the ride journal issue 8...

I'm super stoked to have a short piece of writing in the latest issue of The Ride Journal, from our cycling holiday along the Danube back in 2012... 

The mag is full of amazing photography, writing and illustration, and jam packed with stories from all over the world, all inspired by travelling on two wheels...

Below is the new cover and a few of my favourite photos from the holiday of a lifetime...

You can order a copy of the mag online, or from cycling stores and quality magazine racks the world over...

 Cracking cover of Issue 8...

Pedalling with parents... Perfect!

The site for a night...

And some stormy, golden light...

Embraced by a village in beautiful Weissenkirchen...

Always time to stop for a photo...

Or a RAD ler...

Night night, sleep tight...

joining the OM1 club...

While gripping on a feature film over the summer, I had the chance to work alongside a couple of amazing photographers, Nicola Dove and Agatha Nitecka. I was especially inspired by Agatha who rolled onto set halfway through with a Nikon FM2 on one shoulder and an FM3 on the other! 

It inspired me to try to get back to shooting film more regularly and so I thought the purchase of a small, manual, 35mm slr was in order... 

Enter the Olympus OM1 into my life! She's a beauty... One roll down, many, many to go...

Check out my brother Jack Johns blog for more proof of the OM1s awesomeness!

So pretty... So simple...

Test roll numero uno...

copenhagen detour... part three

My final day in CPH turned out to be an absolute cracker on the weather front. We'd already decided to check out Faelledparken (now Scotty's "local" park) and went past his mate James' place to try and get a session going (cheers for the board borrow James!) 

The park itself exceded all my expectations and i had an absolute ball, despite my generally lacklustre skills on the plank... The bowl/giant snake run has to be seen/ridden to be believed and there's just about every kind of feature you could ever imagine, all layed out in super smooth concrete... 

As if the day couldn't get any better, who rocks up for a session but none other than Danish legend, Rune Glifberg. One of the most stylish transition skaters of all time, with barely a warm up run, he proceeded to destroy the place. Speeding around it like it wan't no thing, boosting huge frontside ollies and airs, and attacking the (just plain scary) over vert with fs 5-0s, fs tails and bs smiths... 

More coincidental awesomeness that made this detour unforgettable!

As a fitting finish to the afternoon, Scotty, James and I grabbed a few Tuborgs, an oversize novelty sandwich from Lottes, and enjoyed the summer sun in the palace gardens... Good times...

Massive thanks to Scotty and Sophia for their hospitality and generosity... James, Kim and Kat, twas a pleasure... Thanks yall for sharing your amazing city with me! x

 Sunshine views from the Chancellor/Burger apartment...

 Scoot pops a backside ollie over the hip at Faelledparken...

I ain't no Glifberg... 

 Rune fs 50 on the over vert...

 Steeeeez... Rune fs bone in the deep end...

Just a bs smith on the over vert... Madness...

copenhagen detour... part two

It's awesome to see how involved and entwined with the city, and their work within (Scoot works at a restaurant called AOC, Sofia at NOMA), both Scott and Sofia have become. Uber keen cyclists whose lives revolve around good food and drink in a nutshell! Our evening meal of creamy mushroom pasta complimented with a tasty home brewed beer/fresh elderflower cordial was a testament to that... Deliciousness!

Copenhagen couple...

Birthday bike!

The next day Scotty and I headed out to the edge of the city limits for some bike adventuring and some mushroom foraging... Despite it being early in the season for 'shrooms, we came across a few patches of chanterelles in the forests surrounding Holte, before making our way through fields and paths to the coast and back into the city. 

Later that night we cruised a couple o bars, one a tasty (though somewhat pretentious) brewery called Mikkeller, the other, an awesome late night dive bar called The Moose (as if it's going to have a website) Both equally entertaining for very different reasons... Cheers tour guide!

 Fixter not hipster... Bike pride!

 Forests for days! Now where's those shrooms...

 Same but different... Still searching...

If you go out in the woods today...

 We've struck gold! In fungal form...

Tastes as good as it looks...

iggy and glen...

Iggy had been chill as all weekend, so the Sunday after the wedding he let his hair down neckin' a couple of Tuborgs with Daddy Garns... 

That's one rad kid! x

"But Dad, I've only had a six pack..."

"Ahhh I can't say no to you..."

family quin...

Twin connection! Twas so lovely to meet the Quins (and many, many other Melbourne and Perth peeps I'd known of, but not known, for so long! The girls definitely brought some extra sunshine to the Swedish landscape and are quite the cuties... Must come from hot mama and pimp daddy!

Jemima stood still for just long enough for me to get a photo...

Linden tries to catch some shut eye while doubling as Lyras couch...

"I don't want a photo... Here's my bear instead..."

x

swedish wedding panoramas...

Oh Sweden, how your amazingness lends itself perfectly to the panoramic form...

Field of dreams...

Wedding of dreams...

 Holly Sheps brings the crowd to tears...

Family chorus of congratulations...

A green gathering...

A sunny soiree...

Fun in the fields...

Two became one...

The wedding party chilling...

Beautiful barn...

Mariehof...

x

swedish wedding in colour...

As if there hadn't been enough amazing trips this year...

Cornish new year... Austrian winter pow... Polish Gdancing... Oslo snow (coming soon!)... Brighton cider walks... Austrian summer cycling... Tis a gifted life...

Our other summer holiday had been planned for a while though, namely the wedding of Ms Emma Shepherdson and Mr Nicklas Wallberg in beautiful Soderkoping, a couple of hours south of Stockholm... Unfortunately for me, a large, work related spanner had been thrown in the mix and it came right down to the wire for me to make the wedding... Thankfully, everything came together in the eleventh hour and what resulted was a weekend I will never forget...

Here's part one in square form, in colour...

 The lovely Ms Helena Rosengren started my journey off on the right foot, kindly picking me up from Skavsta Airport at 9am and treating me to a delish breakfast at Hellmanskagarden, a cosy cafe in her hometown of Nykoping... A couple of hours wasn't really enough time to catch up on the four years since we last saw each other, but we gave it a good shot! Hopefully it won't be so long between drinks this time around... x

 After a train journey from Nykoping to Norrkoping, I was again hooked up with another ride, as Lucy and some of the ladies had been getting their retail on in town. From there it was back to our idyllic accommodations at Slussen Rum where my my wedding preparations consisted of a sleep, a swim and a cider, in that order!

 We would get to know this canal A LOT better in the early hours of the following morning! The Gota Canal in picturesque Soderkoping...

 Friends and family had travelled from all over the globe to be a part of this wedding and everyone was styling in fine form... 

 A gathering of wonderful people, coming together to celebrate how much two people love each other, in truly beautiful natural surroundings... Vows in both Swedish and English... Song and spoken word expressing happiness and love... How a wedding should be... x

 Here comes the bride! And groom! x

 Sweet speeches...

 Smiles and laughs... 

 And maybe a few tears...

Husband and wife! Congratulations dream team! x