Top IGers

I'm seriously into Instagram these days. As per here I post pretty sporadically, but I do try to keep it up to date. Its not that hard to upload a couple of nice ride pictures at the cake stop, or a shot of whatever LP is currently on heavy rotation at the flat now, is it?

And as well as generating content, Instagram also offers insights into the worlds of other like minded people, celebs, bloggers and companies that would normally be hidden. What I like about the app most is that if you edit your feed right, you can basically just end up with a constant stream of whatever-floats-your-boat nice stuff. With this in mind, I've put together my Instagram Top Ten; folks you really should be following, if you aren't already. In no particular order...

1) @fosterhunting

His blog A Restless Transplant records his life as a permanent campervanner and has made him internet famous, largely due to his living-the-dream attitude and stunning photography.

2) @land_boys

Faux-letterpress and cursive type and lashings of pseudo-occult and mid-20th C. American iconography. This graphic design duo/studio are really killing it. I can (and do) scroll through their feed for ages.

3) @rapha

Probably no explanation necessary. Lots of lovely product and road cycling shots. Also keeps you up to date on new releases, events and offers.

4) @nigel_cabourn

Very occasional glimpses into the world of the vintage inspired über-designer.

5) @anotherfeather

Something to do with the fey-gatherings magazine Kinfolk I think, slash jewellery designer. Consistently beautiful feed which is worth scrolling through and through.

6) @johnprolly

The pre-eminent online bicycle journalist/photographer behind Prolly Is Not Probably. Lots of lush content.

7) @ultraromance

This guy. Must have space in his basket for a nice camera too.

8) @gearthereeverywhere

Jacket obsessive.

9) @rigobertouran

Yes, that Rigoberto Uran, the ex-Team Sky pro-cyclist. Of all the 'pro's' I follow on Instagram Uran is the most active, but its also worth looking up Wiggins, Froome, et al.

10) @pastoral_review

Obvs. If you wanna be IG friends, drop me a line on there!

The Dartmoor Way

When I first bought myself a road bike in 2009 (as opposed to the hardtails MTBs I rode throughout my teens) I soon started to fantasise about idyllic bike camping trips or credit card tours, with just the bare minimum of gear, plenty of cake stops and a cosy B&B to roll to at the end of every day. I never really got around to this somehow, and then suddenly I've found myself pretty much exclusively going on longer and longer lycra-clad 'training' rides which, though hugely enjoyable, are not the only style of cycling I'm interested in.

I've recently been reading through back issues of cycle touring e-magazine Bunyan Velo, as well as watching this video pretty much on a loop for the last fortnight, and I've caught the cyclo-camping bug again. Last week I took my stove and espresso maker out along the Thames Estuary just for the thrill of making a coffee in 'the wild'. The next step is, of course, to camp out overnight but the thought of getting woken by doggers in Epping Forest or harassed by a Surrey farmer is too much to take. One of the only legal paces to wild camp in England is Dartmoor, and a bit of research brings up the Dartmoor Way - a 150km/2648m ascent loop around the National Park on traffic-free bridleways and quiet lanes. You can see something of a plan forming here. To kick things off I've created a GPX file of the route, which is also viewable over at MapMyRide and I thought it would be something of a public service to share this with the internet.

I'm also pulling together the requisite gear for the trip, so far still filed under 'pipe-dream', but do expect more of this sort of chat soon...

Strathpuffer 2014

Props to my pal Cat who back in January completed a seriously tough 24H mountain bike race around a notoriously punishing 11k loop in the Scottish Highlands. Her team came in an amazing 3rd in the women's race and luckily the BBC were there to capture the action (and a couple of brief Cat cameos). Watch while you still can here.

Chapeau, Cat! [Do MTBers say that? - Ed.]

Mando Rando

This delightful slice of pseudo-American Gothic bicycle touring comes via PROLLY IS NOT PROBABLY, which if you haven't seen already is definitely the most extensive and on point bike blog around. I've watched this video every day for the last week and as I've even got my fixed gear set up pretty similar to this guy's currently, I'm excitedly browsing Google Earth for possible wild camping/skinny dipping locations in the South East. Now where did I put that bivvy bag?