Category Archives: Cycle tour

Etsy shop sale

Until the 16th January I am running a new year sale on all items listed on my etsy shop from small to large scale artworks, all artworks have 20% off. Like this one…..

 

Sol and Precipitation – The condensation of atmospheric water vapour falling under gravity Oil on canvas 30×60 inches 2020. £2500

 

Pop over and have a look…..

Amharclann An Tsolais Ciarraighe. Eireann. Oil on canvas 86×104 cm 2020

I am still relatively new to learning Gaeilge. Still I cannot resist trying to title the paintings about Eire in Gaeilge. During our cycle tour of Eire we visited the far West of….and to use it’s more ancient name… Ciarraighe – Whilst there we stood transfixed watching a terrific Atlantic storm, as I had done so many years ago when involved in a student exchange. It was during that visit when painting really started to become something….more…the experience has stayed with me over the years and there are no words to give it it’s proper import. It always has been a deep connection with nature…..and my roots……
For quite a while I thought this painting was finished…..well I had another chat with it over the last few weeks and brought it more into for want of a better word……focus. This is the second painting about our cycle tour of Eire.
Can’t wait to go back……
Amharclann An Tsolais. Ciarraighe . Eireann. Oil on canvas 86×104 cm 2020

Venus, the crescent Moon, Earth Shine and Mercury. 13 November 2020. Time – 6: 57: 37 am St. Mary’s Isles of Scilly

Image taken 13th November 2020 at 6:57:37 am. There was a break in the clouds and the sky was fabulous after all the rain it was super clean. Taken with my Canon EOS 700D in manual mode. 1/50 sec F5.6 ISO 6400. No tripod though so just had to brace the camera against a wall. Mercury and Venus show a distinct phase and I always love seeing Earth Shine and even surface details can be seen within the Earth Shine. I added the text (2nd image) using adobe photoshop but other than adding text and cropping the image has not been modified or enhanced…….

Venus crescent Moon Earth Shine 13 November 2020 6 57 37 am St. Mary’s Isles of Scilly

Visit to an uninhabited Island

The Isle of Tean…….an interesting place, and the first time visiting one of the Isles of Scilly uninhabited Islands.

These are the first two paintings about Tean, I have plans to do more and hopefully make some repeat visits in the near future.

Misty day on the Isle of Tean No.1 Oil on canvas 30.5×30.5 cm 2020

Misty Day on the Isle of Tean No.2 oil on canvas 30.5×30.5 cm 2020

New piece of cycle touring kit

…..preparations continue for the next part of our cycle tour, in this case a new sleeping bag. The 5 season mamut Tyin sleeping bag. tested last night……It is the best sleeping bag I have ever slept in. My old one was an Ajungilak 3 season sleeping bag that I have had for so long I can’t remember when I bought it. Ajungilak were bought up by mamut but the design so impressed them they I believe made this as an upgraded version. It is beyond wonderful and I am so looking forward to some proper winter cycle touring

My thoughts on why this one…..

the thing is when planning a long cycle tour choice of equipement becomes problematic…..sleeping bags are a fairly bulcky piece of kit so you are faced with taking just one and if you know you are going to be cycling through one or more winters how is one to choose, I opted for a 5 season bag because I definately want to stay warm at night even if the temperature drops way below zero especially with thoughts of cycling Europe through the winter and then on to Scandinavia, Iceland, Greenland  ….but then you are faced with a conundrum is the bag still comfortable to use in the Autumn spring or even in summer and do you choose to compromise with winter or summer conditions, So after a lot of research and past experience I choose to compromise but hopefully not by much, with summer conditions. In summer it is always possible to sleep on top of the sleeping bag and remain comfortable, obviously not so in winter. The Tyin is rated to -25 C so the first test for me was is it usuable in the Autumn with the mild temperatures we have here. And yes it is….. though it was fully open to half way – the zip only travels half the length of the bag for max insulation for your feet…… and without the use of the shoulder and hood draw cords to fully close the bag it was perfect…super comfortable and I did not over heat….more testing to come……The foam mat is also rated at 5 season and is super comfortable…..can’t wait to test it at lower temperatures. Aaron has the same bag and we plan several nights over the winter without the tent just the sleeping bags plus mat’s star gazing…..fun fun fun…..

 

…..So just when will the next tour begin…..well who knows with Covid – 19 and the second wave spreading fast. Tentatively Aaron and I are planning to resume the tour in about twelve months time ….. so this time next year. We are still gathering bits and pieces of new equipement to replace worn kit and making plans as to where we will go. And because we are almost certain to cycle tour through the winter, well that is my other reason for my choice of new sleeping bag.

 

Also after ten years I have had to retire my old two person Quasar tent. The inner is still ok but I have one broken pole and the flysheet is totally done with non functioning zips UV damage and the seams are starting to delaminate……A brand new tent will be the subject of the next blog post….soon