I’m a Ride Leader for ASSOS of Switzerland and a lifetime athlete, with a bias towards mountainous and wild places. I’ve cycled all over the UK, Europe and further afield, including Australia and the USA. I love all types of cycling – road, gravel, cobbles, fixed and MTB.

To date my adventures include 11 Everestings, three Cent Cols Challenges, Hawaii’s Sea to Summit on Mauna Kea (the world’s hardest cycling climb), the 2012 Tour de France route and the Ultra Raid Pyrenean.

Besides this blog, I’ve contributed to various publications and podcasts, including the Everesting Podcast, Adventure Audio Podcast, Proper Cycling, Everesting (the excellent book by Matt de Neef) and a guide to cycling Scotland’s NC500 for the Scottish Tourist Board. In recent years, my eldest son Tom has been my companion on many of these rides and hence he appears in numerous pictures.

Despite the grandiose nickname (which was given to me by a friend on Stage 5 of the 2012 Tour de Force and seems to have stuck), I’ve never been a pro, I’m not particularly fast and at 82 kg, I’m never going to be a gifted climber either! I am however good at planning, try to leave very little to chance and once committed, I don’t give up easily!