I've not been out on my bike for a long time but this week I changed from road tyres to the rough knobbly ones and, today, I got out into the blustery Peak District to give it (and myself) an outing. I've a favourite short ride which starts at Fairholmes and climbs up to pass by Lockerbrook. I usually go clockwise on this, down the east side of Ladybower to the A57 Viaduct, up to Crook Hill, past Lockerbrook and back down to the Derwent Reservoir. This gives you an ascent which is honest hard work and a downhill to Derwent Reservoir which is rough and steep.
This morning however, things looked different. With strong westerly winds I didn't fancy the battle uphill against the wind in the open. Reversing it would give me the wind behind me on the open high ground. The downside to this plan was the first, vicious uphill away from Derwent Reservoir, which saw me pushing my bike for a few hundred metres.
After that however, plain sailing - almost literally as the wind inflated my windproof top and blew me nicely along to the top of the lovely, broad, grassy ridge and rapidly back to the valley.
(BTW: the strained expression on my face is that of an old bloke who's rushed back to get on his bike before the 10 second camera timer runs out!)
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Friday, January 6, 2012
2012 already?
I've had a month without posting and missed the turning of the year. For any readers I've missed with cards I wish you all the best in 2012. It'll be a year of changes for me as the economic climate continues to prove difficult for me. I'll need to increase the amount of paid work I'm doing - that's for sure!
This post my news is of a painting exhibition. I've made use of the blank wall space created by a re-organisation at The Edge Climbing Centre by hanging an exhibition of my large, mountain and crag landscape paintings. If you're in the area pop in and visit. It's the largest solo show I've had for a few years.
This post my news is of a painting exhibition. I've made use of the blank wall space created by a re-organisation at The Edge Climbing Centre by hanging an exhibition of my large, mountain and crag landscape paintings. If you're in the area pop in and visit. It's the largest solo show I've had for a few years.
The 4 mile long, silver, gritstone Stanage Edge is one of my favourite places and my best subject in recent times. The feedback I've had from the exhibition is that this painting of Black Slab and the Trinity Buttress has been one of the climbers's favourites.
I'm exploring to find ways of being a bit more commercially minded with the painting and have, for the first time sourced a Giclee printmaker who has made an excellent smaller sized print of this painting. This will be an interesting experiment to see if prints, which are smaller and cheaper that the original painting are more likely to be sold.
I'm not expecting to make my fortune with my painting, but I am thinking long term over the next 10 years.
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