Grip Grab photo shoot in Denmark

Grip Grab photo shoot in Denmark

 Last weekend I had the pleasure of working with Grip Grab on the promotional videos and photography for their up and coming women’s range. This progressive company has been listening to customer feedback and decided to produce an exclusive women’s range designed specifically for female riders. 

The new women’s range has been developed to work seamlessly with existing cycling kits, the colours they have chose turquoise and purple/pink compliment many existing women’s kits, however if you fancy being totally matched then their new women’s kit is an appealing choice. 

The new women’s kit includes matching shoe covers, gloves, headbands and cycling caps all designed using the highest quality materials with performance and comfort at the core of each product.

Here are some of the pictures from the shoot.

Photo by Martin Paldan | GripGrab Media Crew

Photo by Martin Paldan | GripGrab Media Crew

Photo by Martin Paldan | GripGrab Media Crew

One Life iD

One Life iD

One Life iD is a functional, affordable and aesthetically simple identification bracelet. The bracelet incorporates a silicon strap in a variety of different colours which is easily cut to wrist size and then secured with a stainless steel clasp.

The stainless steel tag is engraved with a unique QR Code, webpage link (URL) and PIN to allow access to the user’s online OneLife iD profile and emergency details to be shown if they are in need of help.

One Life ID

Each bracelet is linked to your online One Life profile which has information like your ICE (in case of emergency) numbers and any allergies you may have. The bracelet is similar to that of a medic alert bracelet but with a dash more style!

The bracelets durable materials are tough wearing which is great for an active lifestyle you can put this bracelet on and feel safe in the knowledge that should something happen to you, your emergency contact details are a click away for any one to access.

However recently I went snowboarding and found out that with wrist guards on you cannot wear the bracelet something I hadn’t thought about. Looking at the One Life iD product range this is easily solved by buying the necklace version.

One Life iD for me is all about peace of mind when I am training. Being a cyclist I often train alone either out in the woods or on long country roads so knowing that my emergency contact details are on my wrist puts my mind at ease and allows me to train hard without worrying about getting into trouble. Don’t get me wrong I don’t feel invincible, this is no magic bracelet and I am still cautious when training alone but it gives a certain peace of mind which helps me to concentrate on training.

As well as ID, One Life do a range of tags which can be attached to kit in case it’s lost, these are great and I attached them to everything, the durable plastic makes then mud, water and oil proof! As a cross country mountain biker my kit gets doused in everything the elements throw at it so knowing I have tough durable tags labelling it as mine is great in case I ever miss place something.

Carrying an ID bracelet with contact details if you are into outdoor sports is a really good idea especially if you are doing sports where the risk factor is higher. I would recommend One Life iD to anyone who is looking to take part in outdoor sports.

Giant Jersey

Happy Adventuring! 

Memories of Thailand

Memories of Thailand

Sitting in the UK dreaming and planning a trip to Thailand was great fun. Waking up with the realisation that you are now in Thailand was a whole other level of incredible excitement, and after long nights/days sleep in Bangkok our adventure begun with a 4am plane journey.

We arrived in the mist of the rainforest, quickly stashed our bags in our room and ventured out into the jungle, it was incredible. I’ve never seen so many trees and flowers and so much water! A moment of not looking where I was going ended up with a leach clinging on to my big toe, lucky a quick reflex and determined not to end up having to have it burnt off, enabled me to shake the little bugger off! We trekked to a waterfall which was stunning.

Thailand Rainforest Kao Sok

On the way back from the waterfall two Thai boys on mopeds roared up to us and stopped to ask if we wanted a lift. Deciding the walk seemed rather far, we went for it and hopped on, I shot off into the rainforest on the back of a moped as I watched Martyn’s (my partner) moped slowly drift from view as we were going much faster. I thought about what I learnt at school about not talking to strangers, now I’m on the back of some guy’s bike in a foreign country, probably not the best idea in the world!

Arriving safely back to two feet again the language barrier didn’t seem to stop my new Thai friend and I chatting whilst we waited for the others to catch up.

The next day we went elephant trekking, elephants are mystical creatures, so big and awkward looking and yet graceful and friendly at the same time. Sitting on top of our new elephant friend we trekked through the plantations of rubber plants and bananas. The elephant’s master walked alongside and shouted things at the elephant who responded accordingly, very well trained elephants!

Elephant trekking

No More Jungle Adventures
Leaving the jungle was a sad day, we had made some great friends both human and animal! But our adventure went on as we now traveled to Koh Yao Noi which means Little Long Island (I will let you work out why) Arriving at the jetty from Phuket we rented a scooter to get around, this was a new learning curve for me having not really ever been on and never driven a scooter, Martyn picked one with gears and assured me he would ‘teach’ me how to ride it!

thailand

Ulmars nature lodge was a picturesque yoga retreat on the side of the island. The huts were made of bamboo and inside there was just enough room to walk down the side of the bed to the ‘ensuite’ by ‘ensuite’ I mean a toilet sink and shower in a concreted area out the back!

We had come to Koh Yao Noi to deep water solo, which is where you climb and then when you get tired or as high as you can go you jump into the water. Frustratingly the first two days on the island the rain had held us up and although we were enjoying the tranquility of the island, where there seemed to be only a handful of people, the need to adventure was starting to make our paradise island a little too small.

Koh Yao Noi

I woke the next morning half expecting to hear the pitter patter of rain drops on the roof of our hut but there was nothing, silence, I peaked out of the curtain to see beautiful blue sky and not a cloud in sight.

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Wolfing down breakfast and jumping on our bike after checking twice that we had packed everything, we made it to the jetty in time to grab some lunch (fried chicken on rice with some kind of vegetable, pineapple made into handy to eat sticks and soup in a plastic bag). The long tail boat chugged out into the calm, inky blue water. The scenery was breath taking in every direction there was lush green islands and sandy beaches.

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Rock Climbing and Diving

After a while the boat slowed and we helped to pull sit on kayaks off the roof of the boat and paddled up to the first climb. Staring up it didn’t look like much and I felt confident about climbing. It wasn’t until I watched Martyn try and balance between the wall and moving kayak which kept getting picked up by the swell and pushed into the wall that I realised this was no walk in the park. The rocks up close where gnarly and sharp from years of sea crashing into them. Finally he made the leap and shouted back that he was okay so I got out the camera to film him, he made it look so easy, but then he tended to make everything look easy. He traversed across and up about 8 -9 metres and then shouted to me to take a picture as he jumped.

Deep watersoloing

My turn! As the kayak got closer to the wall I pulled on my climbing shoes and assessed the wall in front for the best route up, suddenly staring up at the wall it looked huge and I couldn’t see how on earth I couldn’t make the jump Martyn had, standing up on the kayak nose and touching the rock it was wet as well as sharp. “Oh great! what a barrel of laughs this is going to be ! ” I thought, as the swell made me practice the splits as my hands were perched on the rock. With one foot below and the other tantalisingly close to taking a dip I made the decision to go for it and with a leap jumped to the rocks.

deep water soloing

Scaling the wall was a lot easier now and I quickly progressed around and up where I had seen Martyn go. I decided not to go so high, with my Dads voice in my head saying “just remember once you have climbed up you have to jump off”. Not being a fan of usual abseiling when climbing this was sound advice as when I turned to jump off, even from around 3 metres up it looked scary! I decided to traverse a little further round and down slightly, this seemed a lot less scary but still I couldn’t bring myself to let go of the rock. Now with an audience of Martyn, the captain of the boat we arrived on and our guide, and with lots of encouragement I shut my eyes, held my nose and jumped.

Overall Thailand gets an A from me. It’s such an epic country and there’s a whole load of things to see and do. The people were also so, so friendly and always seem eager to help where they can.

If anyone has any questions or would like some insights into arranging a trip to Thailand and what to do when getting there please let me know in the comments below.

Biking in Scotland Part One

Biking in Scotland Part One

In six days we covered 1,212 car miles, 60 bike miles, went through eight inner tubes, broke gears, lost iPhones and met the BBC Country File cast. Not bad for a relaxing week away.The Slab

Our journey started at Dalbeattie one of the best (according to a friend) of the ‘7stanes’. These are seven mountain biking centres spanning the south of Scotland, from the heart of the Scottish Borders to Dumfries and Galloway. ‘Stane’ is the Scots word for stone, and at each of the 7stanes locations, you’ll find a stone sculpture reflecting a local myth or legend.

The red ‘Hardrock’ trail at Dalbeattie is a pleasant 25 km with not too many steep climbs and some fantastic views along the way. The ‘slab’ which is by far the most talked about part of the trail is a 15 meter granite ‘slab’ which from the top looks more like something you should climb up than ride down!

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On day 2, we went to Mabie another of the 7 Stanes. The Pheonix trail is a 19km mix of cross country and twisty single track. Mabie encompasses the most fantastic switchbacks ive ever encountered which feel like your entering a washing machine spin cycle as you get sucked into the never ending spiral. Rocky drop offs and routed sections make this an interesting and technical ride at times. The scenery was stunning with hills covered in Scots pine and purple patches of heather making every climb worth it!

The South of Scotland brought many surprises and had been a good warm up for what was yet to come.