soon spending hundreds on a GPS cycle computer (with heart rate monitors and cadence monitors too).

Sometimes though I'll go riding for riding's sake.  No measuring.  No destination. No nothing.

Borrowed

This little lot should keep me going for a few hundred miles or so.

Double Espresso

Today I had my first ever coffee stop.  Normally when I ride, it's as if I'm trying to inflict as much damage and pain to my legs and lungs as possible and never stop.  Plus the majority of the time I ride alone so I don't feel a stop is necessary.  After reading a couple of cycling autobiographies lately which talk often of cafe stops I thought I'd do the same.

Visit my work blog if you have the time:

http://marcevansdesign.co.uk/

And I Thought He Only Saved One Life

Train yard at sunset.

A hidden gem: The Earl Hotel in Doncaster.

Getting Serious

Pop, chocolate and lollies.

Stepping up my game.

Le Metier by Michael Barry is another terrific book on cycling.  Breaking down a year in the life of a competitive cyclist, the quality of Barry's writing remains high throughout.  And, yes Sion, you can borrow this too.

Work & Play